Book Nook - The Making of an Educator

The world is changing – quickly – and schools and educators across the world are navigating a period of enormous change. Political polarisation, economic instability and social upheaval are reshaping the way we teach and learn. But some argue that this change isn’t new at all.

In his seminal new book, The Making of an Educator, prolific author and world-renowned educationalist Andy Hargreaves draws a parallel between what he calls two ‘Great Education Shifts’ in the 1980s and today.

This beautifully written, sometimes provocative and, on occasion, utterly hilarious book charts the first 15 years of his career in education as a teacher, researcher, academic and growing collaborator with schools. This was during a period of profound educational change in Britain during the 1980s, following a political and, ultimately, global move towards what is now known as neoliberalism with a shrinking state, market competition, the emergence of the standards and accountability movement and a decline in the status of teachers. It brought an end to an era defined by public investment, pursuit of equality, commitment to educating the whole child and support for a strong and highly qualified teaching profession.

• Andy’s reflections on the present and the past cast a new light on some of the most pressing issues in education today, such as: 
• the need to understand teachers before we try to change them
• the art of balancing self-regulated learning with teacher direction
• the importance and also the overreach of the evidence-based education movement
• the firestorms that surround intellectual bias and academic freedom
• the struggles that young teachers and researchers face early in their careers
• the common quest of educators to create the generations of the future and make history together

At a time when teachers are being asked to do more with less, and to remain positive in the face of constant upheaval, The Making of an Educator will serve as both an inspiration and a provocation. It will enable readers to gain fresh understanding about their own life and development as educators and equip them to engage with the profound changes that education and the world around them are undergoing now with wisdom, strength and renewed purpose.

A must-read for anyone working in or interested in education today.


Andy Hargreaves is a world-renowned British-Canadian educator who has dedicated his life to working with teachers and schools to make learning and teaching more engaging, fulfilling and collaborative for everyone. An author or editor of almost 40 books, Andy is a gifted writer who has become one of the most cited education scholars alive and has received 8 outstanding writing awards to date.

He is an education adviser to the First Minister of Scotland, and for the Minister of Education for New Brunswick in Canada. He holds Honorary Doctorates from Sweden, Hong Kong and the University of Greater Manchester, has been honoured in the UK, Canada, the US and Australia for services to public education and educational research, and was awarded his university’s Excellence in Teaching with Technology Award in 2015 at Boston College in the US.

You can learn more at www.andyhargreaves.com and can join his 40,000+ followers on X (formerly Twitter) @hargreavesbc or Bluesky @ahargreaves.bsky.social.