Emeritus Professor Philip Gammage PhD D Phil FRSA

Philip Gammage started his career as an early childhood teacher in London in 1958, after education in Oxford, National Service in the RAF and studying Education at Goldsmiths’ College. Later he studied Comparative Educational Policy and then Psychology at London, Leicester and Bristol Universities, completing a PhD in psychology in 1974. He was Senior Lecturer at Furzedown College, London, then Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at Bristol University, Visiting Fellow at Michigan, USA, at UNE (Armidale, NSW) and subsequently held several visiting professorships in North America (including Lansdown Scholar at Victoria, BC) before becoming Professor, Chairman of School and then Dean of Faculty at the University of Nottingham. (One of the largest and oldest education faculties in England)

Philip retired early from the University of Nottingham in 1996, where he is Emeritus Professor, and took up the foundation de Lissa Chair in Early Childhood (research), a unique appointment, supported by the de Lissa Trust Fund and linking the University of South Australia with the (then) Department of Education, Training and Employment. This was a five-year contract for half of each year, enabling Professor Gammage to continue international work (for OECD and for government and non-government agencies in other countries) in the northern hemisphere.

Until 1997 Philip Gammage was President of the British Association of Early Childhood Education and Chair of the Tutors for Advanced Courses in Early Childhood Education, UK (TACTYC, the professional association for early years) His particular interests lie in early childhood socialisation and comparative policy. He has worked on the major longitudinal cohort study in England (CHES), has been involved with NIFTeY in Australia from its inception, is mentor to the Childcare Association Australia and was (until end 2007) Professorial Research Fellow and Adviser to the Department of Education and Children’s Services (DECS) South Australia. He regularly works abroad and has experience of early childhood provision and policy in 21 countries.

Philip Gammage has examined and supervised many PhDs over the years, been involved in BBC and other TV and radio broadcasts and given numerous keynote addresses throughout the world on early childhood education and care, the role of the teacher, and on aspects of policy and leadership. He has published widely in these fields, with work translated into Finnish, Estonian, Russian, Spanish and German.

In May 2006 Philip accepted an honorary higher doctorate, for services to education, from the University of Oulu, in Finland where he has taught regularly for fifteen years.

He is a keen amateur violinist.