Marek Tesar

Professor Marek Tesar FPESA is an academic leader, educational philosopher, and scholar specializing in early childhood education, childhood studies, and curriculum research. Tesar serves as dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne, following a tenure at the University of Auckland, where he held roles including head of the School of Learning Development and Professional Practice, associate dean international, and foundational director of the Centre for Global Childhoods. He holds a doctorate in education from the University of Auckland and completed the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education program at Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Tesar's research portfolio includes more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and over 130 keynote addresses and invited presentations internationally. He is the author or co-author of several books, including "Home in Early Childhood Education: Conceptualizations and Reconfigurations," "Reframing the Everyday in Early Childhood Pedagogy: Conceptualising the Mundane," "The University as an Ethical Academy?," and "Theorising Posthuman Childhood Studies." His research examines philosophical, political, and cultural aspects of childhood, utilizing post-structural, posthuman, and new materialist frameworks to analyze early childhood pedagogy and policy.

Tesar serves as editor-in-chief of "Policy Futures in Education" and "Educational Philosophy and Theory," and co-edits three book series with Springer and Routledge. He chairs the steering committee of the Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education network and is a fellow and past president of the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia. His leadership includes international development work, such as establishing a research center of excellence for early childhood education in Southeast Asia through SEAMEO and leading curriculum initiatives in China.

Tesar has received honors including the AERA Outstanding Qualitative Dissertation Award, the NZARE Sutton-Smith Doctoral Award, the University of Auckland Vice-Chancellor's Prize for Best Doctoral Thesis, and the AERA Critical Perspectives in Early Childhood Education Emerging Scholar Award. He was awarded the Early Career Fellowship in Early Childhood Education and Development, jointly sponsored by the American Educational Research Association and the Society for Research in Child Development. Tesar is a frequent keynote speaker at international conferences, including the Pacific Early Childhood Education Research Association and the Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education Conference, contributing to discussions on children's lives, educational policy, and early learning across global contexts.