Rate My Professor Iain McGilchrist

Iain McGilchrist is a Senior Professional Practice Fellow and Programme Coordinator for Secondary Education in the College of Education, Humanities Division, at the University of Otago. He joined the College in 2021 as a professional practice fellow in primary and secondary education. McGilchrist trained as a teacher at the Southland campus of the Dunedin College of Education in the mid-1990s, marking the start of his extensive career in education. His teaching experience is diverse and international, beginning at School Number 44 in Moscow, followed by roles in the United Kingdom. In New Zealand, he spent much of his career at Kavanagh College and more recently served as Deputy Principal at John McGlashan College in Dunedin. Throughout his career, McGilchrist has taught English, history, media studies, and Russian, with a particular enthusiasm for English because it centers on the power of language and encourages students to engage deeply with the world around them.

Prior to his current position, McGilchrist held roles at the University of Otago as Manager of Undergraduate Entrance Scholarships and in Schools’ Liaison, where he was closely involved with Pūtea Tautoko from its inception during the 2020 lockdown. His professional interests lie in classroom dialogue, classroom culture, and the teacher’s control of language to foster effective learning environments and enable student flourishing. As paper coordinator for EDUC478 Professional Experience (Secondary), he supports secondary education students. McGilchrist contributed to the 2026 publication “More like a Manifesto than a Curriculum”: A Collaborative, Critical Discussion on English Curriculum-Making, published in the New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, where he participated in a commentary on recent English curriculum developments, highlighting concerns over deprofessionalisation and shifts in teacher autonomy. He also serves on the Subcommittee on University Entrance for Universities New Zealand.