Rate My Professor Kalervo Gulson

Kalervo N. Gulson is Professor of Education Policy and Deputy Dean (Academic Excellence) in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney, where he is affiliated with the Sydney School of Education and Social Work. His research is located across social, political and cultural geography, education policy studies, and science and technology studies. Gulson examines how artificial intelligence, algorithms, datafication, and automation influence education policy, governance, equity, and societal structures. He leads initiatives such as the project 'Democratising AI in schools: ensuring policy keeps pace with technology' and contributes to the Centre for AI, Trust & Governance and the Computational Social Science Lab. Prior to joining the University of Sydney in 2019, Gulson held positions at the University of New South Wales from 2011 to 2019 and at the University of British Columbia from 2006 to 2010.

Gulson has been awarded the Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (2019-2022), supported by a grant of $953,217. He has secured additional funding including an ARC Discovery Project grant of $502,649 for 'Artificial intelligence in education: Democratising policy' (2024-), a 2023 Policy Challenge Grant for governing AI in education, and public policy funding for projects informing AI integration in Australian schools. His major publications encompass books such as 'Algorithms of Education: How Datafication and Artificial Intelligence Shape Policy' (2022, co-authored with Sam Sellar and Taylor P. Webb), 'Education Policy, Space and the City: Markets and the (In)visibility of Race' (2011), 'Spatial Theories of Education: Policy and Geography Matters' (2007, edited with Colin Symes), 'Education and the Mobility Turn' (2018, edited with Colin Symes), and 'Education Policy Analysis for a Complex World: Poststructural Possibilities' (2019, edited with Amy Metcalfe). Notable journal articles include 'Artificial intelligence, automated governance and education trade-offs' (2020, Journal of Education Policy) and 'What generative Artificial Intelligence priorities and challenges do senior Australian educational leaders identify?' (2025). Gulson's scholarship has shaped critical debates on spatial theory in education policy, neoliberal urban transformations, and the ethical governance of AI in education, influencing policy stakeholders and academic discourse internationally.