Peter Crawley (headmaster)

Peter Crawley
Born (1953-10-16) 16 October 1953
Adelaide, South Australia
Nationality Australian
Education Newington College
Flinders University
University of New England
Occupation Retired school headmaster
Spouse(s) Anne
Children One son, two daughters
Parent(s) James and Elizabeth Crawley

Peter Crawley (born 16 October 1953) is the Australian former headmaster of Trinity Grammar School, Victoria, Knox Grammar School and St Hilda's School.[1] He is the co-author of two books on educational issues.

Early life

Crawley was born in Adelaide, South Australia, the son of James and Elizabeth Crawley and attended Newington College (1965–1971).[2] He received a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree and a Diploma of Education from Flinders University, and a Master of Educational Administration degree from the University of New England.[3]

Teaching career

His teaching career began in 1977 at Augusta Park High School in South Australia. He was Assistant Senior Resident Master (1980 to 1982) and head of history (1988 to 1989) at Prince Alfred College, Adelaide and during this time spent a year at Felsted School in Essex, England. He was Deputy Principal of Ballarat and Clarendon College from 1990 until 1992.[4] In 1993 he became Headmaster of Trinity Grammar School, Victoria. Whilst at Trinity he was interviewed by The Sunday Age in an article on corporal punishment and discussed the changes in attitudes in independent boys schools since the 1960s, having experienced them first-hand as a student and teacher;

He went to a school where "you had to have a medical certificate to play tennis because they had to fill six teams of rugby". In his schooldays, most mothers were at home; now most are in the workforce. He believes the change in the roles of men and women has altered the formerly macho culture of boys' schools. "The notion that if you put a lot of boys together it becomes like the changeroom after a football game bears no resemblance to boys' schools these days," he says. "People would be surprised to see how forthright boys are in their emotions. They don't hide their sensitivity or their horror at insensitivity."[5]

During Crawley's time at Trinity, the school became a world leader in the use of computers in schools, mandating each student have a laptop. He approached Microsoft about using their Office software package for his students, instead of the then-standard schools package. A year later, Microsoft had released Office to schools worldwide and made a film about Trinity's ideas for integrating technology with education. Bill Gates sent Crawley a personal letter thanking him for his ideas on the use of laptops in schools. Crawley was also invited to Japan to address the board of Toshiba about the use of technology in schools.[6]

In 1999 Crawley moved to Sydney as Head of Knox Grammar School. As Knox's sixth Headmaster, he is credited for "bringing the School into the 21st century with an innovative program of technology and computer-based learning."[7] He left to Knox to become managing director of an educational firm, Creative School Management. In 2006 Crawley moved to the Gold Coast to become principal of St Hilda's School, their first male head of school. During his time at St Hilda's they became one of the first schools in the world to adopt the iPad as a teaching and learning device. He retired from St Hilda's at the end of 2016.[8]

Crawley was awarded an honorary doctorate for services to education from Griffith University. Griffith described him as "one of the pioneers of using computers and tablets in the classroom".[8]

Publications

With Philip Cummins and Eric Bernard, Crawley has published the following educational books;[9]

  • Managing risk in your school, Woollahra, NSW: Circle, 2011
  • Staff evaluation and goal-setting, Crows Nest, NSW: Circle, 2010

References

  1. ↑ Shivani Singh, ed. (2011). "CRAWLEY Peter". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd.
  2. ↑ Newington College Register of Past Students 1863–1998 (Syd, 1999) pp 45
  3. ↑ Brandis, Susan (16 February 2016). "Announcement from Chair of School Council". St Hilda's School. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  4. ↑ Speaker Biographies – Peter Crawley Archived 23 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ Spare the Rod? An analysis
  6. ↑ Walker, Jamie (17 December 2016). "Peter Crawley, pioneer of computer use in school classrooms". The Australian. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  7. ↑ Knox Grammar School – History & Tradition
  8. 1 2 Willcox, Peter (20 December 2016). "Education pioneer Peter Crawley honoured". Griffith University. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  9. ↑ NLA Catalogue
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