Interview with Professor Rob Klassen

Why did I join the Department?

I was a Professor of Education Psychology at the University of Alberta in Canada. I came to York in 2012 and now I am the Chair of the Psychology in Education Research Centre. I also work with the new Psychology in Education BSC undergraduate programme as well as working with the postgraduate students.

What makes the Department special?

I think that the Department of Education is very good at keeping a finger on the pulse of what is happening in education in this country. People are really engaged in policies, and changes at a national level and how things are developing. There is a real diversity of research interests with strengths in a lot of different research areas. The Department has a very collegial atmosphere, people get along well and there are lots of partnerships and collaborations.

I think it is important to cast a critical eye on what is happening in education both in this country and internationally. I think that the Department of Education at York is very well balanced; in my experience it is unusually to find a department that does undergraduate education really well but also to have such a strong research presence.

What does the future hold?

I hope that the Department’s research continues to make a visible impact in conversations about education. I like the increasing internationalisation of the Department and how it is involved in issues from outside the UK. I am interested in education around the world and I think that York reflects and supports that. I think that the Department of Education also liaises with other academic disciplines. This is something that I have noticed grow over the last few years and is something I hope to see more of in the Department.

I think that we have very good relationships with other universities in this region, around the country and internationally. I hope we continue to build relationships with other universities, particularly in Europe. There is some really interesting research happening in Germany and Belgium in my field of psychology in education and I hope that we are able to get involved with this.