Dr Tony Townsend is the Associate Dean (Development) and is responsible for professional development and international collaboration in the Faculty of Education at Monash University. Previously he has been the Director of the South Pacific Center for School and Community Development (1987-1997) and Campus Coordinator at the Faculty’s Peninsula campus (2000).

Tony has been involved in leadership positions of a number of international organizations, including the International Community Education Association, where he was the Pacific Region’s Regional Director from 1987-1996; the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement, where he has been a member of the International Board since 1994 and was President from 1999-2001; and the International Council on Education for Teaching, where he has been a member of the International Board since 2000 and is currently the Vice-President for the Asia-Pacific region. He is also an accredited reviewer of schools for the Victorian Education Department.

Tony has published numerous books, articles and conference papers, that cover a broad spectrum of educational discussions. He has written material on educational policy and leadership that consider issues at the systemic level, from a global perspective (Third Millennium Schools: A world of difference in effectiveness and improvement, Swets & Zeitlinger, 1999); from a regional perspective (Educational Change and Development in the Asia-Pacific Region: Challenges for the Future, Swets & Zeitlinger, 2000, with Y.C. Cheng); and in more general terms (Education and Quality: Issues for Tomorrow’s Schools, Routledge, 1997). He has written material that considers school effectiveness and improvement policies at the school community level (Effective Schooling for the Community: Core Plus Education, Routledge, 1994); those that directly affect schools (The Primary School in Changing Times: The Australian Experience, Routledge, 1998) and those that impact on the practice of principals (Community and Parent Support for Schools, University of the South Pacific, 1998, with Henry Elder) and teachers (The Global Classroom: Activities for engaging students in third millennium schools, Hawker Brownlow, 1999, with George Otero).

He is a widely acclaimed and well respected presenter and has presented keynote addresses, papers and workshops in over 30 countries. In the last two years he has presented in Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and Canberra within Australia and also in the USA, Canada, England, Scotland, Hong Kong, Denmark, Namibia, Chile and Taiwan. Most of the presentations focus on leadership, student engagement, educational change and planning.