Full Profile
Dennis Shirley is the inaugural Florencia and Marc Gabelli Family Faculty Fellow and Professor of Formative Education at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College. Dennis dedicates his life to the improvement of teaching and learning for students so that they may flourish wherever they may be. His research focuses on the frequency of conflict between the ideals of educators and the realities of power and politics. A charismatic presenter, Dennis has conducted research and led professional development workshops for school leaders in six continents and his work has been translated into many languages. Most recently, he has led a research team in studying educational innovations in Seoul, South Korea, along with his Lynch School colleagues Professor Deoksoon Kim and Dean Stanton Wortham.
With co-author Andy Hargreaves, Dennis has completed three new books. The first is entitled Five Paths of Student Engagement: Blazing New Trails to Learning and Success. It illustrates the ways in which educators are helping students to engage with demanding curricula and are doing so with joy and panache. A second book is on Well-being in Schools: Three Forces that will Uplift Your Students in a Volatile World. The third book is entitled The Age of Identity: Who Do Our Kids Think They Are … and How Can We Help Them Belong? All three of the books show educators how they can translate ill-defined problem sets into winnable goals that can be attained with persistence, creativity, and dignity.
Publications
- Five Paths of Student Engagement: Blazing New Trails to Learning and Success
- Well-being in Schools: Three Forces that will Uplift Your Students in a Volatile World
- The Age of Identity: Who Do Our Kids Think They Are
