Brian Hudson, honorary doctor of the board of the teacher education
Brian Hudson grew up in St Helens in the North West of England where his father was a factory worker and his mother a nurse. He was one of the first generation in his family to go to university. He studied Engineering at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST). After university his career plans changed, and he became a secondary school teacher of mathematics teaching in comprehensive schools for fifteen years.
“In 1987 I joined Sheffield Hallam University as Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education. Whilst working I completed my PhD and submitted my thesis entitled Group Work with Multimedia in the Secondary Mathematics Classroom in 1995. I was appointed professor of Education at the university in 2001. Subsequently I joined Umeå University as professor in Educational Work for ICT and Learning in 2005. I moved to the University of Dundee in 2009 where I was Associate Dean for Research in the School of Education and Social Work. My next role in 2012 was Head of the School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sussex where I became emeritus professor of Education in 2018. I started to work with Karlstad University in 2015 where I am now a guest professor.”
Brian Hudson’s research has focused primarily on mathematics education and educational technology. He is also interested in the implications for curriculum design, teacher education and the continuing professional development of teachers.
“I hope that my research can contribute to improving the quality of education in schools and teacher education programmes. In recent years I have participated in the collective work of the Knowledge and Quality across School Subjects and Teacher Education (KOSS) network as a co-investigator. The network is co-ordinated by the ROSE group at Karlstad University and has been supported by the Swedish Research Council from 2019 to 2024. I feel deeply honoured to receive an Honorary Doctorate from Karlstad University. News of the award came as a complete surprise, and I could never have even imagined such an honour at the outset of my career.”
“In my free time I like to spend as much time as I can with my wife and our two daughters with their families including our five grandchildren. We also enjoy hill walking, cycling and we like to travel. One thing that we miss most about living in Sweden is the opportunity for winter cross country skiing on the doorstep!”