Robert Klassen

Professor of Education | Harris Manchester College

About me

Robert (Rob) Klassen joined the University of Oxford as Professor of Education in November 2023.  He leads the research hub ReNEW: Research Network for the Education Workforce.

Rob was previously at the University of York, where he worked from 2012 as Professor and Chair of the Psychology in Education Research Centre. Before coming to the UK, Rob was Assistant, Associate, and Full Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta (2004-2012). Before entering academia he worked as an educational psychologist and high school teacher in his hometown of Vancouver. 

Rob’s primary research interests are in building an understanding of teacher motivation and development across the career span and across countries. His current work aims to develop and test theory-informed technological interventions related to teacher and school leader recruitment, selection, and development.  

Rob has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, chapters, and books. Recent projects have been funded by the ESRC, the ERC, GIZ, and the World Bank, with recent projects in the UK, Australia, Africa (Morocco, Kenya, South Africa), and Europe. He has served as advisor to education ministries in England, Africa, Australia, Europe, and South America. In 2023 he founded the spinout company, TSP, in collaboration with the University of York. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and the American Psychological Association, and has served on editorial boards for the British Journal of Educational Psychology, the Journal of Educational Psychology, and the Oxford Review of Education.
 

Representative research includes: 

On teacher recruitment: Klassen, R. M., Rushby, J. V., & Wang, H. (2023). Can an online scenario-based learning activity influence preservice teachers’ self-efficacy, person-vocation fit, and career intentions? Computers and Education, 207, 104935. 

On teacher retention: Wang, H., & Klassen, R. M. (2023). Longitudinal relations between teachers’ utility values and quitting intentions. Teaching and Teacher Education, 127, 104109.

On teacher selection: Klassen, R. M., & Kim, L. E. (2021). Teacher selection: Evidence-based practices. Springer, ISBN 978-3-030-76186-8.

Research

Books

Book chapters

Conference papers

Journal articles

Subjects Taught

  • Motivation and Emotions in Education

Doctoral Applications

Rob welcomes doctoral applications from students interested in the following research areas:  

  • Education workforce supply issues, especially related to teacher and school leader recruitment, selection, and retention 
  • Development and testing of new technologies associated with teacher and school leader recruitment and selection, including classroom simulations, gamification, and artificial intelligence used in the service of teacher recruitment and development 
  • Motivation of teachers and school leaders, especially from a social cognitive perspective 

Funded Research Projects

AI-generated feedback for teacher recruitment and development.
Project Lead. Collaborative Data Project, UKRI Science and Technology Facilities Council, Hartree Centre North East Hub: Amount: £30,460.
2023-2024
Rethinking teacher recruitment: New approaches to attracting prospective STEM teachers.
Principal Investigator. UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Amount: £795,000
2022-2025
Understanding the roots of teacher turnover: A transactional model.
Collaborator. Hong Kong Research Grants Council. PI: Hui Wang, Education University of Hong Kong. Amount: HK$: 750,638.
2023-2025
Student selection and competence development in the continuum of preservice and inservice teacher education (SITE).
International Collaborator. Academy of Finland. Principal Investigator: Dr Riitta-Leena Metsäpelto, University of Jyväskylä. Amount: €559, 315.
2021-2024
Developing a model of teacher competence.
Co-Investigator. EARLI Centre for Excellence grant. PI Mareike Kunter Amount: €10,000.
2021-2025