Faculty Directory

Pat McQuillan has studied the education of middle schoolers, high schoolers, and educators themselves for decades. His expertise includes education reform, urban school leadership, complexity theory, qualitative research, methods for teaching history, and education that emphasizes social justice and wellbeing.

McQuillan earned a doctorate in Cultural Anthropology from Brown University and completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Wesleyan University. He has authored dozens of publications, including recent studies on using Twitter in the classroom. He is currently following the work of four principals from the Lynch Leadership Academy and assessing their performance through the lens of complexity theory.

Wherever he works with educators—at Boston College and other institutions—McQuillan uses his passion for curriculum and evaluation to improve learning and teaching and to cultivate lives of meaning and purpose. One example: the action research he conducted at Manual High School in Denver, where he helped faculty and administrators revamp instruction, assessment, and site-based management.