Professor Andy Hargreaves, renowned for his work on educational reform, has announced he is retiring from Boston College “but not from work”.

Professor Hargreaves, who is a professor in the Lynch School of Education at the US university, is known for his support for greater autonomy for teachers and concerns about the impact of high-stakes testing.

He has served as an adviser in education to the premier of Ontario and is on Scotland’s International Council of Education Advisers, which recently told the Scottish government that it should pay more attention to the pedagogy in Scotland’s schools and ensure a culture of collaboration.

His books include: The Fourth Way, co-authored with Dennis Shirley, which sets out a way of educational change that integrates government, professionals and community; Teaching in the Knowledge Society, which examines how to prepare young people for a world of creativity and What’s Worth Fighting for in Your School, about how to make collaboration work for change, which was co-authored with Michael Fullan.

“I’m very grateful to Boston College for its enormous support and flexibility, particularly in regard to the university’s faith that my somewhat ‘fuzzy’ initial project proposals would actually become something significant. It’s time, however, to step aside for generational equity, to make space for others,” he says in a statement published on the Boston College website.

Good wishes have from fellow academics such as Finnish education expert Pasi Sahlberg and Canadian educationalist Michael Fullan.

Professor Hargreaves said he will be moving to Ottawa to be closer to his family. 

He has 29,000 followers on Twitter, but jokes that the most popular tweet he has posted is the announcement of his retirement.

“Andy brought substantial recognition to the Lynch School because of his path-breaking work around the world,” said Stanton Wortham, the dean of the Lynch School of Education, at Boston College.

“He has an extraordinary reach and name recognition internationally in educational leadership and policy circles. He has been generous with the school, colleagues and students in using his networks to facilitate our work. I’m very grateful for his creative, insightful contributions to the field and within the school.”

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