About Don Edgar
Born 1936. Don Edgar is an Australian academic.
Dr. Donald E. Edgar (born 1936) is the Foundation Director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Under his leadership the Institute had a profound influence on the Government of Australia regarding family policy, family and work, welfare policy and family law. He continues to contribute to Australian thinking in these areas through his own consulting practise and as an occasional columnist and commentator in the Australian media, particularly The Age and The Australian.
Career Edgar had been professor in sociology and education at the University of Chicago, reader (assistant professor) in Sociology at La Trobe University and adjunct professor with RMIT University's Centre for Workplace Culture Change. He has been a member of the Victorian Children's Council since 1996, and is an Ambassador for NARI, the National Ageing Research Institute.
His topics of interest include: Australian national identity in a globalised world Business partnerships and community networks Children, schools and the knowledge economy Men as fathers and managing work-family responsibilities The changing nature of community, family and work Ageing and ageing policy Edgar was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours.
Publications
Art for the Country: The story of Victoria's regional art galleries, Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2019
PEAK: Reinventing middle age, co-authored with Patricia Edgar, Text Publishing, 2017 The New Child: In search of smarter grown-ups, co-authored with Patricia Edgar, Wilkinson Publishing, 2008 War over work: the future of work and family, 2005, Melbourne University Press The Patchwork Country: Rethinking Government, Rebuilding Community, Harper Collins, 2001 Promoting the positive: family-community resourcing as a model for family services, 1999 Men, Mateship, Marriage, 1997, Harper Collins Ageing, everybody's future, 1991 Seen but not heard: eye-opening insights into the lives of young, 1989 Australian families and their children: a new and challenging audience, c1985 Possible directions for an Australian family policy, 1980 Introduction to Australian society: a sociological perspective, 1980, Prentice-Hall Possible directions for an Australian family policy, 1980 Defining rural schools disadvantage 2: collected papers on rural education, 1979 Social class differences and the structure of education, 1976 Schools Commission and rural disadvantage, 1975 Preparing teachers for change, 1975 Adolescent competence and sexual disadvantage, 1974 Competence for girls?, 1972 Examination marks: their use and interpretation, 1964, Hall's School organization and colleague relationship, nd Australia and Her Northern Neighbours, Hall's, 1962
Jointly The New Child: In search of smarter grownups, 2008, with Patricia Edgar, Wilkinson Publishing ' PEAK: Reinventing middle age', with Patricia Edgar, Text Publishing, 2017 Today's child care, tomorrow's children!, with Gay Ochiltree, c1995, AIFS Songs of innocence: a child's view of family life: a discussion paper and study guide, with Annemaree O'Brien, c1994, ACTF Family-friendly front: a review of Australian and international work and family research, with Kate Spearritt, 1994 Families in the 1990s: a challenge for future policy approaches (background paper prepared by Don Edgar and staff of the Australian Institute of Family Studies for the Social Policy Directorate), 1993 Introduction to Australian society, with Leon Earle, Rodney Fopp, c1993, Prentice-Hall Family change and early childhood development, with Gay Ochiltree, 1983, AIFS Children's participation in divorce, with Margaret Harrison, c1983, AIFS One-parent families and educational disadvantage, with Freya Headlam, c1982, AIFS Family change and early childhood development, with Gay Ochiltree, 1982, AIFS Changing face of childhood, with Gay Ochiltree, c1981, AIFS Family and the pre-school child, with Gay Ochiltree, 1980, AIFS First year out teaching with Patricia Edgar and Dave McRae, 1973 'The New Child: In search of smarter grown-ups', with Patricia Edgar, Wilkinson 2008
Editor Competent teacher, edited by Donald E. Edgar, 1974, Angus & Robertson Social change in Australia: readings in sociology, ed Don Edgar, 1974, Cheshire Sociology of Australian education: a book of readings, editor, 1975, McGraw Hill
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Important facts
People in Don Edgar's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
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Frequently asked questions
Who is Don Edgar?
Australian academic
When was Don Edgar born?
Don Edgar was born in 1936.
What is Don Edgar's occupation?
Don Edgar is an academic.
What nationality is Don Edgar?
Don Edgar is Australian.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Don Edgar. https://biography.guide/don-edgar/
MLA: "Don Edgar." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/don-edgar/.
Chicago: "Don Edgar." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/don-edgar/.
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