Paul W. Bennett

Expert Overview

Paul W. Bennett, Ed.D., is a leading Canadian policy researcher, education professor, and the author of ten books, including The State of the System: A Reality Check on Canada’s Schools (2020). Since founding Schoolhouse Consulting and its research arm Schoolhouse Institute in Halifax in September 2009, Dr. Bennett has roamed at large in K-12 education raising and analyzing critical education issues across Canada. Since 2011, he has been an Adjunct Professor of Education at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, NS. Active in the Canadian History of Education Association (CHEA), since the late 1980s, Paul has written and published many academic articles and now serves on the board of the Canadian Association for Foundations in Education (CAFE), a branch of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE).

He’s produced more than a dozen policy research studies for think tanks, including the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (2010-21), Norther Policy Institute (2013-17), IRPP Policy Studies, and Cardus Foundation. Since founding researchED Canada in November 2017, he has served as Chair and National Coordinator for the UK-based, classroom-focused educational research organization. From his perch at Schoolhouse, Paul provides regular expert commentary on radio and television -- and produces education commentaries appearing in The Hub Canada, The National Post and The Globe and Mail and many Post-Media papers.

Our senior fellow, Paul W Bennett, knows North American K-12 inside out, drawing upon an extensive professional career where he won accolades for teaching high school history, wrote Canadian history textbooks, served as an elected school trustee, and headed two of Canada’s leading independent schools, Lower Canada College (Montreal, QC) and Halifax Grammar School (Halifax, NS). As an Adjunct Professor at Saint Mary’s University, Paul teaches graduate education courses, specializing in comparative analysis of school systems and education reform in Canada and the United States. Dr. Bennett's blog, Educhatter, was recognized as the top Education Blog in Canada in 2018 and 2022. He is currently Chair of researchED Canada and Education Columnist for Brunswick News, now a division of Post Media. Dr. Bennett's blog, Educhatter, was recognized as the top Education Blog in Canada in 2018 and 2022.

Since 2022, Paul has been producing social policy research reports for MLI, including the widely-read report, Weapons of Mass Instruction: Curbing Social Media Addiction and Reclaiming the Smartphone Generation (June 2024).