Dr Tim McDonald joined the Catholic Education Office as assistant director, people and organisational services in May 2011 before being appointed executive director in 2012. He is also deputy chair of the Catholic Education Commission, the governing arm of the Catholic Education Office. As its executive director, he is responsible for 163 schools, more than 73000 students and over 10000 employees. Prior to that, Dr McDonald was an associate professor at Edith Cowan University (ECU) teaching classroom management and instructional skills. His career spans all aspects of education including program director of secondary education at ECU, classroom teacher, year coordinator, head of department, and deputy principal. He has worked with both primary and secondary aged students in Australia and the United Kingdom. Dr McDonald's research is in the area of student engagement and managing challenging behaviours. He authored the book titled Classroom Management : Engaging Students In Learning.
