Nina Hood

Dr Nina Hood MNZM is a New Zealand educator, academic, social entrepreneur, and policy adviser. She is the founder of The Education Hub, an independent non-profit organisation that supports research-informed education practice. She is also the Academic Director of The Teachers’ Institute and has worked in curriculum development, charter school policy, and teacher education strategy for the New Zealand Ministry of Education.

Hood attended St Cuthbert's College, Auckland, where she was the director for the student company Zenith. The company won the 2001 Young Enterprise Scheme Supreme Award as they invented, manufactured, marketed and sold a word game similar to Scrabble called Take Two.^[1]

She completed a Bachelor’s degree in Art History, Criticism and Conservation at the Courtauld Institute of Art (2004–2007), followed by a Master’s in Art History from New York University (2007–2009). She earned a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching from the University of Auckland (2009).^[2]

Hood later completed a Master of Science in Education (Learning and Technology, 2011–2012) and a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in Education (2012–2015) at the University of Oxford.^[3]

From 2015 to 2023, Hood was a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland.^[4] Her research focuses on knowledge mobilisation, evidence-informed teaching, and the science of learning.

In 2017, she founded The Education Hub, a non-profit that connects educators with accessible, research-based resources.^[5] She also co-founded and serves as the Academic Director of The Teachers’ Institute, a school-based teacher education program.^[6]

She served as Editor of ACCESS: Contemporary Issues in Education from 2020 to 2021, overseeing its relaunch.^[7][8]

Hood has worked with the Ministry of Education (New Zealand) on curriculum reform, teacher education, and the design and oversight of charter schools (Kura Hourua).^[9]

She is also a Research Fellow at Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures.^[10]

Hood is also a frequent media commentator on education in New Zealand, especially on literacy policy, NCEA standards and reforms, and curriculum design. She has appeared on platforms such as RNZ, The Platform, and Newstalk ZB.^[11][12][13]

Hood was appointed to the International Ministerial Advisory Panel on Curriculum and Assessment by the Department of Education in Northern Ireland.^[14] She delivered the keynote Sustaining Continual Educational Improvement at the TransformED School Leaders’ Conference.^[15]

From 2015 to 2021, Hood served on the Board of Trustees of St Cuthbert's College, Auckland.^[16] She is currently a parent representative on the Board of Trustees at Kadimah School, a Jewish state-integrated primary school in Auckland.^[17]

• Littlejohn, Allison & Hood, Nina. *Reconceptualising Learning in the Digital Age: The [Un]democratising Potential of MOOCs*. SpringerBriefs in Education, 2018.^[18]

• Hood, Nina & Littlejohn, Allison. “MOOC Quality: The Need for New Measures.”^[19]
• Hood, Nina & Tesar, Marek. “Constructed Patriotism: Shifting (Re)Presentations and Performances of Patriotism Through Curriculum Materials.” *Occasional Paper Series*, 2018.^[20]

Her full research record is listed on Google Scholar.

Nina Hood is the daughter of Dr Ann Hood and Sir John Hood, a New Zealand businessman and former Vice-Chancellor of both the University of Auckland and the University of Oxford. She is also the granddaughter of Dorothy Winstone, a leading New Zealand educator and women's rights advocate.^[21][22]

Her sister, Dr Anna Hood, is a human rights lawyer and Associate Professor of Law at the University of Auckland.^[23]

She is partnered with Professor Marek Tesar, Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. They have two sons, William James and George Alexander.^[24]

In 2025, Hood was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to education.^[25]

The same year, Hood was selected in the Humanitarian category of the University of Auckland's "40 Under 40" awards.^[26]

• Education in New Zealand
• Knowledge mobilisation
• Literacy in Aotearoa