Gary is best known for his work in the history of education. His recent books for Routledge have developed this work a stage further to build explicit connections between an understanding of history and all areas of education. Documentary Research in Education, History and the Social Sciences shows how the methods of documentary research, the staple research tool of history, are both undergoing fundamental changes in the early years of the twenty-first century and can be more widely used and valued in education and the social sciences. Social Change in the History of British Education (jointly edited with Joyce Goodman and William Richardson) demonstrates the extent to which education has contributed historically to social change, how it in turn has been moulded by society, and the needs and opportunities that remain for further research in this area. The RoutledgeFalmer Reader in the History of Education provides a historical understanding of modern and contemporary institutions and issues.

The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Education, published in March 2008 (edited with David Crook), develops this ambitious publishing project still further through authoritative and critical commentary on historical and contemporary themes, examinations of continuities, changes and emerging issues, and discussions of the educational traditions and features of major countries and continents. It constitutes a unique and major resource for the field of education. It is a comprehensive, single-volume work, arranged alphabetically and comprising around 600 entries. Offering insight into the world of education in an interesting, informed and sometimes provocative way, The Routledge International Encyclopedia of Education is an invaluable work of reference for educators, students, researchers and policy makers in education and related fields internationally.

Gary’s other historical publications include The Death of the Comprehensive High School? Historical, Contemporary and Comparative Perspectives (edited with Barry Franklin, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007), Cyril Norwood and the Ideal of Secondary Education (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007), History, Politics and Policy-Making in Education: A Festschrift for Richard Aldrich (edited with David Crook, Institute of Education, 2007), and Historical Research in Educational Settings (with William Richardson, Open University Press, 2000), as well as several books and many articles on aspects of the history of secondary education, the curriculum and teachers.

Gary was appointed to the Institute of Education, University of London, in 2003 as its inaugural Brian Simon professor of the history of education. He is the former president of the History of Education Society and a former editor of the leading international Routledge journal History of Education. He is series editor (with Barry Franklin of Utah State University) of the Palgrave Macmillan book series ‘Secondary education in a changing world’. He is a member of the editorial boards of several journals including History of Education, History of Education Quarterly, Journal of Educational Administration and History, History of Education Review, History of Education and Children’s Literature, and Paedagogica Historica. He is currently also Assistant Director (Research, Consultancy and Knowledge Transfer) at the Institute of Education London, and has been a member of the Research Assessment Exercise panel for Education in the United Kingdom in 1996, 2001 and 2008.