Cambridge University Press & Assessment Australia, is very proud to share that Dr Brian Hoepper, lead author of Senior Modern History for Queensland, was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2024 Australia Day Honours List for his outstanding contribution to education.

Dr Brian Hoepper is widely regarded as one of Australia’s leading lights in History education and his influence on the teaching of History and Social Sciences throughout the nation has been profound. For decades he has helped shape and inspire the thinking and classroom practice of thousands of pre-service and practising teachers by virtue of: pioneering a new way of teaching history; helping shape curriculum at a state and national level; his presentations at regional, state, national and international conferences, workshops and teacher meetings; his writing of numerous texts and journal articles; the significant role he played in the National History Project and the National Centre for History Education; his design and leadership of many professional development projects created specifically for History teachers; and his involvement in QHTA in a range of capacities - voluntary Executive member, newsletter and journal editor, President, Life Member and currently as Patron.

All who know Brian are aware of the extraordinary person and educator he is and how outstanding his contribution has been to the teaching and learning of History and the Social Sciences. The following views are representative of the opinions held by the members of QHTA and many others.

"Dr Brian Hoepper is an outstanding contributor in the field of education and specifically History education. In today’s complex and often dangerous world, Dr Hoepper provides a significant contribution to making our world safer; he educates young people and their teachers about the past so that mistakes might not be repeated and empowers them to become critical and civic-minded thinkers. His presentations to young people lead them to making their own decisions about from History in the context of current events and issues, that might still threaten peace and security in our fragile world. He does not preach answers but provides a more powerful influence - leading young people to ask questions, inquire critically, seek evidence and balance viewpoints so that they may decide for themselves how to identify: right from wrong; peace from aggression; positive results from dictatorial outcomes; freedom from servitude. Dr Hoepper has been an outstanding colleague, a ‘teacher of teachers’, Patron, leader and friend of the Queensland History Teachers’ Association for more than 40 years."

Pip Macdonald, QHTA President; Head of Humanities, Coomera Anglican College, and Sandra Kenman, QHTA Executive Office

"Brian Hoepper is a teachers’ teacher. He has had a profound and ongoing impact on the teaching of History throughout Queensland and Australia for over forty years. Brian pioneered a new way of teaching history through the many history textbooks that he devised and designed. In these textbooks he modelled for History teachers the inquiry process, which requires students to actively and meaningfully participate in the learning. Each inquiry is directed by a key question and through an approach Brian later described as a ‘discovery narrative’, students and their teachers embarked on an investigation, rich with primary and secondary sources interwoven together by a coherent narrative. In these textbooks, students are challenged to think, to make decisions, grapple with values and argue a position using evidence. These textbooks equip students with the tools to understand the world around them, engage with it and ultimately change it for the better. In addition to textbook writing, Brian has supported the professional development of History teachers over the decades through the many erudite papers he has written in History teachers’ journals and his many presentations at History Conferences – both state and national. These presentations are in high demand and always booked out. My practice as a teacher of History and a curriculum leader have greatly benefited from Brian’s articles and presentations. Through his outstanding achievement and exceptional service, Brian Hoepper has made an extraordinary contribution to the teaching of History in Queensland and Australia, and therefore deserving of an Order of Australia award."

Julie Hennessey, Head of History, Brisbane Girls Grammar School; QHTA Management Committee Member

Brian is recognised by all who know him as a keenly intelligent, generous, passionate and inspirational teacher, thinker, academic, historian, writer, committee member, and leader. No-one in Queensland has had a greater impact on the teaching and learning of History.