Senior lecturer in the professional development of educators at the Faculty of Education, University of Malta. He coordinates the Master’s programme in Educational Leadership and Management and supports schools in the design and implementation of professional development programmes. James also leads the Collaborative Lesson Study Malta (CLeStuM) programme (www.clestum.eu) and serves as a council member of the World Association of Lesson Studies and a fellow of the International Society for Design and Development in Education.
His main research interests include teacher professional development, mathematics education, inquiry-based learning, school improvement, and lesson study, and he has presented and published his research both locally and internationally. In recognition of his scholarly contribution, he was the Emerald Literati Winner 2022 for Outstanding Reviewer and received the Janet Duffin Award 2024 for the most outstanding paper contribution to the Research in Mathematics Education journal. In 2026, Dr Calleja was awarded a UNESCO Chair in Teacher Professional Development using Lesson Study.

CLESTUM (2017 - to-date): Initiator, designer and leader of Lesson Study in Malta
through the "Collaborative Lesson Study Malta" (CLeStuM) project. Housed by the Faculty
of Education, CLeStuM supports teachers and schools in engaging in lesson study as a
continuing professional development model. The CLeStuM website was launched in 2019
(see www.clestum.eu).

LS4VET (2020-2023): Leader of the University of Malta project team on the EU-funded
Erasmus+ research project "Teachers' Collaboration through Lesson Study for Improving
the Quality of Vocational Education and Training" (LS4VET)

SALIENT2 (2020-2022): Leader of the Schools for "Access to Learning, Inclusion and
Equity Networking Together" (SALIENT2) - a Faculty of Education outreach project that
aims towards supporting primary state and non-state schools in developing communities
to sustain teacher professional learning and development.

C2L (2020): Initiator and coordinator of the "Connect to Learning" (C2L) webinar series
for educators offered as an outreach initiative in response to Covid-19 (see
wwww.lovetoteach.info/educators-webinars).

ISNITE (2019): A member of the organising committee of the 6th International Symposium
on New Issues in Teacher Education (ISNITE 2019) held at the Valletta Campus,
University of Malta, 16-18 September 2019.

MaSDiV (2017-2019): A member of the University of Malta project team on the "Supporting
Mathematics and Science Teachers in addressing Diversity and promoting fundamental
Values" (MaSDiV) - a ERASMUS+ Key Action 3 project. This project involved the design,
implementation and evaluation of a continuing professional development project for
teachers of mathematics and science.

Website designer:
'Invest in Math Sense' website - https://investinmathsense.wordpress.com
'Teaching Mathematics through Inquiry' website - http://iblmaths.com
'Collaborative Lesson Study Malta' website - www.clestum.eu

Coordinator:
Master of Arts in Educational Leadership and Management
Postgraduate Certificate in Developing the Educator
Lesson Study initiatives as professional development in local schools

Fellow:
International Society for Design and Development in Education (ISDDE)
Centre for Mentoring, Coaching and Professional Learning (CollectivED)

Member:
International Centre for STEM Education (ICSE)

Council Member:
The World Association of Lesson Studies (WALS)