Before his role as Principal Research Scientist, David was Dean, Office of Education Research at the National Institute of Education in Singapore and Dean of the Centre for Research of Pedagogy and Practice. Before joining NIE, he was Professor of Education at the University of Tasmania in Hobart and before that at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

David has won a series of awards and honours for his work, including the AERA Outstanding Book Award, the Henry Barnard Prize and the History of Education Society Award of the History of Education Society of the United States. During his career, he has conducted research on the history of education, the political sociology of citizenship and education, the social and political economy of education, the organization of knowledge and curriculum theory, pedagogical theory, instructional practice, assessment, teacher education, school leadership and organisational change. He has worked closely with ministries of education in Australia and Singapore on improving teaching and learning in those countries. He is currently directing a large national project on teaching and learning in Singapore schools.