 Peel's interest in student transition to university education led to a report in the federal government's Higher Education Series in 1999 and a research project on school-leavers' experiences of university teaching.Peel has also contributed to debates about history teaching and curriculum, especially through his paper "The Essentials of Australian History", which formed part of the 1999 National Inquiry into School History, through his work as an advisor on Australian history to the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority and through two surveys on university curricula and teaching for the Australian Historical Association.In 2008, the Australian Learning and Teaching Council awarded him one of its Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, for "sustained contributions to the imaginative teaching of history, and to the transition, progress and welfare of students in his own and other universities".