 Holding the post from 1850 to 1853, he was an energetic reformer of school design, teacher education and curriculum.Influenced by the American educator Henry Barnard, Dawson published a pamphlet titled, "School Architecture; abridged from Barnard's School Architecture" in 1850.One of the many schools built to his design, the Mount Hanley Schoolhouse still survives today, including the "Dawson Desks" named after him.