Profile
Biography
I am a sociologist of education with particular interests in higher education, especially access to postgraduate study; and in social inequalities. My work has included analyses of the relationship between social class (and other inequalities) and postgraduate study; evaluation of initiatives to widen postgraduate participation; investigation of the association between student finance and participation; and of institutional hierarchies and stratification.
I joined the Department in 2008, after a previous career in higher education administration.
Departmental roles
I was Head of Department from January 2018 to September 2023. I have also held various other roles in the past, including Chair of the Board of Studies, Chair of Education Ethics Committee and programme leader. I teach and supervise undergraduate and postgraduate students.
University roles
I am Dean of York Graduate Research School.
Research
Overview
My broad interests are in the sociology of education (especially higher education), social stratification and social mobility. My current research focuses on access to postgraduate study, especially social class, gender and ethnic inequalities; the background of academics; and institutional stratification in higher education. I use a range of research methods but have a particular interest in analysis of large secondary datasets and the use of administrative and transactional data for research.
Projects
I am currently working on:
- selection and recruitment practices which support equity in doctoral education as part of the Yorkshire Consortium for Equity in Doctoral Education (with Bukola Oyinloye)
- analysis of large-scale secondary data to investigate access to and outcomes from doctoral study (with Alice Dias Lopes)
Recent work has included:
Research group(s)
Grants
2022 - 2026 Yorkshire Consortium for Equity in Doctoral Education (lead for workstream on doctoral recruitment and selection; consortium PI: Kate Arnold)
2021 - 2022 BBSRC Inequalities in the Life Sciences Early Research Career (with Alice Dias Lopes)
2020 - 2021 Sutton Trust Social inequalities and access to postgraduate study (with Pep Mateos Gonzalez)
2020 - 2021 ESRC Review of the PhD in the Social Sciences (with CFE Research Ltd, York PI: Sally Hancock)
2017 - 2018 HEFCE/University of Leeds (£35,000) Evaluation of the Catalyst project Progression to, and success in postgraduate study, for students from BAME and POLAR 1 & 2 backgrounds (PI: Sally Hancock).
2016 HEFCE (£25,979) Evaluation of the Postgraduate Support Scheme 2015/16 (with Sally Hancock)
Available PhD research projects
A significant element of my own research is about widening access to postgraduate study. As such, I welcome doctoral enquiries from potential full- and part-time students from different places, backgrounds, and with different kinds of prior academic, professional and personal experiences. You can see details of my current/previous students' projects below, which gives some indication of the range of things I am interested in supervising. I usually supervise jointly with other departmental colleagues. However, please note that due to current supervision and other commitments, I am unable to consider new PhD applications for 2025 entry.
Supervision
I currently supervise six PhD students:
- Abigail Bowling (ESRC funded) - social class, structure/agency and access to the teaching profession (jointly supervised with Dr Sally Hancock)
- Rebecca Clark - education for disadvantaged students in England, comparing experiences in high and low inequality locales (jointly supervised with Dr Reva Yunus)
- Alex Kemp - (departmental scholarship funded) - access to postgraduate study for care leavers (jointly supervised with Dr Zoe Baker, University of Sheffield)
- Meiyao Lu - children of Chinese migrant workers and the gaokao (jointly supervised with Dr Daniel Kyereko)
- Alhareth Sait - internationalisation strategies in Saudi universities (jointly supervised with Dr Sally Hancock)
- Kirsty Wilding - association between family background differences and children’s educational and language development (subsidiary supervisor; main supervisor: Prof Sophie von Stumm)
I have supervised the following successfully completed PhD theses:
- Emma Howes - Key stakeholders and their perceptions of the current position and viability of independent prep schools (2014).
- Ioanna Katsikopoulou - Finding one's place in life: exploring the relation between upper secondary vocational education and social cohesion in times of economic crisis. The cases of Greece and England (2016).
- Jenn Chubb - Instrumentalism and epistemic responsibility: researchers and the impact agenda in the UK and Australia (2017).
- Maria Ana Chavana Villalobos - Staying or Leaving the Course. Students’ Experiences in Academic Elitism in Public Higher Education in Mexico (2018).
- Joyce Vuban - The influence of the Bologna Process on the harmonization of Cameroonian higher education (2018).
- Caroline Casey - University or Degree Apprenticeship? Experiences and perceptions of routes to qualification as a Solicitor in England (2020).
- Agata Lambrechts (ESRC-funded, jointly supervised with Professor Charlotte O'Brien, York Law School) The Neglected Minority: Higher Education Opportunities for Refugee Background Students in England and Poland (2020).
- Tina Baker - Time on Trowel: The demise of skills in VET under the Coalition Government (2020).
- Ella James-Brabham (ESRC-funded, lead supervisor Dr Emma Blakey, University of Sheffield) - How do Socioeconomic Attainment Gaps in Early Mathematical Ability Arise? An Exploration into the Home Environment, Executive Functions, and Verbal Ability (2022).
- Dorjee Khazi (jointly supervised with Dr Sally Hancock) - The Dynamics of Formal Leadership Practice at the Departmental Level in UK universities (2023)
- Jiqiong Sheng (jointly supervised with Dr Sally Hancock) - Students as Consumers? Chinese International Students’ Perspectives and Experiences in UK Universities (2023)
External activities
Memberships
I have previously been:
- member, Academic Advisory Panel, Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes (2019 - 2023)
- member, Graduate Access Working Group, University of Oxford (2019 - 2023)
- member of the Research England Postgraduate Research Mental Health and Wellbeing Catalyst Programme evaluation advisory group
- member of the UK Council for Graduate Education's working group on postgraduate funding and resourcing
- member of Universities UK's Social Mobility Advisory Group Academic Reference Group.
- chair of the OFFA/OfS understanding evaluation steering group
- member of the OFFA financial support project steering group
- member of the ESRC's Grant Assessment Panel 'D' for the secondary data analysis initiative (open call) 2016-2017 and before that on the equivalent special initiative panels
- trustee of the University of York Graduate Students' Association 2016 - 2017.
Consultancy
I have acted as a consultant to the Economic & Social Research Council in various capacities. I advised on staff and student demographics for their international benchmarking reviews of social science research in the UK, and compiled a report on the impact of ESRC-funded research. I have worked with RCUK, UKRI and OfS, and with the Bridge Group on projects for the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Academy of Music.
Editorial duties
Executive Editor, British Journal of Sociology of Education
I was a member of the editorial board of Sociology from 2013 - 2019.
Invited talks and conferences
I have given more than 60 invited talks on the topic of widening participation and access to postgraduate study.
