Professor Neil Harrison

I am a researcher and educator specialising in social justice, inequalities and education policy.  My work primarily focuses on issues around access to education, especially for learners who are disadvantaged or marginalised in society. This includes topics such as decision-making processes, outreach programmes, financial support, alternative qualification routes and the factors underpinning student success. 

More recently, my research has particularly focused on educational outcomes for care-experienced learners, receiving funding from the Nuffield Foundation, the KPMG Foundation and the British Academy.  I have also researched around the engagement of students in internationalised universities, as well as having interests in pedagogy, epistemology, ‘expertise’ and doctoral education.

I am currently working on three research and impact projects:

• Education pathways for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (Nuffield Foundation, Principal Investigator)
• Developing a reflective audit tool to support the effectiveness of Virtual Schools for young people in the children’s social care system (ESRC Impact Accelerator Account, Project Lead)
• Understanding school and classroom climate and its impact on pupil outcomes (Education Endowment Foundation, Co-Investigator)

Originally trained as an applied statistician, I now take a mixed methods and interdisciplinary approach drawing on concepts and methodologies from sociology, psychology, economics and social policy to inform my research, which broadly fits within the critical realist tradition.

Since September 2022, I have served as the Director of Research and Impact for the School of Education and I am also the lead for UoA23 (Education) for REF2029.

Qualifications:

• DPhil Education (by publication) - University of the West of England
• MA Education (by research) - University of Warwick
• BSc (Hons) Management Science with Computing - University of Kent

Career:

• University of Exeter - 2022 to present
• University of Oxford - 2018 to 2022
• University of the West of England - 2000 to 2018
• University of Kent - 1994 to 1999