Expertise
My research focuses on the history and sociology of education, and I am perhaps best known for my work on youth unemployment, especially the lives of young people categorised as NEET or likely to become NEET (not in education, employment or training). My most recent work focuses on education, work and social change in Britain's former coalfield communities, especially the consequences of de-industrialisation for young people living in such locales.
I have been involved as principal investigator and co-investigator in research projects funded by bodies including the Leverhulme Trust, the Society for Educational Studies, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and the Raymond Williams Foundation. My research is published in world-leading journals and I am the author or co-author of five books, the latest of which was published by Palgrave in 2022. I have acted as a referee for funding bodies in the UK, Europe and South America and examined over thirty theses at universities in Britain and overseas.