Dr Max Richard Ashton

(he/him)

BSc, MSc, PhD

Overview

I am an early-career mixed-methods researcher, based in the DECIPHer Centre within Cardiff University's School of Social Sciences.

I have a long history as a student at Cardiff University (BSc Human and Social Sciences, MSc Social Science Research Methods, PhD) which began in 2016. My academic background incorporates critical social Psychology and Education, with a specific research focus on school-based relationships and sexuality education (RSE). My PhD research incorporated diverse qualitative methods within a novel ‘post-qualitative’ theoretical approach, to explore Welsh teachers’ and pupils’ experiences of RSE provision during the rollout of the national Curriculum for Wales.

My research interests include gender and sexuality, theorising complexity within organisations, and exploring the processes by which policy is translated into practice in educational institutions.

I currently occupy two part-time roles within the School of Social Sciences. I work as a Research Assistant within DECIPHer supporting grant capture, publications, and public involvement within research across the Centre. I also work as a Research Associate on the 'Children and Young People' theme of Datamind, a project working to improve access to mental health data and improve mental health research across the UK.