Overview
I am Emeritus Professor of Sociology of Education. I retired from Cardiff University at the end of September 2024. Career highlights include:
- Fellow of the Britsh Academy, the Academy of Social Sciences and the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce
- Chair of BERA-commissioned expert panel on Education Research Funding (2024-5)
- Chair of international Education Sciences panel on research unit quality for Portuguese Ministry (2024-5)
- Chair of UK 2021 Research Excellence Framework Sub-Panel 23 (Education)
- 2014-2023 Chair of the Executive Editors, British Journal of Sociology of Education
- Awarded the Learned Society of Wales Hugh Owen Medal 2022 for outstanding educational research. See https://www.learnedsociety.wales/lsws-six-new-medallists-give-insight-into-wales-exciting-research-culture/
- Founding Director of the ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Partnership, from 2011 to 2019 (a consortium led by Cardiff University which also included the universities of Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff Metropolitan, Gloucestershire and Swansea - www.walesdtp.ac.uk).
My research interests encompass governance, teaching, learning, assessment, lifelong learning and the education-work relationship across a range of settings, with a particular focus on the connections between educational processes and social inequalities. I am interested in the extent to which educational policy shapes these things, and also in methodological and theoretical questions about how they may best be approached and understood. I have published widely on these topics for academic, policy and practitioner audiences.
Publication
2024
- James, D. 2024. Human-centric lifelong learning for an era of digital transformation. Working paper. Singapore: Inst Adult Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences. Available at: https://digitalfuturesofwork.com/our_publications/working-paper-10-human-centric-lifelong-learning-for-an-era-of-digital-transformation/
2023
- James, D., Garner, S. and Husband, G. 2023. Understanding practices of UK college governing: Rethinking strategy and accountability. Educational Management Administration and Leadership 51(6), pp. 1422-1439. (10.1177/17411432211053691)
- James, D. 2023. Foreword. In: BERA, . ed. Education: The state of the discipline - High Impact Educational Research. London: British Educational Research Association, pp. 6-8.
- James, D. 2023. The Research Excellence Framework as a resource for the field. Research Intelligence 154, pp. 18-19.
2022
- James, D., Sadik, S. and Brown, P. 2022. Rethinking lifelong learning in the "Fourth Industrial Revolution". In: Evans, K. et al. eds. Third International Handbook of Lifelong Learning. Springer International Handbooks of Education Cham, Switzerland: Springer, pp. 1-20., (10.1007/978-3-030-67930-9_49-1)
- Morgan, A., Milton, E., James, D., Kneen, J., Clement, J., Bryant, A. and Beauchamp, G. 2022. Pandemic-related assessment experiences and innovations: implications for initial teacher education. Welsh Government.
2021
- James, D., Sadik, S. and Brown, P. 2021. Rethinking lifelong learning in the 'fourth industrial revolution'. Working paper. Singapore: Inst of Adult Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences. Available at: https://digitalfuturesofwork.com/our_publications/wp05/
- Bathmaker, A. et al. 2021. Processes and practices of governing in colleges of further education in the UK: uncovering the complexities of governing. University of Stirling.
2020
- James, D. 2020. 40th anniversary special issue: the current and future shape of the sociology of education. British Journal of Sociology of Education 41(6), pp. 757-767. (10.1080/01425692.2020.1801222 .)
- Mills, D. and James, D. 2020. Reconceptualising organisational collaborations in social science doctoral education. Higher Education 79, pp. 791-809. (10.1007/s10734-019-00438-9)
- Brown, P. and James, D. 2020. Educational expansion, poverty reduction and social mobility: reframing the debate. International Journal of Educational Research 100, article number: 101537. (10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101537)
- James, D. 2020. Is lifelong learning still useful? Disappointments and prospects for rediscovery. Journal of Education and Work 33(7-8), pp. 522-532. (10.1080/13639080.2020.1852509)
2019
- James, D. 2019. Learning in and learning from FE and skills policy in wales: a relational approach. Journal of Education and Work 32(3), pp. 251-265. (10.1080/13639080.2019.1624697)
- Hodgson, A., Spours, K., Gallacher, J., Irwin, T. and James, D. 2019. FE and skills - is the 'UK laboratory' open for expansive policy learning?. Journal of Education and Work 32(3), pp. 277-291. (10.1080/13639080.2019.1621272)
2018
- Hodgson, A., Spours, K., Waring, M., Gallacher, J., Irwin, T. and James, D. 2018. FE and skills across the four countries of the UK. Project Report. [Online]. London: The Edge Foundation/UCL. Available at: https://www.edge.co.uk/sites/default/files/documents/fe_and_skills_across_the_four_countries_of_the_uk_final.pdf
- James, D. 2018. Learning cultures, reflexivity and creative subversion. In: Matthews, C., Edgington, U. and Channon, A. eds. Teaching With Sociological Imagination in Higher and Further Education. Springer, pp. 39-53.
- James, D. 2018. Social class, participation, and the marketised university. In: Waller, R., Ingram, N. and Ward, M. R. eds. Higher Education and Social Inequalities. Sociological Futures Abingdon and New York: Routledge, pp. 231-242.
2017
- Rintoul, J. and James, D. 2017. ‘That tricky subject’: the integration of contextual studies in pre-degree art and design education. International Journal of Art and Design Education 36(2), pp. 215-225. (10.1111/jade.12077)
- James, D. 2017. Professional identity, learning cultures and educational quality: some lessons from Further Education. Wales Journal of Education 19(1), pp. 107-124. (10.16922/wje.19.1.6)
- James, D. 2017. Knowing your place? The urban as an educational resource. In: Pink, W. T. and Noblit, G. eds. Second International Handbook of Urban Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education Berlin: Springer, pp. 1041–1058., (10.1007/978-3-319-40317-5_56)
- James, D. 2017. Key FE and skills developments in Wales. Discussion Paper. London: UCL Institute of Education. Available at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/departments-centres/centres/centre-for-post14-education-and-work/projects/fe-skills-four-countries-uk/pdf/key-fe-skills-developments-wales
2016
- James, D. and Unwin, L. 2016. Fostering high quality vocational further education in Wales. Project Report. [Online]. Cardiff: Public Policy Institute for Wales. Available at: http://ppiw.org.uk/files/2016/01/PPIW-Report-Fostering-High-Quality-Further-Education-in-Wales.pdf
- James, D. 2016. Lernkulturen- eine dynamische Sicht auf professionelle Praxis und Identität? [Learning cultures and a dynamic view of professional practice and identity]. Berliner Debatte Initial 27(1), pp. 1-9.
2015
- Harrison, N., James, D. and Last, K. 2015. Don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it's gone? Skills-led qualifications, secondary school attainment and policy choices. Research Papers in Education 30(5), pp. 568-608. (10.1080/02671522.2014.1002526)
- James, D. 2015. How Bourdieu bites back: recognising misrecognition in education and educational research. Cambridge Journal of Education 45(1), pp. 97-112. (10.1080/0305764X.2014.987644)
2014
- Coffey, A. J. and James, D. eds. 2014. Masculinity and education. London: Routledge.
- James, D. 2014. Identities of, in, and through higher education. British Journal of Sociology of Education 35(2), pp. 316-327. (10.1080/01425692.2014.881056)
2013
- James, D. 2013. Investigating the curriculum through assessment practice in higher education: the value of a 'learning cultures' approach. Higher Education n/a (10.1007/s10734-013-9652-6)
- James, D. 2013. Educational research in Estonia. Project Report. [Online]. Estonia: Ministry of Education, Estonia. Available at: http://www.etag.ee/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Evaluation_report2013_1.pdf
2012
- James, D. 2012. The RSA area based curriculum in Peterborough: an independent evaluation. London: RSA. Available at: https://www.thersa.org/globalassets/pdfs/reports/rsa_abc_peterborough_independent_evaluation.pdf
2011
- Ritchie, R., James, D., Reed, L. R., Sutherland, R. and Keith-Miller, G. 2011. The development of enhanced university partnerships with schools in Bristol. HEFCE, Bristol.
- James, D. 2011. Beginning with Bourdieu in educational research. Discussion Paper. London: British Educational Research Association (BERA). Available at: http://www.bera.ac.uk/resources/beginning-bourdieu-educational-research
- James, D. 2011. Policy into practice: provider perspectives. In: Hodgson, A., Spours, K. and Waring, M. eds. Post-compulsory education and lifelong learning across the UK: Policy, organisation and governance. London: Institute of Education, pp. 105-124.
- Reay, D., Crozier, G. and James, D. 2011. White middle class identities and urban schooling. Identity Studies in the Social Sciences. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Tannock, S., James, D. and Torres, C. A. 2011. Radical education and the common school: a democratic alternative. British Journal of Sociology of Education 32(6), pp. 939-952. (10.1080/01425692.2011.614751)
2010
- James, D., Reay, D., Crozier, G., Beedell, P., Hollingworth, S., Jamieson, F. and Williams, K. 2010. Neoliberal policy and the meaning of counterintuitive middle-class school choices. Current Sociology 58(4), pp. 623-641. (10.1177/0011392110368003)
- James, D., Bathmaker, A. and Waller, R. 2010. Inspiring learning [teacher resource]. Published jointly by Bristol City, Bath & North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Councils. - teaching_resource
- James, D. 2010. Professionalism matters. Association of Teachers and Lecturers Post-16 News, pp. 4.
- James, D. 2010. Theory and educational research: toward critical social explanation. British Journal of Sociology of Education 31(2), pp. 243-248. (10.1080/01425690903541236)
- James, D., Bathmaker, A. and Waller, R. 2010. Evaluation of the Learning and Skills Council (West of England) work related learning project. Final report for the Learning and Skills Council. Project Report. [Online]. Bristol: University of West England. Available at: http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/11502/2/Final_report_23_april.pdf
- James, D., Ritchie, R., Jones, M., Fitzgerald, B., Orr-Ewing, M. and Harrison, N. 2010. Secondary curriculum development and innovation in Bristol. Final report for Bristol City Council. Project Report. Bristol: University of West England.
2009
- James, D. R., Reay, D., Crozier, G., Jamieson, F., Beedell, P., Hollingworth, S. and Williams, K. 2009. White middle-class identity work through “against the grain” school choices. In: Wetherell, M. ed. Identity in the 21st Century: New Trends in Changing Times. Identity Studies in the Social Sciences Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 76-94.
- James, D. and Beedell, P. 2009. Transgression for transition? White urban middle class families making and managing “against the grain” school choices. In: Ecclestone, K., Biesta, G. and Hughes, M. eds. Transitions and Learning Through the Lifecourse. London & New York: Routledge, pp. 32-46.
2008
- Kangro, A. and James, D. 2008. Rapid reform and unfinished business: the development of education in independent Latvia 1991-2007. European Journal of Education 43(4), pp. 547-561. (10.1111/j.1465-3435.2008.00373.x)
- Reay, D., Crozier, G., James, D., Hollingworth, S., Williams, K., Jamieson, F. and Beedell, P. 2008. Re-invigorating democracy?: White middle class identities and comprehensive schooling. Sociological Review 56(2), pp. 238-255. (10.1111/j.1467-954X.2008.00786.x)
- James, D. and Harrison, N. 2008. Enhancing tutor community: a research-based tutor consultation for the Workers’ Educational Association. Project Report. Bristol: University of the West of England.
- James, D., Bathmaker, A., Waller, R. and Last, K. 2008. Community engagement and specialist schools and academies: the implications of the Leitch Review of Skills Trust. Technical Report.
- James, D., Beedell, P., Crozier, G., Jamieson, F., Williams, K. and Hollingworth, S. 2008. Community and calculation: Counter-intuitive school choice and the white urban middle class. New Redland Papers 2, pp. 53-57.
- Crozier, G., Reay, D., James, D., Jamieson, F., Beedell, P., Hollingworth, S. and Williams, K. 2008. White middle-class parents, identities, educational choice and the urban comprehensive school: dilemmas, ambivalence and moral ambiguity. British Journal of Sociology of Education 29(3), pp. 261-272. (10.1080/01425690801966295)
- Francis, B., Hockings, C., James, D. and Reed, L. R. 2008. Review symposium: Reconceptualising lifelong learning. Feminist interventions. British Journal of Sociology of Education 29(3), pp. 339-348. (10.1080/01425690801966469)
- Hodkinson, P., Biesta, G. and James, D. 2008. Understanding learning culturally: overcoming the dualism between social and individual views of learning. Vocations and Learning 1(1), pp. 27-47. (10.1007/s12186-007-9001-y)
2007
- Colley, H., James, D. and Diment, K. 2007. Unbecoming teachers: towards a more dynamic notion of professional participation. Journal of Education Policy 22(2), pp. 173-193. (10.1080/02680930601158927)
- James, D. 2007. Book Reviews: 'On Bourdieu, education and society' by Derek Robbins [book review]. London Review of Education 5(3), pp. 313-316. (10.1080/14748460701661377)
- James, D. and Simmons, J. 2007. Alternative assessment for learner engagement in a climate of performativity: lessons from an English case study. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice 14(3), pp. 353-371. (10.1080/09695940701592022)
- James, D. and Wahlberg, M. 2007. The limits of tutor intervention: understanding improvement in a cultural view of FE learning and teaching. Educational Review 59(4), pp. 469-482. (10.1080/00131910701619357)
- Reay, D., Hollingworth, S., Williams, K., Crozier, G., Jamieson, F., James, D. and Beedell, P. 2007. `A darker shade of pale?' Whiteness, the middle classes and multi-ethnic inner city schooling. Sociology 41(6), pp. 1041-1060. (10.1177/0038038507082314)
- James, D. and Gleeson, D. 2007. The paradox of professionalism in English further education: A TLC project perspective. Educational Review 59(4), pp. 451-467. (10.1080/00131910701619340)
- Hodkinson, P., Biesta, G. and James, D. 2007. Understanding learning cultures. Educational Review 59(4), pp. 415-427. (10.1080/00131910701619316)
- James, D. and Biesta, G. 2007. Improving learning cultures in Further Education. Improving Learning. London: Routledge.
2006
- Thomas, G. and James, D. 2006. Reinventing grounded theory: some questions about theory, ground and discovery. British Educational Research Journal 32(6), pp. 767-795. (10.1080/01411920600989412)
2005
- James, D. 2005. The love puddle: a simple story and some difficult questions. Educational Action Research 13(1), pp. 111-118. (10.1080/09650790500200270)
- Torrance, H., Colley, H., Garratt, D., Jarvis, J., Piper, H., Ecclestone, K. and James, D. 2005. The impact of different modes of assessment on achievement and progress in the learning and skills sector. Project Report. UK: Learning and Skills Development Agency.
- James, D. 2005. Importance and impotence? Learning, outcomes and research in further education. Curriculum Journal 16(1), pp. 83-96. (10.1080/0958517042000336827)
2004
- Grenfell, M. and James, D. 2004. Change in the field—changing the field: Bourdieu and the methodological practice of educational research. British Journal of Sociology of Education 25(4), pp. 507-523. (10.1080/014256904200026989)
- James, D. 2004. Research in practice. Building Effective Research Vol. 5. London: Learning and Skills Research Centre.
2003
- Simons, H., Kushner, S., Jones, K. and James, D. 2003. From evidence‐based practice to practice‐based evidence: the idea of situated generalisation. Research Papers in Education 18(4), pp. 347-364. (10.1080/0267152032000176855)
- Colley, H., James, D., Diment, K. and Tedder, M. 2003. Learning as becoming in vocational education and training: class, gender and the role of vocational habitus. Journal of Vocational Education & Training 55(4), pp. 471-498. (10.1080/13636820300200240)
- James, D. and Diment, K. 2003. Going underground? learning and assessment in an ambiguous Space. Journal of Vocational Education & Training 55(4), pp. 407-422. (10.1080/13636820300200242)
- Hodkinson, P. and James, D. 2003. Transforming elarning cultures in further education. Journal of Vocational Education & Training 55(4), pp. 389-406. (10.1080/13636820300200236)
- Bloomer, M. and James, D. 2003. Educational research in educational practice. Journal of Further and Higher Education 27(3), pp. 247-256. (10.1080/0309877032000098671)
- James, D. 2003. Martin Bloomer and the TLCFE project. Learning and Skills Research Journal 6(3)
2000
- James, D. 2000. Making the graduate: perspectives on student experience of assessment in higher education. In: Filer, A. ed. Assessment: Social Practice and Social Product. Routledge Falmer, pp. 151-167.
1999
- Ashcroft, K. and James, D. eds. 1999. The creative professional - learning to teach 14-19 year-olds. London: Falmer.
- James, D. 1999. Assessment events as social practices. In: Kelly, M. and Grenfell, M. eds. Pierre Bourdieu: language, culture and education. Oxford: Peter Lang, pp. 247-259.
1998
- Grenfell, M. and James, D. 1998. Bourdieu and education: Acts of practical theory. London: Falmer.
- James, D. and Brewer, J. 1998. Key skills on the ground: the meaning of development in 16-19 academic and vocational programmes. The Redland Papers 6, pp. 33-47.
1995
- James, D. 1995. Mature studentship in higher education: beyond a 'species' approach. British Journal of Sociology of Education 16(4), pp. 451-466. (10.1080/0142569950160402)
- James, D. 1995. Universal teacher education for the FE sector: Whatever next?. The Redland Papers 3, pp. 52-61.
Articles
- James, D., Garner, S. and Husband, G. 2023. Understanding practices of UK college governing: Rethinking strategy and accountability. Educational Management Administration and Leadership 51(6), pp. 1422-1439. (10.1177/17411432211053691)
- James, D. 2023. The Research Excellence Framework as a resource for the field. Research Intelligence 154, pp. 18-19.
- James, D. 2020. 40th anniversary special issue: the current and future shape of the sociology of education. British Journal of Sociology of Education 41(6), pp. 757-767. (10.1080/01425692.2020.1801222 .)
- Mills, D. and James, D. 2020. Reconceptualising organisational collaborations in social science doctoral education. Higher Education 79, pp. 791-809. (10.1007/s10734-019-00438-9)
- Brown, P. and James, D. 2020. Educational expansion, poverty reduction and social mobility: reframing the debate. International Journal of Educational Research 100, article number: 101537. (10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101537)
- James, D. 2020. Is lifelong learning still useful? Disappointments and prospects for rediscovery. Journal of Education and Work 33(7-8), pp. 522-532. (10.1080/13639080.2020.1852509)
- James, D. 2019. Learning in and learning from FE and skills policy in wales: a relational approach. Journal of Education and Work 32(3), pp. 251-265. (10.1080/13639080.2019.1624697)
- Hodgson, A., Spours, K., Gallacher, J., Irwin, T. and James, D. 2019. FE and skills - is the 'UK laboratory' open for expansive policy learning?. Journal of Education and Work 32(3), pp. 277-291. (10.1080/13639080.2019.1621272)
- Rintoul, J. and James, D. 2017. ‘That tricky subject’: the integration of contextual studies in pre-degree art and design education. International Journal of Art and Design Education 36(2), pp. 215-225. (10.1111/jade.12077)
- James, D. 2017. Professional identity, learning cultures and educational quality: some lessons from Further Education. Wales Journal of Education 19(1), pp. 107-124. (10.16922/wje.19.1.6)
- James, D. 2016. Lernkulturen- eine dynamische Sicht auf professionelle Praxis und Identität? [Learning cultures and a dynamic view of professional practice and identity]. Berliner Debatte Initial 27(1), pp. 1-9.
- Harrison, N., James, D. and Last, K. 2015. Don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it's gone? Skills-led qualifications, secondary school attainment and policy choices. Research Papers in Education 30(5), pp. 568-608. (10.1080/02671522.2014.1002526)
- James, D. 2015. How Bourdieu bites back: recognising misrecognition in education and educational research. Cambridge Journal of Education 45(1), pp. 97-112. (10.1080/0305764X.2014.987644)
- James, D. 2014. Identities of, in, and through higher education. British Journal of Sociology of Education 35(2), pp. 316-327. (10.1080/01425692.2014.881056)
- James, D. 2013. Investigating the curriculum through assessment practice in higher education: the value of a 'learning cultures' approach. Higher Education n/a (10.1007/s10734-013-9652-6)
- Tannock, S., James, D. and Torres, C. A. 2011. Radical education and the common school: a democratic alternative. British Journal of Sociology of Education 32(6), pp. 939-952. (10.1080/01425692.2011.614751)
- James, D., Reay, D., Crozier, G., Beedell, P., Hollingworth, S., Jamieson, F. and Williams, K. 2010. Neoliberal policy and the meaning of counterintuitive middle-class school choices. Current Sociology 58(4), pp. 623-641. (10.1177/0011392110368003)
- James, D. 2010. Professionalism matters. Association of Teachers and Lecturers Post-16 News, pp. 4.
- James, D. 2010. Theory and educational research: toward critical social explanation. British Journal of Sociology of Education 31(2), pp. 243-248. (10.1080/01425690903541236)
- Kangro, A. and James, D. 2008. Rapid reform and unfinished business: the development of education in independent Latvia 1991-2007. European Journal of Education 43(4), pp. 547-561. (10.1111/j.1465-3435.2008.00373.x)
- Reay, D., Crozier, G., James, D., Hollingworth, S., Williams, K., Jamieson, F. and Beedell, P. 2008. Re-invigorating democracy?: White middle class identities and comprehensive schooling. Sociological Review 56(2), pp. 238-255. (10.1111/j.1467-954X.2008.00786.x)
- James, D., Beedell, P., Crozier, G., Jamieson, F., Williams, K. and Hollingworth, S. 2008. Community and calculation: Counter-intuitive school choice and the white urban middle class. New Redland Papers 2, pp. 53-57.
- Crozier, G., Reay, D., James, D., Jamieson, F., Beedell, P., Hollingworth, S. and Williams, K. 2008. White middle-class parents, identities, educational choice and the urban comprehensive school: dilemmas, ambivalence and moral ambiguity. British Journal of Sociology of Education 29(3), pp. 261-272. (10.1080/01425690801966295)
- Francis, B., Hockings, C., James, D. and Reed, L. R. 2008. Review symposium: Reconceptualising lifelong learning. Feminist interventions. British Journal of Sociology of Education 29(3), pp. 339-348. (10.1080/01425690801966469)
- Hodkinson, P., Biesta, G. and James, D. 2008. Understanding learning culturally: overcoming the dualism between social and individual views of learning. Vocations and Learning 1(1), pp. 27-47. (10.1007/s12186-007-9001-y)
- Colley, H., James, D. and Diment, K. 2007. Unbecoming teachers: towards a more dynamic notion of professional participation. Journal of Education Policy 22(2), pp. 173-193. (10.1080/02680930601158927)
- James, D. 2007. Book Reviews: 'On Bourdieu, education and society' by Derek Robbins [book review]. London Review of Education 5(3), pp. 313-316. (10.1080/14748460701661377)
- James, D. and Simmons, J. 2007. Alternative assessment for learner engagement in a climate of performativity: lessons from an English case study. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice 14(3), pp. 353-371. (10.1080/09695940701592022)
- James, D. and Wahlberg, M. 2007. The limits of tutor intervention: understanding improvement in a cultural view of FE learning and teaching. Educational Review 59(4), pp. 469-482. (10.1080/00131910701619357)
- Reay, D., Hollingworth, S., Williams, K., Crozier, G., Jamieson, F., James, D. and Beedell, P. 2007. `A darker shade of pale?' Whiteness, the middle classes and multi-ethnic inner city schooling. Sociology 41(6), pp. 1041-1060. (10.1177/0038038507082314)
- James, D. and Gleeson, D. 2007. The paradox of professionalism in English further education: A TLC project perspective. Educational Review 59(4), pp. 451-467. (10.1080/00131910701619340)
- Hodkinson, P., Biesta, G. and James, D. 2007. Understanding learning cultures. Educational Review 59(4), pp. 415-427. (10.1080/00131910701619316)
- Thomas, G. and James, D. 2006. Reinventing grounded theory: some questions about theory, ground and discovery. British Educational Research Journal 32(6), pp. 767-795. (10.1080/01411920600989412)
- James, D. 2005. The love puddle: a simple story and some difficult questions. Educational Action Research 13(1), pp. 111-118. (10.1080/09650790500200270)
- James, D. 2005. Importance and impotence? Learning, outcomes and research in further education. Curriculum Journal 16(1), pp. 83-96. (10.1080/0958517042000336827)
- Grenfell, M. and James, D. 2004. Change in the field—changing the field: Bourdieu and the methodological practice of educational research. British Journal of Sociology of Education 25(4), pp. 507-523. (10.1080/014256904200026989)
- Simons, H., Kushner, S., Jones, K. and James, D. 2003. From evidence‐based practice to practice‐based evidence: the idea of situated generalisation. Research Papers in Education 18(4), pp. 347-364. (10.1080/0267152032000176855)
- Colley, H., James, D., Diment, K. and Tedder, M. 2003. Learning as becoming in vocational education and training: class, gender and the role of vocational habitus. Journal of Vocational Education & Training 55(4), pp. 471-498. (10.1080/13636820300200240)
- James, D. and Diment, K. 2003. Going underground? learning and assessment in an ambiguous Space. Journal of Vocational Education & Training 55(4), pp. 407-422. (10.1080/13636820300200242)
- Hodkinson, P. and James, D. 2003. Transforming elarning cultures in further education. Journal of Vocational Education & Training 55(4), pp. 389-406. (10.1080/13636820300200236)
- Bloomer, M. and James, D. 2003. Educational research in educational practice. Journal of Further and Higher Education 27(3), pp. 247-256. (10.1080/0309877032000098671)
- James, D. 2003. Martin Bloomer and the TLCFE project. Learning and Skills Research Journal 6(3)
- James, D. and Brewer, J. 1998. Key skills on the ground: the meaning of development in 16-19 academic and vocational programmes. The Redland Papers 6, pp. 33-47.
- James, D. 1995. Mature studentship in higher education: beyond a 'species' approach. British Journal of Sociology of Education 16(4), pp. 451-466. (10.1080/0142569950160402)
- James, D. 1995. Universal teacher education for the FE sector: Whatever next?. The Redland Papers 3, pp. 52-61.
Book sections
- James, D. 2023. Foreword. In: BERA, . ed. Education: The state of the discipline - High Impact Educational Research. London: British Educational Research Association, pp. 6-8.
- James, D., Sadik, S. and Brown, P. 2022. Rethinking lifelong learning in the "Fourth Industrial Revolution". In: Evans, K. et al. eds. Third International Handbook of Lifelong Learning. Springer International Handbooks of Education Cham, Switzerland: Springer, pp. 1-20., (10.1007/978-3-030-67930-9_49-1)
- James, D. 2018. Learning cultures, reflexivity and creative subversion. In: Matthews, C., Edgington, U. and Channon, A. eds. Teaching With Sociological Imagination in Higher and Further Education. Springer, pp. 39-53.
- James, D. 2018. Social class, participation, and the marketised university. In: Waller, R., Ingram, N. and Ward, M. R. eds. Higher Education and Social Inequalities. Sociological Futures Abingdon and New York: Routledge, pp. 231-242.
- James, D. 2017. Knowing your place? The urban as an educational resource. In: Pink, W. T. and Noblit, G. eds. Second International Handbook of Urban Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education Berlin: Springer, pp. 1041–1058., (10.1007/978-3-319-40317-5_56)
- James, D. 2011. Policy into practice: provider perspectives. In: Hodgson, A., Spours, K. and Waring, M. eds. Post-compulsory education and lifelong learning across the UK: Policy, organisation and governance. London: Institute of Education, pp. 105-124.
- James, D. R., Reay, D., Crozier, G., Jamieson, F., Beedell, P., Hollingworth, S. and Williams, K. 2009. White middle-class identity work through “against the grain” school choices. In: Wetherell, M. ed. Identity in the 21st Century: New Trends in Changing Times. Identity Studies in the Social Sciences Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 76-94.
- James, D. and Beedell, P. 2009. Transgression for transition? White urban middle class families making and managing “against the grain” school choices. In: Ecclestone, K., Biesta, G. and Hughes, M. eds. Transitions and Learning Through the Lifecourse. London & New York: Routledge, pp. 32-46.
- James, D. 2000. Making the graduate: perspectives on student experience of assessment in higher education. In: Filer, A. ed. Assessment: Social Practice and Social Product. Routledge Falmer, pp. 151-167.
- James, D. 1999. Assessment events as social practices. In: Kelly, M. and Grenfell, M. eds. Pierre Bourdieu: language, culture and education. Oxford: Peter Lang, pp. 247-259.
Books
- Coffey, A. J. and James, D. eds. 2014. Masculinity and education. London: Routledge.
- Reay, D., Crozier, G. and James, D. 2011. White middle class identities and urban schooling. Identity Studies in the Social Sciences. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
- James, D. and Biesta, G. 2007. Improving learning cultures in Further Education. Improving Learning. London: Routledge.
- James, D. 2004. Research in practice. Building Effective Research Vol. 5. London: Learning and Skills Research Centre.
- Ashcroft, K. and James, D. eds. 1999. The creative professional - learning to teach 14-19 year-olds. London: Falmer.
- Grenfell, M. and James, D. 1998. Bourdieu and education: Acts of practical theory. London: Falmer.
Monographs
- James, D. 2024. Human-centric lifelong learning for an era of digital transformation. Working paper. Singapore: Inst Adult Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences. Available at: https://digitalfuturesofwork.com/our_publications/working-paper-10-human-centric-lifelong-learning-for-an-era-of-digital-transformation/
- Morgan, A., Milton, E., James, D., Kneen, J., Clement, J., Bryant, A. and Beauchamp, G. 2022. Pandemic-related assessment experiences and innovations: implications for initial teacher education. Welsh Government.
- James, D., Sadik, S. and Brown, P. 2021. Rethinking lifelong learning in the 'fourth industrial revolution'. Working paper. Singapore: Inst of Adult Learning, Singapore University of Social Sciences. Available at: https://digitalfuturesofwork.com/our_publications/wp05/
- Bathmaker, A. et al. 2021. Processes and practices of governing in colleges of further education in the UK: uncovering the complexities of governing. University of Stirling.
- Hodgson, A., Spours, K., Waring, M., Gallacher, J., Irwin, T. and James, D. 2018. FE and skills across the four countries of the UK. Project Report. [Online]. London: The Edge Foundation/UCL. Available at: https://www.edge.co.uk/sites/default/files/documents/fe_and_skills_across_the_four_countries_of_the_uk_final.pdf
- James, D. 2017. Key FE and skills developments in Wales. Discussion Paper. London: UCL Institute of Education. Available at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/departments-centres/centres/centre-for-post14-education-and-work/projects/fe-skills-four-countries-uk/pdf/key-fe-skills-developments-wales
- James, D. and Unwin, L. 2016. Fostering high quality vocational further education in Wales. Project Report. [Online]. Cardiff: Public Policy Institute for Wales. Available at: http://ppiw.org.uk/files/2016/01/PPIW-Report-Fostering-High-Quality-Further-Education-in-Wales.pdf
- James, D. 2013. Educational research in Estonia. Project Report. [Online]. Estonia: Ministry of Education, Estonia. Available at: http://www.etag.ee/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Evaluation_report2013_1.pdf
- James, D. 2012. The RSA area based curriculum in Peterborough: an independent evaluation. London: RSA. Available at: https://www.thersa.org/globalassets/pdfs/reports/rsa_abc_peterborough_independent_evaluation.pdf
- Ritchie, R., James, D., Reed, L. R., Sutherland, R. and Keith-Miller, G. 2011. The development of enhanced university partnerships with schools in Bristol. HEFCE, Bristol.
- James, D. 2011. Beginning with Bourdieu in educational research. Discussion Paper. London: British Educational Research Association (BERA). Available at: http://www.bera.ac.uk/resources/beginning-bourdieu-educational-research
- James, D., Bathmaker, A. and Waller, R. 2010. Evaluation of the Learning and Skills Council (West of England) work related learning project. Final report for the Learning and Skills Council. Project Report. [Online]. Bristol: University of West England. Available at: http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/11502/2/Final_report_23_april.pdf
- James, D., Ritchie, R., Jones, M., Fitzgerald, B., Orr-Ewing, M. and Harrison, N. 2010. Secondary curriculum development and innovation in Bristol. Final report for Bristol City Council. Project Report. Bristol: University of West England.
- James, D. and Harrison, N. 2008. Enhancing tutor community: a research-based tutor consultation for the Workers’ Educational Association. Project Report. Bristol: University of the West of England.
- James, D., Bathmaker, A., Waller, R. and Last, K. 2008. Community engagement and specialist schools and academies: the implications of the Leitch Review of Skills Trust. Technical Report.
- Torrance, H., Colley, H., Garratt, D., Jarvis, J., Piper, H., Ecclestone, K. and James, D. 2005. The impact of different modes of assessment on achievement and progress in the learning and skills sector. Project Report. UK: Learning and Skills Development Agency.
teaching_resource
- James, D., Bathmaker, A. and Waller, R. 2010. Inspiring learning [teacher resource]. Published jointly by Bristol City, Bath & North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Councils. - teaching_resource
Research
Current research
- I am leading a BERA-commissioned expert panel on UK Educational Research Funding (2024-5)
- I am part of the team for Digital Futures of Work, an international research programme on reimagining jobs, skills and education for a digital age, funded by the Singapore Government and led by Prof Phil Brown (2019-2023). https://digitalfuturesofwork.com/
Overview
I have directed many research projects, evaluations and consultancies for a range of funders and clients, including the ESRC, UK and foreign government departments and agencies, local authorities, charities, universities, colleges and schools, all to time and within budget.
I co-designed and co-directed the ESRC project 'Transforming Learning Cultures in Further Education' (2001-2005) and the ESRC project 'Identities, Education and the White Urban Middle Classes' (2005-2007). The first of these is still the only independent, large-scale study of learning in the English FE sector. I also co-directed an ESRC seminar series on 'New directions in learning and skills in England, Scotland and Wales' (2008-2010) and was part of the core team for a policy-focused seminar series on FE and Skills across the four countries of the UK (2017-2018). I carried out (with Prof Lorna Unwin) a policy-focused study commissioned by the Minister, of high quality vocational programmes in Further Education in Wales - see http://ppiw.org.uk/files/2016/01/PPIW-Report-Fostering-High-Quality-Further-Education-in-Wales.pdf
I co-directed the ESRC Research Project Processes and Practices of Governing in Further Education Colleges in the UK (2018-2021) https://fe-governing.stir.ac.uk/
I led a research project funded by the Welsh Government entitled Pandemic-related assessment innovations: implications for teacher education. The study concluded in Spring 2021. The team included researchers from University of Cardiff and Cardiff Metropolitan University and involved colleagues in schools that are part of the Cardiff ITE Partnership. The report can be seen at: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/148030/
The central theme in my research is the relationship between education and social inequalities. I have investigated and written on a range of topics including:
- lifelong learning policy and practice
- student experience and mature studentship
- learning cultures, professionalism and policy in Further Education
- governance and governing in FE
- assessment, especially in Further and Higher Education
- secondary school choice, white middle class identity and urban schooling
- curriculum innovation, creative teaching, creativity and professionalism
- lifelong learning and work-related learning
- factors in GCSE attainment in secondary education
- policy and practice in FE across the countries of the UK
- the social theory of Bourdieu (though my work also draws on many other theoretical sources).
Whilst most of my research work has been qualitative, I use quantitative and mixed methods as well, depending on the nature of the research questions.
I was editior and advisory group chair for the Academy of Social Sciences booklet Making the Case No. 12: Education. This was launched at the House of Commons in December 2016 at an event hosted by Neil Camichael MP, chair of the Education Select Committee. The booklet is available at https://www.acss.org.uk/mtc-12-education/ See also https://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/making-the-case/ A short Academy video can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9ENtH9o6zs&feature=youtu.be
Teaching
I have taught a wide range of social science topics across sociology and psychology, at every level from pre-GCSE to Doctoral. Most recent teaching areas include research methodology, learning and assessment in further and higher education, the sociology of post-compulsory education, applications of the work of Bourdieu, Marx, Weber & Fraser, social equality and inequality, psychological and cultural theories of learning.
See my session for UK ESRC Doctoral students entitled How to get clear about method, methodology, epistemology and ontology, once and for all. This has been adopted by the UK Open University and RMIT in Melbourne, amongst others. It is on You Tube, with over 166,000 views. See it here: ESRC Conference: Methods session
External examining
I've examined over 55 Doctoral theses, mostly as external examiner, in around 30 different universities in the UK and abroad. I am also an experienced external examiner for taught programmes in other universities. In 2018 I completed a four-year term of office as external examiner for the MEd/MPhil programme in the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge.
Biography
My early biography helps to explain why I am a sociologist of education. My primary school classroom reflected the social class composition of the area, with children from the older established families of the village placed in the front row, and those from the postwar housing estate (including me) placed towards the back of the room. The teaching and indeed the 11+ outcomes largely reflected this same stratification, and I did not make it to the grammar or technical high school. It was only much later that I found out how this stratified transition had been achieved through a combination of curriculum differentiation, teacher attention, coaching for the test and famiial expectation. It is why the social theory of Pierre Bourdieu came to be (and continues to be) important for me.
As it turned out, the local non-selective Secondary Modern school was an excellent place to be, providing a rounded education (including being in a well-organised and demanding brass band for five years!) Many of the teachers were very switched on indeed, seeming never to miss an opportunity to spark my interest and curiosity. I left this school with good examination results and some well-grounded confidence. Sadly, the more highly regarded 'sixth form' I went on to attend for two years was educationally poor in comparison, and I left with very modest A level results and a general disillusionment about my capabilities.
A series of short-term jobs in factories and on farms followed, then a job in local government in London, in clerical and administrative roles. In the same period I was attempting to make a living as a rock musician. A fellow musician (Dave Pask, then singer with Mark Knopfler's early band Cafe Racers) drew my attention to sociology and I attended his evening class at the local College of Further Education, gaining a good examination result. This led to the offer of a place at Bristol University, and I decided to leave my secure and well-paid job and become a 'mature' student - though I was only in my early 20s when I went there! I did very well in my degree. I could not help noticing that the well-known psychologists who championed IQ testing (and who often had eugencist beliefs) would declare it virtually impossible for me to have gone from 11+ 'failure' to the very high IQ they felt was attached to a first class honours degree. My reading of Steven Jay Gould's excellent The Mismeasure of Man (1981, Pelican/Penguin) around that time underlined how ideas like the 'heritability' of intelligence were often a matter of political ideology and interests, serving to maintain embedded social inequalities.
After graduating I went on to complete a Further Education teaching qualification and taught in FE colleges in London, Bath and Gloucester. In 1989 I took up a post in the (then) Bristol Polytechnic and by 1996 had completed a part-time PhD (entitled Mature Studentship in Higher Education). I continued to work at the University of the West of England, Bristol, setting up and co-directing a research centre, and was promoted to Professor in 2004. I took up my current post at Cardiff in 2011.
Qualifications & fellowships
- 1981 BSc Hons (1st Class) Social Science, University of Bristol
- 1982 Certificate in Education (FE) [Distinction], Garnett College, London
- 1996 PhD – ‘Mature Studentship in Higher Education’, University of the West of England, Bristol (Ext. Examiner Prof R Burgess)
- 2001 Fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA) (and prior equivalents)
- 2010 onwards - Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA)
- 2015 Elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS)
- 2024 Elected Fellow of the British Academy
Career overview
- 1975-1978 Executive Officer, Greater London Council
- 1982-1987 Lecturer in Sociology and Psychology, City of Bath College of Further Education
- 1987-89 Lecturer 2/Senior Lecturer in Staff Development, GLOSCAT
- 1989-91 Senior Lecturer in Education Policy Studies (temp.) Bristol Polytechnic
- 1991-97 Senior Lecturer in Continuing Education, UWE, Bristol
- 1997-2000 Principal Lecturer, UWE, Bristol
- 2000-04 Reader, Faculty of Education, UWE, Bristol
- 2004-11 Professor, Faculty of Education, UWE, Bristol
- 2011-19 Professor, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University and Director, ESRC Wales Doctoral Training Centre/Partnership
- 2019- Professor of Sociology of Education, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University
Honours and awards
- 2024: Elected Fellow of the British Academy
- 2022: Awarded the Hugh Owen Medal for outstanding educational research by the Learned Society of Wales.
- 2012: Winner of book prize from The Society for Educational Studies for White Middle Class Identities and Urban Schooling (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011 & 2013) (with Reay and Crozier)
- 2012: Winner (with Colley and others) of the best Annual Conference symposium at the Annual Conference of the British Educational Research Association, on 'Radical Theory for Radical Times'. Award included acceptance of symposium at the 2013 American Educational Research Association conference in San Francisco and funding to participate.
- 2006: Winner (with Grenfell and others) of the best Annual Conference symposium at the Annual Conference of the British Educational Research Association, on 'Exploring the use and usefulness of Bourdieu’s theory of practice for educational research'. Award included acceptance of symposium for the 2007 American Educational Research Association conference in Chicago and funding to participate.
Professional memberships
- Fellow of Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS)
- Fellow of Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA)
- Fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
- Member of British Sociological Association (BSA)
- Member of American Educational Research Association (AERA)
- Member of British Educational Research Association (BERA)
Contact Details
+44 29208 70930
Glamorgan Building, Room 0.66 Glamorgan Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3WA