Nigel Fancourt

Director of Doctoral Research; Associate Professor of Education and Values | St Stephen's House

About me

Nigel is Associate Professor of Education and Values and the Department’s Director of Doctoral Research, overseeing all doctoral students.

His own research encompasses belief and values-based questions across education and research, especially on:

  • Laws, human rights and courts
  • Religions, beliefs & secularities
  • Educational justice
  • Educational research ethics

He has been convenor of the Philosophy, Religion and Education Group, and Chair of the Departmental Research Ethics Committee.

Professional associations: Association of University Lecturers in Religion and Education; British Education Research Association; European Association of Research in Learning and Instruction; International Seminar for Religious Education and Values; Philosophy of Education (Great Britain) Society.

He is on the editorial board of Journal of Beliefs & Values, and regularly reviews for: British Journal of Religious Education, Journal of Contemporary Religion, Oxford Review of Education, Religion & Education, and Teachers and Teacher Education.

Advisory & consultancy: Nigel is involved in advising on research in UK and across Europe, most recently the MORE project in Vienna. He has also been a doctoral external examiner in UK and internationally. He welcomes consultancy work with schools, educational organisations and governments, and has carried out projects around the world.

Subjects Taught

  • DPhil in Education
  • MSc in Education (Research Design and Methodology)
  • MSc in Medical Education
  • MSc in Learning and Teaching

Doctoral Applications

Nigel welcomes doctoral applications from students interested in the following research areas

  • Religions, beliefs and secularities in education
  • Ethics and values in education and educational research
  • Qualitative and mixed-methods approaches, including practitioner research studies

Funded Research Projects

Raising and Sustaining Aspiration in City Schools (CI)
Funded by CitiFoundation
2012-2014
Leadership for Learning (CI)
Funded by Oxford City Council
2012-2014
Oxford Argumentation in Science and Religious Education: an interdisciplinary study in British schools. (CI)
Funded by Templeton Foundation
2018-2021
Refining the Ethical Eye and Ethical Voice – The Possibilities and Challenges of a Fiction-based Approach to Ethics Education (Advisor to University of Gothenburg)
Funded by Swedish Institute for Educational Research
2018-2020
Evaluation of Attachment-Aware CPD Birmingham (Co-PI)
Funded by Birmingham City Council
2017-2019
Knowledge Exchange: evaluation of attachment-aware CPD (PI)
University of Oxford
2017-2018
Evaluation of WISERDEducation (CI)
Funded by Higher Education Funding Council for Wales
2017
Research Use in Schools: teachers' views of methodology, status and implementation (Co-PI).
Funded by John Fell Fund, University of Oxford
2016-2017
Evaluation of Attachment-Aware CPD – Leicestershire (Co-PI)
Funded by Leicestershire County Council
2016-2017
Test and Learn: Closing the Gap (CI)
Funded by Department for Education
2013-2015
Raising and Sustaining Aspiration in City Schools (CI)
Funded by CitiFoundation
2012-2014
Leadership for Learning (CI)
Funded by Oxford City Council
2012-2014