The Research Team

Principal Investigator Ian Thompson is an Associate Professor of Education at the University of Oxford. Before joining Oxford, Ian worked as a journalist, lecturer and theatre director; he then taught English for sixteen years in state secondary schools. He was a PI on the recently completed ESRC funded project Excluded Lives: The Political Economies of School Exclusion and their Consequences (2019-24).Ian is the lead editor of the journal Teaching Education. His primary research interests are in understanding all aspects of school exclusion and inclusion and the unintended outcomes of policy and practice for marginalised young people.  

Robert Klassen is Professor of Education in the Department of Education at the University of Oxford. He leads the research hub ReNEW: Research Network for the Education Workforce. He is an educational psychologist with research interests in the development of motivation beliefs and career decision-making across the career span and across countries.

Rob has published over 120 peer-reviewed journal articles, chapters, and two books. He has served as advisor to education ministries in England, Africa, Australia, Europe, and South America. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and the American Psychological Association and has served on editorial boards for the British Journal of Educational Psychology, the Journal of Educational Psychology, and the Oxford Review of Education. Rob is currently Coordinator of Earli’s largest special interest group, SIG 11, Teaching and Teacher Education.

Thomas is also a strong advocate for creativity in education; having previously gained a Fine Art degree from Chelsea College of Art. This heavily influenced his educational leadership and during his time as a Head Teacher, he became the co-founder of a co-constructed initiative between the academy and the University of Oxford Gardens Libraries and Museums. This work placed cultural learning opportunities and relationships at the heart of the curriculum and is the longest standing project between a special school and The University of Oxford.

Rebecca is a research officer and education consultant. She was a teacher, senior leader, and ITE mentor who was heavily involved in school based research implementation and sharing of best practice.

Rebecca is the Co-Coordinator of the Junior Researcher’s Network in Earli’s largest special interest group, SIG 11, Teaching and Teacher Education. She is also the Co-Chair of the Early Career Researcher’s group in the ESRC’s Education Research Project.