Expert in education, inclusion, and social justice

Ian Thompson is an Associate Professor of Education at the University of Oxford and the interim Director of the Rees Centre, which produces research and evidence on ways to improve children’s social care and education. He leads the Pedagogy, Learning and Knowledge research theme and convenes the Oxford Sociocultural and Activity Theory Research Group. He is also the lead editor of the journal Teaching Education and serves on the editorial board of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties.

His research focuses on all aspects of school inclusion and exclusion, the unintended outcomes of policy and practice for marginalised young people and children in need, adolescent mental health, and initial teacher education. Ian has been principal and co-investigator on numerous research projects, including Picture This: The Robson Orr Visual Literacy Research Initiative, and is the education lead on the BrainWaves project. He has also contributed to externally funded projects such as Excluded Lives: The Political Economies of School Exclusion and their Consequences (ESRC).

Contribution to BrainWaves
Ian contributes educational research expertise to BrainWaves, leading the project’s education work and strengthening engagement with schools, teachers, and young people to ensure research is relevant, inclusive, and impactful.