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In defence of social mobility and education
23 March 2020, 6:00 pm–7:15 pm
This event has been cancelled following the increase in the number of coronavirus cases in London. We apologise for any inconvenience.
This event is free.
Event Information
Open to
- All
Availability
- Yes
Cost
- Free
Organiser
-
Kate Thomas
Location
-
Room W3.01UCL Institute of Education20 Bedford WayLondonWC1H 0AL
In this lecture, Professor Lee Elliot Major will discuss what schools can and can’t do to improve social mobility.
Why should we focus on social mobility when many of society’s problems are the result of inequality? And how can we enable education to be the great social leveller, when it has been commandeered by the middle-classes to cement their status in society?
Britain’s first Professor of Social Mobility argues we need a rethink on education as we face a dark age of declining opportunity.
The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception.
Links
About the Speaker
Lee Elliot Major
Professor of Social Mobility at University of Exeter and Honorary Professor at the UCL Institute of Education (IOE)
Lee's work is dedicated to improving the prospects of disadvantaged young people. He was awarded an OBE in the 2019 Queen’s Honours for services to social mobility.
Lee's recent report ‘social mobility and elite universities’ for the Higher Education Policy Institute argued that radical reforms are needed for universities to meet official access targets. His Penguin book ‘Social Mobility and Its Enemies’, co-authored with Stephen Machin, has attracted attention across the world. His Bloomsbury book ‘What Works? Research and evidence for successful teaching’, co-authored with Steve Higgins, summarises thousands of education studies to offer best bets to teachers for improving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.
Lee was formerly Chief Executive of the Sutton Trust, the UK’s leading social mobility foundation. He was a founding trustee of the Education Endowment Foundation which has carried out hundreds of major research trials in England’s schools.
Lee is an Associate Member of Nuffield College, University of Oxford, and an Honorary Professor at the UCL Institute of Education. He is also a Senior Visiting Fellow at the LSE’s International Inequalities Institute. He commissioned and co-authored the 'Sutton Trust-EEF Toolkit', a guide used by thousands of school leaders and replicated across the world. He is a Trustee of the Ted Wragg Multi Academy Trust and a Governor at William Ellis School in London.
Lee regularly appears in national broadcast and print media, commenting on education and social mobility issues. He has served on several government advisory bodies and presented several times to the House of Commons Education Select Committee.
He has a PhD in theoretical physics and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Sheffield for services to education. He was previously an education journalist working for the Guardian and the Times Higher Education Supplement. He is the first in his family to attend university.