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Professor of Higher Education, Manchester Institute of Education, University of Manchester

Steven Jones is a Professor of Higher Education at the Manchester Institute of Education, which is part of the University of Manchester (UK). His research background is in English Language and Linguistics, where he has authored a monograph for Routledge and co-authored another for Cambridge University Press.

Since 2011, Prof Jones has also published in the social sciences, writing about international Higher Education systems and their impact on students’ likelihood of participation. Prof Jones is particularly interested in how socio-economically disadvantaged young people conceptualise post-compulsory education, interpret the advice and guidance they receive, and exploit their cultural and social capital in university admissions processes. He investigates the student experience, from application through to graduation, and how it is influenced by educational background. Prof Jones was commissioned by the Sutton Trust to author its report “Personal Statements: a fair way to assess University applicants?”.

Prof Jones has presented research findings at major international conferences in Mannheim and Freiburg (Germany), Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), Verona and Bertinoro (Italy) and San Francisco (USA). He has been interviewed about language use on BBC TV's The One Show and about Higher Education on BBC Radio Four's Today programme. His funders have included the EPSRC, the British Academy and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. He has recently given invited talks for Universities UK, the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills and HM Treasury, as well as delivering a Westminster Briefing and speaking at the Sunday Times Festival of Education.

Prof Jones's latest book is Universities Under Fire (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022).

Honours

PFHEA