British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences

Professor Stephen Ball
Karl Mannheim Professor in the Sociology of Education, University of London

Year elected: 2006

He has produced a major corpus of work within the sociology of education, which has had a profound influence in the development of the subject over the past two decades. His contributions cover three linked areas: the influence of within-school processes on educational life-chances; the effects of 'markets' and market-oriented thinking on educational policy and provision; and the enduring effects of social class on families and young people’s behaviour in relation to education.