Karl Kitching

Karl Kitching is a Professor of Public Education and Director of Research in the School of Education at the University of Birmingham. He holds a PhD from the Institute of Education, University of London, and advanced degrees from St Patrick’s College of Education, Dublin City University. His research focuses on challenging inequalities in education, particularly around racism, childhood sexualisation, religious identities, and critical pedagogy. He leads the Leverhulme Trust-funded study on youth expression of race and faith in schools, collaborating with Dr. Reza Gholami. His work bridges education policy, sociology, and critical theory, emphasizing anti-racist and socially just educational practices.

Education Background: PhD (University of London, 2014), MEd and BEd (St Patrick’s College, Dublin, 2000s).

Research Interests: Karl’s work critically examines systemic inequalities in education, including racialized conflicts in LGBTQ+ education, secularism’s role in schooling, and media discourses on childhood. His methodologies include ethnography and policy analysis, often centering marginalized voices. Recent projects explore ‘free speech’ debates in schools and youth engagement with race and faith.

Grants & Projects: Principal Investigator on the Leverhulme Trust project (2022–2025), co-author of DISCs Project guidance on teaching for social justice in Irish higher education. His research outputs include two monographs: The Politics of Compulsive Education (2015) and Childhood, Religion and School Injustice (2022).

Labs/Teams: Oversees research initiatives in the School of Education, collaborating with interdisciplinary teams on education equity and policy.