Rebecca Loader

Rebecca Loader is a Senior Research Fellow at Queen's University Belfast (QUB), affiliated with the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work. Her research focuses on education policy, social cohesion, and cultural diversity in divided societies like Northern Ireland. She holds a PhD from QUB (2015), supervised by Professors John Hughes and Andrew Gallagher, which explored shared education models to promote intergroup contact.

Loader's work emphasizes the consequences of academic selection systems, educational policies for cultural diversity, and strategies to reduce social division through shared education programs. She has contributed to influential policy submissions, including the 2025 Curriculum Review of Northern Ireland, and engaged in high-profile projects like the CASE Shared Education Project Evaluation (2018-2022).

Her research outputs span 34 publications, including peer-reviewed articles in journals like Review of Education and Cambridge Journal of Education, as well as commissioned reports and policy briefs. Key themes in her work include social integration mechanisms, policy transfer between conflict-affected regions, and the impact of educational policies on marginalized groups.

• Key Awards:
  • Postdoctoral Award 2021 (Citizenship and Outreach)
  • Queen's Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education (2020)
  • Shortlisted for Vice-Chancellor's Research Prize (2019)
• Grants and Activities:
  • Advisor for the CASE Shared Education Project (2018-2022)
  • Member of AHSS Research Staff Society (2019-2021)
  • Contributor to BERA Podcast Series and media engagements
• Labs/Teams: Collaborates with interdisciplinary teams on projects addressing social cohesion in education, including partnerships with organizations like the Executive Office Racial Equality Subgroup.