Reza Gholami

Reza Gholami is a Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Birmingham, where he co-founded the Birmingham Research Group on Education Policy (BREP) and serves as Deputy Director of the Centre for Research in Race and Education (CRRE). He holds a PhD from SOAS, University of London and has held visiting fellowships at the University of Wisconsin, Monash University, and University College London.

• Research Focus: Belongingness, diversity, inter-communal relations, and community engagement in education, particularly addressing disparities affecting racial, ethnic, and religious minorities.
• Current Projects:
  • Funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation: Using drama-based pedagogies to address belonging in primary schools.
  • Leverhulme Trust project on youth engagement with freedom of expression around race and faith.
  • ESRC project on non-formal intercommunal education.
• Scientific Awards:
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA)
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
• Advising: Supervises doctoral students including Abdulrahman Alghaith, Ingrid Abrahams, and John Keech.

Publications: Authored works on secularism, Islamophobia, diasporic education, and extremism, appearing in journals like Educational Review and Discourse. Collaborative projects include a 2025 report on youth free speech with the Leverhulme Trust.