Sean Demack

Sean Demack is the Deputy Head of the Sheffield Institute of Education Research & Knowledge Exchange (SIRKE) at Sheffield Hallam University. As a social statistician, he specializes in quantitative research with a focus on educational equality, equity, and the critical application of statistical methodologies. He has expanded SIRKE’s quantitative team from 2 to 6 members, securing £4 million in funding from governmental What Works centres like the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and Youth Endowment Fund (YEF).

His research spans Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) in educational settings, the development of QuantCrit (a critical race theory framework for quantitative analysis), and critiques of statistical practices in educational equity. He has designed over 15 RCTs and published extensively on ethnic disparities in education, classroom-level data clustering, and methodological innovations.

• Co-authored the internationally influential Routledge 'How to QuantCrit' book (2025)
• Organized the Radical Statistics conference (2023) and involved in its 50th-anniversary planning (2025)
• Regularly reviews for journals and What Works centres

His work has been cited widely and has shaped debates on educational RCT design and racial disparities in degree attainment.