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Dr. Sophie Ward is an Associate Professor and Director of Post Graduate Research in the School of Education at Durham University. She joined the School of Education in 2011 after completing her BA, MA, and PhD in Education at Durham University.
Sophie's research interests include neoliberalism and education, creativity, and the arts in education. Her work critically examines how neoliberal economic policy informs education policy, with particular focus on how employability has come to dominate educational discourse. She offers Shakespeare's Renaissance humanism as a corrective to neoliberal ideology in her book 'Using Shakespeare's Plays to Explore Education Policy Today: Neoliberalism through the lens of Renaissance humanism' (Routledge, 2017).
Ward's research demonstrates a consistent engagement with critical perspectives on education policy through arts-based methodologies. Her recent work includes the In2 Music Project evaluation exploring music workshops' impact on wellbeing, research on cathedral choristers' spiritual development, and digital storytelling as compassionate inquiry. She has developed innovative dissemination methods including a stop-motion Lego animation on policy response.
Her publication record shows a clear trajectory from exploring metalearning capacity through drama (2013) to contemporary analyses of neoliberalism, creativity, and education policy. She has made significant contributions to understanding policy implementation across European contexts through her work with the European Policy Network on School Leadership.
- Member of Durham University's Curriculum and Pedagogy Research Group
- Member of the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain (PESGB)
- Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce)
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Member of the European Policy Network on School Leadership (EPNoSL)
- Registered as a referee for the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA)
As Director of Post Graduate Research, Dr. Ward supervises doctoral students working on diverse topics related to arts in education and educational policy. Her research has been supported by ESRC IAA, Darlington Borough Council, Warwick Music, UKRI, and EU funding. She co-authored a successful bid for a national evaluation of Teach First, securing approximately £200,000 in funding.
Dr. Ward collaborates extensively with research teams across the School of Education and the Centre for Evaluation and Measurement (CEM). Her work on school leadership for equity and policy response demonstrates her commitment to translating research into practical tools for educators through the EPNoSL toolkit. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges educational theory, arts practice, and policy implementation.