Tom Dobson

Professor Tom Dobson is a leading academic in Education at York St John University, affiliated with the School of Education, Language and Psychology. His work focuses on creative writing pedagogies, participatory methods for social justice, and innovative doctoral education practices. He currently co-leads an ERASMUS+ funded project promoting creative arts engagement with young people, and co-founded Story Makers Press to amplify child-authored literature. Dobson supervises doctoral students exploring creative writing, participatory research, and professional practice in education settings.

Research interests include boundary-crossing in education governance, arts-based methodologies, and anti-normative approaches to children's literature. His recent work examines technology's role in school governance and corporate-stakeholder partnerships. Dobson has published widely in journals such as Children & Society, Professional Development in Education, and English in Education, with a focus on transformative pedagogical practices.

• Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) for ERASMUS+ project 'arted'
• Lead for Doctorate of Education (EdD) program
• Member of BERA, UKLA, and SRHE

His collaborative projects like Story Makers Press involve co-creating published novels with primary school children from marginalized communities, challenging traditional authorship norms. This work has produced titles such as Zalfa Emir is a Warrior and The Nightmare Catcher, emphasizing culturally relevant narratives.

Professional activities include evaluating corporate governance programs (e.g., Lloyds Banking Group's school governance initiative) and presenting at international conferences on topics ranging from drama pedagogy to doctoral writing methodologies.