Dr Laura Day Ashley

• DPhil Educational Studies (University of Oxford). 
• MSc Educational Research Methods (University of Oxford).
• MA Social Anthropology (University of St. Andrews).

Laura teaches on undergraduate and postgraduate courses. She is Year 3 Tutor for the BA in Education and leads the Schooling: A Social and Cultural History module. She is a tutor on the Practitioner Inquiry in Education Masters module and contributes to the International Studies in Education programme.

Laura Day Ashley supervises dissertations of Masters International Studies in Education and PhD students. She welcomes expressions of interest from prospective PhD students in the following areas:

• The private sector/privatisation, including ‘low fee’ private schools in developing countries.
• Education and marketisation, including academies and free schools.
• Other forms of non-state schools including NGOs, charitable and philanthropic schools.
• Non-formal education (including alternative schools, home schooling, indigenous forms of education, peer education and theatre-in-education).
• History of progressive and child-centred education. 

A key area of expertise is the study of the private sector and non-state actors in education, particularly in developing countries, and Laura has published, edited a collection and reviewed articles and books in this field. Recently she led a multi-disciplinary research team in a rigorous review of the evidence on: The role and impact of private schools in developing countries (2014, DFID). In this video she talks about the key findings of the review.  

Other current research (British Academy) historically investigates Indian influences on progressive education in Britain in the early 20th century. This historical interest grew from doctoral and postdoctoral research (ESRC) in contemporary India into 'private school outreach ' - private schools that provide educational outreach programmes for children who are out-of-school.

Other work has focused on alternative and informal / non-formal practices in education; a particular interest has been how such practices might enable marginal and mainstream communities to come together in educational settings. Examples of this type of work include a study of peer education for street children in Kolkata, and the use of Forum theatre to explore issues around homelessness and refuge in London secondary schools.

Laura Day Ashley has been invited to deliver keynote papers at prestigious national and international conferences and seminars, which she also regularly attends to present her ongoing work. She also regularly reviews books and articles for peer-reviewed academic journals.