EDUCATION CORNER PODCAST
EDUCATION CORNER PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH
Professor Lee Elliot Major OBE EXETER UNIVERSITY
Could you tell us a little about your role as Professor of Social Mobility at Exeter University and what this involves?
My role is quite unique, we think that I might have been the first Social Mobility professor in the world; there are a couple others now. What this means is that I am particularly interested in the prospects for disadvantaged learners. That might be in the early years, it might be in schools, it might be access to university, or indeed the workplace. My work focuses on really trying to improve the opportunities and outcomes for the poorest learners. I’m in the education department for learners at the University and I’m an unusual professor in that I’m very much focused on practice and policy. I do lots of research. Most of my time is spent interacting with other people, whether it’s school leaders, University vice chancellors, ministers, policymakers, even company chief executives. The constant in all of that is, how do we improve the prospects for all of the learners? It’s a very worthy goal, and I am increasingly busy with all of this.
Professor Lee Elliot Major OBE is the Professor of Social Mobility at the University of Exeter. He is also an Honorary Professor at the UCL Institute of Education and an Associate Member of Nuffield College, University of Oxford. Lee is Britain’s first professor within this field and his work aims at improving the prospects of young and disadvantaged people. His research is dedicated to things which can have a direct impact on policy and practice, and he works with schools, universities, employers and policymakers. 3 4 | EDUCATION CHOICES MAGAZINE | S P R I N G 2 02 2
What are your targets for improving social mobility at Exeter University?
Within the UK or extending that too, there could be a global application process. My work is about increasing social mobility generally for children across the country. In 2020, Exeter released an Access and Participation Plan, which is ‘committed to the principle that everyone with the potential to benefit from higher education should have equal opportunity to do so.’ Could you tell us a little more about this Plan and what it involves? What changes do you hope to see around the University?
