Michael Donnelly

Prior to joining the University of Bath, I was based at the University of Sheffield, and before that Cardiff University (where I gained my PhD). My research interests are broad and I take an interdisciplinary approach, in particular drawing on theories and ideas from education, human geography, and sociology. I am particularly interested in developing new innovative approaches to combining quantitative and qualitative methods. My work has been funded by the UK-based Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as well as the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO).

I currently lead an ESRC-funded programme of research ( Spatial and Social Im/Mobilities ) which commenced in 2016 and runs until 2019 (award no. ES/N002121/1). The Spatial and Social Im/Mobilities project, funded through the ESRC's Future Research Leader scheme, is a far-reaching study of the links between spatial and social (im)mobilities in UK society, through the lens of young people's universities choices. The project explores the significance of place in young people's lives and future trajectories through a detailed spatial mapping and analysis of their higher education choices along with rich qualitative research in 10 geographical locations.

My doctoral research (also funded by the ESRC through a 1+3 scholarship) was a quantitatively framed, qualitative study, which examined the relationship between schools and the shaping of young people's university choices. This work involved developing a new approach to researching school effects, drawing on and combining insights from school effectiveness research and the sociology of education.

Research interests

• Geographies of education
• Place, space and identity
• Youth transitions and (im)mobilities
• 'home international' comparative research
• Cultural and social dimensions of schooling
• Education policy and social mobility

Current projects

• Geographies of higher education: social and spatial (im)mobilities