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Prof Michael Thomas

School of Education

Faculty of Arts Professional and Social Studies

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Michael is a research Professor in Education and Social Justice and Director of the Liverpool Institute for Research in Education (LIFE Institute) in the School of Education. His primary research focus is digital education and social justice across a range of sectors from higher education to schools, both in the UK and internationally (Asia, Europe and Low-to-Middle-Income Countries), and his current projects explore inequalities related to gender, social class and disabilities.

He's recently completed research projects with the University of Ghana on distance education and visually impaired learners funded by the GCRF/LJMU (ASPIRE), and a British Council ELTRA grant on curriculum evaluation in Nigeria (MERLIN). He is currently PI on a British Council Widening Participation funded project involving curriculum representation, ICT policy, girls' education and the representation of gender in teacher training materials in Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa (THEMIS) in line with UN SDGs 4.c. and 5.

He welcomes applications from potential PhD and EdD students working broadly in the field of digital and online education, English language learning and teacher education, ICT4D, cross-curricular and project-based teaching and learning, critiques of neoliberal approaches to education and computer-assisted language learning/digital literacy (e.g., learning analytics, immersive environments, gamification, creative approaches to technology usage). He's examined PhDs in Australia, the UK and Europe, particularly in the area of online learning, digital pedagogy and computer-assisted language learning (CALL).

He has published extensively: founded 4 international book series; authored 3 monographs; edited 26 books; edited 14 special editions of peer reviewed journals; authored over 150 journal articles, book chapters, conference proceedings and book reviews; delivered over 100 keynote and invited conference presentations; won over 70 external and internal grant bids; and organised over 50 national and international conferences and events. Among his outputs are books on collaborative digital education, digital natives, social media, game-based learning, project-based learning with technology and two four-volume major works on online learning and digital language learning with Routledge, Palgrave, Sage and Bloomsbury Academic.

He's a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA) and holds a PhD in cultural and critical theory from Newcastle University submitted in 1996 (post-structuralism, education policy, the political implications of deconstruction) and a second PhD from Lancaster University (technology mediated task- and project-based learning). He's also studied for an MBA in Educational Management at the University of Leicester (2002), an M.Ed in Educational Technology at Manchester University (2004), an MA in Literature and Film Studies at Newcastle University (1992) and change leadership at Cornell University in the USA (2016). He holds a First Class undergraduate BA degree in American Studies and Literature. (1992).

He's taught graduate and undergraduate students at nine universities in Germany (Heidelberg University, Stuttgart University, Mannheim University), Japan (NUCB Nagoya) and the UK (Newcastle University, the University of Central Lancashire, Liverpool University, Swansea University, The Open University, Liverpool John Moores University), and led multinational research groups and project teams. He currently teaches, conducts research, mentors staff, leads research teams, and supervises PhDs and EdDs in several areas, including digital education and the impact of English language education policy, from critical pedagogy, critical digital literacy and social justice perspectives. He's been an invited keynote/presenter in numerous countries, including the USA, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Belgium, Croatia, Australia, Ghana, Japan, South Africa, Taiwan, the UK, Romania, Spain, Germany, Singapore, Turkey, China, France, Italy, Korea, Mexico, India, Vietnam and the Czech Republic. He's an academic affiliate of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University in the US and a former Trustee of the Board of the Stephenson Multi Academy Trust in Liverpool.

In other recent research projects in digital education, he was PI of the CAMELOT project about task- and project-based learning with video; a Co-I in the VITAL project on learning analytics (2015-2017); and PI on the GUINEVERE project which examined gamification in virtual environments (2017-2019). He's the founding and lead editor of four book series including:
- Global Education Policy and Critical Futures in Education (Palgrave Macmillan, New York);
- Digital Education and Learning (Palgrave Macmillan, New York);
- Advances in Digital Language Learning and Teaching (Bloomsbury Academic);
- Advances in Virtual and Personal Learning Environments (IGI, USA).

In 2009 he founded the Scopus indexed journal, International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments (IJVPE). He's a member of the Editorial Board of the ALT Journal of Research in Learning Technology, a member of the International Advisory Committee of the Virtual Institute for Research at Cambridge University Press, and a Research Officer for the World Association of Online Education (WAOE).

Languages

German
Japanese
English

Degrees

2015, Lancaster University, UK, PhD
2004, The University of Manchester, UK, MEd
2000, University of Leicester, UK, MBA
1998, Newcastle University, UK, PhD

Certifications

2018, Higher Education Academy (HEA), Principal Fellow of the Higher Education (PFHEA)
2018, Cornell University, USA, Certificate in Change Leadership
2000, University of Leicester, Advanced Certificate in Education Management
1997, Trinity College, Certificate in TESOL
1995, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Certificate in Teaching & Lecturing in Higher Education

Academic appointments

External Examiner, Postgraduate Training Scheme (PGTS), Doctoral Academy, University of Hull, 2022 - present
Honorary Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies, University of South Africa, 2021 - present
External Examiner, MEd Education Studies, University of Strathclyde, 2020 - 2024
External Examiner, MA Education, University of Essex, 2018 - 2021
External Examiner, EdD Education, Keele University, 2018 - 2022

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