Alistair Ross is Senior Professor in Politics and Education at London Metropolitan University (part-time). He has a PhD in Politics from the University of London, a DLitt from London Metropolitan, and is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.
Alistair Ross
Alistair has taught at the University since 1985, on Education courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Alistair's research career has focussed on political learning and understanding (particularly of citizenship education and young people; on educational policies for equality and the recognition of diversity, and on the curriculum).
He was awarded a personal chair by the European Commission in 2010 for his work on Citizenship Education in Europe.
He recently (2024) led a study on the political values of young Europeans, as part of an Erasmus+/Jean Monnet Network project.
He is currently leading a project on how young people in the UK are responding to the introduction of votes at 16, leading a team of eight Universities in conducting deliberative discussions with small groups of 14/15 year olds in schools across the country. This will report in late 2026/early 2027.
Alistair's research career has focussed on political learning and understanding (particularly of citizenship education and young people; on educational policies for equality and the recognition of diversity, and on the curriculum). He continues to conduct an independent research study on the political understanding of young Europeans, and is currently researching young people in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. He is a member of the University’s Global Diversities and Inequalities Centre.
Recent publications:
• Finding political identities: Young people in a changing Europe. 2019. Palgrave Macmillan. Pp xxv+366. doi 10.1007/978-3-319-90875-5
• Young Europeans’ construction of a Europe of human rights. 2020. London Review of Education, 18 (1) pp. 81-95. doi 10.18546/LRE.18.1.06
• Educational Research for Social Justice: Evidence and practice from the UK, (Editor) 2021, Springer [in the World Education Research Association series Education Science, Evidence and the Public Good]
• Young People’s Understanding of European Values: Enhancing abilities, supporting participations and voice. (with Loughran, T. and others), 2024, European Commission. DoI 10.14712/9788076034709 (free download on link)
• Deliberative Discussions as a Research Method with Young People. 2025. in Howard, F., Hanckle, B. Moore. K., Atherton, J. and Suppers, J. Researching with Young People: an introduction to youth-centred research methods. London: Bloomsbury
Two popular ‘golden oldies’:
• Curriculum: Construction and Critique. 2000. London: Routledge/Falmer.
• Higher Education and Social Class: Issues of exclusion and inclusion [with Louise Archer and Merryn Hutchings]. 2003. London: Routledge/Falmer
Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS)
Member of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government’s Academic Advisory Group on Votes at 16 and Democratic Engagement
A member of the Political Studies Association, the British Educational Research Association, the Children’s Identity and Citizenship in Europe Association and the East European Network of Citizenship Educators.