Prof. Dr. Louise Archer

Professor Louise Archer holds the Karl Mannheim Chair in Sociology of Education at UCL. Her research seeks to understand educational identities and inequalities, particularly in relation to social class, gender and race/ethnicity across primary, secondary, higher and informal STEM learning contexts. She has authored over 100 academic publications and has directed numerous large-scale national and international research studies, including the 14 year, ESRC-funded ASPIRES study, a mixed methods research project examining what shapes the trajectories of young people from age 10-21. Louise is particularly interested in participatory approaches, working with teachers, professionals and young people in ways that can support more equitable educational policies and practices. The impact of her research on supporting diversity and inclusion in STEM has been recognised through prizes from the Royal Society (2022), ESRC (2020) and British Educational Research Association (2019).