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Jason Arday

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British sociologist (born 1985)
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Jason Arday
Born1985 (age 38–39)
Academic background
Alma mater
Academic work
DisciplineSociologist
Sub-discipline
Institutions

Jason Arday FRSA (born 1985) is a British sociologist, writer and fundraiser. His research interests and publications include education, social mobility, mental health, neurodiversity and race. In March 2023, he began an appointment as Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Cambridge, UK, becoming the youngest black person ever appointed to a professorship at Cambridge.

He had previously been a Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Glasgow in the College of Social Sciences, and before that Associate Professor of Sociology and Deputy Executive Dean of People and Culture in the Faculty of Social Science and Health at the University of Durham, as well as visiting professor at Nelson Mandela University in the Centre for Critical Studies in Higher Education Transformation, South Africa. He is an Honorary Doctor of Education at Anglia Ruskin University.

Early life

Arday was born in 1985 to Ghanaian parents, and is the third youngest of four brothers. He grew up on a council estate in Clapham, South London. He was diagnosed as autistic at 3 years old and due to global developmental delay learned to speak at the age of 11 and to read and write at the age of 18.

Arday went to Heathbrook Primary School in Wandsworth and Southfields Community College Secondary School in Earlsfield. Arday completed his further education at Merton College in Morden, South Wimbledon.

Research and career

Education and early career

Arday completed his undergraduate degree in Education Studies with Physical Education at the University of Surrey, before going on to study for a Master of Arts (MA) degree in education at St Mary's University, Twickenham and Postgraduate Certificate in General Education (PGCE) at the Institute of Education. He completed his master's degree in Education (MEd) at Liverpool John Moores University, where he was also awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in education. His doctoral thesis was titled "An exploration of peer-mentoring among student teachers to inform reflective practice within the context of action research", and was completed in 2015; his doctoral supervisor was Professor Philip Vickerman. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (fHEA).

In 2017, Arday was paired with MP and Shadow Minister for Mental Health Rosena Allin-Khan through the Operation Black Vote MP Shadowing Scheme. The scheme, for which there was "huge demand for places", is a selective training programme for "the next generation of political leaders" that develops individuals in areas such as policy, public speaking, media community activism and lobbying. Today, Arday sits on the Centre for Labour and Social Studies (CLASS) National Advisory Panel.

Research interests

Arday has research interests and publications in intersecting areas across education, social mobility, mental health and race. He has conducted research into Black students' experiences across universities and is outspoken about the "omission" of people of colour in the academy and the enduring effects of racial discrimination.

Arday is known for his report for The Black Curriculum, which received widespread media interest. The report "explores how the current History National Curriculum systematically omits the contribution of Black British history in favour of a dominant White, Eurocentric curriculum that fails to reflect our multi-ethnic and broadly diverse society". Arday continues to lobby for decolonisation of the curriculum.

In 2019, Arday brought together three key areas of interest, race, music and 1990s popular culture, to write Cool Britannia and Multi-ethnic Britain: Uncorking the Champagne Supernova. He has written a number of other books, research papers, chapters and policy reports relating to race and racism.

Appointments

As well as his previous roles at the University of Glasgow and University of Durham, Arday is a visiting professor at the Nelson Mandela University and a Trustee of both the Runnymede Trust and British Sociological Association (BSA). He is also an Editorial Board Member for Sociology (journal) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). In Autumn 2021, Arday was announced as Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Glasgow, making him one of the youngest Professors in the UK and the youngest Black Professor in Britain at the time of his appointment. In March, 2023, he was appointed to a professorship at the University of Cambridge, UK. At the age of 37, his appointment made him one of the youngest people ever to be appointed to a full Professorship at Oxbridge.

Fundraising and charity work

In 2010, Arday ran 30 marathons in 35 days to raise money for Shelter and the Shooting Star Children's Hospice.  His inspiration to support these charities came from a visit when he was 18 years old to a homeless shelter, where he "was moved and disturbed to see people struggling for something as fundamental as a roof over their head." He chose to support Shelter, saying that he "needed to do something to help people by supporting Shelter's work with homeless and badly housed families".

In 2013, his charity work led to him meeting Andy Murray and being featured on ITV family programme Surprise Surprise and being a Torch Bearer for the London 2012 Olympics. By 2022, Arday raised a total of over £5.5m for over 80 different charities over a 20 year period. Arday remains a long-standing trustee of the Runnymede Trust, the UK's leading race equality think tank.

Arday has been awarded five honorary doctorates for outstanding contribution to higher education, social justice and charity from Southampton Solent University, St Mary’s University, London, Anglia Ruskin University, University of Westminster and London South Bank University.

In 2023, alongside Dr Jessica Wade he was made an Honorary Fellow of the British Science Association (BSA) for outstanding contribution to equality and diversity in STEM and inclusion as part of the BSA’s ongoing efforts to diversify STEM.

Selected publications

  • Cool Britannia and Multi-Ethnic Britain: Uncorking the Champagne Supernova. Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.
  • "Fighting the tide: Understanding the difficulties facing Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Doctoral Students' pursuing a career in Academia". Educational Philosophy and Theory 1, 2020.
  • The Black Curriculum: Black British History in the National Curriculum Report. London: The Black Curriculum, 2020.
  • "No One Can See Me Cry: Understanding Mental Health Issues for Black and Ethnic Minority Academic Staff in Higher Education". Higher Education, 2021.

References

  1. ^ Cawley, Laurence (23 February 2023). "Cambridge University's Jason Arday becomes youngest black professor". BBC News. Cambridgeshire. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  2. "Jason Arday appointed Professor of Sociology of Education at University of Cambridge". www.educ.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  3. "Professor Jason Arday". Archived from the original on 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  4. "Jason Arday". Nelson Mandela University. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  5. ^ "Professor Jason Arday - ARU". www.aru.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  6. Brinkhurst-Cuff, Charlie (2023-07-11). "Jason Arday: he learned to talk at 11 and read at 18 – then became Cambridge's youngest Black professor". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  7. "Surviving Society podcast, April 2019". Spotify. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  8. "Ruling Passions podcast, March 2022". 22 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  9. "With Reason podcast, December 2020". 15 December 2020. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  10. "Dr J Arday - Durham University". www.dur.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  11. "OBV MP Shadowing Scheme 2017/18 | OBV". www.obv.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  12. "National Advisory Panel | CLASS". classonline.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  13. ^ Arday, Jason (2021-01-05). "No one can see me cry: understanding mental health issues for Black and minority ethnic staff in higher education". Higher Education. 83: 79–102. doi:10.1007/s10734-020-00636-w. ISSN 1573-174X. S2CID 234182270.
  14. Arday, Jason; Belluigi, Dina Zoe; Thomas, Dave (2021-02-23). "Attempting to break the chain: reimaging inclusive pedagogy and decolonising the curriculum within the academy". Educational Philosophy and Theory. 53 (3): 298–313. doi:10.1080/00131857.2020.1773257. ISSN 0013-1857. S2CID 219779072.
  15. Arday, Jason (2018-07-03). "Dismantling power and privilege through reflexivity: negotiating normative Whiteness, the Eurocentric curriculum and racial micro-aggressions within the Academy". Whiteness and Education. 3 (2): 141–161. doi:10.1080/23793406.2019.1574211. ISSN 2379-3406. S2CID 155236217.
  16. Arday, Jason (2021-02-23). "Race, education and social mobility: We all need to dream the same dream and want the same thing". Educational Philosophy and Theory. 53 (3): 227–232. doi:10.1080/00131857.2020.1777642. ISSN 0013-1857. S2CID 225680526.
  17. ^ Arday, Jason (2020-06-25). "Fighting the tide: Understanding the difficulties facing Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Doctoral Students' pursuing a career in Academia". Educational Philosophy and Theory. 53 (10): 972–979. doi:10.1080/00131857.2020.1777640. ISSN 0013-1857.
  18. "Black applicants least likely to be offered PhD places". BBC News. 2020-11-17. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  19. Arday, Jason (2020-07-24). "This is a low: The enduring effects of racial discrimination on mental health within the academy". HEPI. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  20. Weale, Sally (2020-11-25). "National curriculum in England 'systematically omits' Black British history". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  21. Arday, Jason (2020-06-13). "If we want a more equal Britain, we must teach its true black history". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  22. "The Black Curriculum". The Black Curriculum. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  23. "Dr J Arday - Durham University". www.dur.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  24. Weale, Sally (2020-01-08). "Black British history 'missing from school curricula in England'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  25. ^ Arday, Jason. "Cool Britannia and Multi-Ethnic Britain: Uncorking the Champagne Supernova". Routledge & CRC Press. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  26. Arday, Jason; Mirza, Heidi Safia, eds. (2018). Dismantling Race in Higher Education: Racism, Whiteness and Decolonising the Academy. Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-60261-5. ISBN 978-3-319-60260-8.
  27. Arday, Jason (2023-12-31). Considering Racialised Contexts in Education: Using reflective practice and peer-mentoring to support Black and Ethnic Minority educators (1st ed.). Routledge.
  28. "Our Team | Trustees". Runnymede Trust. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  29. "Jason Arday : Faculty of Education". www.educ.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  30. Cox, Laura (2010-08-25). "College lecturer completes marathon challenge". Richmond and Twickenham Times. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  31. "Good luck Jason! - Shelter England". england.shelter.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  32. Davis, Lizabeth (2013-12-01). "A Murray Christmas for charity hero | The Voice Online". archive.voice-online.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  33. "The Black Curriculum Report (2020)" (PDF).
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