Susan L. Robertson

Professor Susan L. Robertson

Professor, Sociology of Education

University of Bristol
Graduate School of Education
35 Berkeley Square
Bristol BS8 1JA
United Kingdom

Doctoral Degree

University of Calgary, Policy/Sociology PhD 1990

Academic Areas of Interest

My research broadly focuses on the political nature of education in societies, with a particular focus on the ways in which the  education sector is deeply implicated in the re/production of social selves and social  relations.  The societal and political contexts for my research on education are broad in that I am particularly interested in understanding how education is the object and outcome of converging and diverging  policies and  practices around the globe. These include creating education as  a services sector, the commercialisation of education, and the increased role of for-profit actors in the sector.

In these different contexts, the problematics that  I continue to  pursue include understanding transformations in the nature of the state, the creation of new (global and regional)  scalar platforms for the advance of education projects,  the changing role of teachers’ labor,  the uneven distribution of opportunities for learners, and the implications of these developments for the social outcomes of education.

On-Campus Affiliations

Director, Centre for Globalisation, Education and Societies
Thematic Director, Learning Societies, Graduate School of Education
Pathway Coordinator, Global Political Economy, Southwest Doctoral Training Centre
Founding Co-editor, Globalisation, Societies and Education

Current Research Projects

Universities and City-Regional Development, ESRC funded Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies (LLAKES) (2008-2013)
Governance of Education Transitions in Europe (GOETE), FP7, EC funded (2009-2013)
Universities in Regional and Global Economies (URGE) FP7 Marie Curie IRSES
Universities in Knowledge Economies (UNIKE), FP7 Marie Curie Initial Training Network
The Bristol Bike Project – New Approaches to Social Innovation for Sustainable and Socially-Just  Communities, ESRC, (2012-13)
FOODCYCLE   – New Approaches to Social Innovation for Sustainable and Socially-Just  Communities ESRC,  (2012-13)
Privatisation in Education Initiative (PERI) – Open Society Foundation, (2010- )
GlobalHigherEd: Surveying the Construction of Global Knowledge Spaces for the Knowledge Economy – Research Blog on Higher Education (2003-)
Global Regionalisms, Governance and Higher Education, WUN Global Challenges  (2010-2013)

Recent Publications

Vostal, F. and Robertson, S.L. (Forthcoming Fall 2012) “Knowledge Mediators and Lubricating Channels: On the Temporal Politics of Remissioning the University”, in TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies; Special Issue: ‘Out of the Ruins: The University to Come’.

Robertson, S.L. and Verger, A. (2012) “Governing Education Through Public Private Partnerships”,in S. Robertson, K. Mundy, A. Verger and F. Menashy (eds) (2012) Public Private Partnerships in Education: New Actors and Modes of Governance in a Globalizing World, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 21-42.

Robertson, S.L. and Olds, K. (2012) “World University Rankings: On the New Arts of Governing (Quality)”, paper presented to “Rencontres pluridisciplinaires sur les mécanismes d’assurance qualité et l’évaluation des formations universitaires”, 9-10 décembre 2011, Séminaire international à l’UCL-Mon.

Robertson, S.L., Dale, R., Moutsios, S., Nielsen, G., Shore, C. and Wright, S. (2012) “Globalisation and Regionalism in Higher Education: Toward a New Conceptual Framework”,  Working Papers on University Reform, Working Paper 20, EPOKE, Department of Education, Aarhus University.

Robertson, S.L. (2012) “Researching Global Education Policy: Angles In/On/Out…”, in A. Verger, M. Novelli and H. Altinyelken (eds)  (2012) Global Education Policy and International Development: New Agendas, Issues and Practices, Continuum Books.

Robertson, S.L. (2012) “Placing’ Teachers in Global Governance Agendas”,forthcoming in Comparative Education Review, 56 (4), 2012.

MORE – see Publications  Page