Stephen Ball (sociologist)


Stephen John Ball, is a British sociologist and the Karl Mannheim Professor of Sociology of Education at the Institute of Education of University College London. He has been described as "one of the most eminent scholars in the field of education policy." In 2013, Michael W. Apple wrote that "...one of the things that set Stephen Ball apart from many others is his insistence that both structural and poststructural theories and analyses are necessary for ‘bearing witness’ and for an adequate critical understanding of educational realities". He is the co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Education Policy, alongside founding editor Ivor Goodson.

Honours

Ball was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1998, a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2000, and a Fellow of the British Academy in 2006.