Professor Paul Warmington

Paul is an internationally esteemed scholar in the sociology of education. His work is rooted in traditions of Black Atlantic thought and focuses on race, class and social justice: issues central to contemporary public debate and academia’s mission to benefit wider society. Paul began his career in further education in the late 1980s and has worked in higher education for over twenty years, at the University of Nottingham; University of Birmingham; and as a full professor at the University of Warwick and Nottingham Trent University.

Paul’s academic roles have included Director of Research, Head of Postgraduate Research and Associate Dean for Research (Social Sciences). At the University of Birmingham (2004-2016), he was a founder member of the Centre for Research in Race and Education and at the University of Nottingham, a member of the Centre for Developing and Evaluating Lifelong Learning (2000-2003). He is a Visiting Professor at Coventry University. Before entering academia, Paul worked in antiracist publishing and taught for eleven years in further education, focusing particularly on access to higher education programmes.

Paul’s writing on Black intellectual and educational movements has been internationally influential. His most recent publications include the co-edited four-volume collection, Critical Race Theory in Education: Major Themes (Routledge, 2018). His research on race and social justice; widening access; further and higher education; education policy; student experiences and educational achievement has been funded by major bodies, including the ESRC, British Academy and the Society for Educational Studies. His work has been covered in The Guardian, Times Education Supplement and The Voice. He recently contributed to BBC1’s landmark documentary Subnormal, on the historical scandal of the placing of Black children in ESN schools during the 1960s and 70s.