Professor Mark Priestley

Profile

My initial academic training was in Philosophy and Politics (BA), followed by a Masters in Social and Public Policy (MA). My doctoral thesis (PhD) involved a study of disability politics in the implementation of independent living and community care policy. I worked in the School from 1997, as a research fellow, lecturer and senior academic, before retiring in 2023. I retain an honorary association as Professor Emeritus.

I was formerly Head of the School of Sociology and Social Policy (2011-2014), and Pro-dean for Research in the Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law (2004-2007), and became a Fellow of the  Academy of Social Sciences in 2016

From 2008-2019 I was Scientific Director of the European Commission's Academic Network of European Disability experts (ANED) and have a continuing role in providing expertise in this area. My research has focused on disability policy and politics, mostly in European and international comparative contexts, using both quantitative and qualitative methods, which translate into policy relevant analysis. 

I have been often engaged in policy advice to government departments in the UK and internationally.

Presenting evidence to the European Parliament Committee on Petitions

Research interests

My research interests have included international and comparative perspectives on public policy, particularly disability policy and notably in Europe, as well as issues of policy process, monitoring and governance, for example in relation to international human rights policies. I am particularly interested in research that links social, political and economic inequalities with the political claims of the disabled people's movement, and with methods of evidencing the progressive realization of rights in different societies. My research involves mixed and comparative methods, including policy analysis and indicator development.

More information about the impact of my research on policy and society can be found in two case studies submitted to the Research Excellence Framework in 2014 and 2021.

• Academic network of European disability experts (ANED)
• European Disability Expertise (EDE)
• European research agendas for disability equality
• Evaluating EU progress in implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the EU Disability Strategy
• Including a new generation? Using qualitative longitudinal methods to understand disabled people's lives in the 21st century
• Rapid Evidence Assessments for the ODI
• Realizing the political rights of persons with disabilities (PODI)
• The performance of disability histories
• The protection role of the Committee on Petitions in the context of the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• The right to independent living of persons with disabilities: Statistical analysis for outcome indicators
• U-LEAD - University of Leeds East Asia Disability Rights Forum
• UK and Latin American perspectives on Disability

Qualifications

• BA hons Philosophy and Politics (Leeds 1984)
• MA Social and Public Policy (Leeds 1993)
• PhD (Leeds 1997)

Professional memberships

• Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
• Member of the Social Policy Association

Student education

I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and have taught adults since 1986. My teaching spans mainly across the areas of social and public policy and disability policy studies, as well as research methods. 

Research groups and institutes

• Centre for Disability Studies