What is your role within ARK? 

Since my time as an undergraduate student in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen’s University Belfast (a long time ago!), I have been familiar with the work of ARK. As my academic career brought me back to Queen’s University Belfast and more recently Ulster University, it was a true delight to join the ARK team as an Associate in 2022. Since then, I have taken a key interest in communications and the most effective ways to disseminate ARK’s survey data, research and events to a wide audience.

What do you most enjoy about your role in ARK?

The innovative thinking of the ARK team on a range of social and policy matters to address these issues for the benefit of wider society. It is a real privilege to sit around a table with ARK colleagues and learn from their expertise and experience. I also enjoy introducing undergraduate students to ARK and its resources. It is always great to see students engaging with ARK research and data to assist in their understanding of the social policy context of Northern Ireland.

As a Lecturer in Social Policy, what is the focus of your research?

My research is centred broadly around social inequalities in education, health and the family. My PhD examined educational attainment inequalities in Northern Ireland using the first linked education administrative dataset for the region, and this is an area that I am extremely passionate about and continue to research. Based on this research, I submitted evidence to the Expert Panel on Educational Underachievement in Northern Ireland and UK Parliament Education Committee. I have also been involved in projects with ARK colleagues (Dr Paula Devine and Professor Dirk Schubotz) that considered the most appropriate methods to assess demand for integrated education in Northern Ireland and we provided evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee based on our findings. In addition, other research projects I have been involved in with ARK explored the need for gendered health policies, specifically examining men’s health across the island of Ireland (co-authored with Dr Paula Devine). I hope that through my research on social inequalities that this will help contribute to a positive and inclusive policy landscape that will ultimately improve the lives and outcomes of our young people in Northern Ireland to ensure everyone reaches their potential.

Find out more about Dr Early’s work: https://pure.ulster.ac.uk/en/persons/erin-early