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James Nicholas Tooley (born July 1959, in Southampton, England) is a professor of educational entrepreneurship and of
education policy Education policy consists of the principles and policy decisions that influence the field of education, as well as the collection of laws and rules that govern the operation of education systems. Education governance may be shared between the local ...
at the
University of Buckingham , mottoeng = Flying on Our Own Wings , established = 1973; as university college1983; as university , type = Private , endowment = , administrative_staff = 97 academic, 103 support , chance ...
. In July 2020 Tooley was appointed as the new Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Buckingham , mottoeng = Flying on Our Own Wings , established = 1973; as university college1983; as university , type = Private , endowment = , administrative_staff = 97 academic, 103 support , chance ...
, succeeding Sir
Anthony Seldon Sir Anthony Francis Seldon (born 2 August 1953) is a British educator and contemporary historian. As an author, he is known in part for his political biographies of Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and The ...
from 1 October 2020.


Early life

Tooley's family moved to Bristol where he was educated at
Kingsfield School King's Oak Academy, formerly Kingsfield School and Kingswood Grammar School, is a Mathematics and Computing College located in Kingswood in Bristol, England. The education authority Ofsted rated it as "good" in 2018. Location and admissions The ...
, Kingswood. The school was burnt to the ground during his time there.


Career background

Tooley holds a PhD from the Institute of Education,
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
, an MSc from the
Science Policy Research Unit Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) is a research centre based at University of Sussex in Falmer, near Brighton, UK. It focuses on long term transformative change, science policy and innovation across different sectors, societies and structures. ...
, University of Sussex, and first class BSc honours in Logic and Mathematics, also from the
University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...
. He began his career as a mathematics teacher in
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
(1983 to 1986), before moving to the
National Foundation for Educational Research The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) is an educational research organisation which gathers evidence and research to inform educational policy and school services. The foundation is not an examination board, however they provi ...
in England in 1988. He held short-term appointments at
Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from d ...
, Canada, and the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, while completing his PhD. His first post-doctoral position was with the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
's Department of Educational Studies, under Professor Richard Pring. From Oxford he moved to the
University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
in 1995; at the same time he also created the Education and Training Unit at the
Institute of Economic Affairs The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a right-wing pressure group and think tank registered as a UK charity Associated with the New Right, the IEA describes itself as an "educational research institute", and says that it seeks to "further t ...
in London. Tooly was professor at the
University of Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick univer ...
, where he directed the E. G. West Centre. For his research on private education for the poor in India, China and Africa, Tooley was awarded the gold prize in the first
International Finance Corporation The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries. The IFC is a member of t ...
/
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
Private Sector Development Competition in September 2006. From 2007 to 2009, he was founding President of the Education Fund, Orient Global, and lived in Hyderabad, India. He is currently chairman of education companies in Ghana (Omega Schools Franchise Ltd) and India (Empathy Learning Systems Pvt Ltd) creating low cost chains of low cost private schools. He also holds an appointment as an Adjunct Scholar at the
Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Indus ...
and serves on the Advisory Council of the
Institute of Economic Affairs The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a right-wing pressure group and think tank registered as a UK charity Associated with the New Right, the IEA describes itself as an "educational research institute", and says that it seeks to "further t ...
as well as on the Academic Advisory Council of Civitas: The Institute for the Study of Civil Society. He also serves on the
Board of Visitors In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual co ...
of
Ralston College Ralston College is an institution of higher education that offers in-person degree programs as well as online programs. It began its first in-person offering, an MA in the Humanities, in autumn of 2022 with the authority to grant degrees. Its first ...
, a start-up liberal arts college in
Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
.


Low-cost private education

Tooley is best known for his work on low cost private education. He began this work in 2000, having discovered for himself the existence of low cost private schools in the slums of Hyderabad while doing consultancy for the International Finance Corporation. A major research programme was subsequently undertaken between 2003 and 2005, funded by the
John Templeton Foundation The John Templeton Foundation (Templeton Foundation) is a philanthropic organization that reflects the ideas of its founder, John Templeton, who became wealthy via a career as a contrarian investor, and wanted to support progress in religious an ...
, exploring the nature and existence of private schools for the poor in India, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and China, and comparing public and private provision for the poor. This research is reported in a range of books and publications, including ''The Beautiful Tree: a personal journey into how the world's poorest people are educating themselves'' (Penguin, New Delhi, and Cato Institute, 2009). His work has also been profiled in documentaries for the BBC and PBS: for the latter it was featured alongside the work of Nobel Laureate
Muhammad Yunus Muhammad Yunus (born 28 June 1940) is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, banker, economist and civil society leader who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinan ...
and
Hernando de Soto Polar Hernando Soto Polar (commonly known Hernando de Soto ; born June 2, 1941) is a prominent Peruvian economist known for his work on the informal economy and on the importance of business and property rights. His work on the developing world has ear ...
. The basic findings of the research show that in urban and peri-urban poor areas (slums and shanty towns) in India and the African countries studied, the majority of schoolchildren are in low cost private schools. After testing 24,000 children, it was found that children in the low cost private schools significantly outperform children in public schools, after controlling for background variables and the school choice process. In 2017 Tooley announced plans to open a low cost private primary school in
Durham, England Durham ( , locally ), is a cathedral city and civil parish on the River Wear, County Durham, England. It is an administrative centre of the County Durham District, which is a successor to the historic County Palatine of Durham (which is diffe ...
. The school opened in 2018. An
Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted is responsible for inspecting a range of educational institutions, includ ...
report in 2019 rated the school as "Good".


Educational philosophy and thought

Tooley's work has also explored the role of government in education from philosophical and other theoretical perspectives. This has resulted in academic articles challenging the work of philosophers
Harry Brighouse Harry Brighouse is a British political philosopher at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research interests include the relationship between education and liberalism. His work on this topic has been widely cited by broadsheet newspapers, ...
and Adam Swift, and in the major book ''E. G. West: economic liberalism and the role of government in education'' (Continuum Library of Educational Thought, 2008).


Prizes and awards

The following are the major awards won by Tooley: * Sir Antony Fisher Memorial Prize, for The Beautiful Tree, April 2010 * Gold Prize Winner, 1st Financial Times/International Finance Corporation, Private Sector Development Research Paper Competition, September 2006 * Templeton Prize for Free Market Solutions to Poverty, 1st Prize, March 2006 * Alexis de Tocqueville Award for the Advancement of Education Freedom, May 2007 * National Free Enterprise Award, Feb 2007


Publications

The following are the books and monographs published by Tooley: * Tooley, James (2016) ''Imprisoned in India: Corruption and Extortion in the World's Largest Democracy;'' Biteback Publishing; Great Britain * Tooley, James (2009) ''The Beautiful Tree: a personal journey into how the world's poorest people are educating themselves''. New Delhi: Penguin; Washington, DC: Cato Institute * Tooley, James (2008) ''E. G. West: economic liberalism and the role of government in education'' (Continuum Library of Educational Thought). New York and London: Continuum * Tooley, James & Dixon, Pauline (2005) ''Private Education is Good for the Poor: a study of private schools serving the poor in low-income countries'', Washington DC: Cato Institute. * Tooley, James & Dixon, Pauline (2005) ''Private Schools Serving the Poor: a study from Delhi, India''. New Delhi: Centre for Civil Society * Salisbury, David & Tooley, James (eds) (2005) ''What Americans Can Learn from School Choice in Other Countries''. Washington, DC: Cato Institute * Tooley, James (2004) 教育的全球化能够使穷人受益吗? (Could the Globalization of Education Benefit the Poor?), Beijing: 九鼎公共事务研究所 (Cathay Institute for Public Affairs) (in Chinese) * Tooley, James (2004) 全球教育产业——发展中国家私立教育的经验教训 (The Global Education Industry); translated by Professor Qu Hengchang. Shanghai: People's Publishing House (in Chinese) * Tooley, James (2003) ''Mehr Bildung für die Armen'' (Occasional Paper No. 3). Potsdam: Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung * Tooley, James & Stanfield, James (eds) (2003) ''Government Failure: E. G. West on education, London: Profile Books * Tooley, James; Dixon, Pauline & Stanfield, James (2003) ''Delivering Better Education: market solutions to education'' London: Adam Smith Institute * Tooley, James & Dixon, Pauline (2003) ''Private Schools for the Poor: a case study from India''. Reading: CfBT * Tooley, James (2002) ''The Miseducation of Women''. London and New York:Continuum * Tooley, James (2001) ''The Global Education Industry''; 2nd edition, London and Washington DC, Institute of Economic Affairs and International Finance Corporation, in association with Profile Books, London * Tooley, James (ed.) (2001) ''Buckingham at 25: freeing the universities from state control''. London: Profile Books * Tooley, James (2001) ''The Enterprise of Education: opportunities and challenges for India''. New Delhi: Liberty Institute * Tooley, James (2000) ''Reclaiming Education''. London: Cassell * Tooley, James (1999) ''The Global Education Industry''. London and Washington DC: Institute of Economic Affairs in association with International Finance Corporation * Tooley, James with Howes, Andy (1999) ''The Seven Virtues of Highly Effective Schools''. London: TC Trust * Tooley, James with Darby, Doug (1998) ''Educational Research: a critique'' London: Ofsted * Seville, Adrian & Tooley, James (1997) ''The Debate on Higher Education: challenging the assumptions'' London: Institute of Economic Affairs * Tooley, James (1996) ''Education without the State'' London: Institute of Economic Affairs * Tooley, James (1995) ''Disestablishing the School'' Aldershot: Avebury Press * Tooley, James (1993) ''A Market-Led Alternative for the Curriculum: breaking the code''. London: Tufnell Press * Mason, Keith & Tooley, James (1992) ''Moving Forward in Mathematics: a diagnostic teaching approach''. Windsor: NFER/Nelson


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tooley, James 1959 births Living people Academics of Newcastle University Academics of the University of Buckingham Alumni of the UCL Institute of Education Alumni of the University of Sussex British educational theorists Writers from Southampton Cato Institute people People educated at King's Oak Academy