Anthony Kelly

Who is Anthony Kelly?

Anthony J. Elliott-Kelly is a Professor of Education at the University of Southampton, England, specialising in education / schooling theory as it relates to school improvement, school effectiveness and school leadership, and system-wide policy.

Kelly previously worked at the University of Cambridge with Mel West, and before that was a headteacher in Ireland. His background is in Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, which he studied at Cambridge under George Batchelor. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and of the Institute of Mathematics and Applications, and in 2013 was elected as an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences. He was a leading figure in the movement to integrate and rationalise education in the Irish border region where he developed new governance structures.

Kelly was well known in Ireland because of his work in merging schools with different traditions, and is known in UK university circles for his traditional view of the role of universities. As a student at Cambridge he famously cast doubt on the sincerity of a student discussion in a student society, causing some offence.

Kelly was founding editor of the journal Education, Knowledge and Economy, serves on the editorial board of other international academic journals, and is an invited lecturer at several leading universities outside the UK. He serves on several national UK steering groups and approval panels, and has appeared before the House of Commons Select Committee on Education. He also retains an interest and involvement in Anglo-Irish affairs. He is the author of approximately one hundred research reports, books and papers in leading academic journals.