Sarah Stopforth
Lecturer

Profile

Biography

I joined the Department of Sociology as a Lecturer in September 2022. Prior to joining York, I was a Research Fellow at the University of Sussex and King’s College London working on a Nuffield Foundation funded project examining ethnic inequalities in later life.

I gained my PhD in Sociology from the University of Edinburgh. My PhD thesis examined parental socio-economic background and children’s General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) outcomes using advanced quantitative methods.

Research

Overview

My broad research interests are in the fields of social stratification and the sociology of education. My current research examines social class, ethnicity, and gender inequalities in educational attainment in the UK. I specialise in quantitative research methods and have a particular interest in longitudinal data analysis.

Current projects

January 2024-December 2026

Principal Investigator, ESRC Secondary Data Analysis Initiative grant (ES/X012085/1), Parental Social Class and Children's Educational Outcomes: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study and Administrative Data. 

Publications

Selected publications

• Stopforth, S., Connelly, R., & Gayle, V. (2025). Reporting and measuring English school qualifications: A case study of General Certificate of Secondary Education results in survey and linked administrative data in the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Cambridge Journal of Education, 55(6), 871–890.
• Stopforth, S., & Gayle, V. (2025). Parental social class and school examinations: A longitudinal investigation using linked administrative and survey data. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 46(4), 434–453. 
• Stopforth, S., Connelly, R., & Gayle, V. (2024). Do you like school? Social class, gender, ethnicity and pupils' educational enjoyment. The British Journal of Sociology, 75(4), 535–553.
• Stopforth S, Kapadia D, Nazroo J, & Bécares L. (2023). Ethnic inequalities in health in later life, 1993–2017: The persistence of health disadvantage over more than two decades. Ageing and Society, 43(8), 1954-1982.
• Stopforth, S., & Gayle, V. (2022). Parental social class and GCSE attainment: Re-reading the role of ‘cultural capital.’ British Journal of Sociology of Education, 43(5), 680–699.
• Stopforth, S., Kapadia, D., Nazroo, J., & Bécares, L. (2022). The enduring effects of racism on health: Understanding direct and indirect effects over time. SSM - Population Health, 19, 2352-8273.

Teaching

Overview

I specialise in the teaching of quantitative research methods in the department. I currently convene and teach on the postgraduate modules An Introduction to Quantitative Methods & Data Analysis, and Advanced Methods in Social Research.

Supervision

I am interested in supervising projects in the broad fields of social stratification and the sociology of education, and I welcome applications from prospective students interested in the study of social inequalities in educational outcomes using quantitative research methods. I am particularly interested in projects which involve the secondary analysis of large-scale nationally representative social survey or administrative datasets.

External Activity

Editorial Duties

I currently sit on the editorial boards of the British Journal of Sociology of Education and The Sociological Review.