Dr Dave S.P. Thomas (SFHEA)

Dr Thomas is a distinguished academic and author. His research interests centre on culturally sensitive curricula and the development of theoretically grounded, psychometrically robust tools for their assessment and application in educational practice. This includes the development and validation of the Culturally Sensitive Curricula Scales (CSCS), alongside a Culturally Sensitive Curricula Educator Self-Reflection Tool designed to support educators in critically examining the cultural sensitivity and inclusivity of their curricula and practices. Specifically, I am interested in how cultural sensitivity can be conceptualised, measured and translated into meaningful and inclusive curriculum design, implementation and evaluation.

Runner up - British Educational Research Association (BERA) Research Book of the Year Award (2025)

University of Kent Postgraduate Researcher Champion – 2022

Inducted into the Association of American colleges and Universities (AAC&U) Future Leader Society – 2022

CE Opus Prize (2013)

Books

Thomas, D.S.P. (2026) We are Windrush: A KS2 Colouring and Learning Book Exploring the Windrush Generation. Merle Thomas Legacy Press.

Thomas, D.S.P. and Quinlan, K.M. (Eds.) (2024). Culturally Sensitive Curricula Scales: Researching, Evaluating and Enhancing Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan.

Day, A., Lee, L., Thomas, D.S.P., & Spickard, J. (Eds.) (2022). Diversity, Inclusion, and Decolonization: Practical Tools for Improving Teaching, Research, and Scholarship. Bristol University Press.

Thomas, D.S.P. and Arday, J. (2021). Doing Equity and Diversity for Success in Higher Education: Redressing Structural Inequalities in the Academy. Palgrave Macmillan.

Thomas, D.S.P. and Jivraj, J. (2020). Towards Decolonising the University: A Kaleidoscope for Empowered Action. Counterpress.

Selected Book Chapters

Thomas, D.S.P. and Quinlan, K.M. (2024). Introduction. In D.S.P. Thomas and K.M. Quinlan (Eds.), Culturally Sensitive Curricula Scales: Researching, Evaluating and Enhancing Higher Education. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Thomas, D.S.P. and Quinlan, K.M. (2024). Conclusion. In D.S.P. Thomas and K.M. Quinlan (Eds.), Culturally Sensitive Curricula Scales: Researching, Evaluating and Enhancing Higher Education. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Thomas, D.S.P. and Quinlan, K.M. (2024). Culturally Sensitive Curricula: Roots and Branches. In D.S.P. Thomas and K.M. Quinlan (Eds.), Culturally Sensitive Curricula Scales: Researching, Evaluating and Enhancing Higher Education. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Thomas, D.S.P. and Quinlan, K.M. (2024). Culturally Sensitive Curricula Educator Self- Reflection Tool. In D.S.P. Thomas and K.M. Quinlan (Eds.), Culturally Sensitive Curricula Scales: Researching, Evaluating and Enhancing Higher Education. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Hensby, A., Adewumi, B., Twumasi, A. and Thomas, D.S.P. (2024). BAME Students’ Extracurricular Belonging at University: Building Networks, Representation and Capital. In A. Hensby & B. Adewumi (Eds.), Race, Capital and Equity in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan.

Thomas, D.S.P. (2022). Perceptions, Expectations and Realities: Reflections on Building Staff-Student Partnerships Through a Reading List Review. In A. Day, L. Lee, D.S.P. Thomas and J. Spickard (Eds.), Doing Diversity in Academia: Practices and Pitfalls. Bristol: Bristol University Press.

Lee, A., Lee, L., Thomas, D.S.P. and Spickard, J. (2022). Why Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonisation Matter. In A. Day, L. Lee, D.S.P. Thomas and J. Spickard (Eds.), Doing Diversity in Academia: Practices and Pitfalls. Bristol: Bristol University Press.

Lee, A., Lee, L., Thomas, D.S.P. and Spickard, J. (2022). What We Have Learned. In A. Day, L. Lee, D.S.P. Thomas and J. Spickard (Eds.), Doing Diversity in Academia: Practices and Pitfalls. Bristol: Bristol University Press.

Barrow, J. and Thomas, D.S.P. (2021). The Myth of Academic Underperformance and Notions of Truth: In Conversation with Dame Jocelyn Barrow. In D.S.P. Thomas and J. Arday (Eds.), Doing Equity and Diversity for Success in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan.

Otele, O. and Thomas, D.S.P. (2021). Fencing the Race: Responding to the Past to Help Shape the Future. In D.S.P. Thomas and J. Arday (Eds.), Doing Equity and Diversity for Success in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan.

Adi, H. and Thomas, D.S.P. (2021). Decolonisation or Empowerment in Higher Education? In D.S.P. Thomas and J. Arday (Eds.), Doing Equity and Diversity for Success in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan.

Mama, A. and Thomas, D.S.P. (2021). Travelling Between Historical Memory and the Current Predicament of Educational Reforms: A Transnational Perspective. In D.S.P. Thomas and J. Arday (Eds.), Doing Equity and Diversity for Success in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan.

Thomas, D.S.P. (2021). The Owl of Minerva Has Flown, the University Is Dead: Can Equity and Diversity Be Done for Success in Higher Education Now? In D.S.P. Thomas and J. Arday (Eds.), Doing Equity and Diversity for Success in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan.

Thomas, D.S.P. and Mikel, M. (2021). Understanding and Interrupting Systemic Racism: A ‘Race Equality Receipt’ as a Mechanism to Promote Transformational Conversations. In D.S.P. Thomas and J. Arday (Eds.), Doing Equity and Diversity for Success in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan.

Thomas, D.S.P. and Jivraj, S. (2020). The Dissonant State of Affairs in the Academy and the Audacity of a Kaleidoscope for Change. In D.S.P. Thomas and S. Jivraj (Eds.), Towards Decolonising the University: A Kaleidoscope for Empowered Action. Counterpress.

Thomas, D.S.P. (2020). Decolonising the University of Kent: Where It Still Must Go and What It Still Must Be. In D.S.P. Thomas and S. Jivraj (Eds.), Towards Decolonising the University: A Kaleidoscope for Empowered Action. Counterpress.

Thomas, D.S.P. (2020). Invited Commentary: Becoming a Leader; In K. Jarrett & S. Newton (Eds.), The Practice of Leadership in Higher Education: Becoming, Being and Leaving Leadership. London: Routledge.

Thomas, D.S.P. (2019). A Liberating Curricula as a Social Responsibility for Promoting Social Justice and Student Success Within UK Higher Education Institutions. In C. Brown and U. Nwagbara (Eds.), Corporate Social Responsibility and Strategic Market Positioning for Organizational Success. IGI Global, pp. 35–58.

Selected Peer Reviewed Articles

Boyce, J., Thomas, D.S.P. & Quinlan, K.M. (2026). Culturally Sensitive Curricula: Understanding the Barriers to Implementation in Higher Education. Studies in Higher Education (forthcoming).

Thomas, D.S.P. & Quinlan, K.M. (Eds.) (2024). Culturally Sensitive Curricula Scales: Researching, Evaluating and Enhancing Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan.

Quinlan, K.M. & Thomas, D.S.P. (2024). The Culturally Sensitive Curricula Educator Self-Reflection Tool as a Step Toward Curricular Transformation. International Journal of Academic Development.

Quinlan, K.M. and Thomas, D.S.P. et al., (2024). Promoting Students’ Interest Through Culturally Sensitive Curricula in Higher Education. Studies in Higher Education.

Thomas, D.S.P. & Quinlan, K.M. (2023). Reimagining Curricula: Effects of Culturally (In)Sensitive Curricula on Minority Ethnic Students. Engagement. Studies in Higher Education, 48(2), 283–298.

Arday, J., Belluigi, D.Z. & Thomas, D.S.P. (2020). Attempting to Break the Chain: Reimagining Inclusive Pedagogy and Decolonising the Curriculum Within the Academy. Educational Philosophy and Theory.

Orr, S., Highton, M., Thomas, D.S.P., Lieven, N. & Lawson, M. (2022). Blended Learning Review: Report of the OfS-Appointed Blended Learning Review Panel. Office for Students.

• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
• British Educational Research Association (BERA)
• American Association of Colleges and Universities Future Leaders Society (AAC&U)
• Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE)
• World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT)
• Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT)
• Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Royal Society of Public Health