He holds a BA and PhD from UCD and an M Ed from the University of Toronto. His main publications are in higher education, sociology of education, education policy, and social change in Ireland. These include four national studies of access to higher education, the most recent of which was College Entry in Focus: A Fourth National Survey of Access to Higher Education (Dublin: Higher Education Authority, 2001), three edited books on Irish society, including, Irish Society: Sociological Perspectives (Dublin: Institute of Public Administration: 1995) and a large number of journal articles and book chapters. He previously served as joint editor of The Economic and Social Review. He has served on a variety of National Advisory and Policy groups on higher education and is a founder member and currently a member of the Board of Governors of the Consortium of Higher Education Researchers. In 2005 he was selected on the Fulbright New Century Scholar programme researching ‘Higher Education in the 21St Century: Global Challenge, National Response’.