Catching up with Stone Centre PhD Scholar Damian Phelan

Damian Phelan was a Stone Centre PhD Scholar in 2023/2024, following our inaugural scholars Thomas Lazarowicz and Joern Onken in 2022/2023. Damian has a background in secondary teaching and kindly took time out of his schedule to chat with us about his experience with the Stone Centre.

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Hi Damian, thanks for speaking with us. How did you first become involved with the Stone Centre?
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I was working as a PGTA on ECON0002, a module for which Stone Centre Director Wendy Carlin was one of the lecturers. After discussing my work, Wendy suggested that I apply for one of the PhD scholarships.

What are you studying for your PhD?
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My thesis title is Essays in the Economics of Education and I will look at two main questions. The first is: what are the returns to studying Economics as an A-level subject and an undergraduate subject? The second is split into two parts and assesses the effect of secondary school culture/climate on progress in English and Maths, as well as the effect on GCSE subject choices.
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A school's culture is measured using two scales: a warm-cold measure which assesses the strength of relationships between students and staff, and a strict-permissive measure which assesses the tightness of boundaries the school imposes.

How did the Stone Centre PhD Scholarship help you?
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The Stone PhD Scholarship was massively beneficial in two ways. It provided the funds to allow for a much wider survey of schools across England than I had originally planned when beginning my research. I was able to hire several research assistants to help with contacting schools, interviewing headteachers and visiting schools. The scholarship enabled us to complete over 300 interviews and over 100 school visits.

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The second way in which the scholarship was helpful was having the opportunity to share my research plan and findings with a range of academics at different stages of their careers, who then provided incredibly valuable feedback and guidance.

What have you done since your scholarship?
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Before embarking on a masters and then PhD at UCL I spent 10 years working as a secondary school teacher in inner city schools. I decided to return to that profession. I have been working full-time at a school in Wembley since September.

What do you plan to do in the future?
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I plan to complete my PhD thesis by the end of September 2026 and then continue my career in secondary education, with the intention of using the insights I have gained from my research to influence my own practice, and hopefully that of others.