James Tooley is vice-chancellor at the University of Buckingham, where he is also professor of educational entrepreneurship and policy. Prior to joining the university in 2020, he was a professor of education policy at Newcastle University, where he directed the E. G. West Centre, which was dedicated to choice, competition, and entrepreneurship in education. He has done extensive work in demonstrating the benefits of private education for low‐income families. Much of his work has focused on identifying ways to make private education more accessible and to facilitate its growth in the developing world, especially among the poor.
Tooley has worked for over 30 years in educational development, including years of on‐location experience in the developing world. He has served as a researcher at Manchester and Oxford Universities. His books include Really Good Schools: Global Lessons for High-Caliber, Low-Cost Education (2021), The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey into How the World’s Poorest People Are Educating Themselves (2009), The Miseducation of Women (2003), and Reclaiming Education (2000).