Founded in 1902, the British Academy is the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. In becoming a Fellow, Professor Tikly joins prestigious company including classicist Professor Dame Mary Beard, historian and China Expert Professor Rana Mitter, and philosopher Professor Baroness Onora O’Neill.
Professor Tikly is an internationally recognised scholar in international and comparative education, whose research focuses on decolonising education systems and transforming knowledge production to support more just and sustainable futures, particularly in Africa.
He began his career teaching science in London and later in Tanzania at a school for South African refugees fleeing apartheid. He completed his master’s and doctoral studies at the University of Glasgow, with his PhD examining education policy in South Africa since 1948. During the country’s transition to democracy, he worked as a policy researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Education Policy Unit, contributing to policy development for the post-apartheid government.
On returning to the UK, he lectured at the University of Birmingham before joining the University of Bristol, where he was appointed Professor in 2006. His scholarship has advanced understanding of how globalisation shapes education policy and how to improve educational quality for marginalised learners.
From 2005 to 2011, he directed EdQual, a DFID-funded research consortium on education quality in low-income countries.
Leon has written extensively on race, ethnicity and language in education, and more recently on the intersection of decolonial thought and sustainable futures. He led the UKRI-funded network Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures, which co-created knowledge with communities in India, Rwanda, Somalia/Somaliland, and South Africa on how education can contribute to sustainable livelihoods, cities, and climate action.
His work is informed by critical realism, postcolonial, and decolonial perspectives. He holds the UNESCO Chair in Transforming Knowledge and Research for Just and Sustainable Futures and directs the Perivoli Africa Research Centre at the University of Bristol. He is Visiting Professor at the Universities of Johannesburg and Cape Town and was elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2023.
Reflecting on being elected a Fellow of the British Academy, Professor Tikly said: “I am deeply honoured to have been elected as a Fellow of the British Academy. This recognition reflects not only my own work but also the support, inspiration and collaboration of many others. I am especially grateful to my family and to the colleagues and mentors who have accompanied me on this journey.”
In 2025, a total of 58 UK Fellows, 30 International Fellows and 4 Honorary Fellows were nominated for election to the British Academy Fellowship. The Academy is also a funder of both national and international research, as well as a forum for debate and public engagement.