Matt's research interests lie in the analysis of the dynamic spatial, temporal and social interrelations between educational processes and societies – in particular, he is interested in the relationship between language education, including language-in-education policy, and large-scale social, economic and political transformations in Late Modernity. Alongside colleagues in the Research Network Globalisation, Education and Social Futures, Matt has been working on advancing a Cultural Political Economy of Education, with a specific focus on Modern Foreign Languages and MFL pedagogy. 

His most recent research projects have focused on how ontologically situated knowledges, cultural systems and particular visions of the future affect the valuing of foreign language skills. Matt's 'case studies' include the growing use of English as a medium of instruction, links between language and international mobility, and the mechanisms behind the globalising of Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language. 

Areas of Research Supervision:

• political economy of language
• processes of globalisation and language-in-education policy
• English and Chinese as 'global' languages
• China's 'Double Reduction' policy
• TESOL as an industry
• language and international mobility
• critical discourse studies
• critical realism