Rate My Professor Matthew Clayton

Matthew Clayton is Professor of Political Theory and Head of the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick. He joined the department in 2002, having previously held positions in the Department of Philosophy and the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex, as well as in the Department of Government at Brunel University. Clayton's research specializations encompass distributive justice, the foundations of liberal political thought, and applied philosophy in areas such as the philosophy of upbringing and education. His academic interests specifically include equality of opportunity, educational justice, the voting age, and issues surrounding religious schools and school composition.

Clayton has authored several influential monographs, including Independence for Children (Oxford University Press, 2025), How to Think about Religious Schools: Principles and Policies with Andrew Mason, Adam Swift, and Ruth Wareham (Oxford University Press, 2024), and Justice and Legitimacy in Upbringing (Oxford University Press, 2006). He has co-edited key volumes such as Social Justice (Blackwell, 2004) and The Ideal of Equality (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002). His peer-reviewed articles have appeared in prestigious journals including the British Journal of Political Science, Journal of Philosophy of Education, Res Publica, Journal of Moral Education, and Political Studies. Notable publications include 'The Political Morality of School Composition: The Case of Religious Selection' (with Andrew Mason, Adam Swift, and Ruth Wareham, 2021), 'The Poverty of Contractarian Moral Education' (with David Stevens, 2019), 'What is the Point of Religious Education?' (with David Stevens, 2018), 'Liberal Equality: Political not Erinaceous' (2016), and 'Should the Voting Age be Lowered to Sixteen? Normative and Empirical Considerations' (with Tak Wing Chan, 2006). Additionally, Clayton has contributed chapters to major handbooks, such as 'Education' in The Oxford Handbook of Distributive Justice (2018) and 'Children and Political Neutrality' in The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Childhood and Children (2018), as well as pamphlets like How to Regulate Faith Schools (with Andrew Mason, Adam Swift, and Ruth Wareham, 2018). His scholarship addresses critical debates in political philosophy, liberal principles, and public policy on education.