Stephen John Ball, (born 21 January 1950) is a British sociologist and the Karl Mannheim Professor of Sociology of Education at the Institute of Education of University College London (formerly part of the University of London). He has been described as "one of the most eminent scholars in the field of education policy". In 2013, Michael W. Apple wrote that "...one of the things that set Stephen Ball apart from many others is his insistence that both structural and poststructural theories and analyses are necessary for ‘bearing witness’ and for an adequate critical understanding of educational realities". He is the co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Education Policy, alongside founding editor Ivor Goodson.
Honours
Ball was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) in 1998, a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) in 2000, and a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) in 2006.