Ruth McFarlane

Ruth McFarlane aims to break down the barriers to successful delivery of Higher Education in UK prisons. She is an education specialist, lecturer, and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and has significant experience working with people excluded from mainstream education, especially in secure settings. She is co-director of Doing What Really Matters, a social enterprise in the UK, which supports the provision of higher education for people in prison and on release, amplifying the voices of people with lived experience of the criminal justice system and enabling authoritative contributions to prison policy and research, as well as creating cultures of acceptance within universities and wider society. She also serves as treasurer for the European Prison Education Association (EPEA), organising the conference in Norway in June 2023. She has authored a wide range of academic publications, cited and featured internationally. Considering herself a student as well as a teacher, she is passionate about inclusion and equality.