About

I am a Senior Lecturer of Education (Research) in the Institute of Education and have been at the University of Derby since 2024. I serve as the Deputy Lead for the Race and Education Research Cluster (RERC) in the Institute of Education and Skills (IoES) at Derby.

My academic research focuses on issues of diversity and social justice in education as well as the study of antisemitism in both school and society. Theoretically, I draw on Critical Pedagogy, Critical Race Theory and HebCrit to explore issues of inequity in education and how these issues impact communities at-large.

I have published four books and over 20 peer-reviewed articles in national/international journals in the areas of ethnic studies, social justice, secondary education and English/Language Arts. My current book, Rebellious Integrity in the ELA Classroom: Teaching for Social Justice in Troubled Times is forthcoming with Bloomsbury Publishing.

Teaching responsibilities

Doctoral supervision

I have supervised the following completed doctoral thesis:

• ‘What discourses do pre-service teachers use when discussing race?’ 2026 (Jo Byrd)

Current doctoral supervision

• ‘Exploring the self-regulated learning of international medical graduates new to the NHS’. 2022-ongoing (Nicola Cooper)
• ‘Connecting teaching and learning with real life experience: The teaching for and learning about critical pedagogy in Ghana’s higher education’. 2026–ongoing (Urban Ankamah).

Research interests

• Issues of social justice in education and society
• Antisemitism
• Ethnic studies
• Critical pedagogies
• Dialectical thinking

Membership of professional bodies

• Member of the British Educational Research Association (BERA)
• Member of the University and College Union (UCU)
• Member of the Association for Jewish Studies

Qualifications

• Advance HE Fellowship (Fellow of the Higher Education Academy)
• PhD in Curriculum and Instruction
• MEd in Special Education
• BFA with a Graphic Design Emphasis

Recent conferences

2024

• Integrating Jewish life and antisemitism into existing student support efforts. Hillel International - Campus Climate Initiative. Virtual, September 24 & 25.
• Why broadening the lens of ethnic studies matters for all learners. Ed Empowerment 2024, Sacramento, CA, United States, May 20. 

Recent publications

2026

• Roitman, J., & Rubin, D. I. in press. Anti-Zionism as a permanent fixture on university campuses: A comparative perspective from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Antisemitism Studies.

2025

• Rubin, D. I. 2025. The fight for Jewish inclusion in K-12 ethnic studies education: Issues, obstacles, and excuses. Berghahn Books
• Rubin, D. I., & Grayson, M. L. 2025. Bandwagon “activism,” uncritical thinking, and the ostracism of Jews in the name of progressive anti-Zionism. Modern Judaism - A Journal of Jewish Ideas and Experience, 45(2), 179–202.
• Eargle, J. C., & Rubin, D. I. 2025. Countering Holocaust trivialization: How educational resources support teachers in the context of political extremism. The Journal of Social Studies Research, 49(1), 3–23.
• Grayson, M. L., & Rubin, D. I. 2025. Recycled right-wing rhetorics of post-October 7 left-wing antisemitism. Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism, 8(1), 23-37.

2024

• Rubin, D. I. 2024. “Liberated” ethnic studies: Jews need not apply. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 47(3), 506-525.