Meg Maguire worked in London schools for many years, including as a headteacher. Education policy and practice, social justice concerns, the life and work of schoolteachers, teacher education, and the challenges of inner-city schooling are some of her research interests. She is a Professor of Educational Sociology at King's College London's Department of Education and Professional Studies. She has significant experience overseeing research with undergraduate, masters, and doctorate students in educational studies, and she has long been concerned about research ethics. How Schools Do Policy is her most recent book.

Stephen Ball and Annette Braun co-wrote Policy Enactments in Secondary Schools (Routledge, 2012). She is the Journal of Education Policy's lead editor.