Dr Daniel Clark

I am Associate Dean (Digital Learning & Learning Design) in Education and Student Success, where I lead work across digital education, learning design, curriculum development and educational innovation.

My work focuses on the relationship between digital technology and higher education, and how digital approaches can support effective, inclusive and engaging learning and teaching. I have particular interests in digital and online learning, curriculum and learning design, educational policy, learning analytics, artificial intelligence in education, and the relationship between technology and institutional change.

I have worked in higher education for more than twenty years and was previously Head of Technology Enhanced Learning at the University of Kent. I hold a PhD in Educational Research from Lancaster University, where my research explored learning analytics, digital policy and the experiences of staff and students in UK higher education. I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), was awarded Senior CMALT, and am an elected member of the Heads of E-Learning Forum (HeLF) Steering Group. I joined Canterbury Christ Church University in 2022 and became Associate Dean in 2025.

My main focus is on digital higher education, learning design and educational technology, and I contribute to teaching and curriculum development in these areas.

I am module lead for You and the Digital World, part of the University’s Common Curriculum Success Module offer. I also have previous teaching experience across undergraduate social sciences and adult education, including module leadership, curriculum development and assessment.

My research explores the relationship between technology, policy and higher education, particularly the ways in which digital technologies shape — and are shaped by — institutional priorities and the experiences of staff and students.

I completed my PhD in Educational Research at Lancaster University in 2026. My thesis, Learning Analytics and the Empowerment Paradox: A Foucauldian analysis of sector policy versus lived experience, examined the relationship between policy narratives surrounding learning analytics and the experiences of staff and students in UK higher education.

My current research interests include digital higher education, artificial intelligence in education, learning analytics, sociotechnical imaginaries, digital policy, power and agency, and critical approaches to educational technology.

I am actively involved in the wider digital education and higher education communities, including as an elected member of the Heads of E-Learning Forum (HeLF) Steering Group and a CMALT assessor for the Association for Learning Technology. I regularly contribute to sector events and professional networks.

I also peer review for academic journals including Learning, Media and Technology, Research in Learning Technology and Humanities and Social Sciences Communications