Research in Education and Identity
Research in Education and Identity
Ilaha Baghirova is a doctoral researcher in Education at the University of Exeter and a Teaching Associate in the Department of Politics. Her research focuses on identity formation among adolescents from post-Soviet Muslim-majority country backgrounds in secondary schools in England, particularly those from Central Asian and Azerbaijani contexts, alongside Turkish communities.
She holds an MA in Political Sciences and an MRes in Politics. Her work takes an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on education and political sociology to examine the relationship between social and personal identity, and how this relationship is negotiated through school experiences. A central focus of her research is how adolescents make sense of Muslimness in relation to other social categories, and how these understandings develop within school contexts.
Professional Training and Certifications
Mental Health Awareness in Adolescents (Croydon College)
Supporting Challenging Behaviour and SEND in Educational Settings (Aspire Education)
Teaching Activities
Ilaha Baghirova is a Teaching Associate in the Department of Politics at the University of Exeter. She contributes to undergraduate teaching on Early Modern Political Thought (POL1026_A_2_202526), Power and Democracy (POL1019_A_1_202526), and Introduction to Research Design in Politics (2025/6).
She also acts as a mentor to master’s students in the Education Department.
Baghirova, I. (2026). “Recognising non-visible Muslimness: epistemological superdiversity and identity formation in Religious Education.” British Journal of Religious Education, 1–20.https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2026.2697247