Professor Sin Yi Cheung

BSoc Sc. M.Phil. D.Phil. (Oxon)

Professor of Sociology

School of Social Sciences

: cheungsy@cardiff.ac.uk
: +44 (0)29 2087 5446
: Glamorgan Building

: Media commentator
: Available for postgraduate supervision

I am Professor of Sociology, an elected Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, and Co-Director of Research in the School of Social Sciences. I served on the Senior Management Team in the School as International Director (2014-2017) before establishing the Migration, Ethnicity, Race and Diversity Research Group. Externally, I served on editorial boards of the BSA journal Sociology and the ASA journal Sociology of Education, the UKRI REF2021 Research Excellence Framework Social Work and Social Policy sub-panel (SP20) as a full panel member. In addition to being a member of the Humanities and Social Science Panel of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council under the University Grants Committee (2022-2024), I also serve on the National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) Independent Advisory Board. I am Editor-in-Chief of the open access Journal Frontiers of Sociology: Race and Ethnicity.

My research addresses different forms of social inequalities in contemporary societies. I have published on refugee integration, the changing inequalities in higher education, ethnic and religious penalties in the labour market, lone parents on benefits, claimants' dynamics, and children in care. Trained as a quantitative sociologist, committed to interdisciplinarity and methodological pluralism, I collaborate with researchers in social policy, education, economics, psychology and human geography. My research has received funding from the British Academy, Economic and Social Research Council, European Union, Leverhulme Trust, Nuffield Foundation, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Health and Care Research Wales as well as central government departments such as the Department for Work and Pensions, and local authorities. Over the years I have held invited guest professorships and visiting scholar positions at Wisconsin-Madison, UCLA, Stanford University, the University of Tokyo, New York University and Keio University.

Professor Sin Yi Cheung joined Cardiff University in 2011 having previously taught sociology at the University of Birmingham and Oxford Brookes University. Before receiving her M.Phil and D.Phil. in Sociology at St. Anthony's College, the University of Oxford, Sin Yi worked as a research officer at the Department of Applied Social Studies and Social Research, University of Oxford, which is now the Department of Social Policy and Intervention. She worked on a number of research projects ranging from claimants' dynamics, lone parents in and out of benefits, Oxfordshire Poverty Mapping (funded by Oxford City Council), to the early development of the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) in the Social Disadvantage Research Group. Sin Yi is an elected Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales since 2022.

Honours and awards

Outstanding Contribution Awards 2015

Celebrating Excellence Awards 2017 Finalist: Outstanding Contribution to the University's International Activities.

JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) Invitation Fellowship at the University of Tokyo (2017)

Global Guest Professorship, Keio University, funded by JSPS (2019-2020, 2020-2021)

Professional memberships

Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society
American Sociological Association
British Sociological Association
European Sociological Association. Board member of Research Network on Quantitative Methods (RN21) 2013-2015
International Sociology Association (ISA): Research Committee on Social Stratification and Social Mobility (RC28)

Speaking engagements

Takenoshita, H. and Cheung, S.Y. 2019. "Cross-border Marriage and Immigrant Integration in Japan", New and Old Diversity Exchange UK-Japan Symposium. Waseda University, December 2019.
Cheung, S. Y. 2019. "Perceived Discrimination in Healthcare: evidence from four European Countries". JSPS Research Symopsium, Cardiff University, August, 2019.
Cheung, S. Y. 2014. Migration statistics: What can the data tell us? Presented at: getstats in Parliament: Migration Statistics what the data tell us?, Houses of Parliament, 4 December 2014.
Cheung, S. Y. and Henderson, M. 2014. Outcomes of Educational Welfare Officer contact with teenagers in England. Presented at: Research Seminar, Institute for Economic and Social Research, University of Essex, UK, 17 November 2014.

Committees and reviewing

Director of Migration, Ethnicity, Race and Diversity (MEAD) Research Group
Editor-in-Chief, Frontiers in Sociology (Race and Ethnicity)
NCRM (National Centre for Research Methods) Advisory Board
EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) Expert Advisory Panel
ESRC Peer Review College
Race Equality Staff Working Group, Cardiff Unversity (2014-2020)
REF Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group
International Academic Liaison Steering Group, AHSS. (2014-2017)

2023

Irfan, M., Buckley, K., Cheung, S. Y., Lewis, J., Koj, A. and Thomas, H. 2023. Mapping social capital across Wales (UK) using secondary data and spatial analysis. SN Social Sciences 3, article number: 56. (10.1007/s43545-023-00639-1)

2017

Phillimore, J., Grzymala-Kazlowska, A. and Cheung, S. Y. 2017. Voluntary action for asylum seeker and refugee integration. In: Heath, A. ed. If you could do one thing: 10 local actions to promote social integration. London: British Academy, pp. 19-25.
Zhang, M. L., Henderson, M., Cheung, S. Y., Scourfield, J. and Sharland, E. 2017. Predicting the recipients of social work support, and its impact on emotional and behavioural problems in early childhood. Child and Family Social Work 22(2), pp. 772-781. (10.1111/cfs.12294)
Cheung, S. Y. and Phillimore, J. 2017. Gender and refugee integration: a quantitative analysis of integration and social policy outcomes. Journal of Social Policy 46(2), pp. 211-230. (10.1017/S0047279416000775)
Sharland, E., Holland, P., Henderson, M., Zhang, M., Cheung, S. Y. and Scourfield, J. B. 2017. Assembling life history narratives from quantitative longitudinal panel data: what's the story for families using social work?. International Journal of Social Research Methodology 20, pp. 667-679. (10.1080/13645579.2017.1279915)

2016

Henderson, M., Scourfield, J. B., Cheung, S. Y. and Sharland, E. 2016. Predictors of social service contact among teenagers in England. British Journal of Social Work 46(6), pp. 1485-1501. (10.1093/bjsw/bcv081)
Bakker, L., Cheung, S. Y. and Phillimore, J. 2016. The asylum-integration paradox: comparing asylum support systems and refugee integration in the Netherlands and the UK. International Migration 54(4), pp. 118-132. (10.1111/imig.12251)
Henderson, M., Scourfield, J., Cheung, S. Y., Sharland, E. and Sloan, L. 2016. The effects of social service contact on teenagers in England. Research on Social Work Practice 26(4), pp. 386-398. (10.1177/1049731514557363)
Henderson, M., Cheung, S. Y., Sharland, E. and Scourfield, J. 2016. The outcomes of educational welfare officer contact in England. British Educational Research Journal 42(3), pp. 399-416. (10.1002/berj.3212)
Williams, M. D., Sloan, L., Cheung, S. Y., Sutton, C., Stevens, S. and Runham, L. 2016. Can't count or won't count? Embedding quantitative methods in substantive sociology curricula: a quasi-experiment. Sociology 50(3), pp. 435-452. (10.1177/0038038515587652)
Snipp, C. M. and Cheung, S. Y. 2016. Changes in racial and gender inequality since 1970. ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 663(1), pp. 80-98. (10.1177/0002716215596959)

2015

Henderson, M., Cheung, S. Y., Sharland, E. and Scourfield, J. B. 2015. The effect of social work use on the mental health outcomes of parents and the life satisfaction of children in Britain. Children and Youth Services Review 58, pp. 71-81. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.09.007)
Phillimore, J. et al. 2015. Understanding healthcare practices in superdiverse neighbourhoods and developing the concept of welfare bricolage: protocol of a cross-national mixed-methods study. BMC International Health and Human Rights 15(16), pp. 1-8. (10.1186/s12914-015-0055-x)
Brown, P., Cheung, S. Y. and Lauder, H. 2015. Beyond a human capital approach to education and the labour market: the case for industrial policy. In: Bailey, D., Cowling, K. and Tomlinson, P. eds. New Perspectives on Industrial Policy for a Modern Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 206-224., (10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198706205.003.0011)

2014

Cheung, S. Y. 2014. Migration statistics: What can the data tell us? [Invited seminar]. Presented at: getstats in Parliament: Migration Statistics what the data tell us?, Houses of Parliament, 4 December 2014.
Cheung, S. Y. and Henderson, M. 2014. Outcomes of Educational Welfare Officer contact with teenagers in England [Invited Seminar]. Presented at: Research Seminar, Institute for Economic and Social Research, University of Essex, UK, 17 November 2014.
Scourfield, J., Cheung, S. Y. and Macdonald, G. 2014. Working with fathers to improve children's well-being: Results of a survey exploring service provision and intervention approach in the UK. Children and Youth Services Review 43, pp. 40-50. (10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.04.009)
Cheung, S. Y. and Phillimore, J. 2014. Integrating refugees into the UK labour market requires shifting focus away from social networks towards language and dispersal policy. [Online]. Vol. 30 Jul. London School of Economics and Political Science. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/integrating-refugees-labour-role-of-social-network/
Cheung, S. Y. 2014. Ethno-religious minorities and labour market integration: generational advancement or decline?. Ethnic and Racial Studies 37(1), pp. 140-160. (10.1080/01419870.2013.808757)

2013

MacInnes, J. and Cheung, S. Y. 2013. Creating public attitudes to immigration by mis-counting. Discover Society 2, article number: 5 Nov 2013.
Cheung, S. Y. and Phillimore, J. 2013. Refugees, social capital, and labour market integration in the UK. Sociology n/a (10.1177/0038038513491467)

2010

Cheung, S. Y. and Mckay, S. 2010. Training and progression in the labour market. Department for Work and Pensions, HMSO. Available at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2009-2010/rrep680.pdf

2008

Gerber, T. P. and Cheung, S. Y. 2008. Horizontal stratification in postsecondary education: forms, explanations and implications. Annual Review of Sociology 34, pp. 299-318. (10.1146/annurev.soc.34.040507.134604)

2007

Heath, A. F. and Cheung, S. Y. 2007. The comparative study of ethnic minority disadvantage?. In: Heath, A. F. and Cheung, S. Y. eds. Unequal Chances: Ethnic Minorities in Western Labour Markets. Oxford: Oxford University Press/British Academy, pp. 1-44.
Cheung, S. Y. and Heath, A. F. 2007. Nice work if you can get it: ethnic minority disadvantage in Great Britain. In: Heath, A. F. and Cheung, S. Y. eds. Unequal Chances: Ethnic Minorities in Western Labour Markets. Oxford: Oxford University Press/British Academy, pp. 507-550.
Heath, A. F. and Cheung, S. Y. eds. 2007. Unequal chances: ethnic minorities in Western labour markets. Oxford: Oxford University Press/British Academy.
Cheung, S. Y. and Egerton, M. 2007. Higher Education expansion and reform: changing educational inequalities in Great Britain. In: Shavit, Y., Arum, R. and Gamoran, A. eds. Stratification in Higher Education: A Comparative Study. California: Stanford University Press, pp. 195-219.

2006

Heath, A. and Cheung, S. Y. 2006. Ethnic penalties in the labour market: employers and discrimination. Project Report. [Online]. Leeds: Crown Copyright. Available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130128102031/http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2005-2006/rrep341.pdf

2003

van de Werfhorst, H. G., Sullivan, A. and Cheung, S. Y. 2003. Social class, ability and choice of subject in secondary and tertiary education in Britain. British Educational Research Journal 29(1), pp. 41-62. (10.1080/0141192032000057366)
Cheung, S. Y. and Andersen, R. 2003. Time to read: the impact of family resources on educational outcomes. Journal of Comparative Family Studies 34, pp. 412-434.

2001

Chan, A. H. N. and Cheung, S. Y. 2001. The equalizing effects of education on gender differences in occupational attainment in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Journal of Sociology 2, pp. 177-206.

1998

Noble, M., Cheung, S. Y. and Smith, G. 1998. Origins and destinations: social security claimants dynamics?. Journal of Social Policy 27(3), pp. 351-369.
Noble, M., Smith, G. and Cheung, S. Y. 1998. Lone mothers moving in and out of benefits. Working paper. Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Available at: http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/spr458.pdf
Heath, A. F. and Cheung, S. Y. 1998. Education and occupation in Britain. In: Shavit, Y., Muller, W. and Tame, C. eds. From School to Work: A Comparative Study of Educational Qualifications and Occupational Destinations. Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 71-102.

1997

Cheung, S. Y. and Buchanan, A. 1997. Malaise scores in adulthood of children and young people who have been in care. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 38(5), pp. 575-580. (10.1111/j.1469-7610.1997.tb01544.x)

1995

Noble, M., Cheung, S. Y., Smith, G. and Smith, T. 1995. Using census data to predict income support dependency. Policy and Politics 23(4), pp. 327-333. (10.1332/030557395782200572)

1994

Cheung, S. Y. and Heath, A. 1994. After care: the education and occupation of adults who have been in care. Oxford Review of Education 20(3), pp. 361-374. (10.1080/0305498940200309)

Sin Yi welcomes PhD applications on topics related to any areas of her research interests on migration, refugee integration, racial ethnic and religious inequalities, as well as sociology of education and intersectional labour market inequalities.

Undergraduate Teaching - Migration, 'Race' and Ethnic Relations, Equality and Diversity in Education and Work, Secondary Data Analysis.

Master's Teaching (in Singapore) - Research Methods and Techniques in Context in the MSc in Skills and Workforce Development.

Sin Yi's current research examines ethnic and religious inequalities among children receiving social services support, their educational outcomes and health services usage (funded by Health and Care Research Wales). Her most recent work includes a detailed analysis of how asylum waiting time creates a violence of uncertainty which severely undermines refugee's mental health (in Social Science and Medicine); and outcomes of social work intervention among vulnerable families. A research monograph the Death of Human Capital with Brown and Lauder directly challenges the assumption that education pays. Her other recent research projects range from a cross-national comparative study of health services usage in superdiverse neighbourhoods (funded by NORFACE, with J Phillimore, University of Birmingham); horizontal stratification in higher education; to two Nuffield Foundation funded research projects: Social Work Contact using British cohort studies (with J Scourfield) investigating the effect of social work intervention on families and children; and Social Networks, Social Capital and Refugee integration (with J Phillimore); and an innovative equal pay project using secondary data analysis to study women's pay penalty in Wales (WAVE: Women Adding Value to the Economy) funded by the European Social Fund.

I welcome PhD applicants in any of the broad research areas of migration, asylum seekers and refugee integration, ethnic, racial and religious inequalities, sociology of education, social stratification, and intersectional labour market inequalities.

ESRC funded PhD students:

Henna Nisa (Sociology Pathway) "Doing Daughterhood in Pakistani families: changes and continuities across three generation of women"
Hong-Chau Dihn (Social Policy Pathway) "Towards a racially diverse education workforce in Wales" (co-funded by the Welsh Government and in collaboration with Race Council Cymru and Education Workforce Council Wales)
Anaer Yeerjiang (Linguistic Training Pathway) "Black, Asian and minority ethnic and the professional workforce: the relationship between intersectionally diverse workforces and appreciation of diversity in Welsh Schools (co-funded by the Welsh Govt, with Michael Handford in the School of English Communication and Philosophy).
Luret Lar (Social Policy Pathway) "Violence against migrant women and girls with No Recourse To Public Fund".

Kemba Hadaway-Morgan (Social Work)
Monisha Peter (School of Architecture)
Myfanwy Bowring (EdD)
Elsie Owusu-Kumi (EdD)

Past projects

Recent completions:

Jessica Abrahams (2016) Schooling inequality: aspirations, institutional practices and social class reproduction. Lecturer in Education, University of Bristol
Martin Elliot (2017), Looked-after children in Wales: An analysis of the backgrounds of children entering public care. Research Associate, Children's Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE); ESRC post-doctoral fellows (2018), Cardiff University
Charlotte Brookfield (2017) “Quantification is the root of all evil in sociology” What does it add up to? The place of quantitative research methods in British sociology. Senior Lecturer, School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University
Sian Evans (2020) Forms of distinction and variations in social participation from early adulthood to midlife: a lifecourse perspective using longitudinal data. Data Analyst, Office for National Statistics.