
EDUCATION
| Degree | Area of Study | University |
|---|---|---|
| Ph.D. | Social Policy and Sociology | Durham University |

AWARDS AND HONORS
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| Vice Chancellors’ Senior Research Fellowship at Northumbria University, UK | |
| Durham University, UK, Learning and Teaching Award |

AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Character Education

RESEARCH INTERESTS
Interdisciplinary research exploring how to develop character and how character is shaped by context and culture.Ā

HIGHLIGHTED PUBLICATIONS
Selected publications
Walker, D.I. (2025) āCommunities for Courageā, in Fowers, B., Oxford University Press. Virtue of Courage.
Walker, D.I. (2024) āSociological Contributions to Moral Educationā. Journal of Moral Education
Gungordu, N*., Nabizadehchianeh*, G., Ma, W., OāConnor, E., & Walker, D.I. (2023). āMoral Reasoning Development: Norms for Defining Issue Test-2 (DIT2)ā, Ethics and Behavior https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2023.2206573
Walker, D.I. (2022) Learning to own professional practice through character ā the case of the junior Army officer. Journal of Moral Education. 51(4), 554-572. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2021.1991292
Walker, D.I., Thoma, S., & Arthur, J.A. (2021) Assessing ethical reasoning among junior British Army officers using the Army Intermediate Concept Measure (AICM). Journal of Military Ethics, 20, p2-20.
Thoma, S. Walker, D.I., Chen, Y.H., Frichand, A., Moulin-Stożek, D. & KristjĆ”nsson, K (2019). āAssessing adolescentās application of the virtues across multiple cultural contexts: An empirical summary of studies using the Adolescent Intermediate Concepts Measureā Developmental Psychology, 55:10, DOI: 10.1037/dev0000770
Walker, D.I., Thoma, S. (2018) āMoral and character educationā, Oxford University Press: The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education.
Walker, D.I., Thoma S., Jones, C & KristjƔnsson, K. (2017) Adolescent moral judgement: A study of UK secondary school pupils, British Education Research Journal, DOI: 10.1002/berj.3274.
Walker, D.I., Roberts*, M., & KristjĆ”nsson, K. (2015) āTowards a new era of character education in theory and in practiceā, Educational Review, 67(1), 79-96.
Walker, D.I. (2013). āAnticipating Army exit: Identity constructions of final year UK career soldiersā. Armed Forces and Society, 39(2), 284 ā 304.
Books
Yaghoubi J*& Walker,D.I. (2026). Empathy and Culture, under contract, Springer
Harrison, T, & Walker, D.I. (editors) (2018) Theory and Practice of Virtue Education, Routledge

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS / ACTIVITIES
Fellow of the UK Higher Education Authority
Member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Moral Education and for the Association of Moral Education

BIOGRAPHY
Dr. David Ian Walker is Professor in the Department of Educational Studies at the University of Alabama. He is also Director of the Center for the Study of Ethical Development. His interdisciplinary research explores how to develop character and how character is shaped by context and culture.
After his first career as a soldier, Walker received his PhD from Durham University, UK, and completed post-doctoral study at Purdue University, USA, before leading research at the University of Birmingham in UK. He was awarded a Vice Chancellorsā Senior Research Fellowship at Northumbria University, UK, before taking up his current position.