5* sociology tutor with track-record of success, SEN and university teaching experience

Find out more about Daniella

• 1) When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  My interest in sociology started long before I knew the term. I was always curious about how people make sense of belonging, identity, and difference - why some voices are heard and others aren’t. That curiosity grew into academic study, leading to a PhD and a career exploring culture, migration, and community. Tutoring came naturally alongside this: I’ve been teaching and mentoring for over fifteen years, from undergraduate seminars to postgraduate supervision and one-to-one support. I enjoy helping students find clarity in complex ideas and confidence in their own voice.

• 2) Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  I teach sociology and politics, often through themes such as power, identity, migration, race, gender, and belonging. I particularly enjoy helping students connect theory to real life, by seeing how ideas from thinkers like Bourdieu or Foucault actually show up in everyday interactions. I’m less fond of purely abstract discussions that ignore lived experience, as I prefer when theory illuminates the world rather than obscures it.

• 3) Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  My teenager is one of my biggest role models. He asks questions without fear, reminding me what real curiosity looks like. I’ve also been shaped by teachers who saw what I could do despite being dyslexic, and who valued how I think and process. Academically, writers like Doreen Massey inspire me - people who can explain complex ideas in plain English and make them meaningful to everyday life.

• 4) What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  Empathy, clarity, patience, and the ability to translate complex ideas into accessible language. A good tutor helps students develop their own analytical framework, not just memorise others’. It also means being flexible and recognising that students learn in different ways, especially those who are neurodivergent or come from non-traditional academic backgrounds.

• 5) Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  Halfway through my PhD, I was asked to run a workshop for new research students. Everyone expected something very serious and academic like maybe a deep dive into theory or methodology. Instead, I decided to talk about impostor syndrome. Within minutes, people started nodding and chuckling in recognition. It turned into one of the most honest conversations I’ve ever had about belonging in academia!

• 6) What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still face in your subject?

  Like many in academia, I’ve faced barriers around access and inclusion. As a woman with ADHD and dyslexia, I’ve often had to navigate systems not designed for different ways of thinking. But those experiences have deepened my understanding of structure, power, and exclusion - key sociological questions - and shaped my commitment to inclusive education.

• 7) Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  My biggest passion is the everyday sociology to make things fairer and more human in real life. Alongside teaching, I work as a consultant helping charities, institutions and community groups to build strategy and inclusion into what they do. A lot of my work involves supporting refugees and asylum seekers, and marginalised communities to have a voice in shaping decisions that affect them. Whether I’m tutoring, facilitating, or advising organisations, it comes back to equipping people to be seen, heard and part of the world around them.

• 8) What makes you a Superprof (besides answering these interview questions :-P)?

  I combine academic depth with real-world experience, and I genuinely enjoy meeting students where they are. I’m down-to-earth, organised, and I enjoy in seeing the moment when something clicks for students. My sessions are structured and in-depth but also friendly, open and conversational. I help students to not only understand the material but also believe in their own ability to master it. And I get to meet some awesome people along the way!