Stephen received a 1st class degree BA (Hons) in Geography and Education, and was awarded funding by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for an MA (passed with distinction) and Doctorate (awarded in 2011), all at Aberystwyth University. Stephen was awarded a PGCTHE in 2012 and is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Stephen's research has predominantly been in areas of gender and the military from which he has drawn key educational, geographical and sociological themes. His research has particularly focused on areas such as home and the family, emotions and memory, children's access to education and services, and adult education and training. Throughout these themes Stephen has engaged with a critical analysis of the social construction of gender, with specific emphasis on how masculinities are performed from a cultural repertoire of identities that are temporally and spatially contingent.

Stephens research is now developing into a number of strands, including;

• The productions and performances of gendered identities in young children
• Technology and pedagogy
• Skills development in Higher Education
• Adult Education and training
• Children in Army families.