His research interests include the cultural politics of urban education; zero tolerance, school safety, and discipline policies; ideological dimensions of school reform movements; and schooling and labor experiences of Black males. He has presented research papers at numerous conferences including American Educational Research Association, American Association of Geographers, and Association of Black Sociologists and has published papers in journals such as Studies in Educational Evaluation and Urban Education. Currently, Dr. Irby is Vice-Chair of the Safe Schools and Communities SIG of the American Educational Research Association.