Dr. Ben Williamson
Senior Researcher
Ben Williamson is a senior researcher with particular interests in childhood and new media, curriculum innovation, and student voice. In his recent projects he has sought to examine aspects of children’s learning and leisure experiences in the context of contemporary social, cultural and educational policy debates and new media developments. He has carried out research on curriculum interventions in secondary schools, on the role of videogames and creative software in young people’s social, cultural and educational experiences, and on the development of young people’s skills as digital media consumers and producers.
Ben’s publications have focused on such issues as curriculum innovation and digital media in schools, teacher professional development, children’s science-fiction literature, and on how public policy affects children. In all of his work, Ben is seeking to explore how ideas about children and young people are created, circulated and contested by different groups at different times, for example by educational policymakers and political parties, by commercial organisations and cultural producers, by teachers and school managers, and by journalists and researchers. The circulation of such ideas contributes to contemporary discussions about how children learn, the planning and management of their education, and to how education systems and institutions operate.
An experienced speaker, Ben has presented regularly at national and international educational conferences and seminars, and has run workshops for teachers on curriculum innovation and children’s learning with digital media. Ben is skilled and experienced in qualitative methodologies, including ethnographic participant observation in schools, visual methods with children as co-researchers, new media co-design techniques, and in-depth interviewing.
A graduate of English Literature from Cardiff University and trained as an English teacher and in educational research methods at the University of Bristol, Ben also completed his PhD in American literature, critical theory and pragmatist philosophy at the University of the West of England in 2007.
Recent research projects
- 2009-2010 Digital Participation. Lead researcher with responsibility for research team collaborating with classroom teachers to develop “digital literacy” strategies within the school subject curriculum. Ben developed overall programme leadership, developing the conceptual framework and methodological approach and managing the writing and communication of all findings.
- 2008-2009 Games and Learning. Lead researcher on one-year empirical research project to collect data on children’s and teachers’ perceptions of videogames use for educational purposes. Ben conducted a thorough literature review, designed statistical survey tool, and designed scripts for child focus groups and teacher interviews in England, Northern Ireland & Scotland. The analysis of data was situated in educational policies of ICT & innovation.
- 2005-2009 Enquiring Minds. Co-researcher on a major curriculum development & research project in collaboration with secondary schools in the south west. Two years of research in schools included ethnographic participant observation in classrooms, depth interviews with children, teachers and senior leaders, plus contextual research on local community, economy, and cultures. The project was theorized through “knowledge economy” discourses of educational policymaking and the new social studies of childhood.
- 2005-2006 Students as Researchers. Lead researcher on 9-month scheme to develop the skills of 15 young people (aged 14-15 years) as researchers to investigate the informal learning “cultures” of their peers. Involved the use of visual data collection methods including photography, video, and audio recording.
- 2004-2005 Public-Private Matters. Research lead in one-year collaboration with two design artists exploring use of digital media for young people’s political and civic engagement. Explored young people’s perceptions of political involvement through workshops and interviews with 15-16 year-old students in London and south Wales, and co-developed and trialled a digital resource (World Power League) to raise political awareness.
Publications
- Williamson, B (2010) “Sci-fi dystopias, policy utopias and contemporary contests over childhood in education reform in the UK,” Journal of Children and Media, 4(2)
- Williamson, B & Morgan, J (2009) “Education reform, enquiry-based learning and the re-professionalization of teachers,” Curriculum Journal, 20(3): 287-304
- Williamson, B (2009) “Capitalism, calamity and technology in the American political imagination,” Geography, 94(2): 108-114
- Williamson, B (2006) “Creativity, new technology and concept exploration in primary science,” in Warwick, P, Wilson, E & Winterbottom, M (eds) Teaching and Learning Primary Science with ICT (Maidenhead: OUP): 70-92
- Williamson, B & Facer, K (2004) “More than ‘just a game’: The implications for schools of children’s computer games communities,” Education, Communication & Information, 4(2/3): 255-70
Futurelab publications
- Williamson, B & Payton, S (2009) Curriculum and teaching innovation: Transforming classroom practice and personalisation, a Futurelab handbook for teachers (Bristol: Futurelab)
- Williamson, B (2009) Computer games, young people, and school, final project report
- Morgan, J & Williamson, B (2008) Enquiring Minds: Schools, knowledge and educational change, a Futurelab report for teachers (Bristol: Futurelab)
- Morgan, J, Williamson, B & Lee, T (2007) Enquiring Minds: A Guide (Bristol: Futurelab)
Conference presentations
2009
- “Innovative curriculum design and socio-technological trends,” Inside Government Conference, Curriculum Reform: Creating an Education System Fit for the 21st Century, London
- “Critical pedagogies of consumerism in science fiction for young people,” British Education Studies Association conference, Stafford
- “The politics of curriculum innovation,” invited seminar, University of Bristol Graduate School of Education (with J Morgan)
- “Computer games as a ‘window on to children’s cultures,’” invited speaker, EU Games in School Conference, Strasbourg, France
- “Computer games from the war-room to the boardroom, and the bedroom to the classroom,” Game-Based Learning Conference, London
- “Making Enquiring Minds in schools,” seminar presentation, BETT, London
2008
- “Teacher-child partnerships in school,” invited seminar, Manchester Metropolitan University (with S Payton)
- “Serious games: Debates and straw men,” Government and Games conference, Department of Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform, Westminster
- “Gamers and learners: New socioeconomic challenges in childhood?” Becta Research Conference, Sheffield
- “Creativity and Enquiring Minds,” Creativity and Learning Conference, Bath Spa University
2007
- “Enquiring Minds & personalisation,” Capita Personalised Learning Conference, London
- “Teenagers’ informal learning, the knowledge economy, and school,” II Jornadas Internacionales sobre Políticas Educativas para la Sociedad del Conocimiento, Universidad de Granada, Spain
- “The rhetoric and reality of curriculum change,” invited seminar, University of Birmingham (with J Morgan)
- “Enquiring Minds,” invited seminar, University of Surrey (with J Morgan)
- “Fantasies of childhood,” invited seminar, University of Bristol Graduate School of Education (with J Morgan)
2005
- “Discourses of teenager identity-construction in an online messageboard” ISCAR conference, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
- “Developing young children’s visual literacy in science through drawing,” ISCAR conference, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
- “Peer-to-peer learning in an online racing game,” DIGRA 05 Conference, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada
- “Racing Academy: an online real-physics vehicle engineering simulation,” CAL 05 conference, University of Bristol
- “Visual literacy, creativity, new technology,” invited keynote, BEAT conference, University of Tokyo, Japan
2004
- “Without writing: Children’s visual literacies,” Multimodal Learning seminar, University of Cambridge
Other
- Visiting research fellow at University of Bristol Graduate School of Education
- Editorial board member of international journal 'Learning, Media and Technology', and editor of ‘Viewpoints’ section
ben [dot] williamson [at] futurelab [dot] org [dot] uk
0117 915 8217