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Dr
Joanne M Williams
Lecturer
in Psychology /
Joint PhD Programme Co-ordinator
Dept of Education & Society
The Moray House School
of Education,
The University of Edinburgh,
St
John's Land, Holyrood
Road,
Edinburgh EH8
8AQ
Scotland, UK
 Email: Jo.Williams@ed.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 131 651 6339
Fax:
+44 (0) 131 651 6018 |
[ Qualifications ]
[ Principal Interests ] [ Research
Supervision ]
[ Biographical Note ] [ Current
and Recent Research ] [ Publications ]
Qualifications
- BA (Hons) Psychology, University
of Strathclyde, 1989
- PhD Developmental Psychology, University of Strathclyde, 1993
Principal Interests
Conceptual Development:
- Naïve biology concepts (illness,
inheritance and genetics, animal care and welfare)
- Naïve psychology (Theory of
Mind, concepts of intelligence and thinking skills)
- Cross-domain comparisons in concepts
- Cross-national studies of conceptual
development
- Conceptual coherence
- Interventions to enhance conceptual
development (e.g. collaborative learning)
Adolescent Adjustment:
- Pubertal processes and pubertal
timing
- Risk behaviour
Applied Developmental
Psychology and Education:
- Dyslexia
- Pre-school education (teachers-child
interactions)
- Thinking skills
Research Supervision
- Lynne Binnie (PhD, 1999-2002, Faculty
of Education Studentship): 'Naïve physics and psychology
among typically and atypically developing children'.
External Prof Simon Baron-Cohen (Professor of Developmental
Psychopathology), University of Cambridge, Internal
Dr Morag Donaldson
- Leslie Smith (1999-2002, Faculty
of Education Studentship): 'Typically developing
children's concepts of disability'. External Prof
Ann Lewis (Professor of Special Education and Educational
Psychology) University of Birmingham, Internal Prof
Bob Greave
- Diana Gossrau (1999-2005 including
several suspensions of study, Alcohol Education and
Research Council Studentship): 'Familial contexts
of adolescent alcohol use'. External Prof David Foxcroft
(Professor of Health Care Practice), Oxford Brookes
University, Internal Dr
Pat McLaughlin
- Katherine Myant (2002-2006, Moray
House School of Education Studentship): 'Educational
interventions in naïve biology: Improving children's
understanding of health and illness'. External Prof
Andy Tolmie (Professor of Psychology and Human Development),
London Institute of Education, Internal Dr Charles
Anderson
- Monica Odinko (2003-2007, Commonwealth
Studentship): 'Child and teacher pre-primary classroom
interactions in Nigeria'. External Prof John Morgan
(UNESCO Chair in the Political Economy of Education)
University of Nottingham, Internal Dr Pat McLaughlin
- Lynsey Burke (2004-2007,
self-funding, completed in 27 months): 'Interventions
to improve thinking skills in the primary school'.
External Prof Carol McGuinness (Professor of Psychology)
Queens University Belfast, Internal Dr Charles Anderson
- Elpida Pavlidou (2005-2009, Greek
State Scholarship and Wingate Scholarship): 'Implicit
learning and dyslexia'
- Ai Keow Lim (2007-2010, University
of Edinburgh, College of Humanities and Social Science
Studentship and Carnegie Research Grant): 'A cross-cultural
comparison of pretend play and Theory of Mind in
preschool children in Scotland and Singapore'
- Jen
Van Bekkum (2007-2010, self-funding): 'Understanding
and Encouraging Cycle Commuter Behaviour in a Workplace
Setting'
Biographical Note
My
undergraduate degree in psychology sparked a long-term
interest in child development. I completed my doctoral
studies as a member of the Centre for Interactive Learning
under the supervision of Prof Andrew Tolmie (now at
the London Institute of Education). My PhD focused on
the development of biology concepts and the effects of
collaborative learning on conceptual development. I moved
to Edinburgh in 1993 to take up a post-doctoral research
fellow position with Prof Candace Currie (CAHRU)
and Dr Peter Wright (Department of Psychology, now retired).
Together we conducted a large-scale project, funded
by the Scottish Executive, examining risk behaviour
and injuries in a nationally representative sample
of Scottish adolescents. In 1996, following the successful
completion of the injuries project, I was appointed
to a two-year lectureship in the Department of Psychology
at Edinburgh. Then in 1998 I took up my current post
at Moray House School of
Education. Throughout my career
my teaching and research interests have focused on
child and adolescent development and education. I am
a member of the British
Psychological Society (BPS) Development
Section. In this role I was Conference Organiser for
the BPS Developmental Section 2005 Annual Conference
in Edinburgh and am now Developmental Section Newsletter
Editor. I am also an Action Editor of the British Journal
of Educational Psychology.
Current
and Recent Research
Research
Grants:
- 'The
family context of alcohol use among Scottish adolescents'
The Alcohol Education and Research Council (PhD
studentship for Diana Gossrau, £22,180.00,
2000-2002)
- 'A longitudinal
study of the development of intuitive inheritance
concepts during childhood' The Wellcome Trust (£102K,
2002-2006)
- 'The
development of children's inheritance concepts
meetings fund' The Wellcome Trust (£4K, 2002-2006)
- 'Child
and Youth Studies Network Knowledge Transfer Seminar
Series and Evaluation' ESRC (£25K, 2006)
- 'Children's
understanding of genetics' Moray House Research
Support Fund (£750, 2006)
- 'Child
and Youth Studies Network Knowledge Transfer Seminar
Series and Evaluation' ESRC (£25K, 2007)
- 'A
study to assess how to promote a duty of care
to animals in young people' in collaboration
with Prof Alistair B Lawrence, Scottish Agricultural
College, Prof Candace Currie, Child and Adolescent
Health Research Unit (CAHRU), University of Edinbrugh,
and Dr Janine Muldoon CAHRU. Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) (£65K, 2007
- with the possibility of extension to 2011).
Professional
Affiliations:
Links:
Publications
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