Dr Antony Williams BSc. PGCE. MA. MSc. EdD. C.Psychol.

Lecturer in Educational Psychology




Tel: (+ 44) (0) 114222 8119
Email:Anthony.Williams@sheffield.ac.uk
Room: 8.06



Research interests:

Tony´s research interests are focused in areas of subjectivity and intersubjectivity, critical psychology and psychoanalytic concepts and theory. To date his research has focused on contributing to the concept of a critical educational psychology. Related areas of interest include group dynamics, conceptions of mental health and emotional wellbeing, case study research and the use of reflexive and interpretative research methods.

Teaching

Tony´s teaching responsibilities include teaching on the Doctor of Educational and Child Psychology (DEdCPsy). In this professional training programme he is engaged as a course tutor. Tony also contributes to the Doctor of Educational Psychology degree (DEdPsych).

Tony directs the EdD in Children, Schools and Families. This is an exciting doctoral programme that gives students a research-led approach to exploring practice, policies, theories and new ideas relating to children, schools and families. The programme supports and facilitates the development of theoretical and applied knowledge of contemporary issues in work with children, schools and families, promoting the development of a critical perspective on chosen areas of interest.

Tony also supervises postgraduate students on the following Doctoral programme:

PhD (Malta) which incorporates a taught element in Malta to accompany this doctoral qualification which is gained through successful production of a thesis and viva.

Teaching and research is orientated by:

• approaches to praxis, theory and research which show awareness of the power disparities inherent in any given situation
• a critical attitude which problematises attempts to speak of and for others
• an awareness that there are multiple truths, stories and voices at play in any situation and attempts to find out and understand different ways of exploring these voices
• efforts to articulate thinking (our own perspective) and to make it accessible to each other

Recent Publications

• Williams, A. And Devlin, N. (In Press). ‘Critical reflective practice as a resource for professional development: a dialogical approach to educational psychology practice’ Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties.
• Williams, A. (Forthcoming ) ‘Critical reflective practice: exploring a reflective group forum through the use of Bion’s theory of group processes’ Reflective Practice.
• Open Dialogue Peer Review: A response to Billington. Psychology of Education Review Vol: 33, No 2 September 2009

Activities

• Chartered Psychologist and HPC registered Educational Psychologist
• Member of the Association of Educational Psychologists
• Reviewer for Journal of Early Childhood Research
• British Psychological Society Division of Educational and Child Psychology Annual Conference
  2006 Strength Based Practice Solution Focused Language and Techniques (Seminar)
  2007 Developing Resilience through Relationship (Seminar)
• Association of Educational Psychologists Annual Course and Conference
  2011 Exploring emotional well-being as a systemic phenomenon, working with parents (Seminar)
• Psychoanalysis and Education Conference, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK.
  2012 Attacks on thinking: Containment outside the clinic (Paper presentation)

Forthcoming research seminars and conference presentations

April 2013 Are we all in it together? Can educational psychology be critical? Discourse Power Resistance Conference

Current Doctoral Students

1. Suzanne Oakley – Narratives of young men who have experienced fixed-term exclusions and maintained their educational placement.
2. Randee Gauci - A Comparison of the Experience of Children on the Autism Spectrum in Foundation and Maintream Integrated Science Classes.
3. Katie Worrell - Children’s experiences of witnessing domestic abuse.
4. Michelle Smith - How do young people with severe anxiety relating to school view themselves?

Recently Completed Doctoral Studies

1. Dr Matthew Hutchinson - “It’s like a black hole… it can suck you in”: Exploring Bystanders’ Experiences of Bullying Incidents Among Younger Secondary-School Students.
2. Dr Rebecca Docherty - What does it Mean to Support? A study of how education auxiliaries interpret their experiences of supporting children with additional support needs in mainstream classes using interpretative phenomenological analysis.
3. Dr Louise Clark - Making sense of behaviour: a Q study to elicit the viewpoints of educationalists who work with children and young people with challenging behaviour.
   
   

Other

Tony has previously taught in Local Authority schools, a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) and a Health Service led adolescent unit before becoming an Assistant Educational Psychologist and then entering professional training in Educational Psychology. During this time Tony obtained a Masters Degree in Solution Focused Brief Therapy (University of Birmingham). Tony currently works part-time for Wakefield District Council and previously led the Authority's implementation of the Targeted Mental Health in Schools (TaMHS) programme. Prior to a previous career in teaching, Tony had obtained a degree in Physical Education and Sports Science (University of Loughborough), a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (University of Loughborough) and enjoyed a brief athletic career and a 400 metre hurdler.