Dr Webb-Williams gained her PhD in & Education & Psychology from Cambridge University, UK
Dr Jane Webb-Williams is a leading early childhood expert, highly experienced social researcher and an Academic at the University of South Australia. Jane’s career in education spans over 25 years in a variety of roles including Program Director of Master of Learning & Teaching, Deputy School Principal and Early Years Teacher.
Dr Webb-Williams is recognised Nationally and Internationally as a leader in the field of Play. She is a member of the high profile team writing the National Statement for Play for Australia, she sits on the National Board of Play Australia and is a member of the Play Australia SA... Read more
About me
Dr Webb-Williams gained her PhD in & Education & Psychology from Cambridge University, UK
Dr Jane Webb-Williams is a leading early childhood expert, highly experienced social researcher and an Academic at the University of South Australia. Jane’s career in education spans over 25 years in a variety of roles including Program Director of Master of Learning & Teaching, Deputy School Principal and Early Years Teacher.
Dr Webb-Williams is recognised Nationally and Internationally as a leader in the field of Play. She is a member of the high profile team writing the National Statement for Play for Australia, she sits on the National Board of Play Australia and is a member of the Play Australia SA committee.
Jane is well known her advocacy and expertise in Play. She regularly promotes play through keynotes, invited lectures and professional development sessions to schools, NGOs, teachers, librarians, community groups and families. She regularly works in an advisory and research capacity with councils, landscape architects and education settings, and she has worked with organisations including Parks and Leisure Australia, Nature Play and Recreation SA.
In 2017 Jane was awarded an Academic Excellence Award by the Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences in recognition of her research with industry partners.
Jane is a passionate advocate for play within schools and communities to benefit children’s social and emotional wellbeing. A highly experienced leader, Jane leads undergraduate teacher education courses in Learning Through Play (600 + students per year) as well as postgraduate courses in Play, Learning and Development.
Jane's research focuses on play, playful pedagogies and playspace design to support focuses on improving children's wellbeing and social & emotional development. She has been a Chief Investigator on a number of significant projects tackling a diverse range of global issues including ‘Young and Well CRC: Safe and Well Online’ which examined at the role of technology to improve youth mental health and ‘Preschool Children’s Participation and Education as Valued Active Citizens’.
Recent research projects Jane has led include 'Children’s Voice in Playspace design’, Co-Constructed Student-Led Pedagogies for Engagement & Learning in the Early Years of School”, ‘Children’s Voices in Play’ and ‘Community Connectedness through Play’ which focused on the role of play to promote community connectedness in disadvantaged, multicultural communities.
About me
American Educational Research Association
Australian Association for Research in Education
Early Childhood Australia
British Educational Research Association
Play Australia
About me
Doctor of Philosophy University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Master of Education University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
CURRENT FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS
Safe and Well Online . Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) (2014 - 2016) Team member: Dr Jane Webb-Williams
Connecting Community Through Childrens Play research project. Campbelltown Council (2015 - 2016) CI: Dr Jane Webb-Williams
Preschool Children’s Participation and Education as Valued Active Citizens. Professor Pauline Harris, Dr Eleni Giannakis, Dr Andrew Peterson, Dr Jane Webb-Williams, Dr Sue Nichols, Dr Jamie Sisson, Dr Elspeth McInnes with SA DECD, UNICEF Australia and Save the Children Australia (2014 -16), Lillian de Lissa Trust Funds (SA Public Trustee), $82,450.65,
Social Comparison Processes in the Classroom: A Cross Cultural... Read more
Research
Excludes commercial-in-confidence projects.
Children's Discovery Garden @ Adelaide Botanic Garden, Board of the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium, 01/07/2023 - 31/01/2025
Play in Early Adolescence, Commissioner for Children and Young People South Australia, 01/12/2019 - 01/03/2022
Connecting Community through Childrens Play: A Collective Impact Research Project, Campbelltown City Council, 01/08/2015 - 31/12/2016
Safe and well online, Young and Well CRC Ltd, 01/07/2012 - 30/06/2016
Children's Voices in Play . City of Salisbury Council (2014 - 2015) Dr Jane Webb-Williams, Susie Raymond and Martyn Mills-Bayne
Social Comparison Processes in the Classroom: A Cross Cultural Analysis. CI: Dr Jane Webb-Williams Divisionial Research Performance Fund. University of South Australia. (2013 - 2016)
Professional identities: A narrative inquiry of preschool and junior primary teachers. Dr Jamie Huff Sisson, Professor Pauline Harris, Dr. Tricia Johnson (WU) and Dr Jane Webb-Williams, Divisional Research Performance Fund (2013 - 2015)
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) 2006- 2009 PHD research at Cambridge University, UK
Best Practice Research Funding (BPRS) 2004 - 2006 Masters of Educational research at the University of Cambridge, UK.
Research
Research outputs for the last seven years are shown below. Some long-standing staff members may have older outputs included. To see earlier years visit ORCID or Scopus
Open access indicates that an output is open access.
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2021 |
|
| 2021 |
Open access
|
| 2019 |
|
| 2019 |
1
|
| 2018 |
Open access
45
33
|
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2019 |
|
| 2019 |
1
|
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2024 |
Open access
1
|
| 2021 |
Open access
3
2
3
|
| 2020 |
Open access
3
|
| 2018 |
Open access
45
33
|
| 2014 |
Open access
|
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2022 |
|
| 2022 |
|
| 2021 |
|
| 2021 |
Open access
|
| 2017 |
Open access
|
| 2016 |
Open access
|
| 2016 |
Open access
|
| 2016 |
|
| 2015 |
|
2019 Webb-Williams, J 2019, Play At Christmas. The Spoke. Earlychildhood Australia. December 2019
2016 Mills-Bayne, M, Webb-Williams, J & Raymond, S 2016, ‘Transforming play: the nature of
modern childhood and implications for education’, AARE Conference, Melbourne, 27 November-1 December
2016 Webb-Williams, J. L (2016) I Hate Myself, I Want to Be Him: Comparison with Peers and the
Vulnerability of Children in Low Ability Groups. European Conference in Education, Brighton, UK.
2016 Webb-Williams, J (2016) Social Identity in Childhood: Peer to Peer Interactions and Pressures of
Conformity, Uniformity and Comparison. European Conference in Education, UK.
2013 Webb-Williams, J. L (2013) Children's Self-Perceptions in Relation to Others : Social Comparisons
in the Classroom and the Effects on and Self-Efficacy. European Conference in Education, Brighton, UK.
2013 Webb-Williams, J. L (2013) Why Play Matters in a Changing Society: Issues for Providers in Exploring
Play Design. Parks and Leisure Australia National Conference, Melbourne, Australia.
2013 Webb-Williams, J. L (2013) Student Wellbeing, Social Comparison and Grouping in the Classroom.
Australian Association for Research in Education
2013 Webb-Williams, J. L (2013) Using Others to Shape Self: Making Sense of Information about Others
in the Social World of the Primary Classroom. Australian Association for Research in Education, Australia.
2010 Webb-Williams, J. L. (2010) Using Social Comparison Information to Inform Pedagogical Approaches
to Primary Teaching. London International Conference on Education, London, UK
2009 Webb- Williams, J. L. (2009) Self-Efficacy Belief and Social Comparison Processes in the Context of
Transfer from Primary to Secondary School. PhD Thesis. Cambridge University. British Library
EthOS – Electronic Theses online services
2008 Webb- Williams, J. L. (2008) Social Comparison in Education. Cambridge Education Research
Annual Conference (CamERA) University of Cambridge, UK.
2008 Webb- Williams, J. L. (2008) Gender Effects of Social Comparison in Schools. Cambridge Education
Research Annual Conference (CamERA) University of Cambridge, UK.
2007 Webb-Williams, J. L. (2007) Self-efficacy beliefs and social comparison processes in the primary
classroom. BERA Annual Conference.
2007 Webb-Williams, J. L. (2007) Self-efficacy in the primary classroom: an investigation into the
relationship with performance. British Educational Research Association Annual Conference.
Research
CURRENT FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS
Safe and Well Online . Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) (2014 - 2016) Team member: Dr Jane Webb-Williams
Connecting Community Through Childrens Play research project. Campbelltown Council (2015 - 2016) CI: Dr Jane Webb-Williams
Preschool Children’s Participation and Education as Valued Active Citizens. Professor Pauline Harris, Dr Eleni Giannakis, Dr Andrew Peterson, Dr Jane Webb-Williams, Dr Sue Nichols, Dr Jamie Sisson, Dr Elspeth McInnes with SA DECD, UNICEF Australia and Save the Children Australia (2014 -16), Lillian de Lissa Trust Funds (SA Public Trustee), $82,450.65,
Social Comparison Processes in the Classroom: A Cross Cultural Analysis. CI: Dr Jane Webb-Williams Divisionial Research Performance Fund. University of South Australia. (2013 - 2015)
Children's Voices in Play . City of Salisbury Council (2014 - 2015) Dr Jane Webb-Williams, Susie Raymond and Martyn Mills-Bayne
Academic Excellence Award 2017 – End User Research Industry Engagement Commendation. Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences, University of South Australia, 2017. This award recognises outstanding contribution to engagement which was evaluated via a competitive application process.
External engagement & recognition
| Organisation | Country |
|---|---|
| Queensland University of Technology | AUSTRALIA |
| University of South Australia | AUSTRALIA |
| University of Wyoming | UNITED STATES |
| Western Sydney University | AUSTRALIA |
| Zuni | AUSTRALIA |
External engagement & recognition
| Engagement/recognition | Year |
|---|---|
Board MemberPlay Australia South Australia (PASA) |
2021 |
National Board MemberPlay Australia |
2021 |
National Reference Group on PlayEarly Childhood Australia (ECA) |
2021 |
Board MemberPlay Australia South Australia (PASA) |
2020 |
National Board MemberPlay Australia |
2020 |
National Reference Group on PlayEarly Childhood Australia (ECA) |
2020 |
Board MemberPlay Australia South Australia (PASA) |
2019 |
National Board MemberPlay Australia |
2019 |
National Reference Group on PlayEarly Childhood Australia (ECA) |
2019 |
Board MemberPlay Australia South Australia (PASA) |
2018 |
MemberAustralian Association for Research in Education (AARE) |
2018 |
MemberBritish Educational Research Association (BERA) |
2018 |
MemberEarly Childhood Australia |
2018 |
MemberAmerican Educational Research Association (AERA) |
2018 |
National Board MemberPlay Australia |
2018 |
Best Reviewer, Outstanding ContributionIAFOR (The International Academic Forum) |
2017 |
Board MemberPlay Australia South Australia (PASA) |
2017 |
Education Board Committee MemberScotch College Adelaide |
2017 |
MemberEarly Childhood Australia |
2017 |
MemberAustralian Association for Research in Education (AARE) |
2017 |
MemberBritish Educational Research Association (BERA) |
2017 |
MemberAmerican Educational Research Association (AERA) |
2017 |
National Board MemberPlay Australia |
2017 |
Board MemberPlay Australia South Australia (PASA) |
2016 |
Senior ReviewerIAFOR (The International Academic Forum) |
2016 |
TRB Accreditation Panel MemberTeachers Registration Board |
2016 |
TRB Accreditation Panel MemberTeachers Registration Board |
2015 |
Invited Expert Panel Member - Nature, Children and Play SpacesNatural Resources Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges in conjunction with Nature Play SA |
2014 |
TRB Accreditation Panel MemberTeachers Registration Board |
2014 |
Invited Speaker, The meaning, value and role of play, 21st century perceptions at Shifting the Paradigm of Outdoor Play SpacesEarly Childhood Organisation and Parks and Leisure Australia |
2013 |
TRB Accreditation Panel MemberTeachers Registration Board |
2013 |
Play in Early Childhood and Primary School Settings
Educational Psychology: particularly the self-constructs of self-efficacy and social comparison
Teacher Education
Research Methods
Teaching & student supervision
Teaching & student supervision
Supervisions from 2010 shown
| Thesis title | Student status |
|---|---|
| Teacher self-efficacy and practice: a case study of eight South Australian reception teachers | Completed |
