Dr John Williams

I am an Associate Professor in Health and Physical Education (HPE) at the University of Canberra, with over 30 years of teaching experience across schools, colleges, and universities. At heart, I consider myself an educator, having entered academia later in life.

My academic journey began in earnest with the completion of a doctorate in 2016, in which I used Norbert Elias’s figurational sociology to explore the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in physical education and school sport. This research built on my earlier MSc in the Sociology of Sport at the University of Leicester and was informed by postgraduate study at the University of Stirling and the Scottish Centre for Physical Education, Movement and Leisure Studies at the University of Edinburgh.

These qualifications have shaped both my teaching and research, which focus primarily on physical education and sport. Outside of academia, I maintain an active involvement in sport as a part-time alpine ski racing coach and ski instructor, certified by Snowsport Scotland and the British Association of Snowsport Instructors (Level 4). I also value personal movement and wellbeing and regularly engage in running and gym-based exercise.

Although no longer teaching in schools, I stay connected to the profession through a long-standing involvement with the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (ACHPER), the national professional association supporting HPE teachers across Australia.

Research interests

• Transformative physical education and sport pedagogy

• The social context of physical education and sport

• Health literacy in school education

Click to view Dr John Williams's research portal