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Biography

Bill Lucas is Professor of Learning and Director of the Centre for Real-World Learning (CRL). He founded CRL in 2008, together with Prof. Guy Claxton.

In 2017 Bill was appointed by the OECD as co-chair of the strategic advisory group for the 2021 PISA test of Creative Thinking which will draw on the work of the CRL. In 2018 he was invited to join the Durham Commission on Creativity in Education as an academic adviser and was subseqently co-author of its first report in 2019. He is currently curating an online platform, Creativity Exchange, for Arts Council England. Bill is an international adviser to the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority in Australia and to the OECD/CERI research into critical and creative thinking in France. In 2022, Bill was appointed to the Global Institute of Creative Thinking as chair of its advisory board. Bill co-leads the Fellowship Programme of THIS, the Healthcare Studies Institute at the University of Cambridge. 

Bill is known internationally as a speaker on the subjects of learning, change, creativity, healthcare improvement and leadership. Before the pandemic he travelled extensively to present keynotes, most recently in Sydney, Philadelphia, Helskinki, Qatar, Stockholm, Melbourne, Auckland, Belfast, Perth, Dublin and Dubai. He is a prolific, award-winning writer, and has authored and co-authored over forty books and chapters and many peer-reviewed papers.

Bill is co-founder of Rethinking Assessment, a movement arguing for a major overhaul of the assessment system in England.

Read Bill's latest blog here. Find Bill on ResearchGate here and on Google Scholar here. Find Bill on Wikipedia here.

Find out about CRL's framing of zest in a new book for schools here.

Bill tweets as @LucasLearn.

Areas of expertise

Dispositions for learning, Creativity, Tenacity, Pedagogy, Vocational teaching and learning, Change, Parental engagement in schools, English language

Publications

Selected recent publications

Books and book chapters

Research reports

Articles

Blogs

  • Lucas, Bill (2021) The role of creative leadership in schools. Creativity Exchange. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2021) Practical Learning: why and how to embed it in schools. Times Educational Supplement. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2021) Why are we so reluctant to let go of exams? Times Educational Supplement. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2020) An open letter to Nick Gibb: five myths about creativity. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill and Bakshi, Hasan (2019) An opportunity for England to learn about the creativity of its people. Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2019) If schools are to make creativity normal, then they need to think about the culture they seek to create. Times Educational Supplement. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2018) For Remembrance Day, celebrate creativity in schools. Times Educational Supplement. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2018) How to implement the general capabilities in busy schools. Education HQ. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2018) The value of Creative Thinking. Arts Professional. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2018) We need one grand educational theory for all. Times Education Supplement. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2018) Twelve ways to be a more successful learner. Education HQ, Australia. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2018) Twelve ways to be a more successful learner. University of Winchester. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2018) How Australia can regain centre stage on education. The Mandarin. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2017) The power of creative thinking. RSA. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2017) Teaching engineering 'habits of mind' and capabilities will set young people up for the future, Times Education Supplement. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2017 If "soft skills" really matter then we should try to measure them. Times Education Supplement. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2016) Schools will teach ‘soft skills’ from 2017, but assessing them presents a challenge. The Conversation. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2016) Ten ways to improve your students' employability, Times Education Supplement. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2016) How to praise your child: why simply saying ‘well done’ is not helpful. The Conversation. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2016) Character is a meaningful concept, is learned at least as much as it is taught and can be woven into a school’s culture’, Times Education Supplement. Read here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2016) Forget technical and professional education: there's nothing wrong with the word vocational'. Times Education Supplement. Read here.

Film clips

  • Lucas, Bill (2018) Creative self-efficacy and young people’s teenagency. In conversation with colleagues at the Royal Society of Arts. Watch here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2018) Why Sailing & Windsurfing should be on the PE Curriculum. Interview for for Royal Yachting Association. Watch here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2017) The role of professional standards in FE and workbased learning for Welsh Government. Watch here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2017) How people learn. On how sailing helps to develop character, for Royal Yachting Association. Watch here.
  • Lucas, Bill (2016) The habits of improvers. Key-note address for Center for Kvalitet, Copenhagen. Watch here.
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