Dr Bill Finnegan

Head of Programmes in Lifelong Learning in Social Sciences 

Biography

Dr Bill Finnegan is the Head of Programmes in Lifelong Learning in Social Sciences (job share) at the Department for Continuing Education, and also serves as the Sustainability Education and Research Manager in Oxford’s Environmental Sustainability Team. Bill leads the Vice-Chancellor’s Colloquium on Climate, an extra-curricular interdisciplinary skills programme for Oxford undergraduates. He is also a co-investigator of the Education and Training for the Climate project at the Department of Education and creator of the Museum of Climate Hope experience in Oxford’s gardens, libraries and museums. Bill has an AB in Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College, an MESc in Environmental Science from Yale University, and a DPhil in Geography and the Environment from the University of Oxford. He co-founded Tamarack Media, writes for The Conversation, and has produced short films for BBC Ideas.

Research Interests

Bill researches sustainability and climate change education, working at the intersection of human geography and environmental education. He is particularly interested in interdisciplinary skills development and pedagogies of hope in climate change education. Bill’s research incorporates creative methodologies, including digital storytelling. He has served as an advisor to the National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education and co-chair of the North American Association for Environmental Education’s Research Symposium.

Recent publications

Finnegan, W., & d’Abreu, C. (2024). The hope wheel: A model to enable hope-based pedagogy in Climate Change Education. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1347392

Finnegan, W. (2023). ‘It’s beautiful, living without fear that the world will end soon’ – digital storytelling, climate futures, and young people in the UK and Ireland. Children’s Geographies, 21(5), 898–913. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2022.2153329

Finnegan, W. (2022). Educating for hope and action competence: A study of secondary school students and teachers in England. Environmental Education Research, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2022.2120963