Ken Robinson (British author)

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Sir Ken Robinson was born in Liverpool 4 March 1950, the son of James and Ethel Robinson. He is an internationally recognized leader in the development of innovation and human resources. He has worked with national governments in Europe and Asia, with international agencies, Fortune 500 companies, national and state education systems, non-profit corporations and some of the world’s leading cultural organizations. They include the Royal Shakespeare Company, Sir Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, the Royal Ballet, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the European Commission, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the J Paul Getty Trust and the Education Commission of the States. From 1989 - 2001, he was Professor of Arts Education at the University of Warwick.

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[edit] Career

He gained his PhD in 1981 from the University of London for research into drama and theatre in education. His first book, Learning Through Drama, was the result of a three year national development project for the Schools Council, Heinemann 1977. He was principal author of The Arts in Schools: Principles, Practice and Provision, the report of a national inquiry 1982 Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. This is now established as a key text on arts and education in Britain and internationally. He was editor of The Arts and Higher Education, 1984 Gulbenkian and the Leverhulme Trust, and principal writer for the Department of Education and Science of The Arts in Further Education published in 1986.

From 1985-89, he was Director of The Arts in Schools Project, a national initiative to develop the arts in primary and secondary schools throughout England and Wales. The project was funded by the National Curriculum Council and local education authorities, and worked closely with the Arts Council, Crafts Council, and the British Film Institute, the Regional Arts Boards, and the National Foundation for Educational Research. The project worked with over 2000 teachers, artists, and cultural administrators in a network of over 300 practical initiatives throughout the country. The Arts 5-16, Heinemann 1990. It influenced the framing of the National Curriculum in England.

During this period he worked with the Independent Television network and British Telecom, he was founding chairman of Artswork, the UK’s national youth arts development agency. He was also principal consultant to the Hong Kong Government in developing the artistic and educational policies of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

He was education consultant to the Council of Europe for its report to the World Commission on Culture and Development for UNESCO and was Director of the Council’s European Project on Culture, Creativity and the Young. He was one of a small group of international advisors to the Getty Center and the Council for Basic Education in Washington on the development of national standards in education in the United States and one of four international advisors to the Singapore Government for its strategy to become the creative hub of South East Asia.

He was author of Arts Education in Europe, an international study for the Council of Europe of provision for creative and cultural education in 22 European countries. He completed consultancy reports for the European Commission on the socio-economic importance of the arts to the development of the European Union. Facing the Future: the Arts and Education in Hong Kong, a report on the training of professional artists and on arts education in schools for the Hong Kong Government.

In 1998, he was invited by the UK Government to establish and lead a national commission on creativity, education and the economy. The Commission brought together leading business people, scientists, artists and educators. His report, All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education (The Robinson Report) was published to huge acclaim. The Times said: ‘This report raises some of the most important issues facing business in the 21st century. It should have every CEO and human resources director thumping the table and demanding action’. He was a central figure in developing a strategy for creative and economic development as part of the Peace Process in Northern Ireland, working with the ministers for training, education enterprise and culture. The resulting blueprint for change, Unlocking Creativity, was adopted by politicians of all parties and by business, education and cultural leaders across the Province. He is currently mentoring the development of a statewide strategy for innovation in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Creativity Project. [1] He is also advising and working with school districts and with cultural and corporate organizations across the United States.

He has published widely on creativity, innovation and culture. His 2001 book, Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative (Wiley-Capstone), was described by Director magazine as ‘a truly mind opening analysis of why we don’t get the best out of people at a time of punishing change.’ John Cleese said: ‘Ken Robinson writes brilliantly about the different ways in which creativity is undervalued and ignored in Western culture and especially in our educational systems.’ His new book, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, will be published worldwide in January 2009 by Penguin. As well as publishing books, and national and international policy reports, he is experienced as a writer national press and in broadcasting on radio and television.

He is in high demand as a speaker represented by the Washington Speakers Bureau (USA and Asia) and Speakers for Business (Europe). He speaks to audiences throughout the world on the creative challenges facing business and education in the new global economies. He has chaired and given keynote lectures to Fortune 500, corporate, educational and cultural conferences throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Asia. In 2001, he was voted SfB Business Speaker of the Year by over 200 global and European companies. In 2005 he was named as one of Time/Fortune/CNN’s ‘Principal Voices’.

He has taken advisory roles for a wide range of national and international bodies. These include:

  • The Education Commission of the States
  • The Girl Scouts of America
  • UNESCO
  • The Arts Council of England
  • The national inquiry on The Arts and Disabled People, chaired by Sir Richard Attenborough, and the Carnegie Council
  • Chief Examiner, Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
  • Member of the UK Council for Dance Education and Training (CDET)
  • Board of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, Chairman of the Education Committee
  • Governor, Central School of Speech and Drama
  • Oklahoma Creativity Project
  • Advisory Council of the Independent Television Commission
  • Council for National Academic Awards
  • Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation
  • IBM Foundation
  • New York International Arts Festival
  • Royal Shakespeare Company

Other advisory and consultancy roles have included:

  • The Blue Man Group
  • The National Foundation for Educational Research
  • The British American Arts Association
  • The British Council
  • The Royal Court Theatre
  • The Young Vic
  • The South Bank Centre
  • The Design Council
  • The Royal Academy
  • The National Theatre
  • The Royal Ballet

[edit] Books

Notable books authored by Ken Robinson include: The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything (Viking Publishing), Out of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative (Wiley & Sons) and The Arts In Schools (Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation)

[edit] Personal life

He lives in Los Angeles, with his wife Marie-Therese (Lady Robinson) nee Watts. They have two children - James (24) and Kate (19).

Born in Liverpool England, he is one of seven children from a working class background. He credits his remarkable family with inspiring him to become a lifelong advocate for education. After an industrial accident his father became quadriplegic and yet continued to be central to their lives and when Ken contracted polio at aged four, his parents encouraged him to pursue his education and to not allow his disability to define him.

[edit] Educational achievement

Sir Ken Robinson earned a PhD from the University of London in 1981. Between 1985 and 1989, he led the The Arts in Schools Project—which aimed to improve the teaching of the arts. In 1998, he was appointed by the British government to chair the National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education. He was knighted in June 2003 by Queen Elizabeth II for his achievements in creativity, education and the arts.

1961-1963 Liverpool Collegiate School 1963-1968 Wade Deacon Grammar School, Cheshire 1968-1972 University of Leeds (B.Ed with Honours, English and Drama) 1972-1974 University of London (PhD)

[edit] Awards

2003 Made Knight of the Realm (a Knight Bachelor in the UK Honours System)

2004 RISD Athena Award for Excellence in Art Education

2004 Companionship of LIPA

2008 Honorary Degree of Doctor from the University of Central England

2008 Royal Society for the Arts Benjamin Franklin Medal

2008 The Peabody Medal

2008 Gheens Foundation Creativity and Entrepreneurship Award

2008 Governors Award for the Arts in Pennsylvania

2009 Ambassador for the European Year of Creativity and Innovation

2009 Honorary Degree of Doctor from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)

[edit] External links


[edit] References

  1. ^ Oklahoma Creativity Project
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