Billy Wong

Academic in Sociology of Education

Billy Wong is a Professor at the Institute of Education (IoE), University of Reading. He is the University's Director of Research and Evaluation (Access & Participation) and Deputy Director of Postgraduate Research Studies at the IoE. He has worked at the University of Roehampton and King’s College London, where he completed his doctorate with an ESRC studentship as part of the award-winning ASPIRES project. He was also a research consultant to Stanford University and an NVivo instructor for several universities.
His areas of research are educational identities and inequalities, especially in the context of higher education and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education. He has published in sociology of education, higher education and science education journals. His publications have explored the changing views and experiences of university students and staff, as well as young people’s science and STEM aspirations, through the notions of science capital and the ideal student.
Billy is the author of The Ideal Student: Deconstructing Expectations in Higher Education (2021, Open University Press) and Science Education, Career Aspirations and Minority Ethnic Students (2016, Palgrave) and has written over 50 articles, chapters and reports. See publications and research for more details.