| StorageSite | UCL Institute of Education |
| AdminHistory | The department was founded in 1946 and was the largest department for the study of the Sociology of Education in the country. Karl Mannheim was head of the department until his death early in 1947. The post was held by W O Lester-Smith between 1949 and 1953, when he was replaced by Jean Floud as Senior Lecturer in Sociology of Education. Between 1946 to 1961 there was just one member of staff in the department. In 1963 Professor Basil Bernstein joined the department and the Sociological Research Unit was established during the same year.
Its work was concerned with the policies and practices of education and culture as well as with training in the range of methods for sociological research associated with those areas. Human Rights and Education was an autonomous section of the department. During its early years just one course was offered, in Sociology of Education (normally a Diploma) although the department became an important centre for academic research. The number of courses provided increased during the 1960s as the department's staffing increased. This was to be followed by considerable expansion during the 1970s. |