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| AdminHistory | From 1902 Sidney Webb had intended London University as an international centre for postgraduate study, however, initially just a few students attended the London Day Training College from overseas.
The Colonial Department, as it began its life in 1927, bears little resemblance to its legacy within the IOE today.
A report by the Phelps Stokes Fund mission on the study of education in West and South Africa, along with the Colonial Office Advisory Committee white Paper on Education Policy in
British Tropical Africa, both introduced the idea of the role of colonial government in the development of education in the colonies. In 1927 Percy Nunn, second director of the Institute,
and a member of the British Advisory Committee on Native Education in Tropical Africa, was invited by the Colonial Office to establish a course for "probationers" at the IOE.
The course was to prepare students for work as education officers in Africa.
In addition a course was introduced to serve missionaries preparing to work in teacher training colleges in Tanganyika [Tanzania].
The first director of the course for missionaries (established 1927), and the course for probationers (established 1928), was James Fairgrieve, supported by Dr W Bryant Mumford, and Dr Lawrence Faucett (by 1934).
In 1934 the Colonial Department was formally constituted and WB Mumford appointed as lecturer in comparative education with special reference to 'Primitive Peoples'.
The department was reorganized and refresher courses introduced. All courses at this point were either diploma or advanced.
Also in the academic year 1934-5 the department enrolled their first female students, and first student from the African continent.
The Division of Oversea Students was created in 1934. The position of Advisor to Oversea Students, the first of whom was Professor Fred Clarke, was funded by the Carnegie Corporation.
Carnegie Corporation went on to fund a number of research fellows within the department.
Links with the Colonial Office were strengthened further when Professor Fred Clarke was re-appointed to the government's Advisory Committee for Education in the Colonies in an IOE capacity in 1938.
Throughout the 1930s the main aims of the Department were; pre-service training, gathering information, and research into problems associated with education in the colonies, and in 1939 the department began to publish Colonial Review, a digest of all aspects of colonial life including education.
During the Second World War, the Department worked closely with the Ministry of Information and the Research and Information Section of the department was relied on as an intelligence resource, though from July 1940 this interaction was much reduced. Also in this year, Mumford left for the United States, and Margaret Read assumed temporary responsibility for the Department.
This arrangement was to be made permanent in 1951 on the retirement of Mumford.
In 1946 the Devonshire Committee reported on 'Post-War Training for Colonial Service' and advised a thorough pre-service training for candidates before going abroad, supplemented by a second shorter course after a period of initial field experience. In addition to this, the Joint Consultative Committee Sub-Committee recommended a substantial expansion of the Colonial Department.
Throughout the 1960s-1980s the work of the Department brought it into close working relationships with government and other agencies, including the Overseas Development Administration, the British Council, the Commonwealth Secretariat, international bodies such as the International Institute for Educational Planning.
Significant links were developed with Teachers College Columbia, New York during the 1960s-70s as a result of the Anglo-Afro-American programme to strengthen teacher education in and for Africa, and African universities such as Ahmadu Bello University, and Kenyatta University College, Kenya.
Timeline of events in the history of the Colonial Department and successor bodies
1927 Percy Nunn is invited by the Colonial Office to establish a course for "probationers" at the IOE.
The first course established for missionaries is headed by James Fairgreave, supported by Dr W Bryant Mumford, and Dr Lawrence Faucett
1934 Colonial Department is formally constituted and WB Mumford appointed as lecturer in comparative education
1935 Dr W Bryant Mumford became head of the Colonial Department
1934-5 academic year, the department enrolled their first female students, and first student from the African continent
1937 the Joint Consultative Committee was established between the Colonial Office and the Institute
1939 First publication of 'The Colonial Review - a Digest of Articles relating to Education in the Colonies'
1947 Grant from the Carnegie Corporation enabled links with the United States through visiting lecturers and professors
The Mass Education Clearing House commenced work in May 1949 and the Mass Education Bulletin appeared for the first time in Dec 1949
1949 Read made a Professor
1952 Name changed to the Department of Education in Tropical Areas (ETA)
1954 Began to publish African Women
1955 Read retired
1956 Succeeded by HL Elvin
1957 Colonial Review renamed Oversea Quarterly
1958 Elvin became Director of the Institute; succeeded as head of ETA by John Lewis
1950s Main aims: training of teachers; move away from a sociological approach towards a greater concern for the role of education as a vehicle of westernization and economic growth
1960 Journal Teacher Education began
1963 African Women re-named Women Today
1973 Lewis retired; Department renamed the Department of Education in Developing Countries (EDC); Chair vacant for one session: acting head, Jack Wilson
1974 R Honeybone became Department Head
1975-9 PGCE phased out and increase in higher-level teaching and research
1978 Honeybone retired; succeeded by PRC Williams
1980 British Government introduced a policy of full-cost fees for overseas students
1982 Departments of Comparative Education and EDC began to work towards an association and possible future merger; Roy Gardner elected as co-ordinating Chairman
1985 restructured, joined with department of comparative Education and renamed the Department of International and Comparative Education (DICE)
1995 renamed Education and International development (EID)
2002 merged with Lifelong Learning to become School of Lifelong Education and International Development (LEID)
Bibliography
Seventy-five years of education partnerships with developing countries, Angela Little. Written for the 75th anniversary of IOE's work with developing countries, November 2002, reviewed June 2004 |