Bhimani, Nazlin; (2024) Teacher Training and the Silences of Eugenics and Imperialism at the London Day Training College and the Institute of Education (1918-1939). Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

The thesis investigates and evaluates the process of teacher training during the interwar period (1918-1939) at the London Day Training College (LDTC), which became the Institute of Education (IOE) in 1932. It identifies changes and continuities, within the social, cultural, political and economic contexts of the era, highlighting the silences of eugenics and imperialism - influences that profoundly shaped teacher training at the Institute yet are largely overlooked in the existing institutional histories. In analysing the educational values and philosophies of the three principals/directors - John Adams, Percy Nunn and Fred Clarke - this research reveals tensions between their differing views on eugenics and intelligence testing, child-centred philosophies and the notion of citizenship. The analysis contextualises these tensions within their strategic efforts not just to train teachers but also to elevate the status of education as a science, establish professional standards and enhance the Institute’s international reputation. The thesis also examines the scholarly contributions of Margaret Punnett, deputy principal and lecturer Clotilde von Wyss. It illustrates how their pedagogical methods placed the child at the centre of the educational process and how their curriculum subjects were appropriated for different ideological purposes aimed at cultivating future citizens. Drawing from a range of sources, including student records, final assessment reports, psychometric studies and school inspection reports, the thesis tracks the selection, training and assessment of ten students from the 1920s and 1930s. It reconstructs the professional training programme, tracing how it was modified for different cohorts, including ‘colonial’ students. Psychometric tests and scientific management principles, rooted in eugenics, were used to ensure efficiency in the selection and assessment processes. However, subjectivity also played a role in choosing the ‘right type’ of candidate. This form of ‘teacher engineering’ resulted in a tendency to marginalise older women and colonial students.

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