Professor Edward Conrad Wragg (26 June 1938 – 10 November 2005) known as Ted Wragg, was a British

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

alist and academic known for his advocacy of the cause of education and opposition to political interference in the field. He was Professor of Education at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

from 1978 to 2003, serving as

Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of Education from 2003 till his death, and a regular columnist in the ''

Times Educational Supplement ''TES'', formerly known as the ''Times Educational Supplement'', is a British weekly trade magazine aimed at education professionals. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in ''The Times'' newspaper. Such was its popularity th ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. In the UK, the Ted Wragg Teaching Award for Lifetime Achievement honours his memory, and is given out annually to educators who are considered to have shown excellent devotion to teaching throughout their careers.

Early career

Wragg was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

and first attended Hunters Bar Primary School, After doing well in the age 11 exam, he was able to attend what, at the time, was the highest-rated of several grammar schools in the city - King Edward VII School. This was followed by Hatfield College,

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

where he obtained a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, awarded with first class honours (his parents were German speakers and he was familiar with the language). He then taught at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield from 1960 to 1964 when he moved to be Head of German at Wyggeston Boys' School in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. In 1966 he went to the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

where he obtained a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum an ...

degree.

Academic career

His long association with the

began in the late 1960s when he went there to lecture on Education, principally the methodology of teaching Modern Languages, and to study for a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

, which he was awarded in 1972. As Professor of Education at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

from 1973 to 1978, he created the university's Post Graduate Certificate of Education course (he also acted as Specialist Adviser to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

Select Committee on the attainments of school-leavers in 1976–77). In 1978 he returned to Exeter as a Professor where he headed the amalgamation of the Exeter Education department with St Luke's College. While at Exeter he directed numerous research projects on such topics as classroom processes, teaching strategies, curriculum evaluation, appraising competence and incompetence, and

performance-related pay Performance-related pay or pay for performance, not to be confused with performance-related pay rise, is a salary or wages paid system based on positioning the individual, or team, on their pay band according to how well they perform. Car salesmen ...

. He also studied education in numerous countries around the world. Throughout his academic career he would always make time to teach a class of children for one or two days a week so that he would remain in touch with the profession at the 'chalkface'.

Professional recognition

Wragg was president of the

British Educational Research Association The British Educational Research Association (BERA) is a membership association and learned society committed to advancing research quality, building research capacity and fostering research engagement. BERA's aim is to inform the development of po ...

in 1981–82, Chairman of the Educational Broadcasting Council of the UK from 1981 to 1986. In 1997 he was invited to deliver the Hockerill Lecture. He was a member of the board of the

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA), previously known as the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), was a charity, and an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department for Education. In Engl ...

from 1997 to 2003. He wrote more than 50 books on a wide range of educational topics, as well as producing a 120-book reading scheme, two CD-ROMs, a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on teachers' questions, and many videos and audiotapes. Shortly before his death he was elected as an Academician of the Social Sciences.

Commentary

He was a frequent broadcaster on radio and television and wrote regularly in newspapers including the ''

'' and ''

''. Wragg was an advocate of warmth, humour and humanity in the classroom and defended these ideals with passion against a narrowly

utilitarian In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to the ...

approach to learning; he was vociferous in opposing attempts to roll back the education changes of the 1960s. He had a ready and sharp wit, which worked well with his savage indignation at politically inspired educational reforms. Although initially his beliefs were reflected by the government of

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

, he later fell out with it and attacked it, nicknaming

Ruth Kelly Ruth Maria Kelly (born 9 May 1968) is the chair of Water UK, the trade association representing all of the water and wastewater companies of the United Kingdom. She was previously a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who serve ...

"Ruth

Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of extremely xenophobic mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in th ...

" and "The Duchess of Drivel"; he also coined the nickname 'Tony Zoffis' ( Tony's office) for

Andrew Adonis Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis, (born Andreas Adonis; 22 February 1963) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and journalist who served in HM Government for five years in the Third Blair ministry, Blair ministry and the Brown mi ...

, then a member of the

Downing Street Downing Street is a gated street in City of Westminster, Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In a cul-de-sac situated off Whiteh ...

policy unit but subsequently ennobled and appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education.

Bibliography

Wragg was a prolific writer. The following list of some of his books is freely adapted from the material posted on his University of Exeter curriculum vitae. * E C Wragg (1974) ''Teaching Teaching'' David and Charles * E C Wragg, J Oates and P Gump (1976) ''Classroom Interaction'' Open University Press * E C Wragg (1981) ''Class Management and Control'' Macmillan * E C Wragg (1982) ''Swineshead Revisited'' Trentham * E C Wragg (1982) ''A Review of Research in Teacher Education'' NFER-Nelson * E C Wragg (ed) (1984) ''Classroom Teaching Skills'' Croom Helm * E C Wragg (1984 ''Pearls from Swineshire'' Trentham * E C Wragg (1986) ''Education: An Action Guide for Parents'' BBC * E C Wragg (1987) ''Teacher Appraisal'' Macmillan * E C Wragg (1988) ''The Wragged Edge'' Trentham * E C Wragg and J A Partington (1989) ''Schools and Parents'' Cassell * E C Wragg (1990) ''Riches from Wragg'' Trentham * E C Wragg (1991) ''Mad Curriculum Disease'' Trentham * E C Wragg and M Williams (1993) ''The Parents' File'' Southgate * E C Wragg (1993)'' No, Minister!'' Trentham * E C Wragg (1993) ''Class Management'' Routledge * E C Wragg and G Brown (1993)'' Explaining'' Routledge * G Brown and E C Wragg (1993) ''Questioning'' Routledge * E C Wragg (ed) (1993) ''Education: a Different Vision'' IPPR * E C Wragg (1993) ''Primary Teaching Skills'' Routledge * E C Wragg (1994) ''An Introduction to Classroom Observation'' Routledge * R Dunne and E C Wragg (1994) ''Effective Teaching'' Routledge * E C Wragg, F J Wikeley, C M Wragg, G S Haynes (1996) ''Teacher Appraisal Observed'' Routledge * E C Wragg (1994) ''Flying Boot'' Nelson * E C Wragg (1995) ''The Ted Wragg Guide to Education'' Butterworth Heinemann * E C Wragg (1996) ''The Last Quango'' Trentham * E C Wragg (1997) ''The Cubic Curriculum'' Routledge * E C Wragg (1997) ''Assessment and Learning'' Routledge * E C Wragg (1998) ''The Prince of Darkness'' Trentham * E C Wragg, C M Wragg, G S Haynes and R P Chamberlin (1998) ''Improving Literacy in the Primary School'' Routledge * E C Wragg (1999) ''An Introduction to Classroom Observation'' (2nd edition) Routledge * E C Wragg, G S Haynes, C M Wragg and R P Chamberlin (2000)''Failing Teachers?'' Routledge * E C Wragg (2001) ''Class Management in the Primary School'', Routledge Falmer. * E C Wragg (2001) ''Class Management in the Secondary School'', Routledge Falmer. * E C Wragg (2001) ''Assessment and Learning in the Primary School'', Routledge Falmer. * E C Wragg (2001) ''Assessment and Learning in the Secondary School'', Routledge Falmer. * E C Wragg and G Brown (2001) ''Explaining in the Primary School'', Routledge Falmer. * E C Wragg and G Brown (2001) ''Explaining in the Secondary School'', Routledge Falmer. * E C Wragg and G Brown (2001) ''Questioning in the Primary School'', Routledge Falmer. * E C Wragg, G Brown (2001) ''Questioning in the Secondary School'', Routledge Falmer. * E C Wragg, G S Haynes, Wragg, C M and Chamberlin, R P (2004) ''Performance Pay for Teachers'', Routledge Falmer. * E C Wragg (Ed) (2004) ''Teaching and Learning'', RoutledgeFalmer. * E C Wragg (Ed) (2005) ''Letters to the Prime Minister'', Central Books. * E C Wragg (2005) (in press) ''The Art and Science of Teaching and Learning'', Routledge. * Editor of the international research journal ''Research Papers in Education'' (Taylor and Francis) since 1986.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wragg, Ted 1938 births 2005 deaths English educational theorists People educated at King Edward VII School, Sheffield Alumni of the University of Exeter Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham Alumni of the University of Leicester Academics of the University of Exeter Academics of the University of Nottingham Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences