Albert Henry 'Chelly' Halsey (13 April 1923 – 14 October 2014) was a British sociologist. He was emeritus Professor of Social and Administrative Studies at the Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford, and a Fellow of

Nuffield College, Oxford Nuffield College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college specialising in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. N ...

. Halsey 'worked in what he called the "political arithmetic" tradition throughout his career, with the dual tasks of documenting the state of society, and addressing social and political issues through "experimental social administration"' He presented the BBC's annual Reith Lectures in 1978.

Education

Halsey was an adviser for

Anthony Crosland Charles Anthony Raven Crosland (29 August 191819 February 1977) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and author. A social democrat on the right wing of the Labour Party, he was a prominent socialist intellectual. His influe ...

; and on education played an '"activist" role in policy development in the UK and internationally, through his work on educational reform...and as research adviser to Crosland at the DES with the introduction of

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

ing in the UK'. Generally accepted has been 'A. H. Halsey's assertion that in capitalist industrial societies "It is inevitable that the educational system should come into close relationship with the economy."'

Social consensus

'Halsey's creed of "ethical socialism" springs from a lasting Anglican belief. His background was not just working class, but respectable working class'. Despite a hankering for social consensus in Britain, "as Halsey confesses, such a consensus became more difficult to sustain as the twentieth century proceeded; unfortunately the 'bases of social integration in Christian belief, national and imperial success, localised kinship and collective self-help institutions...were all to decay.'"

The Reith Lectures

In 1978 the BBC invited Halsey to present its annual Reith Lectures. Across a series of six radio lectures, titled "Change in British Society" he explored a sociological perspective on contemporary Britain. The lectures examined topics such as class, status, the rise of organisations, the nuclear family and fraternity.

Selected works by Halsey

* ''Education, Economy, and Society: A Reader in the Sociology of Education'' (1961) * ''Trends in British Society since 1900: A Guide to the Changing Social Structure of Britain'' (1972) * ''Heredity and Environment'' (1977) *
Change in British Society
' BBC Reith Lectures (1978) * ''Decline of Donnish Dominion: The British Academic Professions in the Twentieth Century'' (1992) * ''No Discouragement: An Autobiography'' (1996) * ''A History of Sociology in Britain'' (2004,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

)

Selected works co-authored by Halsey and others

*''The British Academics'' (1971), co-authored with Martin A. Trow *''Social Class and Educational Opportunity'' (1973), co-authored with J. E. Floud and F. M. Martin *''Power and Ideology in Education'' (1977), co-authored with Jerome Karabel *''English Ethical Socialism'' (1988), co-authored with

Norman Dennis Norman Dennis (16 August 1929 – 13 November 2010) was a British sociologist. Early life and education Born one of four sons to a tram driver, Norman Dennis was educated at Bede Collegiate Boys' School. He was offered a place at Corpus Chris ...

. *''Twentieth-Century British Social Trends'' (2000), co-authored with Josephine Webb

References

External links

*BBC Radio 4:
Change in British Society
' *Podcast:
Reith Lectures Archive 1976 - 2010
'
THES articleArticle in ''The Spectator''Appearance on Desert Island Discs 4 May 2003
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halsey, A. H. 1923 births 2014 deaths British sociologists Comprehensive education Fellows of Nuffield College, Oxford