Alan George Smithers (born 20 May 1938) is an English academic

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

and public policy advisor best known for his research and publications in the field of

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 ...

Early life

Smithers was born in the East End of London, the son of a

Billingsgate Billingsgate is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London. This small City Ward is situated on the north bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge in the south-east of the Square Mile. The modern Ward extends south to th ...

fish porter.Rafferty, R. (22 January 1999). 'Leaders of the pack', ''Times Educational Supplement''. His mother worked in a sweet factory, and he claims he lived on fish and

Turkish delight Turkish delight, or lokum () is a family of confectionery, confections based on a gel of starch and sugar. Premium varieties consist largely of chopped dates, pistachios, hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel; traditional varieties are often fl ...

during the war. He was educated at Barking Abbey Grammar School then

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, gaining a first class honours degree BSc and 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 ...

plant physiology Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Plant physiologists study fundamental processes of plants, such as photosynthesis, respiration, plant nutrition, plant hormone functions, tr ...

in 1966.''Who's Who 2013'', London: A&C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. He later gained an MSc in the

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and

sociology of education The sociology of education is the study of how public institutions and individual experiences affect education and its outcomes. It is mostly concerned with the public schooling systems of modern industrial societies, including the expansion of ...

and a PhD in education in 1974 from the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

. Since all professors at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, where Smithers taught, are required to be graduates of the university, an

MEd MED or med may refer to: Healthcare * Medical extrication device, a device for extricating an injured patient from an accident site, such as the Kendrick extrication device * Medication, often used in the plural "meds" * Medicine (or medical) * ...

was conferred on him in 1981. He became a Chartered Psychologist in 1988.

Career

Plant physiology

He was originally a research scientist in

. From 1962 to 1964 he lectured in biology at the

College of St Mark and St John Plymouth Marjon University, commonly referred to as Marjon, is the trading name of the University of St Mark and St John, a university based primarily on a single campus on the northern edge of Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom. Formerly named Un ...

in Chelsea, then

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

from 1964 to 1967.

Education

He became involved in education as a subject when, in the 1960s, the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, where he lectured, began introducing modular degrees.Hulme, A. (18 May 1990). 'Smithers sites them again', The Friday Profile, ''Manchester Evening News''. This led to a secondment at the newly elevated

. There he re-qualified as a psychologist before becoming Senior Lecturer in Education in 1969. He became a professor at the

at the age of 37. He has successively occupied four chairs: Professor of Education at the

(1976–96); Professor of Policy Research at

Brunel University Brunel University of London (BUL) is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. It became a university ...

(1996-8); Sydney Jones Professor of Education at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

(1998–2004); and currently as Director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the

University of Buckingham The University of Buckingham (UB) is a non-profit private university#United Kingdom, private university in Buckingham, England, and the oldest of the country's six private universities. It was founded as the University College at Buckingham (U ...

(2004 to present).Baker, K ''et al'' (2013). ''14-18 A New Vision for Secondary Education'', London Bloomsbury Publishing. Notes on Contributors, Alan Smithers, p xiii. He was elected as one of the first three fellows of the Society for Research in Higher Education in 1986.The Independent (13 January 1987) Court and Social, page 23; ''Times Higher Education Supplement'' (2 January 1987) 'Cheers for four firsts'. He was seconded to BP from September 1991 to August 1992 to help it think more systematically about the value of its education programmes.Brown, M. (Autumn 1992). 'Equal partners', ''Shield: The international magazine of the BP Group''.

Educational research

Areas with which Smithers has been associated include choice and selection in education, social variation between schools, qualifications and assessment, physics education, international comparisons of educational achievement, headship, teacher training, recruitment and retention, technical and further education, the independent/state divide, single-sex and coeducation, and higher education.http://www.alansmithers.com and http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/research/ceer

Publications

Selected publications, in addition to ''The Good Teacher Training Guide'' which has been published annually since 1998 include: * ''GCSE Prospects: Restoring the Value?'' (2023) * ''A-Level Prospects: Return to Normal?'' (2023) * ''Where Next for Apprenticeships 2016'' (2016) * ''Social Disadvantage and Widening Access to Universities'' (2015) * ''HEFCEs Blunder'' (2015) * ''The Science and Mathematics Teaching Workforce'' (2014) * ''Confusion in the Ranks'' (2013) * ''14-18 A New Vision for Secondary Education'' (2013) * ''Educating the Highly Able'' (2012) * ''Choice and Selection in Education: the experience of other countries'' (2010) * ''Worlds Apart: social variation among schools'' (2010) * ''Physics Participation and Policies: lessons from abroad'' (2009) * ''Specialist Science Schools'' (2009) * ''The Diploma: a disaster waiting to happen?'' (2008) * ''Blair's Education: an international perspective'' (2007) * ''Physics in Schools and Colleges'' (2007) * ''School Headship'' (2007) * ''The Paradox of Single Sex and Coeducational Schooling'' (2006) * ''England’s Education'' (2004) * ''Attracting Teachers'' (2000) * ''Further Education Reformed'' (2000) * ''The Impact of Double Science'' (1994) * ''General Studies'' (1993) * ''Graduates in the Police Service'' (1990) * ''Increasing Participation in Higher Education'' (1989) * ''The Growth of Mixed A-Levels'' (1988) * ''The Progress of Mature Students'' (1986) * ''Sandwich Courses: an Integrated Education?'' (1976). Two of his reports were featured as ''Dispatches'' programmes on ''Channel 4'', ''Every Child in Britain'' (1991)''Every Child in Britain'', 1991. Report of the Channel Four Commission, (A.H. Halsey, Neville Postlethwaite, Sig Prais, Alan Smithers and Hilary Steedman). London: Broadcasting Support Services. and ''All Our Futures: Britain’s Education Revolution'' (1993).''All Our Futures: Britain's Education Revolution'', 1993. London: Channel Four Television. He has been a frequent commentator on the policies of successive governments.Woodward, W. (7 September 2004). 'Declaration of independence', ''The Guardian''. His analyses of Blair's education have appeared in

Anthony Seldon Sir Anthony Francis Seldon (born 2 August 1953) is a British contemporary historian and educator. As an author, he is known for his political biographies of consecutive British Prime Ministers, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Camer ...

's books, ''The Blair Effect: The Blair Government 1997-2001'' (2001), ''The Blair Effect 2001-2005'' (2005) and ''Blair's Britain 1997-2007'' (2007). He has also reviewed in Seldon's books the impact of the Coalition and Conservative administrations: ''The Coalition Effect 2010-2015'' (2015) and ''The Conservative Effect 2010-2024: 14 Wasted Years?'' (2024). Ed Anthony Seldon (2001, 2005, 2007, 2015 and 2024) ''The Blair Effect: The Blair Government 1997-2001'', London: Little,Brown,2001; ''The Blair Effect 2001-05'', Cambridge: University Press; ''Blair's Britain 1997-2007'', Cambridge: University Press; ''The Coalition Effect 2010-2015'', Cambridge: University Press; and ''The Conservative Effect 2010-2024: 14 Wasted Years?'' Cambridge: University Press.

Educational advisor at a national level

Smithers has served as an adviser, latterly standing adviser, to the Commons Education Select Committee since 1997. He claims to be apolitical, believing that close association with any one party compromises the objectivity of the research. He has served on national committees including the ''National Curriculum Council'', the ''Beaumont Review of National Vocational Qualifications'' and the ''Royal Society Committee on Teacher Supply''.

Personal life

He married Angela Wykes in 1962, with whom he had two daughters; they divorced in 2003.

References

External links

CEER

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smithers, Alan 1938 births Living people English educational theorists English physiologists Alumni of King's College London Alumni of the University of Bradford Academics of the University of London Academics of the University of Bradford Academics of the University of Buckingham Academics of the University of Manchester Academics of Brunel University London Academics of the University of Liverpool People educated at Barking Abbey Grammar School