Professor Ted Wragg

This webpage is to remember one of the Education community's most recognisable and accomplished colleagues, Professor Ted Wragg, Director of the Graduate School of Education from 1978 to 1994, who died November 10th 2005.

About Professor Wragg

Ted Wragg was Emeritus Professor of Education at Exeter. He taught in primary and secondary schools and in two universities. He obtained his BA, a First in German, at Durham University, his MEd at Leicester and his PhD at Exeter University. He officially retired in 2003 but remained extremely active as a writer, researcher, teacher, broadcaster and adviser. He still taught students and mentored academic staff.

During his 34 years at the University of Exeter, Ted Wragg secured millions of pounds worth of research projects and wrote 800 academic articles and 50 books. He made many important contributions to UK education policy. His contribution was recognised by five honorary degrees, including the University of London and the Tavistock Institute. He was made an Academician of the Learned Societies for the Social Sciences in 2003. A prolific education commentator, he also generated more media coverage than many entire departments!

Professor Wragg lectured at about 20 national and international conferences a year. He regularly taught in local primary and secondary schools, including a GCSE class and a reception class last year. He was a major innovator in teaching. His PGCE course in Educational Studies, first developed in the 1970s and 1980s, was widely copied in other universities. Significant developments in educational technology included two CD ROMs, and two DVD ROMs for the Teacher Training Agency on 'Teachers' Questioning' and 'First Encounters'.

He served as a member of the Board of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. He was the former President of the British Educational Research Association, an adviser to a Parliamentary Select Committee on the attainments of school leavers, and chairman of the Educational Broadcasting Council of the UK. In 1992 he chaired the Research Assessment Exercise Panel for Education. He was Chair of the judging panel for 'The Platos', the annual awards for outstanding teachers.

Professor Wragg was the author of over 50 books on a wide range of topics, including teaching skills, teacher appraisal, literacy, research methods, teacher training, assessment, curriculum, many of which have been translated into other languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian, Polish and Portuguese. He also wrote a 120 book reading scheme and produced two CD ROMs, a DVD ROM, and many videos and audiotapes.

He was a regular columnist in the Guardian and Times Educational Supplement. He was the presenter or contributor to numerous radio and TV series and items on education.

CV

Education and degrees

BA German 1st Class Honours (distinction in oral) Durham University 1959
Postgraduate Certificate in Education 1st class Durham University 1960
MEd Leicester University 1967
PhD Exeter University 1972
Honorary Fellow of the College of Preceptors 1988
Honorary DUniv Open University 1989
Winner of Jerwood Award 1991
Honorary DUniv Strathclyde University 1993
Honorary Doctor of Civil Law University of Northumbria 1999
Honorary DLitt University of London 2002
Academician of the Learned Societies for the Social Sciences 2003
Honorary EdD Tavistock Institute 2005

Career

1960-64 Modern languages teacher, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield
1964-66 Head of German, Wyggeston Boys' School, Leicester
1966-73 Lecturer in Education, Exeter University
1973-78 Professor of Education, Nottingham University
(Chairman of School of Education 1975-78)
1978-2003 Professor of Education, Exeter University
(Director of School of Education, 1978-1994)
2003- Emeritus Professor, Exeter University

Some recent research projects

Leverhulme Primary Project (Leverhulme - £254,000) 1988-92
The Use of Broadcasts in Small Schools (BBC - £2,000) 1991-92
The Teacher Appraisal Project (Leverhulme - £132,000) 1992-94
The Primary Improvement Project (Leverhulme - £143,000) 1994-97
Teaching Competence Project (Gatsby - £139,157) 1997-99
Exeter Encyclopaedia Project (Encyclopaedia Britannica - £8,225) 1997
Learning from Broadcasts (BBC - £22,500) 1999
Teachers' Incentive Pay Project (Leverhulme - £200,000) 2000-03

National bodies

Member of the Educational Research Board of the SSRC 1974-78
Specialist Adviser Parliamentary Select Committee 1976-77
President of the British Educational Research Association 1981-82
Chairman of the Educational Broadcasting Council for the UK 1981-86
Member, and later Chairman, of the General Advisory Council of the BBC 1981-1987
Chairman of the BBC National Domesday Project Committee 1985-86
Member of the Education Committee of the UGC 1981-89
Specialist Adviser in Education to the UFC 1989-92
Member of the Speaker's Commission on Citizenship 1989-90
Chairman of the RAE Panel (Education) 1992
(member of the two previous research assessment panels in 1986 and 1989)
Member of the Board of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority 1997-2003
Chairman of Judges of the National Teaching Awards 2000-
Chairman, University of the First Age 2004

Publications - a selection of books

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 (2004) Education, Education, Education, 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.

Several of these have been translated into Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Polish, Indonesian, Sri Lankan. Plus over 800 articles in books, research and professional journals, newspapers, and conference presentations. Regular columnist in the Guardian and Times Educational Supplement.

Teaching

Taught all years of the undergraduate course and postgraduates in the university, lectured at about 20 national and international conferences a year, and regularly taught in local primary and secondary schools, including a GCSE class and a reception class. Major innovator in teaching. PGCE course in educational studies, first developed in the 1970s and 1980s, widely copied in other universities. Significant developments in educational technology include two CD ROMs, and two DVD ROMs for the Teacher Training Agency on 'Teachers' Questioning' and 'First Encounters'.

Charity

Trustee or patron of:

• The Apollo Trust (music for schools)
• ContinYou (formerly Education Extra, out-of-school activities and summer schools)
• The EBS Trust (educational videos from BBC)
• Whizzkids (disabled children)
• The Roald Dahl Foundation (literacy, haematology and neurology)
• The University of the First Age

Other

Presenter of and contributor to numerous radio and TV series and items on education, including Chalkface (Granada), Crisis in Education (BBC), The Education Roadshow (BBC), The Education Programme (BBC), Pebble Mill at One (BBC), Teaching Today (BBC), Panorama, BBC News, News at Ten, Channel 4 News, Sky News, You and Yours, Today, File on Four, World in Action, Weekend World, PM, The Moral Maze, The Jonathan Dimbleby Programme, Any Questions etc. Currently presenter of three series on Teachers' TV, including the innovative 'Hot Research', which brings research findings to teachers.