Teacher Training and the Silences of Eugenics and Imperialism at the London Day Training College and the Institute of Education (1918–1939)

My thesis examines the overlooked presence of eugenics and imperialism on teacher training during the interwar period at the London Day Training College (LDTC), which became the Institute of Education (IOE) in 1932. Using a wide range of archival sources, the works authored by key staff and school inspection reports, the study reconstructs the training trajectory of a sample of ten students to analyse the selection, training, and assessment processes. I argue that scientific management principles were employed to recruit the 'right type' of candidate, resulting in a form of teacher engineering, which was reinforced by assessment. This approach, governed by Percy Nunn's philosophies, created tensions with his predecessor John Adams and successor Fred Clarke due to their differing views on eugenics, intelligence testing, child-centred education, and citizenship. This tension is also evident in the subject-specific pedagogies developed by deputy Margaret Punnett and instructor Clotilde von Wyss, which were appropriated for different ideological purposes, influencing teaching practices in London schools and parts of the Empire. 

Nazlin Bhimani is Research Support and Special Collections Librarian at UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society. She serves as an advisory board member for the UCL’s Eugenics Legacy Education project. She has co-curated two exhibitions on eugenics and education, showcasing the IOE’s special collections, and written several blog posts on the subject