Professor Margaret Sutherland has passed away recently in St Andrews to where she retired after a distinguished academic career. Margaret was one of the stalwarts of the initial British Section of the Comparative Education Society in Europe in the 1960s. This soon developed into an independent society and has become BAICE today. Margaret gained a first in modern languages at Glasgow University and, while teaching, a first class masters in Psychology as well. In this field she made her first impact with an excellent book on Education and Imagination. Margaret moved on to Queen’s University, Belfast, eventually becoming Head of Department and then to the University of Leeds as Head of the School of Education in 1975. In between she gained a great deal of first hand field experience in Europe and South Africa. Her main published contribution in comparative education was with several volumes on gender and education, and area in which she was a fine exemplar for women seeking to advance in the academic world. Margaret Sutherland was an inspiration to all younger colleagues in comparative education and many of us have benefitted greatly from her support.
She was both Chair and President of our society and a truly distinguished scholar in the field of educational studies in general.
Dr Colin Brock: University of Oxford
15 April 2011