David Whitebread 9th July 1948 – 13th April 2021
A
t nine o ‘clock on a Monday morning over 200 trainee teachers filed into the auditorium of the Mary Allan Building to the accompaniment of ‘We don’t need no education’. On this occasion it was Pink Floyd, another time it might have been the Do-re-mi song from singalong Sound of Music, or perhaps an engaging clip about orangutans from Attenborough. Whatever the soundtrack, the common element was David Whitebread. David’s PGCE lectures were always eagerly anticipated. With an enviable talent for rendering some complex aspects of psychology both accessible and engaging he demonstrated to all of us the value of playfulness in both teaching and learning.
that ‘tomorrow he would be going on a course’. It was usually the eighteen holes in Saffron Walden. David was responsible for establishing the Early Years PGCE course and in this role he offered the trainee teachers the levels of care that he would hope for from tutors supporting his own daughters. This determination to ensure a positive emotional environment for trainees remains a cornerstone of the early years and primary PGCE course. Colleagues on the teaching staff also benefitted from David’s support, with many, over the years, having reason to thank him for fostering their careers in academia. David was the first to invite less experienced colleagues to join in research teams, respecting their professional insights whist gently leading them down the paths of research methods, data analysis and report writing. Beyond the Faculty David was a champion for early years education at every level. He worked tirelessly to foster awareness of the critical importance of early learning and to raise the professional profile of early years educators. Locally he was the chair of governors at Homerton Nursery for many years and convened the meetings of the regional branch of BAECE (the British Association for Early Childhood Education). He was on the national executive committee of TACTYC (the association for professional development in early years) and through this became a nationally respected advocate for young children. Internationally he developed a vibrant research network, hosting global conferences and publishing books that were translated into a multitude of languages. In recent years he developed the relationship with the LEGO foundation that funded the PEDAL Research Centre (Play in Education, Development And Learning). To be David’s colleague was both great fun and an exciting privilege.
David had a strong personal history of playfulness. As a senior teacher in a primary school he had once showed prospective parents around the school whilst dressed as a North American native chief. When asked to move to a Year 6 class, he employed the pedagogical approaches he had developed in his reception class and looked back on the experience as one of his most successful and enjoyable years in teaching. The most enthusiastic of grandads and the keenest of travellers, we shared David’s sense of fun as he took on his seasonally type-cast role at Christmas, and all knew what was meant when he said rsma newsletter september 2021 page 26
Two of David’s previous PhD students and research colleagues offered to contribute to this article, both having consulted widely with an army of erstwhile PhD students who were keen for their thoughts to be represented. Deborah Pino Pasternak was awarded her PhD in 2008, supervised by David. She is now Associate Professor in Early Childhood Education and Communities at the Faculty of Education, University of Canberra. Marisol Basilio is based at the Faculty of Education, having achieved her PhD, again under David’s supervision, in 2014. Now an educational psychology consultant, she continues David’s tradition of teaching on aspects of the Early Years and Primary PGCE course whilst maintaining a heavy involvement in the PEDAL centre. Thank you both.
Penny Coltman
