Prof. Walter Humes

Prof. Humes' subject is William Boyd (1874-1962), a distinguished former pupil of Kilmarnock Academy and, as such, is very close to our hearts.  He recently published an article about Boyd believing his contribution to education in Scotland had not been sufficiently recognised.

He will say a little bit about his background and early studies and will then go on to refer to his teaching and publications, his involvement in child study and child guidance, his pioneering work in adult education and community development, and his encouragement of teachers to engage in educational research (something that is only now taken seriously).  In many respects he was ahead of his times but, despite this, he was never made a professor and Prof. Humes will discuss some of the possible reasons for this.

A little bit about Professor Humes:-

Walter Humes started his career as a teacher of English, before working in several Scottish universities, including periods as Head of Educational Studies at both Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities.  He has held professorships at the Universities of Aberdeen, Strathclyde and West of Scotland.  His research publications cover the fields of educational policy, teacher education, history of education and educational leadership and management.  He is one of the co-editors of the standard text Scottish Education published by Edinburgh University Press (4^th edition, 2013).

Since his retirement in 2010, he has been a Visiting Professor of Education at the University of Stirling.   He is also a regular contributor to the online journal, 'Scottish Review' (www.scottishreview.net).