Lorna Hodgkinson
Lorna Hodgkinson | |
---|---|
Gore Hill, Sydney | |
Education | Harvard University (MEd; DEd) |
Occupation(s) | Educator and educational psychologist |
Known for | First woman to receive a Doctor of Education degree from Harvard University |
Lorna Myrtle Hodgkinson (13 May 1887 – 24 March 1951) was an Australian educator and
Early life
Hodgkinson was born on 13 May 1887 in
Career
Hodgkinson became an assistant at the Perth Infants' School in 1907 and started a class for children with
When Hodgkinson returned from Harvard to Sydney in 1922, she took up a position created for her by the NSW Department of Education: Superintendent of the Education of Mental Defectives.[4] In 1923 she testified before the Royal Commission on Lunacy Law and Administration that the system for caring for intellectually disabled children was mismanaged; her comments sparked protests from the public and a ministerial inquiry was ordered by minister Albert Bruntnell. Hodgkinson was accused of falsifying her educational record in order to gain admission to Harvard, and after the inquiry found against her on all accounts, she was suspended for "disgraceful and improper conduct in making false statements and pretences". She was demoted to normal public teaching in 1924, but she refused to take up her new position and was dismissed. The dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education later wrote a statement to confirm her abilities and achievements.[1]
After being publicly humiliated, Hodgkinson left the public education system and founded the Sunshine Institute, a residential school for intellectually disabled children, in the Sydney suburb of
Death
Hodgkinson died of cancer at Gore Hill on 24 March 1951.[5] The Sunshine Institute was later renamed the Lorna Hodgkinson Sunshine Home,[1] and is still in operation as Unisson Disability.[6]
References
- ^ ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
- ^ Northern Star. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
- Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. 10 April 2013. Archived from the originalon 9 May 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
- ^ .
- ^ Turtle, Alison M., "Hodgkinson, Lorna Myrtle (1887–1951)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 11 December 2021
- ^ "History". Sunshine. Retrieved 3 April 2017.