John Ernest Adamson
English author and educator (1867–1950) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir John Ernest Adamson CMG (11 January 1867 – 25 April 1950) was an English educationalist. He was director of education in Transvaal, modern day South Africa from 1905 to 1924 and played an important role in developing that territory's education system.
John Ernest Adamson | |
---|---|
Born | 11 January 1867 |
Died | 25 April 1950 Muizenberg, near Cape Town, South Africa |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1891–1950 |
Spouse | Gwendolyn Mary Howell Thomas |
Adamson was born in Yorkshire. He received an ordinary schooling for the time and trained as a teacher. As a young man he worked at teacher training colleges and pursued university level education. In 1902 he moved to the newly-created Colony of Transvaal to run a teacher training college.
During Adamson's period of responsibility for education in Transvaal he was considered understanding of the section of the population which was of Dutch descent, a group which had an uneasy relationship with Britain, and worked to integrate them into the school system. He made less effort to accommodate indigenous people and his views about their education were conflicted. He established compulsory education for white children in 1916. Adamson also held various academic posts and received two honours.