It is with deep sadness I have to inform our readers that after a long illness Professor Ed Stones, our Founding Editor, died on September 27th aged 82. As someone who fought his way out of the poverty of a Yorkshire mining village in the North of England to become a school teacher, a college of education lecturer, a university lecturer and eventually a professor and an internationally known author. Indeed his first book, Introduction to Educational Psychology, was the set text at my own teacher training course in the 1960s and my first introduction to Ed himself. I recall how marked was the break with the standard psychological approach of the time to testing and its emphasis on student learning and language, which led in turn to my own interest in the philosophy of language.
This last point is indicative of one of the endearing and long lasting aspects of Ed's work in teacher education. There are countless numbers of people who have been influenced either directly or indirectly by his work. This influence has worked through direct contact with Ed, through his publications, through his founding of BERA and of course through this journal.
He encouraged a variety of approaches to writing in JET and was especially keen to support young authors with a wealth of advice aimed at improving their communication skills. What will be most missed is his willingness to subject shibboleths created by the use of arcane jargon masquerading as technical language to a rigorous critique, hence what he called the ‘guru free zone’ of the JET colloquia and lunches that he created and organised. That critique was also levelled at ill‐informed political decisions regarding the nature of teacher education, evaluation and research. He was absolutely opposed to what he saw as the spread of a ‘profound anti‐intellectualism’ driving government led changes to teacher education. That opposition, is something that underpins JET's editorial policy and in that sense is something of Ed that will continue to influence our readership long after his death.
Peter Gilroy