Peter Jarvis: 1937–2018

Comparative Education has lost a distinguished board member, friend and scholar. Peter Jarvis passed away at his home in Thatcham, near Reading, UK, in November 2018. Peter joined the Editorial Board of the journal in 1991 and since then has been an insightful colleague who has pioneered a comparative dimension to adult and lifelong learning, contributed to numerous well received special issues and served as a wise and supportive Chair of the Board. Peter is well known worldwide as a leader in the field of adult and continuing education for his work on experiential learning, reflective practice in the professions, practitioner research, learning theory and the sociology of learning. He was a prolific writer, publishing over 20 books and more than 200 academic articles, and much of this work drew upon his varied teaching experience, critical reflection upon his own practice and collaborative initiatives carried out with close colleagues and former doctoral students.

Peter’s early educational and career history as a Methodist minister and part -time postgraduate student inspired the nature and trajectory of his academic interests and personal values - characteristics that always embodied genuine concern for human rights, inclusive access to education and the empowerment of those marginalised in society at home and abroad. His first academic post was at Dudley College of Education but, demonstrating his commitment to second-chance learners, he also worked as a tutor at the Open University from its outset in 1971. This was a role that Peter maintained for more than 30 years as he moved, in 1976, to a lectureship in the Department of Adult Education at the University of Surrey, where he remained for the rest of his career as he progressed to a Personal Chair, Head of Department and, since 2010, Emeritus Professor.

While Peter was a prolific writer, he was also a gregarious personality who loved teaching, enjoyed working with people and delighted in international travel. This is reflected in his interest in comparative and international education and his wide global network of friends and colleagues. His publications, and his role as founder and long serving co-editor of the International Journal of lifelong Education, made significant contributions to the international literature and this recognition led to many invitations, that he gladly accepted, to present guest lectures, talks and workshops in contexts that include the USA, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Australia, Finland, Yugoslavia, Spain and Denmark. For many years he was an Adjunct Professor of Adult Education at the University of Georgia and he was inducted in to the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame in 1997. He was awarded 5 honorary doctorates on the basis of his published work and was an elected Fellow of the British Academy of Social Sciences.

The impact of Peter’s work in adult and lifelong learning was celebrated in a 2017 special issue of the International Journal of Lifelong Education and, for readers seeking specific details, this provides an insightful account of his key publications and an informed analysis of his overall intellectual contribution (Holford et al. 2017). The volume also includes a paper by Lore Arthur and myself reflecting upon Peter’s contribution to the field of comparative education and highlighting how he served as President of the British Association for International and Comparative Education (BAICE) from 1999 to 2000 (Arthur and Crossley, 2017).

While Peter was proud of his global recognition he was also deeply grounded in his local community, founding, for example, the Thatcham U3A in 2006 assisted by a small group of friends and his wife, and lifelong supporter, Maureen. Peter will be remembered worldwide for his intellectual and professional contributions, but above all he will be missed for his many friendships and ‘his love of and respect for, the human; and his sense that humanity is constructed through human interaction’ (Holford, 2017 11).