Ann Margaret Clarke (1928–2015) was a developmental psychologist who conducted research into children with learning disability.
Career
Clarke was born in Madras, India. She studied psychology at the University of Reading where she met Alan D.B. Clarke who would become her life-long partner. She obtained her PhD from the Institute of Psychiatry, London (Part of King's College, London). She moved with Alan Clarke to Manor Hospital, Epsom where they worked with children with intellectual disability.
In 1965 they moved to the University of Hull where Alan Clarke was appointed chair of psychology. In 1985 Ann Clarke was appointed to a personal chair in the Department of Education. She was a member of the editorial board of Educational Psychology.
Research
Clarke's research on learning disabilities emphasised the importance of social context and how impoverished living conditions limited opportunities for growth. She also challenged the idea of the role of 'critical periods' in human development.
Her research was influential in social policy. Trevor Parmenter concluded his obituary with the words: 'It is salutary to be reminded how the results of a long trajectory of consistent research on a theme can have remarkable effects on policy and practice, leading to the betterment of the quality of lives of people. We can honour the lives of people such as Ann Clarke for their contributions to science, but we should also honour her capacity and determination to challenge conventional wisdom.'
Selected publications
- Clarke, Ann M.; Clarke, Alan D. B.; Berg, Joseph M., eds. (1985). Mental Deficiency: The Changing Outlook (4th ed.). Methuen. ISBN 978-0-416-38160-3.
- Clarke, Ann M.; Clarke, Alan D. B. (1976). Early Experience: Myth and Evidence. Open Books. ISBN 978-0-7291-0140-0.
- Clarke, Ann M.; Clarke, Alan D. B. (2000). Early Experience and the Life Path. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-85302-858-8.
Award
- 2007: Honorary Fellow, British Psychological Society
References
- ^ Parmenter, Trevor (2015). "Vale Emeritus Professor Ann Clarke, 1928–2015". Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability. 40 (2): 113–114. doi:10.3109/13668250.2015.1025680.
- "Obituary - Alan Clarke" (PDF). British Psychological Society. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- "Editorial Board". The American Journal of Psychology. 6 (1). March 1986. JSTOR 1422283.
- Reviews of Mental Deficiency: The Changing Outlook
- "Book Review: Mental Deficiency. The Changing Outlook". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine. 52 (5). SAGE Publications: 393–394. 1959. doi:10.1177/003591575905200532. ISSN 0035-9157.
- Fitzpatrick, F.K. (1959). "Book Reviews: Mental Deficiency: the Changing Outlook. Edited by Ann M. Clarke and A. D. B. Clarke. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd". International Journal of Social Psychiatry. 5 (3). SAGE Publications: 234. doi:10.1177/002076405900500319. ISSN 0020-7640. S2CID 144825669.
- "Mental Deficiency: The Changing Outlook. Ann M. Clarke and A. D. B. Clarke (review)". Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. 1 (5). Wiley: 58. 2008-11-12. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8749.1959.tb08078.x. ISSN 0012-1622.
- Reviews of Early Experience and the Life Path
- Chapman, Therese (2001). "Early Experience and the Life Path by Ann Clarke and Alan Clarke, Jessica Kingsley, London and Philadelphia (review)". Child Abuse Review. 10 (4). Wiley: 290–291. doi:10.1002/car.654. ISSN 0952-9136.
- Penfold, S (2003). "Early Experience and the Life Path (review)". The Canadian Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Review. 12 (2): 46. PMC 2538477.