Donald K Jones

We have learned, with sadness, of the passing of Don Jones, who taught in the School of Education between 1972 and 1990.

Donald K Jones was born in Manchester on 16 February 1933. After studying for a BA and then a DipEd at the University of Sheffield, he did three years’ National Service in the RAF. He then taught history at schools in Lancashire and Salford, and in 1961 he married Irene. Don held lecturer positions at colleges in Manchester and Scawsby, and at Leeds Polytechnic, during which time he also gained an MA in History of Education at the University of Sheffield. He was then appointed Lecturer in Education at Leicester in 1972, where he was to remain for 18 years.

Don taught PGCE students, and also established an MA in the History of Education which ran from 1974 to 1986. He also supervised PhD students, some of whom went on to teach at Leicester and other universities. He worked alongside Jack Meadows, Alex Keller, Bill Brock (who also passed away this year) and Brian Simon, who encouraged Don to write his first book, The Making of the Education System 1851-1881, which was published by Routledge in 1977.

In addition to his teaching, Don sat on the University Senate, the Athletics Grounds Committee, the Board of Collegiate Studies and the Board of Education. He was also senior tutor on the BEd course at Nene College in Northampton. After a short period working part-time, Don finally retired in 1990. In 1996, on the 50th anniversary of the School of Education, Donald wrote the definitive history of the School and its achievements.

He was a founding member of the History of Education Society, later serving as Secretary, and also sat on the editorial board of the journal History of Education. In 1988 he published Stewart Mason: The Art of Education, a biography of the influential educator who served as Leicestershire’s Director of Education from 1947 to 1971, developing the comprehensive system of secondary education.

Donald K Jones passed away on 22 October 2024. He leaves Irene, two children and four grandchildren, and a legacy of excellent research and teaching.