Geoff Whitty

Who is Geoff Whitty?

Geoffrey "Geoff" James Whitty CBE is the former director of the Institute of Education, University of London, in the United Kingdom.

Born in 1946, Whitty was educated at Latymer Upper School and graduated from St John's College, Cambridge. After postgraduate study at the Institute of Education, he became a lecturer in education at the University of Bath in 1973. In 1981, he became a lecturer in urban education at King's College London before becoming Head, Professor and Dean of Education at Bristol Polytechnic in 1985.

In 1990, Whitty became Professor of Policy and Management in Education, Goldsmiths College. In 1992, he became Karl Mannheim Professor of Sociology of Education, Institute of Education. In 2000, he became director of the Institute of Education and finished his term at the end of 2010; the current director is Chris Husbands.

Professor Whitty is Chair of the British Council's Education and Training Advisory Committee. Whitty's main areas of research and scholarship are the sociology of the school curriculum, education policy, teacher education and health education. He has directed ESRC-funded research projects on the impact of education policies, such as the assisted places scheme, city technology colleges and changes in initial teacher education. His most recent project has been an evaluation of Education Action Zones.