James A. Draper  

Born:  1930, Regina Saskatchewan

Died:  2004, Toronto, Ontario

Biographical Note:

James Draper was one the most fascinating and perhaps most understated adult educators in Canadian adult education history. James belonged to that remarkable generation of adult educators who not only believed in the inherent democracy of adult education, but who also fought to create a space in the academic world for the study of learning and adults.

James completed his high school in North Vancouver, BC and teaching certificate from UBC and M.Sc. (1962) and Ph.D. (1964) in the field of adult education from the University of Wisconsin, USA.  In 1967 James joined the newly-established department of post graduate studies in adult education at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto.  He retired from OISE in 1995.

In 1953, James hitchhiked the entire length of the African continent from Cairo to Cape Town; he may well have been the first Canadian to do so.  Along the way, he picked up work with the United Nations Sleeping Sickness campaign in Sudan and made his way with great difficulty over parts of Africa that even today are only dirt tracks.

James met the late J. Roby Kidd while studying at the University of Wisconsin, and through this research he began a relationship with India that continued his entire life. James was part of the early Columbo Plan adult education team, which put an adult education department in place at Rajasthan University, where he, Roby Kidd, Bill Day and others made important contributions.

James later joined Roby Kidd at OISE in the newly established adult education department.  He was the supervisor for perhaps more international students that anyone else at OISE. His students can be found in scores of countries around the world non-governmental positions.  James made important contributions to the history of adult education, adult literacy, community development, and First Nations adult education. He played a key role in the development of the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education, World Literacy of Canada, and the Canadian Association for Community Development. His most recent work was the development of a series of chronologies on the history of adult education in various parts of the world.

Selected Publications:

Barer-Stein, Thelma  & Draper James A. (Eds.) (1994).  The Craft of Teaching Adults.  Malabar, Fla.: Krieger Publishing Co.

Draper, James A. (Ed.)  (1998).  Africa: Adult Education: Chronologies in Commonwealth Countries.  Cape Town: CACE Publications in association with NIACE, Sida, AETASA.

Draper, James A. & Taylor, Maurice C. (Eds.) (1992).  Voices From the Literacy Field.  Toronto: Culture Concepts.

Taylor, Maurice C. & Draper, James A. (Eds.) (1994).  Adult Literacy Perspectives.  Malabar, Fla.: Krieger Pub. Co.

November 2004, Budd Hall

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