Contesting the 1944 McNair report: Lillian de Lissa's working life as a teacher educator

This article explores teacher educator Lillian de Lissa's working life in the first half of the twentieth century. In 1944 the McNair report criticised residential colleges and their female staff as isolated and intellectually impoverished. However, in Australia and then as the foundation Principal of Gipsy Hill Training College, de Lissa was not only committed to teaching and administration, but also to presenting and publishing her scholarly work nationally and internationally. Furthermore, she chaired the Nursery School Association for nine years, gave evidence at several government inquiries and lectured in the United States in 1943. This article focuses on the elements of de Lissa's career that might be included in an academic curriculum vitae in order to challenge the McNair report and highlight her contributions to early childhood education and teacher education.