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Educating Parapsychologists
Journal of Parapsychology, The, Sept, 1999 by Matthew D. Smith
In order to set a context for some of the comments and suggestions I will make in response to this question, I will focus on the situation in the UK. Given that in the UK there appears to have been some apparent success in finding a place for the inclusion of parapsychology at both an undergraduate and graduate level, it might be worth spending a few moments examining the reasons behind that success.
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The situation in the UK is one which has developed over the past seven years or so. Prior to 1992 there was only one British university which was providing educational opportunities in parapsychology: the University of Edinburgh. As many of you will be aware, the University of Edinburgh's instrumental role in educating parapsychologists dates back to the 1970s during which time John Beloff supervised five PhD students with projects on parapsychological topics while he was a lecturer in the University's Psychology Department. All went on to make significant contributions to the field. Then in 1985, it was through a bequest by the writer Arthur Koestler that the Koestler Chair of Parapsychology was established at the University, also based within the Psychology Department. Since then, another 13 students have gained their doctorates under the supervision of the Koestler Professor Bob Morris.
So it is safe to say that the University of Edinburgh has played, and continues to play, an important role in training a relatively large number of individuals in parapsychology. However, as I noted regarding the apparent prevalence of the Rhine Research Center in the educational background of many parapsychological researchers, this impressive tally might also be taken to highlight the lack of alternative sources for such training.
So what has happened since 1992 that has led to the proliferation of other institutions that are happy, if not eager, to offer graduate opportunities for parapsychological training as well as include parapsychology on their undergraduate curricula? I believe the answer to this question is due to the combination of two factors. The first factor concerns the changes in the structure of the British Higher Education system during the 1990s, while the second factor might be best described as the legacy of the approach adopted by Professor Morris in guiding his students.
In the early 1990s a government review of Higher Education in the UK led to changes that would allow polytechnics and other Higher Education institutions to use the title "University." Broadly speaking, prior to these changes the emphasis in polytechnics had been upon teaching, while the emphasis at universities had been upon research. The aim of the exercise was to eliminate the two-tier system, and to increase competition among all universities, both old and new, for various sources of funding for both teaching and research. One of the consequences of the changes was that, due to the increased availability of funding for the new universities, these institutions were able to take on more academic staff to engage in both teaching and research. Furthermore, posts in disciplines that were capable of attracting large numbers of students, such as psychology, increased dramatically in number. Thus, from the early 1990s there was an increased demand for lecturers in psychology, and so greater career opportunities for individuals completing PhDs in psychology.
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