Neale, Marie Draga

Positions summary

Chair of Education 1970-1982, Research Professor of Studies of Exceptional Children 1982-1987, Emeritus Professor 1988-2011.

Biography

Dr Neale took up her appointment to a Chair in Education at Monash early in 1970. She was previously a senior lecturer in Education at the University of Sydney and an honorary clinical psychologist at Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Sydney. Professor Neale was born in Taranaki, NZ, and was awarded BA, MA and Dip Ed from the University of New Zealand. She was later awarded a PhD and Dip Psych from the University of Birmingham, England. She was the first woman in Australia or New Zealand to be appointed to a Chair of Education and served on a number of state and Commonwealth committees on education, including the Ministerial Committee of Enquiry into Special Education and the Premiers Committee on Mental Retardation. Professor Neale was also appointed a member of the State Council for Special Education in 1977, and invited to become a member of the OECD Advisory Committee on Education in 1978. 

The Krongold Centre which opened in 1976, was established to facilitate Professor Neale's work and provide clinical services to the community. Professor Neale was awarded an OBE in 1979 for her dedicated service to exceptional children. In 1982 the position of Research Professor (Studies of Exceptional Children) was created for her at Monash, and she retired from the University in December 1987. She was subsequently awarded the title of Emeritus Professor; and was made a member of the Order of Australia in 1989, for her services to education and particularly to children with special educational needs.

Papers

Addresses and publications 1974-2008
Publications including a boxed set of the Neale Scales (1976); journal articles; transcripts of addresses; notes, and overheads for lectures. Series includes film; audio and video cassettes; and slides.

Records related to the Krongold Centre 1976-1987
Records related to activities at the Centre between 1976 and Professor Neale's retirement in 1987. Series includes a Visitors Book; index cards for clients of the Centre; annual reports; and photographs.

Correspondence and personal records 1945-1988
Files chiefly related to publication of the Neale Scales of Early Childhood Development and the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability. Other files include personal and professional correspondence, curricula vitae and newspaper cuttings.