Edward (Ned) Annand Corbett  

B.A. Theology (Huntington Academy, Presbyterian College) Montreal

M.A. (McGill University) Montreal

Honorary LL.D (Mount Allison University)

Honorary LL.D (St. Francis Xavier University)

Born: April 12, 1887, Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada

Died: November 28, 1964, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Biographical Note:

E.A. "Ned" Corbett was an innovator and pioneer adult educator who possessed a near legendary zeal, charisma, and vision.

In order to finance his way through university he worked hard at various jobs - that of being a salesman of stereoscopic photographs in Quebec, to a horseback-tourist guide for the Banff Springs Hotel.  He completed his Bachelor of Arts in theology in 1912, and one year later received his Master of Arts, from McGill University.

During World War I, he assisted Henry Marshall Tory in establishing the Khaki College in Sussex, England, which offered Canadian soldiers hope and renewal through the study of topics relevant to them, such as: bookkeeping, livestock husbandry, English, and others.

In 1921 H.M. Tory, the acting President of the University of Alberta, offered Corbett a position in the University Extension Department, as assistant to its director, A.E. Ottewell, whom he later succeeded.

Corbett was a consummate innovator.  By 1927 he was director of University of Alberta's Extension Department and became involved in setting up the university’s radio station, CKUA. This was to be Canada's first educational broadcaster and Canada's first public broadcaster.

Corbett was also President of the Alberta Drama League.  In 1933 played a key role in the founding of the Banff School of Arts, serving as its first director.

The year 1935 was a pivotal year in adult education.  Corbett was instrumental in the establishment of the Canadian Association for Adult Education (CAAE). The central themes under Corbett's leadership were citizenship education, rural adult education, and Canadian nationalism.  Serving as the first director of the CAAE, he steered the organization through the years of the great depression, and through World War II, into the post-war years.  Over this time he shaped the CAAE into an effective and flexible agent of Canadian consciousness.

Corbett's influence was strongly felt at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the National Film Board (NFB) and Canada's Wartime Information Board.   Corbett was a creative force behind the popular CBC broadcasts, Farm Radio Forum, and Citizen's Forum, each week serving up to 30,000 listeners across Canada.

One of his most creative -- and often overlooked -- contributions to Canadian adult education was an initiative by Corbett and John Robbins, secretary of the Canadian Council on Education for Citizenship: The Joint Planning Commission (est.1947). The JPC has been described by Dr. J.R. Kidd, as one of the most notable and successful features of adult education at the national level in Canada.  The Council operated for almost 20 years as a free-flowing network for galaxies of agencies, organizations, and individuals engaged in the areas of social and cultural development and adult education.

In 1949, Corbett headed the Canadian delegation to the first UNESCO World Conference on Adult Education held in Denmark.

After his retirement from the CAAE in 1951, Corbett continued in his passion for writing. He is the author of several books on Canadian history, such as: McQueen of Edmonton and Blackfoot Trails (1934), Father God Bless Him (1953), the biography of Henry Marshall Tory (1954), and his entertaining episodic autobiography, We Have With Us Tonight (1957).

Selected Publications:

Corbett, E.A. (1957). We have with us tonight. Toronto: The Ryerson Press.

Faris, R. (1975). The passionate educators. Toronto: Peter Martin Associates Ltd.

Kidd, J.R. (1950). Adult education in Canada. Toronto:  Canadian Association for Adult Education

Selman, G. R. (1995) Adult education in Canada: Historical essays.  Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing.

January 6, 2006 - David P. Warman

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