José Vasconcelos World Award of Education 1988
Field of Work: Empirical Education, Teacher Education
Date: 19 November 1988
Place of Ceremony: Palacio de Bellas Artes
Host Institution: National Polytechnic Institute
Host Country: México City, México
Professor Gilbert De Landsheere, born in Belgium in 1921, was selected as the recipient of the 1988 José Vasconcelos World Award of Education in recognition of his 40-year career upgrading teacher education for all levels of instruction. The Award Ceremony took place in Mexico City on 19 November, 1988, hosted by the National Polytechnic Institute.
Highly critical of the way teachers were trained, Professor Gilbert De Landsheere was one of the pioneers of experimental pedagogy in French-speaking countries. He wanted teacher training to be founded on the results of rigorous research and to be of university level. He also attached great importance to the concept of evaluation of the education system and sought to establish objectivity in assessment.
Professor De Landsheere was a founding father of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and a pioneer of the first international comparative studies.
His colleague T. Neville Postlethwaite described him as a visionary, saying “Gilbert De Landsheere always had a sixth sense for guessing what will matter tomorrow in the field of education.”
The Official Awarding Ceremony took place on November 19, 1988 in México City with the collaboration of the National Polytechnic Institute.
