Jane Ritchie

Jane Ritchie
OBE
Born
Jane Beaglehole

(1936-02-12)12 February 1936
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Died21 April 2023(2023-04-21) (aged 87)
Alma materVictoria University of Wellington
SpouseJames Ritchie
Scientific career
Fieldspsychology, child-raising
InstitutionsUniversity of Waikato
Thesis
RelativesErnest Beaglehole (father)
David Beaglehole (brother)
John Beaglehole (uncle)
Tim Beaglehole (cousin)

Jane Ritchie OBE (née Beaglehole; 12 February 1936 – 21 April 2023) was a New Zealand psychology academic and expert of child-raising. She was an emeritus professor at the University of Waikato.[1] She was the first woman to graduate with a PhD in psychology from a New Zealand university.[2]

Biography[edit]

Ritchie was born on 12 February 1936 in Honolulu as Jane Beaglehole,[3] the daughter of psychologist and ethnologist Ernest Beaglehole,[4] They lived in New Zealand from 1937. She received her education at Karori School and Wellington Girls' College. She then studied at Victoria University and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1956, a Master of Arts in 1957, and a PhD in 1963.[3] Her 1957 master thesis was titled Childhood in Rakau: A Study of the First Five Years of Life[5] and the PhD, submitted in 1962, had the title Maori Families: an Exploratory Study in Wellington City. While at Victoria, she met and married James Ritchie, and the two collaborated on almost all their future research, just as her parents had done.[6]

They both moved to University of Waikato, and both rose to full professor.[6][7][8] She was a postdoctoral research fellow from 1973 to 1975, a lecturer from 1976 to 1979 and a senior lecturer from 1980 to 1984. She was promoted to associate professor in 1985,[3] and in 1995 was appointed a professor.[9]

James Ritchie died in 2009[10] and Jane retired in 2010.[9] Two younger brothers have achieved notability. David Beaglehole (1938–2014) was a physicist at Victoria University. Robert Beaglehole (born 1945) is an emeritus professor in epidemiology at the University of Auckland.[11] Jane Ritchie died on April 21, 2023, at the age of 87.[12][13]

Awards and honours[edit]

In the 1989 New Year Honours, Ritchie was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to women, education and the community.[9][14] In 2017, she was selected as one of the Royal Society of New Zealand's "150 women in 150 words".[15]

Selected works[edit]

  • Ritchie, Jane. Childhood in Rakau: the first five years of life. No. 10. Victoria Univ., 1957.
  • Ritchie, Jane, and James E. Ritchie. Child rearing patterns in New Zealand. AH & AW Reed, 1970.
  • Ritchie, Jane. Chance to be equal. Cape Catley, 1978
  • Ritchie, Jane, and James E. Ritchie. Spare the Rod, Allen and Unwin, 1981
  • Ritchie, Jane, and James E. Ritchie. Violence in New Zealand. Huia Publishers, 1993.
  • Ritchie, Jane, and James E. Ritchie. The next generation: Child rearing in New Zealand. Penguin Books, 1997.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ UoW Calendar Team ([email protected]). "Emeritus Professors of the University of Waikato: University of Waikato Calendar". Calendar.waikato.ac.nz. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  2. ^ Collins, Simon (25 July 2009). "Discipline without pain for 50 years". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Who's who 1991, p. 534.
  4. ^ "Dr Jane Ritchie | NZETC". Nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Wairētō – Victoria University of Wellington". Viewer.waireto.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  6. ^ a b Early Childhood Folio Vol 16 No. 1 (2012)
  7. ^ Symes, Edith (7 December 2017). "Third-generation Ritchie's work also provides plenty of food for thought". The Raglan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Academia; a family affair" (Press release). University of Waikato. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  9. ^ a b c "Respected Waikato professor retires after 35 year career" (Press release). Hamilton: Waikato University. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  10. ^ Neems, Jeff (24 September 2009). "James Ritchie dies". Waikato Times.
  11. ^ Who's who 1991, pp. 42–43.
  12. ^ [email protected] (24 April 2023). "Pioneering Psychology Professor leaves peaceful parenting legacy". www.waikato.ac.nz. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  13. ^ "A 'gentle guiding force' whose work achieved iconic status: Professor Jane Ritchie, OBE (1936–2023)". Waikato Times. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  14. ^ "No. 51580". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 31 December 1988. p. 34.
  15. ^ "150 Women in 150 Words". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 11 November 2020.

References[edit]

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