View source for Albert E. G. Pilliner (1909-2003)

Albert E. G. Pilliner (1909-2003) was a lecturer and educational researcher at the [[Edinburgh Provincial Training Centre]] and [[Moray House College of Education]].

== Early Years ==

Pilliner was born in Glasgow in 1909 but spent much of his childhood in Shrewsbury, where his father worked as an engineer. He was educated at the Priory Grammar School, Shrewsbury. Although he was accepted by Cambridge University, he was unsuccessful in receiving a scholarship and so went to Birmingham University where he studied Chemistry. On graduating, Pilliner went into teaching. During the Second World War, he was selected for work in a government research facility near Wrexham and there he used his statistical knowledge and experience to evaluate the effectiveness of explosives. It was at this period in his life that Pilliner met [[William Gidley Emmett (1887-1985)]], another statistician.

== Pilliner and Moray House ==

After the war, he took up teaching again, teaching Chemistry and Physics, and continued to keep in touch with Emmett. It was possibly through this communication that he came to the attention of [[Sir Godfrey Hilton Thomson (1881-1955)]], holder of the [[Bell Chair of Education]] at Edinburgh University and Director of Studies at the [[Edinburgh Provincial Training Centre]] (later [[Moray House College of Education]]). In 1949 Pilliner he took up a post as lecturer at the Edinburgh Provincial Training Centre. On Thomson's retiral in 1952 and subsequent death in 1955, Pilliner and his colleagues continued Thomson's work within the [[Godfrey Thomson Unit for Educational Research]] (later the Godfrey Thomson Unit for Academic Assessment), dubbed 'Room 7'0 during Thomson's time. Pilliner took over the running of Room 70 as well as lecturing to the Dip.Ed. and B.Ed. courses for a number of years.

== Later Career ==

In 1961, after a successful research trip to Israel on behalf of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), Pilliner was invited to work for the NFER (National Foundation of Educational Research) which he turned down in favour of continuing the work of Room 70. By the 1970s however, most of his time was spent working as a consultant to the British Council, UNESCO, and other bodies, and he conducted research into the examination systems of many countries including Mauritius, Pakistan, and Malaysia.

== Archives ==

*[[Papers of Albert E. G. Pilliner]]

== Sources ==

*'Albert Pilliner', ''Scottish School of Educational Research'' [[http://www.ces.ed.ac.uk/SSER/about/biographies.html], accessed 2 June 2014]
[[Category:Academics|Pilliner, Albert]]