Marie Clay papers

Dame Marie Clay was born Marie Mildred Irwin in Wellington in 1926. She gained her first degrees and teacher training in Wellington, her post-graduate study as a Fulbright Scholar in Developmental Psychology at the University of Minnesota and completed her doctorate at the University of Auckland on Emergent reading behaviour in 1966.

Clay taught primary classes and special classes, worked as a clinical psychologist in the New Zealand education system, and at the University of Auckland where she trained child psychologists. Her twin interests of child development and clinical problems found a focus in issues of prevention and the Reading Recovery Programme/Program, an early childhood intervention programme designed to prevent literacy problems.

Her books Reading Begins at home and Becoming lterate, and two books on writing What did I write? and Writing begins at home, addressed the development of literacy. An Observation Survey provided observational assessments for teachers to use in monitoring children's early progress in any kind of literacy instruction in English, Spanish and Maori. She also a published a teachers' guidebook used for the literacy intervention programme entitled Reading Recovery : guidelines for teachers in training.

Clay was the President of the International Reading Association and was also a Fellow for the Royal Society of New Zealand, a Fellow of the New Zealand Psychological Society, and a Fellow of the New Zealand Educational Institute. She received the David H. Russell Award from the National Council of Teachers of English; the International Citation of Merit and the William S. Gray Award from the International Reading Association; the Mackie Medal from the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of of Science; the McKenzie Award for the New Zealand Association for Research in Education; and a Dana Foundation Award for Education. She has received honorary degrees from the Ohio State University, Lesley University, Institute of Education, London, and Texas Woman's University. Clay was also voted most influential person in the field of literacy over the past three decades by the National Reading Conference of America. She received a DBE (Dame Commander of the British Empire) in 1987 and was named the first New Zealander of the Year in 1994.

Marie Clay papers. MSS & Archives 2014/1, item 1/21/4. Special Collections, University of Auckland Libraries and Learning Services.

Gaffney, J. & Askew, B. About Marie Clay: International Reading Recovery Trainers Organization. Retrieved from: http://irrto.org/about-marie-clay/.