Summary

Morag Edwards is an educational psychologist and author. In this conersations she discusses her experience at a co-ed boarding school in the 1960s. She highlights the lack of female perspectives in boarding school literature and the predominance of male boarding stories. Morag shares her personal experience of being sent to boarding school at the age of 10 and the shock and anxiety she felt. She describes the unsafe environment, lack of supervision, and prevalence of peer-on-peer sexual abuse. Morag also discusses the absence of female role models and the emotional neglect she experienced. She emphasizes the need for schools to be aware of and intervene in peer-on-peer abuse. The conversation explores the experiences of Morag at a boarding school and the long-lasting effects it had on her identity and parenting. It also delves into the changes in the field of educational psychology over the years and the challenges faced by professionals in the field. Morag emphasizes the importance of writing as a therapeutic tool and the need to maintain a sense of self in closed institutions. She also suggests finding time for solitude and using storytelling as a way to explore emotions and experiences.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Almost-Boys-Psychology-Co-ed-Boarding/dp/1913719065

Morag Edwards spent over 32 years as an educational psychologist. Under the author name Isobel Ross, Morag uses her knowledge of child development to provide psychological insight into her personal experience at a co-ed boarding school. Her memoir, ‘Almost Boys: The Psychology of Co-Ed Boarding in the 1960s, was published in January 2024. Morag also writes historical fiction and contemporary domestic suspense (under the author name Isobel Ross). She has an MA in creative writing from the University of Manchester's Centre for New Writing.