Winifred Raphael

Winifred Jessie Gertrude Spielman, (21 October 1898 – 14 December 1978) more specifically known as Winifred Raphael, was a British occupational psychologist. Early life She lived in London and was the fourth child in her Jewish family. At age 16, she began attending Bedford College, University of London, initially studying social work. The first of her diplomas from Bedford enabled her to become a qualified Sanitary Inspector in the London County Council. As her interests grew through university, she changed course, first to physiology and then to psychology. She graduated in 1920 with a BSc in Psychology. Career Her first job was at the forerunner to King's College London (KCL) as a part-time demonstrator in physiology. From an early age she always had an interest in the social and career problems experienced by children in the UK, in part instigated by her parents who were involved in industrial schools and an orphanage for Jewish children. Cyril Burt, then psychologist at the London County Council, noticed a section on devising tests for use on vocational guidance within her thesis and decided to involve her in his work of standardising the process of intelligence tests for English children. When the National Institute of Industrial Psychology (NIIP) was formed, Burt was promoted to Head of the Vocational Section. He employed Raphael as his assistant, where she worked for 39 years, later becoming the Assistant Director. Initially with Burt, she worked on developing and standardising the specific vocational tests, which were later reported on by Burt.