First established in 1907, the Education and Social Work Society (EDSOC) is one of the oldest student societies at the University of Sydney. The Education Society was started at the Sydney Teachers' College by Alexander Mackie, the first principal of the College and the founding Professor of Education at the University of Sydney. The Education Society remained an active body in the early 1990s whe
n the Teachers' College and the university's newly formed Faculty of Education were merged following the Dawkins Reforms to Higher Education. The society was renamed the Education and Social Work Society when Social Work joined the faculty in 2003, representing both student teachers and social workers at the University of Sydney. The Society operates on the same principles upon which it was founded over 100 years ago – 'to develop a collegial spirit based on sound scholarship, good fellowship, loyalty, and keenness in sport'. EDSOC continues to develop and encourage social, academic and professional cooperation amongst the students at the School of Education and Social Work in the University of Sydney.
