History of Education Society: Fellowships 2022

Introduction

In 2022, the History of Education Society will fund THREE Fellowships, the purpose of the Fellowship schemes is to establish a higher public profile for the History of Education Society, its associated publications and conferences, and other activities concerned with the study and teaching of the history of education both in the UK and abroad. The aims of the Society include the promotion of the study and teaching of the history of education; promoting the public profile and an informed public understanding of the history of education by engaging in relevant debates; providing collaboration and exchange among those interested in the history of education in the UK and around the world; and promoting links with the study and teaching of history at all levels.

The Peter Gosden Fellow will be tasked with maintaining a social media presence utilising a blog, Twitter and Facebook. This online activity will continue to develop the Society’s online presence.

The Richard Aldrich Fellow will undertake the annual update of the Exe Libris bibliographical database to include publications released in the calendar year 2021, and work with the editors of History of Education Researcher in the preparation of an annual review of periodical literature (RPL).

The Ruth Watts Fellow will undertake to produce a series of podcasts focusing on the work of the Society, scholars working in the field and/or newly published articles from History of Education.

Each Fellowship will start on 1st January 2022 and finish on 31st December 2022. The announcement of the new Fellows at the AGM in November 2021 allows for a period of transition and training for each Fellow such that they are fully ready to start their Fellowship in January. Each Fellow will be mentored by a named member of the Society’s Board of Trustees.

The responsibilities of each Fellow are outlined below, together with information about the reward package, and the process of application.

Reward Package

Each Fellow will receive:

1. £1,200 as an honorarium, paid in four instalments of £300 each. These will be paid on or before the last day of March, June, September and December.
2. Membership of the Society together with a subscription to History of Education for the period of their Fellowship.
3. Free attendance at the Society’s annual conferences (i.e. the student and main conferences). This will include the conference fee (including conference meals if these are additional costs), accommodation costs (to be agreed in advance) and standard class travel expenses within the UK.
4. All out of pocket expenses required for the fulfilment of the Fellowship will also be met, subject to their approval prior to expenditure.

Responsibilities of Fellows

The specific responsibilities of each Fellowship are listed below. In addition, all Fellows will be invited to submit a report on progress to each and every Trustee’s business meeting (usually held four times a year). It is up to the Fellow to decide whether to attend the meeting in person, join via Skype or similar, or table a written report in absentia. Where a Fellow chooses to attend in person, reasonable travel expenses will be covered by the Society. These reports will be included as standing items on the agenda. Further, reports from each Fellow will be included as standing items on the AGM agenda, and necessary steps will be taken prior to the AGM to invite the Fellow(s) to participate, and to ascertain the nature of that report (in person, via Skype or on paper).

Peter Gosden Fellow – Social Media

• 􏰀Ensuring that a weblog is posted on the Society’s website at least ten times during the year of the Fellowship;
• Ensuring that regular Tweets are posted as and when necessary/appropriate/requested by one of the Senior Officer’s of the Society;
• Ensuring that regular entries are added to the Facebook page as and when necessary/appropriate/requested
• Liaising on a regular basis with the Society’s postgraduate representative to maximise efficiency and effectiveness when publicising news and events pertaining to postgraduate students;
• Liaising with the organisers of the annual conferences (student and main conferences) to ensure appropriate and timely publicity over calls for papers, Tweeting of conference content, blogging of conference reports, book prizes, and similar;
• Consulting with the Fellow’s appointed mentors (Prof. Rob Freathy and Prof. Stephanie Spencer) on a regular basis, to be mutually agreed, with regard to the frequency, content and style of the ‘posts’, Tweets and Facebook entries;
• Attending History of Education Society Executive Committee meetings (when necessary).

Note: So long as the authorship of all ‘posts’, Tweets and Facebook entries is appropriately acknowledged, so as to avoid any contravention of copyright law, it will be permissible for the Fellow to simply co-ordinate the social media activity rather than write all of the content his or herself.

Richard Aldrich Fellow – Exe Libris and RPL

• Updating the Exe Libris database in the early part of the calendar year. This entails the assessment of all articles published in the previous year within a list of 60 Journals for relevance to the History of Education. For any articles that are deemed relevant, an entry is made in the Exe Libris electronic database. Full training will be given to the successful candidate.
• Co-authoring the Review of Periodic Literature (RPL) with an appropriate colleague/member of the Executive. If appropriate and/or desirable, the Fellow may be the sole author.
• Consulting with the Fellow’s appointed mentors (Dr Jonathan Doney and Prof. Stephanie Spencer) on a regular basis, to be mutually agreed, to review progress during the fellowship period.

Ruth Watts Fellow – Podcasts

• Commissioning and producing a series of between six and ten audio podcasts for publication during the year. These will be published on the Society website, in collaboration with the Peter Gosden Fellow.

The detailed planning of content will be undertaken in liaison with the named mentors (Dr Heather Ellis and Dr Jonathan Doney) but is expected to focus on interviews with scholars in the field of History of Education, authors contributing new material to the journal History of Education and any other interviews or discussions that might further the work and profile of the Society.

Full training in audio recording and podcast production will be given to the successful candidate.

Application Process

Applications are welcome from anyone interested in furthering the missions and aims of the History of Education Society as set out above. Previous recipients of a History of Education Society Fellowship are welcome to re- apply.

Applicants should ideally be undertaking or have completed a postgraduate degree in the history of education or a cognate field of enquiry. Personal or professional experience of utilising social media (such as weblogs, Twitter and/or Facebook) would be desirable for those applying for the Peter Gosden Fellowship, and knowledge and experience of bibliographic research would be desirable for those applying for the Richard Aldrich Fellowship. Applicants should also name two referees whom we may approach for references.

Location: Fellows can be based in any locality, but must have ready access to the relevant Information Technology and to a reliable internet connection. The Richard Aldrich Fellowship will require the ability to visit certain library locations in London, and the Ruth Watts Fellow may be required to travel to facilitate interviews. In all cases, all reasonable travel costs will be reimbursed.

Interested applicants should send a letter of application specifying the Fellowship for which they wish to be considered. The letter should outline their suitability for the role, and include the names and contact details for two referees, and should be accompanied by a short Curriculum Vitae (no more than two pages). Applications should be sent to Dr Jonathan Doney (email: [email protected]).

Application closing date: Noon (UK time) on Friday 3rd September 2021.

Short-listed applicants will be interviewed via Skype during early October 2021, with a view to an announcement being made at the Society’s AGM in November.