SES Small Grants Scheme and Call for Papers

Posted on 17th Feb 2022 by Aidan Thompson

*A second call for applications to the Small Grant scheme for 2022 is now open until 17.00 on 24th June 2022*

As 2022 marks the 70th anniversary of the British Journal of Educational Studies, the field of educational studies, the UK, as elsewhere, remains in a somewhat paradoxical state. On the one hand, educational studies in the UK remains a vibrant and diverse field bolstered as it has been by intensified internationalisation, interdisciplinarity, and interest in comparative studies in education. On the other hand, educational studies continues to face a number of existential threats. These threats include a constraining higher education research and policy environment, persistent concerns about the relative academic status of university departments and schools of education, and the prioritisation of technical knowledge over the academic insight and wisdom offered by the core disciplines that give intent and meaning to the field.

The Society for Educational Studies is, therefore, announcing a new small grant scheme for up to six £10,000 research grants, and a call for papers for its 2022 Annual Colloquium (22-23 September 2022, Oriel College, Oxford) under the title Educational Studies Today and for the Future: Threats, hopes and collaborations.

Small Grants Scheme 2022

SES invites bids from researchers interested in making an original contribution to knowledge in the field of educational studies on the theme: Educational Studies Today and for the Future: Threats, hopes and collaborations. Applicants applying for these grants must be affiliated with a British university and will be asked to become members of the Society if they are not already members (Membership for 2022 is £30 per year [£20 students]). Small Grants are awarded with the purpose of stimulating new and insightful research in education.

The maximum grant available is £10,000 over one year (1^st September 2022-31st August 2023). A maximum of three grants will be funded depending on the quality of the applications.

Successful applicants will be expected to present on a relevant theme of their award at the Society for Educational Studies’ 2022 Annual Colloquium to be held at Oriel College, Oxford, September 22^nd-23^rd 2022.

Completed application forms should be sent as a single pdf email attachment clearly headed ‘SES 2022 Small Grant application’ to Prof. Andrew Peterson ([email protected]), Prof. Hazel Bryan ([email protected]), and to Aidan Thompson ([email protected]). The deadline for applications is 17.00 hours on FRIDAY 24^th JUNE 2022.

Full details are available here.

Annual Colloquium

SES also invites abstracts for its 2022 Annual Colloquium to be held at Oriel College, Oxford, 22^nd-23^rd September 2022. In line with the Colloquium theme – Educational Studies Today and for the Future: Threats, hopes and collaborations – papers are invited that examine critically the state of educational studies in the UK today in a way that:

(i) explains the significance of new thoughts;

(ii) provides philosophical discussion at a new level; and,

(iii) deepens existing interest in the purposes and problems of current educational policy.

In addition to these principles, papers would be expected to say something about the likely and/or hoped for future of the ideas examined and, indeed, of the field of educational studies itself. Core questions that papers might seek to respond to include:

• How is educational studies organised and perceived in universities today?
• What are the vital internal and external factors that impact on educational studies today? Are these new or longstanding?
• What are the key issues for educational studies today and over the next 30 years?
• How has the internationalisation of educational studies impacted the field within and across national and local contexts?
• What opportunities, as well as threats, are apparent for educational studies post-pandemic?
• Can collaboration within and beyond fields of educational studies offer hope for the future, and if so in what ways?

Proposals for paper presentations or symposia (comprising three papers around a shared theme) should be sent to Prof. Andrew Peterson ([email protected]), Prof. Hazel Bryan ([email protected]), and Aidan Thompson ([email protected]) no later than 17.00 on 30^th June 2022.

Registration for the colloquium will be free for all members of the Society for Educational Studies, and will include the conference meal, other meals, and one night’s accommodation (Thursday 22^nd September). Places are limited and priority will be given to those members presenting a paper.

A special issue of the British Journal of Educational Studies based on the proceedings of the 2022 Colloquium will be proposed. If accepted for publication, it would be published in 2023.

To register as a non-speaking delegate, please contact Aidan Thompson.

Full details are available here.