Research Fellow in Reparative Studies of Education (12-month maternity cover followed by 8 months fixed-term contract)

Location: Department of Education, 15 Norham Gardens, Oxford, OX2 6PY 

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced researcher to join a collaborative project which examines reparations and reparative justice in school education. The project is funded by the UKRI Frontier Research grant, Reparative Futures of Education (REPAIR-ED), and is led by Professor Arathi Sriprakash. 

This is a fixed term post for 20 months and available from 15 September 2024. The contract is for an initial 12-month maternity cover followed by 8 months fixed-term contract (with potential for a further 4-month extension). Hours are as follows: full time for initial 12 months, then 26.25 hours per week (0.7 FTE) for the remaining 8 months. 

The project involves collaborating with primary school-communities in the city of Bristol to design and conduct in-depth ethnographic and oral-history research on the features and mechanisms of structural inequities in education. The project will use its empirical findings to facilitate dialogues with stakeholders (schools, their communities, policy-actors and the broader public) to explore how reparative justice in education might be conceptualised and enacted. It is motivated by the overarching question: what does reparation in education look like? 

The role would suit researchers with a strong background in education and in the disciplines of Sociology, History, Anthropology, or Human Geography. The project is particularly looking for candidates with experience in one or more of the following methodological areas: ethnographic research; participatory methodologies; community-based research and facilitation; oral history; participatory and/or digital archival methods. There is significant opportunity for the post-holders to creatively shape the research and to collaboratively develop new theoretical and methodological approaches. 

The post-holder will join a supportive team dedicated to collaboration and mentorship, with significant opportunities for training and career development. A commitment to tackling educational injustices in Bristol and beyond will drive our work together. 

The post-holder will be part of the Oxford University Department of Education and will be able to participate in the vibrant academic life of the University. The research involves spending extensive time in Bristol, allowing post-holders to be located there if preferred. The project will therefore support flexible working arrangements between Bristol and Oxford in negotiation with the successful applicants. 

The post-holder, in collaboration with the Principal Investigator (Professor Arathi Sriprakash), will lead the design and implementation of school- and community- based research including: ethnographic and interview research in primary schools; walking ethnographies and mapping in communities; oral history interviews and the creation of participatory archives; literature and theoretical analyses; data management, coding and analysis; design and facilitation of workshops and dialogues with stakeholders; co-authoring and co-presentation of findings in different formats including peer-reviewed articles, blogs and news items, and conference papers. 

More information about the conceptual premise of the project can be read in the following (open access) paper: Arathi Sriprakash (2022) Reparations: theorising just futures of education, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, DOI: 10.1080/01596306.2022.2144141   

Informal inquiries about the role can be directed to Arathi Sriprakash arathi.sriprakash@education.ox.ac.uk   

For further details of the role, please see the job description. The closing date for applications is midday on Thursday 30 May 2024, and only applications received by this deadline will be considered. Interviews will likely be held online in the afternoon of 11 June 2024. 

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