Dr Sian Roberts

Sian Roberts

School of Education
Lecturer in Education and Social Justice
Deputy Head of Department for Education and Social Justice

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 7401
Email
s.roberts.2@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
School of Education
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston, Birmingham
B15 2TT, United Kingdom

Siân joined the School of Education in 2016. Siân initially trained as an archivist, and worked as a senior archives practitioner in the heritage sector for several years. During this period she was involved in a number of archives and heritage learning projects, most notably the Heritage Lottery Funded Connecting Histories project and the Children’s Lives project. Before joining the University of Birmingham in 2016 Siân worked as a as a Post-doctoral Research Associate, on the Leverhulme Fund Faith on the Air project at the University of Worcester.

Qualifications

  • PhD (Birmingham)
  • PG Diploma Archives Administration (University of Wales)
  • B.A. Hons (University of Wales)

Teaching

Siân teaches on the BA Education undergraduate degree course. She is module leader for the Equality and Diversity and Researching Childhood and Education modules, and is also Year 2 Tutor.

Doctoral research

PhD title
Place, Life Histories and the Politics of Relief: Episodes in the Life of Francesca Wilson, Humanitarian Educator Activist (University of Birmingham, 2010)

Research

Siân is a historian of education and childhood with a particular interest in the histories of gender and education, educational humanitarianism, and refugees and education. She is also a member of the research network of the Voices of War and Peace engagement centre based at the School of Education. Siân’s current research focuses on the following themes: 

  • twentieth century educational interventions with children and refugees in contexts of war or displacement;
  • pedagogic contributions by refugee educationalists who arrived in the UK , 1914-1950;
  • transnational interventions by British Quaker women in education, social justice and humanitarian aid, 1914-1950;
  • visual representations of children by humanitarian and political activists;
  • the history of educational broadcasting 

Other activities

  • Member, Executive Committee, History of Education Society UK http://historyofeducation.org.uk/
  • Board member, The Play House theatre in education company http://theplayhouse.org.uk/
  • Member, Birmingham Civic Society Heritage Committee
  • Chair, Women’s History Birmingham collective