The Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton University is accepting applications for a postdoctoral fellowship for a project entitled ‘Looking South (and slightly North-East) for school-based prevention ideas: an international comparative policy and practice analysis in Canada, Australia, Wales, and the United States’ (‘Looking South’). The anticipated start date will be September 1st, 2022 with a duration of 12 months (renewable up to an additional 6 months). The postdoctoral fellow will be responsible for the successful implementation of this multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary project, with the support and supervision of the Principal Investigator, Dr. Jacqueline Kennelly.
The Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton University (located in Ottawa, Canada) is one of the oldest and most highly regarded departments within its disciplines in Canada. Offering both undergraduate and graduate programs in Sociology and Anthropology, our department is a lively hub of academic research, training, and learning. Learn more at https://carleton.ca/socanth.
Research Project Overview
The over-arching objective of Looking South is to provide concrete strategies to transform the Canadian educational policy landscape towards effectively integrating school-based prevention of youth homelessness. This project builds upon a SSHRC Partnership Development Grant led by the PI, entitled Working Upstream to Prevent and End Youth Homelessness: Mapping Existing Policies and Practices to Build Better Educational Responses in Canada. One output of Working Upstream was a youth-led workshop, to educate school staff and teacher education students about youth homelessness. This workshop is being converted into an online teaching tool, with youth involvement. Building upon Working Upstream, the Looking South project has three key research questions:
- What is the existing state of educational policies regarding youth homelessness in Australia, Wales, and the U.S., with a specific focus on the following key areas: Upstream Project Australia (formerly known as The Geelong Project), Duty-to-Assist legislation (Wales), and the McKinney-Vento Act (United States)?
- How have different actors in each study site sought to transform practice into policy, or policy into practice, in the interest of supporting youth homelessness prevention in schools?
- How are Canadian policy makers responding to current efforts to incorporate school-based prevention practices by key players engaged in this project (e.g. Upstream Canada and Working Upstream youth-led online workshops)?
Working alongside the PI and with community and/or academic collaborators in each study site, the post-doctoral fellow, with the support of a Graduate Research Assistant, will review existing policy and academic literature, as well as solicit Zoom interviews with policy makers, community organizations, researchers, youth with lived experience, and families (where possible), in order to develop a multi-layered and contextualized representation of the opportunities, barriers, and processes involved in instigating school-based prevention practices and having them taken up by policymakers. The PDF will also oversee the establishment of a Lived Experience Advisory Committee of people who have experienced youth homelessness from each study site, and facilitate their meaningful engagement in project design and delivery.
In collaboration with the PI and project team, the PDF will work towards delivering the following three specific outcomes for this project:
- Fill the current gap in knowledge about effective policy transfer and transformation of practice into policy in the realm of education-based youth homelessness prevention.
- Integrate the Working Upstream workshop into teacher training and professional development, as one step towards more effective prevention efforts in Canada.
- Continue engagement with relevant policy actors (begun through Working Upstream) in order to provide evidence and advocate for the inclusion of youth homelessness prevention strategies in Canadian education.
To meet these outcomes, the following outputs will be generated by the project team (PDF, GRA, and PI), at minimum:
2 policy briefs;
4 conference presentations;
4 academic articles;
Presentations to all community and academic partners, the Upstream International Consortium, and Working Upstream partners and collaborators;
Dissemination of findings through Centre for Urban Youth Research (PI is Director);
Policy meetings with key members of Ontario Ministry of Education and other relevant stakeholders;
Working Upstream online workshop integrated into all 13 teacher education programs in Ontario;
Relationship developed with Ontario Secondary Schools Teacher Federation to disseminate workshop for PD training across Ontario. PD training piloted (at a minimum), with goal of broad integration.
Research Project Supervisor and Principal Investigator
Dr. Jacqueline Kennelly
Full Professor, Dept of Sociology and Anthropology
Director, Centre for Urban Youth Research
Salary
The postdoctoral fellow will be offered a salary of $65,000 per annum, with the additional ability to opt into an extended health and dental benefit plan. The postdoc will be considered unionized and will be a member of PSAC Local 77000. Information on this bargaining unit can be found here: https://psac77000.ca/. There are funds available through the grant for conference travel, as well as professional development funds that can be accessed through the postdoc union, PSAC Local 77000.
Position Duties and Responsibilities
The incumbent of this position will, under the direction of Dr. Jacqueline Kennelly, be responsible for leading the research activities of the project, including but not limited to the following core responsibilities:
- Supervising the work of the Graduate Research Assistant;
- Developing and submitting the Research Ethics Board protocol;
- Establishing and providing appropriate mentorship of, and engagement with, the Lived Experience Advisory Committee (LEAC);
- Providing GRA with appropriate qualitative research training, as needed;
- Coordinating with the GRA to run the interviews and organize transcription;
- Undertaking data analysis, in collaboration with PI, GRA, and LEAC, as appropriate;
- Reporting regularly on progress to the PI and project partners (community and academic);
- Collaborating, as needed, with the PI and other project partners, on the development of outputs such as conference presentations, journal articles, policy briefs, etc.
- Preparing a special issue on youth homelessness prevention for the journal Youth, co-edited with PI;
- Undertaking the financial administration of the project, under the direction of the PI.
Job Requirements
The chosen candidate will have completed their PhD in Sociology, Education, or other cognate fields by the time the postdoctoral fellowship begins. Expertise in community-engaged and participatory research, critical policy analysis, and/or youth studies an asset. Familiarity with advanced social theory and homelessness and housing research also of benefit. Ability to work collaboratively in a time-limited academic project, and to produce high quality academic and policy outputs a necessity. More specifically, the successful candidate will have demonstrated skills and experience in most or all of the following:
- Project co-ordination and time management;
- Communication across a diverse range of actors through a mix of different mediums;
- Qualitative data collection methods and data analysis;
- Ability to be self-directed and meet specified deadlines;
- Experience in either or both of academic and policy outputs;
- Experience with creative or non-standard forms of knowledge mobilization (e.g workshops, online modules, etc).
Scholars with lived experience of homelessness particularly encouraged to apply. Bilingualism in French and English, and/or knowledge of any Indigenous languages also an asset.
Accommodations and Accessibility
Should you require a copy of this posting in an alternate format, please contact us as soon as possible and we would be happy to get one to you in a timely manner. We believe in the importance of supporting on the-job success for the incumbent and are pleased to discuss and/or provide specific tools, resources or other requirements for day-to-day work requirements, as needed.
About Carleton University
Carleton University is a dynamic and innovative research and teaching institution with a
national and international reputation as a leader in collaborative teaching and learning, research
and governance. To learn more about our university and the City of Ottawa, please visit
www.carleton.ca/provost.
Carleton University is committed to fostering diversity within its community as a source of
excellence, cultural enrichment, and social strength. We welcome those who would contribute
to the further diversification of our university including, but not limited to: women; visible
minorities; First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples; persons with disabilities; and persons of
any sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression. Carleton understands that career
paths vary. Legitimate career interruptions will in no way prejudice the assessment process and
their impact will be taken into careful consideration.
We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. If contacted for an interview, please inform us should accommodation be required,
and arrangements will be made in a timely manner. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply.
How to Apply
Candidates that would like to apply for this fellowship opportunity are invited to submit their cover letter along with a resume/CV to Dr. Jacqueline Kennelly at jacquelinekennelly@cunet.carleton.ca by 5:00 pm EST on Monday, July 11th, 2022.