CIES’s Jackie Kirk Memorial Fund and Outstanding Book Award

The Jackie Kirk Memorial Fund is designed to memorialize the legacy that Jackie Kirk has left on the field of comparative and international education. Jackie Kirk’s work was prolific and varied, and committed to the active engagement of theory and practice, in ways that further the empowerment of women and girls, and the improvement of education in conflict and post-conflict settings. Her activism with teachers and youth, creative use of participatory visual research methodologies, commitment to gender equality and inclusion, and on-the-ground work with schools in conflict areas shaped her scholarship on issues as varied as gender violence, armed conflict, home-based schools, refugee youth, women teachers, identity and visual representation of women and girls, peace education and fragile states. Her work examined global contexts and also local realities. She was committed to encouraging integrated, holistic, systemic change in order to increase access and equality in education for everyone. The book award that will be supported from this fund will acknowledge an outstanding book that is reflective of Jackie Kirk’s commitments.

Call for Nominations
Jackie Kirk Award for Outstanding Book

The Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) recognizes an outstanding book annually with the Jackie Kirk Award. This award was created in 2010 to honor the prolific professional life and deep commitment of Jackie Kirk to our field and to CIES. This award annually honors a published book that reflects one or some of the varied areas of expertise represented in Jackie Kirk’s areas of commitment, primarily gender and education and/or education in conflict (fragile states, post-conflict, peace education). Jackie Kirk was also committed to work on identity (particularly of girls and teachers), globalization as a context for local practice and visual participatory research methodologies. Furthermore, Jackie Kirk was professionally committed to encouraging dynamic and equitable collaboration between academics and practitioners, the global South and the global North, and comparative/international educators and teachers on the ground. While the award will be granted primarily on the basis of the two main areas of commitment (gender and/or conflict) these additional areas of commitment will be used as a secondary set of criteria so that the award reflects the spirit of Jackie Kirk’s legacy.

The Jackie Kirk Outstanding Book Award will be awarded annually, as follows:

1. The book can relate to one (or more) of the following topical areas:
a. Gender and Education. Books in this area would deepen the field’s understanding of gender dynamics or relations in education in ways that challenge education to understand gender in a more nuanced way, one that can help educators to acknowledge the full humanity of all students and teachers, and to work toward social justice in education.
b. Education in Conflict, Post-Conflict, Fragile States, and/or Peace Education. Work in this area would reveal the realities of the challenges of education in demanding contexts, and/or the work that people are doing despite the challenges.

2. The book must be published within the past two calendar years, as noted by the copyright date. (For example, a book selected for the 2011 award would be published in 2009 or 2010.) Books can be authored or edited (individually or collaboratively), and can be research-based, conceptual or theoretical in nature, or policy oriented.

3. Books are to be nominated by CIES members, but can be written/edited by non-CIES members. Nominations should include how the book relates to the areas outlined above, and what makes the book worthy of a designation of “outstanding.” Nominations are due September 1.

4. The book author(s) or editor(s) should provide an executive summary of the book by September 1 of each year. The committee will determine a short list by October 15, and request books from the authors/editors for a full review. Books must be provided to the committee by the authors/editors by November 1.

5. Decisions will be made by the committee by February 1, or at least four weeks prior to the next CIES meeting, whichever is sooner.

6. The award includes a stipend of $2000.00. Awardees are encouraged to attend the CIES meeting in the year they receive the award.

Nominations for 2011 should be forwarded to the Chair of the Committee for the Jackie Kirk Outstanding Book Award (2010-2011):
Karen Monkman, Associate Professor
DePaul University, School of Education
2320 N. Kenmore Ave., SAC-326
Chicago, IL 60614-3250
Email: kmonkman@depaul.edu