Sian Roberts

Siân Roberts is a historian of education and childhood. Her research interests include the educational and humanitarian activism of British Quaker women 1914-1950, visual approaches to the histories of education, and twentieth century educational interventions with children and refugees in contexts of war or displacement. Her current research focuses on the pedagogic practices and legacies of refugee teachers and educators who arrived in Britain in the 1930s-40s, and the educational experiences of refugee learners who arrived in Britain in the same period.

Siân initially trained as an archivist, and worked as a senior archives practitioner and curator in the heritage sector for several years before completing her doctorate at the University of Birmingham on the educational activism of the humanitarian relief worker, teacher and refugee advocate Francesca Wilson in 2010. During her career as an archivist Siân was involved in a number of archives and heritage learning projects, most notably the Heritage Lottery Funded Connecting Histories and Children’s Lives  projects, and the AHRC funded Voices of War and Peace project.

In 2015-16 Siân worked as a as a Post-doctoral Research Associate, on the Leverhulme Fund Faith on the Air project at the University of Worcester before joining the University of Birmingham in 2016.

Siân is a co-convenor of the international Histories of Education Doctoral Summer School. She is also a member of the Birmingham Civic Society Heritage Committee.

PhD (Birmingham)

PGCert

PG Diploma Archives Administration (University of Wales)

B.A. Hons (University of Wales)

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy