Professor Srabani Maitra
- Professor in Sociology of Adult and Vocational Education (Culture, Literacies, Inclusion & Pedagogy)
telephone:
+01413303446
email:
Srabani.Maitra@glasgow.ac.uk
Biography
I am a Professor in Sociology of Adult and Vocational Education at the School of Education, in the University of Glasgow. I have a PhD in Adult Education and Community Development from OISE at the University of Toronto and a Masters degree in Women’s Studies from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Canada. Before arriving in Glasgow, I was an Eyes High Post-doctoral scholar at the Werklund School of Education in the University of Calgary, Canada. I completed my undergraduate and post graduate degrees in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.
Currently, I am one of the Leads for College of Social Sciences (UofG) Interdisciplinary Research Theme 'Addressing Inequalities' and Acting Deputy Head of the School of Education. Within the School of Education, I also lead the Research and Teaching Group on ‘Culture, Literacies, Inclusion and Pedagogy (CLIP) and is also the School’s Champion for South Asia. In this capacity I am a member of University’s Regional Working Group for South and Central Asia and has been leading work on establishing virtual hub for Gender and STEM education with some of the esteemed Universities in India. Since 2018, I am one of the convenors for the highly prestigious European Society for Research on the Education of Adults (ESREA) network: Migration, Transnationalism, Racisms.
My research combines interdisciplinary theories and methodologies from sociology and education to focus on the issues of adult and vocational education, workplace skill training, transnational migration, race/racism and decolonisation. My research has been published in journals such as the Curriculum Inquiry, Journal of Vocational Education and Training, Studies in Continuing Education, Globalisation Societies and Education, Qualitative Inquiry, Journal of Workplace Learning.
Going beyond traditional forms of scholarly inquiry, I have drawn on the arts-informed qualitative research to raise public awareness about socio-economic inequities and struggles of marginalized groups. In this regard, I have developed and designed (as part of a team), a multi-media ethnodrama focusing on the gendered and racialized nature of work in post-Fordist economy. I have also completed a documentary film, “Journey to Find Myself Again” funded by York University Faculty Association, Canada. This film is around the causes of social inequities experienced by immigrant women of colour in the Canadian labour market.
Over the years, I have deeply engaged in community campaigns around issues such as anti-racism, anti-poverty, and education reform in Canada. My pedagogy too, underpinned by a social justice lens, is committed towards foregrounding suppressed voices, anti-racist and anti-colonial education as well as systemic changes.
Before pursuing an academic career, I was a secondary school English Teacher in India.
Research interests
I am interested in issues of adult learning, skill, racial and class relations, transnational migration, lifelong learning, vocational education and education policy.
- My recently completed project, Exploring Initial School Integration among Syrian Refugee Children (PI Prof. Yan Guo, University of Calgary) informed by a critical policy sociology approach, focuses on newcomer Syrian refugee children’s school transition policies and aims to bring new voices of immigrant as well as refugee parents and children into the educational policy process in Canada.
My longer and continuing research has focused on the relationship between work-related training, adult learning, and migration in our neoliberal present. In this context, my work critically analyzes “human capital” formations through work-related learning/training in the emergent knowledge economies of Canada and India. I have conducted four funded international research projects in the above area:
- Redefining “Enterprising Selves”: Exploring the “Negotiation” of South Asian Immigrant Women Working as Home-Based Enclave Entrepreneurs: By drawing on the lived experiences of South Asian immigrant community in Canada, my doctoral research based on a feminist interpretive inquiry traces how employment-related training programs offered by immigrant settlement agencies in Canada are increasingly driven by a hegemonic neoliberal discourse of the “enterprising self”.
- Bridge to “Success”? Examining the experiences of highly educated immigrant women of colour enrolled in Bridge to Work programs in Ontario: This post-doctoral project examines the efficacy of government sponsored “Bridge To Work” programs in facilitating the entry of immigrant women of colour into employment commensurate with their pre-immigration education and training in Canada. The study critically traces the ways in which dominant racial and gender assumptions underpinning the labour market are often normalized and replicated through soft skill trainings offered as part of the program.
- The molding of Indian immigrant IT workers into enterprising labour: An exploration of the labour control regime by global recruitment agencies: Remaining sensitive to the dynamics of unequal power relations, equity, and social justice within workplaces, this project, combining transnationalism and intersectionality theory, seeks to understand the changing modalities of labour control and disciplining in the current post-Fordist labour market in India and Canada.
- Skill India and Vocational Education: An Exploratory Study: This study examines the impact of vocational skill training on lower class youth population in India.
Currently I am part of a team of researchers from the School of Education at University of Glasgow who are working on a large funded project in Wales focused on progression of learning.
Grants
ESRC-UKRI
Gendered Journeys: The Trajectories of STEM Students and Graduates through Higher Education and Employment in multiple Global South Contexts.
Co-Investigator
2020-2023
Flemish Association for Development Cooperation and Technical Assistance (VVOB), Belgium
Professional Learning Communities (PLC) in the Global South: a Systematic Literature Review (Completed)
Co-Investigator
2020-2021
Scottish Funding Council-GCRF
Addressing Marginality and Informal Labour within Smart Cities in India
Principal Investigator
2019-2021
ESRC-GCRF
Can Dual Apprenticeships Create Better and More Equitable Social and Economic Outcomes for Young People? A Comaparative Study of India and Mexico
Co-Investigator
2018-2021
Scottish Funding Council-GCRF
The role of Universities in developing skills for smart cities in India and Kyrgyzstan
Principal Investigator
2018-2019
ESRC Impact Acceleration Account
Exchanging Knowledge with policymakers and marginalised youth about skill training in India
Principal Investigator
2018
College Strategic Research Major Initiatives Fund
University of Glasgow
Principal Investigator
2017-2018
University International Grant
University of Calgary, Canada
Co-Investigator
2017-2018
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Canada
Targeted Research on Syrian Refugee
Co-Investigator
2016-2019
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Canada
Principal Investigator
2010-2011
Supervision
Graduated
Rebecca Ipe
Navigating School Development Governance and Children's Rights: The Experiences of School Actors in Resource Poor Contexts in Karnataka (India)l; Funded by CoSS University of Glasgow Scholarship
Preeti Dagar
Creating Sustainable Livelihood and Entrepreneurship Opportunities throgh Skill Development for Refugees in Urban Neighbourhoods; Funded by CoSS University of Glasgow Scholarship
I am currently supervising the following students:
PhD
Abimbola Abodunrin
Decolonizing Higher Education: Underrepresentation of women academics of colour in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields in British Higher Education; Funded by CoSS University of Glasgow Scholarship
Anna Greenslade
Postcolonial Education Policy in the Caribbean
Daniel Perry
Post-colonial, queer identities within Higher Education. Funded by CoSS, University of Glasgow scholarship
Ellen Vanderhoven
Dual Apprenticeships in Mexico; Funded by CoSS University of Glasgow Scholarship
Jane Umutoni
Gendered Choices: STEM students in Rwanda; Funded by UKRI Gendered Journey Project
Nihaya Jaber
Curriculum and Pedagogy Effects on Muslim Immigrant Students' Identities; Funded by British Council
EdD
Jason Chan
An Autoethnographic Study of a Chinese English Teacher
- Perry, Dan
Orientating Higher Education Curriculum Development: - Vanderhoven, Ellen
Dual apprenticeships in Mexico
Teaching
Current Courses:
- International Issues in Adult and Continuing Education
Past Courses:
- PGT Introduction to Education and Society Research
- PGDE Professional Enquiry
- PGT Modern Education Thought
- M.Educ 3 Enquiry
- M.Educ 4 Education and Society
Additional information
Selected Refereed Conference Presentations
2022- Invited Chair, Global Sustainable Development Congress panel on Equitable Education: Combating inequality by bridging north/south and local/global divides. University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK.
2022-Speaker, Human development perspectives on the transfer of the dual system of TVET: Potentials and challenges. International workshop organised by University of Glasgow, Austrian Development Cooperation & Austrian Foundation for Development Research, Vienna, Austria.
2022- Lead Organiser, Pre-conference, June 6th, Lifelong Learning for Inclusion and Sustainability. Joint Conference by the Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research in the Education of Adults (SCUTREA), the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL) and the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults (ESREA) Migration, Transnationalism and Racisms Network.
Jurkova, S., Maitra, S., Guo, S., Guo, Y. (Sept, 2022). The impact of racism and xenophobia on the sense of belonging in a multicultural society. International Metropolis Conference, Berlin.
Read, B., Maitra, S., Maitra, S. & Thakur, M. (Dec 2021). Transitional Troubles: Gendered Dynamics of Postgraduate Students With STEM Backgrounds Entering into Elite Institutions, and Moving into a Precarious Employment Landscape in India and the UK. SRHE Annual International Research Conference, UK.
Maitra, S., Maitra, S. & Sethwala, S. (Dec 2021). Gender inequality and COVID-19: A view from ITIs in India. 11th Annual International CESI Conference, New Delhi, India.
Maitra, S., & Maitra, S. (May 2021). Training to be Entrepreneurial: Examining Vocational Education Programmes for Young Women in Industrial Training Institutes in Kolkata. 65th Annual Meeting CIES Conference, Pittsburg, USA.
Maitra, S. (May 2018). Are we not being entrepreneurial? Exploring the home/work negotiation of South Asian home-based immigrant women entrepreneurs in Canada. International Conference on Long-term perspectives on home-based work, organised by Centre for Women’s Development Studies in Delhi and the WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing) Network. Stockholm.
Maitra, S. (July 2018). Decolonising Lifelong Learning in the Age of Transnational Migration. International Conference by Standing Conference on University Teaching and Research in the Education of Adults (SCUTREA), University of Sheffield.
Guo, S., & Maitra, S. (May 2017). Beyond a nationalistic approach: Revisioning curriculum in the age of transnational mobility in Canada. 6th BNU/UCL IOE (Beijing Normal University/University College of London, Institute of Education) International Conference in Education, Beijing Normal University, China.
Maitra, S. (May 2017). Considering the Crucial: Ethics, Research, Publication. Organized and Chair Pre-conference for graduate students and Post-doctoral scholars, Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education [CASAE] Conference, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada.
Maitra, S. (May 2017).The making of the ‘precarious’: Examining Indian immigrant IT workers in Canada and their transnational networks with body shops in India. In Guo. S. organized symposium, Work, Learning and Transnational Migration: Opportunities, Challenges and Debates. Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education [CASAE] Conference, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada.
Maitra, S., Arshad-Ayaz, A., Das Gupta, T. (May 2017). Pedagogical potential of documentary and social media in creating conditions for critical pedagogy. Symposium presented at the Comparative and International Education Society of Canada (CIESC), Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada.
Guo, Y., Maitra, S., & Guo, S. (May 2017). Straddling the two worlds: Exploring challenges to Syrian refugee children’s school integration in Canada. Paper presented at the Canadian Society for the Study of Education Conference (CSSE), Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada.
Guo, Y., & Maitra, S. (May 2017). Immigrant parent mobilization for equitable ELL policy in Alberta. Paper presented at the Canadian Society for the Study of Education Conference (CSSE), Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada.
Guo, Y., Maitra, S., & Guo, S. (March 2017). Exploring challenges to Syrian refugee children’s school integration in Canada. Paper presented at the 19th National Metropolis Conference: Looking Forward: Migration and Mobility in 2017 and Beyond, Montreal, Canada.
Maitra, S. & Maitra, S. (May 2016). The Training/Learning Paradox: A comparative study of Employment Training Programs in Kolkata and Toronto. Paper presented at the Engaging India and Canada: Landmarks and Roadmaps for Global Educational Collaboration between Canada and India,Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, New Delhi, India.
Guo, Y., Maitra, S., & Wu, X. (May 2016). Two Decades of Community Engagement for Improved ELL policies. Paper presented at the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics Conference, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Maitra, S. (May 2016).Negotiating soft skill training: Examining the training/learning experiences of highly educated South Asian immigrant women in Canada. Paper presented at the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education [CASAE] Conference, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Maitra, S. (Dec 2015). Learning to be Supple? Neoliberal trends, learning regimes and the Canadian labour market. Paper presented at the Researching Work and Learning Conference [RWL], School of the Arts, Singapore.
Maitra, S. (June 2013). Transnational ties, flexible workers: Exploring the strategies adopted by Indian immigrant IT workers in Canada to access the labour market. Paper presented at the Researching Work and Learning Conference [RWL], University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland.
Maitra, S. (February 2012). ‘You Need to Recognize Our Initiatives’: Examining the Lived Experiences of Self-employed South Asian Immigrant Women within Ethnic Enclaves in Toronto. Paper presented atthe International Conference on Canadian Studies, “Demystifying the Urban: Borderlands of Canada and India”,Centre for Canadian Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.
Maitra, S. (February 2012). ‘Cultivating ‘ethnic ties’-National and Transnational: Exploring the strategies adopted by South Asian immigrants in Canada to access the labour market. Paper presented at the 14th National Metropolis Conference, Toronto, Canada.
Maitra, S., & Maitra, S. (February 2011). ‘Negotiating ‘Mother-Work’: Exploring the Lived Experiences of South Asian Working Mothers in Kolkata and Toronto. Paper presented at the International Conference on Building Bridges: Negotiating Cultural Memories in Canada and India, Centre for Canadian Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.
Maitra, S., & Maitra, S. (February 2010). ‘Negotiating Precariousness’: Exploring the Lived Experiences of South Asian Immigrant Women Working as Home-based Entrepreneurs in Toronto. Paper presented at Land of Promise: Stories of the immigrant in multicultural Canada: International Conference on Canadian Studies, Centre for Canadian Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.
Maitra, S. (October 2010). ‘The Making of Subjects’: Thinking Through Agency and Resistance in Diverse Settings. Paper presented at the Race, Ethnicity and Place Conference, Binghamton, NY, USA.
Maitra, S. (November 2008). ‘Negotiating the Blocked Mobility Effects’: Lived Experiences of South Asian Immigrant Women in Home-based Work in Toronto.Paper presented at the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association Conference, San Francisco, California, USA.
Maitra, S., Mirchandani, K., Sangha, J., Slade, B., & Shan, H. (May 2007). ‘Skilled in Vulnerability’: A Multimedia Ethnodrama on Learning in the Racialized Culture of Contingency. Paper presented at the 7th Annual Critical Race and Anticolonial studies conference of researchers and academics of colour for equality (R.A.C.E), OISE, Toronto, Canada.
Maitra, S., Mirchandani, K., Sangha, J., Slade, B., Shan, H., & Promislow, S. (October 2006). ‘Skilled in Vulnerability’: An Ethnodrama on Learning in the Racialized Culture of Contingency. Paper presented at the False Promises: Precarious Work in the New Economy, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Ng, R., Maitra, S., & Siddiqui, K. (April 2004). The Discursive Practice of Racialization: Examples from the Garment Industry. Paper presented at the Race, Racism and Empire: The Local and the Global Conference, York University, Toronto, Canada.
Invited Speaker
Guo, Y., & Maitra, S. (2017). Gaps in Policy and Practice for ELL Planning and Programs and Possible Solutions. Paper presented at the College of Alberta School Superintendents (CASS) Conference, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Maitra, S. (2015). Unsettling Canadian Experience. Keynote speaker at Community Roundtable, Canadian Experience: Shaping Lives and Generations. Organized by Bengali Information and Employment Services and Centre for Asian Research, York University, Toronto, Canada. http://bluffsadvocate.ca/september2015/bengalinewcomers.html
Man, G., & Maitra, S. (2013). Labour Market Participation and Transnational Migration Practices of Immigrant Women Professionals from India. Paper presented at the Indo-Canadians: Dimensions of Economic Integration Conference, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada.
Maitra, S. & Das Gupta, T. (2013). Film Screening of A Journey to Find Myself Again: Experiences of South Asian immigrant women in the Canadian Labour Market. Centre for Studies in Education, OISE, University of Toronto, Canada.
Maitra, S. (2011). “Tracing the Immigration Process of South Asians in Canada”. Paper presented in the Centre for Canadian Studies, Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.
Maitra, S. (2011). The governing of immigrants of colour into neoliberal enterprising workers: An analysis of South Asian immigrant women’s experiences of employment training programs in Toronto. Paper presented in the Centre for Canadian Studies, Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India
Invited Reviewer
- Nuffield Foundation
- Adult Education Quarterly
- Asian Women
- Curriculum Journal
- International Review of Education
- Journal for the Social and Behavioural Sciences and Humanities
- Journal of Gender, Work & Organization
- Journal of Adult and Continuing Education
- South Asian Diaspora
Professional Membership
- Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE)
- Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE)
- Comparative and International Education and Society (CIES)
Other Selected Grants and Scholarships
- Eyes High Post-Doctoral Grant, University of Calgary, Canada
- York University Faculty Association Grant (with Professor Tania Das Gupta, York University), Canada
- Shastri Indo-Canadian Scholar Travel Subsidy Grant
- PhD Entrance Scholarship,OISE, University of Toronto, Canada
- Dean’s Special Scholarship, OISE, University of Toronto, Canada
- Graduate Scholarship, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Canada
- Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award, University of Toronto, Canada
Other University Services
2021- Invited Panelist at the School of Education Webinar Series: Celebrating Social Justice Research in Education, University of Glasgow, Scotland.
2021- Invited Plenary Keynote at the workshop on “Gender, Education and Inequality: Pandemic and the Present Times” organised by Max Weber Forum for South Asian Studies, New Delhi, India.
2020- Invited Keynote for mentoring Workshop on, “Enhancing Employability Skills for Empowerment of Girls and Young Women” organised by The University Women Association of Delhi (UWAD) and the Delhi Technological University.
2020- Invited Keynote for webinar “Pandemic Pedagogy” organised by Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education, Canada.
Embracing Diversity: Promoting Leadership. Organized panel discussion at Werklund School of Education, Teaching and Learning Centre, University of Calgary, Canada (Mar 2017)
Post-Doctoral Representative, Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE), University of Calgary, Canada (May 2016-May 2017)
Post-Doctoral Representative, Diversity and Equity Network, University of Calgary, Canada (Nov 2016-April 2017)