Reading Australia Fellowship for Teachers of English and Literacy

Reading Australia Fellowship for Teachers of English and Literacy

The Copyright Agency’s Reading Australia Fellowship for Teachers of English and Literacy will support an experienced teacher or teacher librarian to undertake professional skills development and career-enhancing opportunities.

The Fellowship will enable teachers of English and literacy and teacher librarians to undertake project research in a designated area that will enhance their skills and abilities in the teaching of Australian Literature, English and literacy to Australian students. Research projects may be undertaken in Australia or overseas but ultimately Australian teachers, teacher librarians and students should benefit from the research findings.

The Fellowship is not intended to support projects involving the teaching of English as a second language or for academic and scholarly purposes.

This Fellowship is an initiative of Reading Australia, the Copyright Agency’s online portal to connect teachers and students with Australian literature and which provides full units of work and resources for teachers to teach these important books. Reading Australia has over 260 resources to Australian books linked to curriculum.

The successful Fellow will be expected to write a report of between 5,000 and 10,000 words and to present their research findings at teachers’ conferences, and to their colleagues and peers.

Applications will be assessed by a panel of independent peers. Projects may start after 1 August 2023 and should be completed by August 2024.

One Fellowship will be awarded each year.

Amount of grant: $15,000

Who can apply

This Fellowship is open to teachers of English and Literacy and teacher librarians.

Applicants must:

• have a minimum of five years’ teaching experience in Australian schools
• be employed in a primary or secondary school at the time of application
• be Australian citizens or permanent residents

How to apply

• Applications must be submitted by the closing date via the SmartyGrants online system.
• Late applications will not be accepted.
• Incomplete applications will not be assessed.

Your application

All applicants must provide a clear and compelling outline of their project. Your application must include a project description along with a budget.

Support Material

You must submit the following support material with your application as a PDF via the online system:

• CV (one-page).
• Letter of support from your employer (one-page).
• Proposed itinerary including budget information (up to five pages).

Previous Reading Australia Fellowship recipients

2022 Reading Australia Fellow

Jantiena Batt, a deputy principal working within the ACT Education Directorate for her Fellowship project, Windows and Mirrors, which will investigate approaches and language used by educators, families and publishers when they engage with literature that includes non-heteronormative structures of families or relationships. Jantiena says her research will “analyse texts and teaching approaches to ensure that our pedagogy does not inadvertently contribute to the reinforcement of heteronormativity as the dominant discourse.”

Jantiena’s report will be available in late 2023.

2021 Reading Australia Fellow

Edwina West from Sydney’s Oakhill College for the project, Combating Aliteracy with Australian Literature. Edwina will use the Fellowship to develop a resource and toolkit for teachers and teacher librarians to help students to better select books, with a focus on diverse and engaging Australian writing.

Edwina’s report will be published shortly. In 2022 we recorded a video interview with Edwina West as part of the Literature Symposium 2022, interviewed by Reading Australia Editor, Jenny Ryan.

2020 Reading Australia Fellow

Karen Yager, deputy head at Knox Grammar School in New South Wales, was awarded the 2020 Reading Australia Fellowship for Teachers of English and Literacy. Karen’s project will focus on the connection between the Australian landscape and literature, with the aim of developing an extensive resource to support English teachers in improving their students’ writing.

2019 Reading Australia Fellow

Alex Wharton was the inaugural recipient of the Reading Australia Fellowship for Teachers of English and Literacy. His project explores best practice around teaching Indigenous literature in the classroom to develop a greater understanding of the issues, protocols and sensitivities involved.

More information and contact

For further information, see our Frequently Asked Questions.

Please contact us if you have any questions about the grants via email culturalfund@copyright.com.au