Initiative on Philosophy in Educational Policy and Practice RFP


As part of a new institutional initiative, the Spencer Foundation will make several awards of up to $40,000 for research projects in Philosophy as it relates to educational policy and practice. We encourage applicants to understand educational policy and practice in broad terms, including issues that directly relate to K-12 schools and higher education institutions, but also concerning policies that influence children’s growth and development in the family and in other areas of social life including children’s upbringings, educational issues in family life and in the workplace, the educational effects of welfare policy. We also encourage diverse kinds of philosophical research ranging from the highly abstract to the highly applied. Proposals might concern any of the following topics:

  • the proper content of moral education and of the rights of parents to constrain it
  • the place of religion in schools
  • justice and efficiency in the allocation of public funds across schools and school districts
  • the content of the curriculum
  • assessment of competing conceptions of equality in educational resources and outcomes
  • the commercialization of schools and childhoods generally
  • the obligations to students with special educational needs
  • the proper content of sex education in particular and “education for living” more generally (concerning,
  • eg, parenting, financial self-management, etc) and the extent to which it is right for schools to defer to
  • parental preferences regarding these matters
  • the moral rights of school students to privacy, to freedom of expression, to freedom of association, etc
  • the rights and obligations of teachers with respect to abusive or violent children
  • the distribution and content of higher education

We emphasize that this list is illustrative, and not exhaustive. Proposals are accepted at any time; there are no deadlines. The proposal will be reviewed and a funding decision will be made within four to five months from the date of submission. Please follow the guidelines below when submitting a proposal with a budget of $40,000 or less.

Eligibility and Restrictions:
  • Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-PIs applying for a Research Grant must have an earned doctorate in an academic discipline or professional field, or appropriate experience in an education research-related profession.
  • The PI must be affiliated with a college, university, research facility, school district, or cultural institution that is willing to serve as the fiscal agent if the grant is awarded. Research Grant proposals from individuals are not eligible.
  • Proposals are accepted from the U.S. and internationally, however all proposals must be submitted in English and budgets must be proposed in U.S. Dollars.
  • PIs and Co-PIs may only hold one active research grant from the Spencer Foundation at a time. Simultaneous submissions to Spencer from PIs and Co-PIs are discouraged due to this policy.
Deadlines

Proposals are accepted at any time; there are no deadlines.

Submission Guidelines

Proposals must be submitted electronically using the Spencer Foundation’s online system. Below are the basic steps for submission.

Step 1 - Registration: The PI must register and create a profile by clicking on the link below and then clicking the “Register Here” button.

Step 2 - My Profile: After logging in, you must complete the information requested on the My Profile page (upper right corner of the screen) and upload your current CV.

Step 3 - New Proposal: Click the New Proposal tab and choose the RFP button for the Initiative on Philosophy in Educational Policy and Practice. As you work on your proposal, consider the three following tips:

Tip #1: Remember to frequently click the “Save Draft” button at the bottom of the application page. Changes you make will not be recorded until you click the “Save Draft” button; click it often.

Tip #2: You will be required to upload PDF files during this process. If your file name has special characters within it (e.g. period, dash, etc), the file will not upload. Remove all special characters from your file names before attempting to upload them.

Tip #3: Your submission is required to have a signature from an authorized representative of the administering organization; consider the processing time for this as you prepare your application for the upcoming deadline.

DETAILED GUIDELINES, click here. We strongly recommend you print out these guidelines to refer to as you go through the online application.

ONLINE APPLICATION, click here.

Questions

Answers to frequently asked questions about applying for a research grant from the Spencer Foundation can be found by clicking on our Research FAQ page. If you have any additional questions regarding the proposal submission process, please feel free to contact Kathryn Gray, Program Administrator, at kgray@spencer.org or 312-274-6509.

 

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