The National Award for Excellence in Teaching Criminology

This award is supported by the British Society of Criminology, SAGE, and four HEA Subject Centres (C-SAP, Psychology, SWAP and UKCLE) and is intended to highlight and celebrate the best practice in teaching criminology across HEIs in the UK. Award winners will be announced and presented at the BSC annual conference with the first award made in 2011. The award will be presented to the nominated individual or team that has contributed the most to the positive learning experience of students in Criminology in the current academic year.

The criteria for nominations for this award are informed by the UK Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning. 

(http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/ourwork/rewardandr...)

This is an open competition and individuals and teams are invited to nominate themselves for the award. Each nomination must be accompanied by a covering letter, countersigned by the Head of Department/Head of Learning and Teaching (or equivalent), together with a short overview of no more than 2000 words explaining the learning experience and how the criteria are met. Supporting evidence is also required and this can be in the form of statements from a colleague, peer review report, or Student feedback/comments.

In order to make the award available to those teaching criminology across the academy, eligibility for the award is not restricted to BSC members but nominations from non-members will have to be accompanied by a letter of support from a BSC member and the award winner will be encouraged to become a member prior to the presentation of the prize.

Entries should be submitted by 1st March 2011 to Dr Helen Jones by email at h.jones@mmu.ac.uk

Guideline criteria The Awards Panel will require evidence that the applicant’s submission meets the Criminology Benchmarks for Learning and Teaching (http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark/statements/cr...) and should therefore include one or more of the following areas:

- The use of innovative teaching strategies to make positive contributions to learning and teaching within criminology that is flexible and inclusive in mode of delivery

- The incorporation of criminological research, scholarship and/or professional practice into teaching that is centred around skill building and self-development

- The development of teaching strategies to meet the needs of a diverse student population including diverse political, cultural and social contexts

- Inclusive teaching practices which encourage collegiality and provide varied contexts for learning

- Commitment to the development of autonomy and critical thinking skills in students within criminology

- Teaching practice that is clearly grounded in the academic literature on pedagogy in HEIs.

The panel will determine the eligibility of submitted proposals, and select a shortlist, then pass them to the judges who will decide the winning entry.

The award will consist of £100 from SAGE, plus £100 worth of SAGE books. Winners of the award will be invited to write a full paper for future publication in the BSC Journal Criminology and Criminal Justice, which will be subject to the Journal’s normal editorial and peer review processes. The winner will also be invited to write a short article for the BSC and C-SAP newsletters.

The Awards Panel reserves the right not to make the award, in the event that the standard of submissions is not deemed sufficient.

Awards Panel:

Dr Helen Jones, Principal Lecturer in Criminology at Manchester Metropolitan University

Dr Stephen Case, Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Criminal Justice and Criminology at Swansea University

Dr Liz Frondigoun, Lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University

Dr Philip Johnson, HND and FdA Criminology Course Manager at Blackburn College

Mike Keating, retired Senior Lecturer in Criminology, formerly at Liverpool Hope University

David Manlow, Principal Lecturer at Westminster University

Dr Paula Wilcox, Principal Lecturer in Criminology at Brighton University

Dr Richard Wild, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Greenwich

Judges:

Professor Gordon Hughes – Cardiff University

Professor Tim Newburn – The London School of Economics and Political Science

Professor Richard Sparks – The University of Edinburgh

Sponsored by:

SAGE

British Society of Criminology (BSC)

The Higher Education Academy - Sociology, Anthropology, Politics (C-SAP)

The Higher Education Academy - Social Policy and Social Work (SWAP)

The Higher Education Academy - UK Centre for Legal Education