Editorial Professions: which Sciences and Industry Sectors Shape Modern Specialists for Educational Publishing

Abstract

The shift of educational publishers toward creating digital products for school education causes changes not only in business processes but also in workforce structure. The object of the study is to demonstrate that working with educational content requires knowledge and skills in three professional and academic domains: journalism (publishing), pedagogy, and information technology. The research methodology was based on content analysis of job postings from five educational publishing companies: McGraw Hill, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Pearson Education, Scholastic, and Cengage Learning. The selection of relevant job postings was guided by the concept of “content”, as Bhaskar’s theory positions content as the unifying factor for all publishing products across different eras. Twelve job postings were analyzed for requirements regarding candidates’ experience and knowledge. The research findings indicate that educational publishers seek specialists who possess competencies in IT, pedagogy, and publishing. In 10 out of 12 postings, candidates were required to have skills and knowledge from at least two of these fields. The share of vacancies for working with educational content is between 2% and 5% of all open positions. The most in-demand roles fall within the categories of production, sales, and technology. The study concludes that specialists with experience at the intersection of communication, pedagogical, and IT are essential for the educational publishing sector. Professionals working with content are expected to adopt a multiplatform approach to product development. The research significance is in highlighting the current educational demands for publishing professionals and the need for further analysis of changes to adapt to the digital culture.