PhD position in Educational Sciences at Utrecht University - JOB-SCHOLARSHIP TURF

PhD position in Educational Sciences (1.0 FTE)
Job description
The PhD position is part of the project "Equal opportunities? Differential teaching practices as reinforcer of ethnic and socioeconomic gaps in academic adjustment." The aim of the project is to get a better understanding of teachers’ impact on educational opportunities of children with different ethnic and social class backgrounds. In the Netherlands, achievement gaps between students with different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds have widened over the last years. Hence, education is not the “great equalizer” it intends to be. To counter these inequalities, more insights are needed into how inequalities are perpetuated in everyday classroom situations and more importantly, how they can be reduced. This PhD project will make a unique contribution by examining educational inequality from a microlevel perspective by focusing on how the everyday interactions between teachers and their students may be related to children’s academic adjustment (i.e., motivation, engagement, and achievement) in primary school. We will integrate Self-Determination Theory and teacher expectation research to study (a) how teacher-student interactions differ by students’ ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds; (b) whether these differences can be explained by teachers’ diversity attitudes and expectations; and (c) how these differential teacher-student interactions longitudinally predict developments in students’ academic adjustment. The PhD project is part of a larger interlinked research project “Countering ethnic and socioeconomic segregation in schools: Teachers’ socialization of academic adjustment and intergroup harmony in diverse classes.” Within this project, the PhD candidate will collaborate with another PhD candidates in the Department of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences (UU). This project involves a joint data collection (together with the other PhD candidate) of (predominantly) survey data in Dutch primary schools. The data collection will span a single school year and have a three-wave longitudinal design involving 70 classes (grade level 5-6) with 70 teachers and approximately 1800 children. Additionally, real-time data (observations and daily surveys) will be collected from a subsample of teachers and students during a two-week period. The responsibilities of the PhD candidate are: conducting the research (literature research, designing the instruments, recruiting schools, pre-registering studies, collecting and analyzing data, preparing and storing data packages for sharing); writing international scientific publications and a dissertation; giving presentations at (inter)national scientific conferences; active participation in the research team of the UU Department of Education; knowledge Utilization: Collaborating and sharing findings with practitioners (e.g., professional journals for teachers, presentations at teacher conferences); following courses/trainings (e.g., in the context of Research School ICO, the Interuniversity Centre for Educational Sciences and the local graduate school); teaching courses or supervising bachelor’s/master’s thesis projects (max. 0.1 FTE) can be part of the position.
Qualifications
The ideal candidate: holds a master's degree in educational sciences/ educational psychology, preferably a research master (completed or nearly completed); has experience with (advanced) statistical methods and preferably with observational data; has ambition to conduct excellent scientific research; is willing to collaborate with educational practice; is social, collaborative, organizational, and self-regulatory competencies; has good communication skills (written and oral); is proficient in Dutch and English.
Offer
We offer a position for 1.0 FTE for 4 years (0.8 FTE for 5 years can be discussed). The initial appointment will be for one year, starting July 2022, with an extension of three years after positive evaluation of capabilities and compatibility. The appointment must lead to the completion of a PhD thesis within four years (or five with 0.8 FTE). The full time salary is €2,443 gross per month (scale P according to the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities). Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year. In addition, Utrecht University offers excellent secondary conditions, including an attractive retirement scheme, (partly paid) parental leave and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model). More information about working at Utrecht University can be found here.
About the organization
A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major societal themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Sustainability. The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences is one of the leading faculties in Europe for research and academic teaching in Cultural Anthropology, Educational Sciences, Interdisciplinary Social Science, Pedagogical Sciences, Psychology and Sociology. We are a faculty at the heart of society and one which cooperates closely with others. Our almost 6,000 students are enrolled in a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programmes. We have approximately 900 faculty and staff members, who all work closely together to educate and train young talent and to research and find solutions to scientific and societal issues. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth and Institutions for Open Societies.
Additional information
Additional information concerning the position can be obtained by contacting dr. Lisette Hornstra via t.e.hornstra@uu.nl.
Apply
Everyone deserves to feel at home at our university. We welcome employees with a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives. Please upload your motivation letter and a full curriculum vitae via the 'apply' button below.
The application deadline is
15/04/2022 To apply, Click here