PhD Fellow in Subject Didactics

UiT- The Arctic University of Norway; Tromsø; On-site; NOK 496,000 - 606,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Research project

Career opportunities

Good academic environment

Flexible hours

Pension scheme

Job summary

UiT The Arctic University of Norway invites applications for a PhD fellowship in subject didactics with a focus on Sámi and/or Kven topics in schools and teacher education. The appointment runs for three years full-time with possible extension and a completion grant may be offered after three years.

The workplace is in Tromsø and the candidate must be able to start promptly. The PhD project is connected to the FAHUMNO research group; applicants should describe their academic orientation and

Qualifications

• Master's degree in a relevant field is required before commencement.
• English proficiency required; Nordic applicants may document with high school diploma.

Responsibilities

• Complete research training to the level of a PhD within three years.
• Affiliation with FAHUMNO research group focusing on Sámi and Kven topics.
• Specify academic orientation in the application and develop a 3–5 page project description.

Skills

English proficiency

Education

Master's degree in history/religion/sociology/political science

Qualified teacher education (PPU/primary/secondary)

Job description

• email: [e-mail]

The position

At the Department of Education (ILP), within the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education (HSL), there is a vacant position in subject didactics (history didactics, religious education didactics, or social studies didactics) focusing on Sámi and/or Kven topics in schools and teacher education. Applicants must specify their academic focus in the application.

The objective of the position is to complete research training to the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position. The PhD fellow position is for a period of three years and full time studies with the possibility of an extension of the appointment period. If the doctoral dissertation is submitted for appraisal within 3 years or within 3.5 years, the PhD candidate is qualified for a completion grant for either 12 or 6 months. The completion grant should be used to further qualification measures such as courses in teaching in higher education, lecturing and other relevant work at the faculty. More information about the completion grant scheme can be found here.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.

About The Topic And Affiliation With Research Group

The position is affiliated with the research group Subject Didactics for the Humanities in the High North (FAHUMNO). The research group conducts broad research within the humanities and social sciences, with a particular focus on Sámi and Kven topics. This ties into a broader theme concerning Indigenous peoples and national minorities in schools and teacher education.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report (Stortinget 2023, pp. 614, 652) highlighted that there is still a significant knowledge gap about Sámi and Kven peoples in Norwegian society. This need pertains to a general understanding of Sámi and Kven peoples, their culture and history, as well as their democratic opportunities and rights, based on the Norwegian state's obligations under international conventions on Indigenous peoples and national minorities. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission assigns a significant responsibility to the school and education system in addressing this.

The PhD candidate is expected to contribute to advancing knowledge related to perspectives on Indigenous peoples and national minorities in schools and teacher education, with a particular focus on Sámi and Kven topics. The project is expected to contribute to the development of subject didactic perspectives for relevant subjects in schools and teacher education.

Research Area of the Position

The PhD position is particularly intended to explore how teachers engage with topics related to Sámi (indigenous peoples) and/or Kvens (national minorities) as part of their practical and overarching professional competence. The project may be connected to primary schools, secondary schools, and/or teacher education.

• How are structural frameworks and practical teaching in social studies designed to support teachers' competence related to topics on Sámi and national minorities?
• How do teachers articulate their own competence and their needs for professional development in light of their practice?
• How do teachers and/or teacher educators evaluate schools' strategies and their own competence as part of the reconciliation efforts emphasised by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission?

The PhD project can be conducted using various research designs. Textual/document analysis, as well as other qualitative and quantitative methods, may be applied.

Theoretical perspectives may vary across disciplines. We are open to theoretical approaches that differ between history didactics, religion education didactics, and social studies didactics, or that adopt an interdisciplinary orientation. Decolonial perspectives and/or perspectives related to Indigenous education are relevant.

Following the introduction of the lates curriculum reform (LK20) and the strengthening of Sámi topics in the national curriculum, there is an increasing need for research that examines how schools understand, practice, and convey Sámi knowledge and perspectives.

In the application and project description, applicants are encouraged to specify their academic orientation (history didactics, religion education didactics, or social studies didactics) or argue for an interdisciplinary approach to the project.

The applicants must present a description outlining the academic basis of the PhD project. The project description must be 3-5 pages long, literature references included. It must include a description of the topic, research question(s) and a reasoning of the choices. It should also indicate the methodologies to be used. The final project description will be developed in cooperation with the supervisor. Template for project description can be found here.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact Professor and Research Group Leader FAHUMNO Bengt-Ove Andreassen:

• telephone: [phone]
• email: [e-mail]

Qualification

Required qualifications

• A master's degree in history, study of religion, sociology, political science, or another relevant field. Qualification with a master’s degree is required before commencement in the position. You may still apply if you are in the final stages of the master’s degree, but the master’s thesis must be submitted for evaluation within the application deadline. You must submit the thesis and transcript of grades for the master’s degree with your application.
• Good knowledge in English. Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.

Desired Qualifications

• Approved teacher education (primary school teacher education, secondary school teacher education for years 8–13, or Practical Pedagogical Education [PPU]) with a subject didactics focus in the master's subject.
• Documented knowledge of Indigenous peoples and national minorities, particularly Sámi and Kven topics.
• Proficiency in Sámi and/or Kven (Finnish) language.

In the assessment, the emphasis is on the applicant's potential to complete a research education based on the master's thesis or equivalent, and any other scientific work. The project description will also be considered. In addition, professional experience and other experience of significance for the completion of the doctoral programme will be taken into consideration.

Motivation and Personal Suitability

We will also emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position. We are looking for candidates who:

• Have good collaboration skills
• Have good communication and interaction with colleagues and students
• Wants to contribute to a good working environment

As many people as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.

Admission to the PhD Programme

For employment in the PhD position, you must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education and participate in organized doctoral studies within the employment period.

Admission Normally Requires

• A bachelor's degree of 180 ECTS and a master's degree of 120 ECTS, or an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS.
• A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 30 ECTS for a master's degree of 120 ECTS.
• A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 20 ECTS for an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS.

All applicants should have a grade point average of B (or equivalent) on their master’s degree in order to be admitted to the PhD programme. The grade point average also applies to 300 ECTS points integrated five-year master’s degrees, in which all courses are to be included in the grade point average. A more detailed description of admission requirements can be found here.

If you are employed in the position, you will be provisionally admitted to the PhD programme. Application for final admission must be submitted no later than two months after taking up the position.

Applicants with a foreign education will be subjected to an evaluation of whether the educational background is equal to Norwegian higher education, following national guidelines from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills. Depending on which country the education is from, one or two additional years of university education may be required to fulfil admission requirements, e.g. a 4-year bachelor's degree and a 2-year master's degree. UiT normally accepts higher education from countries that are part of the Lisbon Recognition Convention.

Inclusion and Diversity

UiT The Arctic University of Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity are a strength, and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.

If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite at least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics.

We offer

• Involvement in an interesting research project
• Good career opportunities
• A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues
• Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement
• Pension scheme through the state pension fund
• PhD Fellows are normally given a salary of 550 800 NOK/year with a 3% yearly increase
• Opportunity to apply for a scholarship for an extended research stay abroad

Norwegian health policy aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their personal finances and where they live, has access to good health and care services of equal standard. As an employee you will become member of the National Insurance Scheme which also include health care services.

More practical information about working and living in Norway can be found here: https://uit.no/staffmobility

• Cover letter explaining your motivation and research interests. Applicants must specify your academic focus in the application.
• CV (providing a complete overview of education, supervised practice, and work experience)
• Official diplomas for Bachelor's and Master's degree in the original language
• Official transcripts of grades/academic record for Bachelor's and Master's degree in the original language
• Official translation of diplomas and transcripts of records (ToR) to English or a Scandinavian language, if applicable
• Explanation of the grading system for foreign education (Diploma Supplement if available)
• Documentation of English proficiency
• References with contact information
• Master’s thesis, and any other academic works
• Project description (3-5 pages)

Eallju - Developing the High North

UiT Norges arktiske universitet er et internasjonalt ledende breddeuniversitet. Vår visjon er å være en drivkraft i nord. Det nordsamiske begrepet eallju, som betyr arbeidsiver, setter tonen for drivkraften i UiT. Sammen med studenter, ansatte og samfunnet for øvrig skal vi utnytte vår

beliggenhet i Nord-Norge og Sápmi, vår faglige bredde og tverrfaglige fortrinn til å forme framtiden.

UiT har om lag 18 000 studenter, mer enn 4000 ansatte, og er etablert på fire hovedcampuser og sju øvrige studiesteder i Nord-Norge og på Svalbard. Våre største campuser er Tromsø, Alta, Narvik og Harstad. UiT har sju fakulteter, 40 institutter og sentre, og ledende forskningsmiljøer innenfor ulike fag. Universitetet har 269 studieprogrammer og har fokus på utdanningskvalitet.

Akademisk frihet, vitenskapelige og forskningsetiske prinsipper ligger til grunn for hele UiT sin virksomhet. Medvirkning, medbestemmelse, åpenhet og gode prosesser skal gi det beslutningsgrunnlaget vi trenger for å gjøre kloke og framsynte prioriteringer. Våre studenter og ansatte skal ha mulighet til å utvikle sine evner og potensial. Tuftet på vitenskapelig integritet skal vi være modige, engasjerte og rause - tett på fag, folk og samtidsutviklingen.

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