Postdoctoral Fellow in Special Needs Education

University of Oslo; Oslo; In loco; NOK 595.000 - 670.000; Tempo pieno

Vantaggi offerti da questo lavoro

Stimulating work environment

Attractive welfare benefits

Descrizione del lavoro

University of Oslo invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow in Special Needs Education in Oslo. The project evaluates the impact of a 2024 Education Act reform on ADHD, using pre- and post-reform data with primary data collection.

The appointee will develop proposals, obtain data access, conduct analyses, and publish findings as first author. The appointment is for three years with possible extension; duties include national/international presentations, potential supervision, and career

Competenze

• Doctoral degree in Special Needs Education, Psychology, or related field.
• Fluent English, written and spoken.
• Knowledge of neurodevelopmental disabilities.
• Strong quantitative skills and quasi-experimental methods.
• Experience with Stata, R, Mplus or similar.
• Strong scientific writing and peer-reviewed publication record.

Mansioni

• Develop research proposals and data sources for pre- and post-reform periods.
• Conduct data collection, analysis, and obtain necessary ethical approvals.
• Plan scientific publications and aim for first authorship.
• Present findings at national and international conferences.
• Contribute to supervision of Master/PhD candidates when applicable.

Conoscenze

English fluency

Neurodevelopmental knowledge

Quantitative analysis

Quasi-experimental methods

Stata/R/Mplus

Scientific writing

Formazione

Doctoral degree in Special Needs Education or related field

Strumenti

Stata

R

Mplus

Descrizione del lavoro

Postdoctoral Fellow in Special Needs Education

University of Oslo

Stillingstittel Postdoctoral fellow in Special Needs Education

Applicants are invited for a three to four-year position as a Postdoctoral Fellow emphasizing research on special needs education for students with neurodevelopmental disorders. The position is to be based at the Department of Special Needs Education , Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Oslo.

In 2024, Norway implemented a change to the Education Act , adjusting the criteria used to allocate extra resources for children with special needs. This project will evaluate the impact of this legislative change on children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), focusing specifically on their transition from kindergarten to formal schooling, and their subsequent academic outcomes.

To capture both pre- and post-reform conditions, the project will combine secondary and primary data. For the pre-reform period, the applicant will draw primarily on existing Norwegian data sources such as cohort studies and/or relevant national registries, which can be linked as appropriate to the research questions. The applicant will be responsible for identifying the most suitable data source(s) for the pre-reform period and applying for the necessary data access and approvals. The applicant will then collect new primary data to capture the post-reform period.

Within this structure, the applicant has flexibility in developing the proposal to include the specific data source(s) and academic outcomes to be examined, in line with their own research interests. The significance and rationale for the selected data source(s) and outcomes should be well detailed and justified within the project description. The applicant is expected to outline plans for data collection, as well as the methodological and analytical approaches envisioned. The fellow will also be expected to apply for relevant ethical approvals, collect primary data, conduct data analysis, plan the scientific publications that are part of the fellowship, as well as be first-author on the agreed upon publications.

More about the position

The appointment is a full-time position for a period of three years, with 10 % of which is devoted to required duties. Other career-promoting work will consist of presentation of project data at national and international conferences, authorship on scientific publications, potential supervision of Master and PhD candidates, and the possibilities of completing certification in Higher Education Pedagogy. Given that the position includes own data collection, the candidate is expected to be located in Oslo.

Depending on the candidate’s competence and the teaching needs of the department, the fellowship period can be extended up to four years, with 25 % of which is devoted to required duties. Other career-promoting work will in this case for example consist of various teaching tasks and obligations.

The main purpose of the fellowship is to build a research profile and competence that qualifies the postdoctoral fellow to apply for a position as associate professor within their disciplines. The position may also provide other competence with relevance for the postdoctoral fellow's further career.

If the Postdoctoral Fellow does not already have educational qualifications that meet the requirements for an associate professor position, UiO shall facilitate the acquisition of such competence during the employment period.

A career plan shall be developed for the Postdoctoral Fellow, specifying the competencies the Postdoctoral Fellow should acquire. UiO is responsible for following up on the career plan and ensuring that the Postdoctoral Fellow has access to career guidance throughout the postdoctoral term.

Qualification requirements

• Applicants must hold a degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree in Special Needs Education, Psychology, or other relevant fields. The doctoral dissertation must have been submitted for evaluation by the application deadline. Appointment is dependent on the public defense of the doctoral thesis being approved
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English
• Demonstrated knowledge about neurodevelopmental disabilities
• Demonstrated knowledge in quantitative statistical analyses and data management. More specifically, strong quantitative skills and experience in applying quasi-experimental methods (e.g., difference-in-difference, regression discontinuity, interrupted time series) to evaluate policy or intervention effects
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience with one of the following statistical programming softwares (Stata, R, Mplus or similar) is required
• Strong scientific writing skills and a track record of peer-reviewed publication is required

The following qualifications will count in the assessment of the applicants:

• Experience with longitudinal quantitative methods will be considered a strength and emphasized
• Demonstrated knowledge in empirical data collection will be considered an advantage and emphasized
• Experience with large datasets will be considered an advantage and emphasized
• Previous research experience, especially related to neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD, special education, or developmental psychology is considered an advantage and emphasized
• Mastery of Norwegian or another Scandinavian language is considered an advantage

Personal skills

• Ability to work independently and take initiative
• Strong collaboration and communication skills
• Strong organizational and project management skills
• Execution capability
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Good attention to detail and rigour

We need different perspectives in our work

UiO is an open and internationally oriented comprehensive university that strives to be an inclusive and diverse workplace and academic environment. You can read more about UiO’s work on equality, inclusion, and diversity at uio.no .

We fulfill our mission most effectively when we draw upon our variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. We are looking for great colleagues—could you be the next one?

We will do our best to accommodate your needs. Relevant adjustments may include modifications to working hours, task adaptations, digital, technical, or physical adjustments, or other practical measures.

If you have an immigrant background, a disability, or CV gaps (Norwegian), we encourage you to indicate this in the job application portal. We always invite at least one qualified candidate from each group for an interview. In this context, disability is defined as an applicant who identifies as having a disability that requires workplace or employment-related accommodations. For more details about the requirements, please refer to the Employer portal (Norwegian).

The selections made in the job application portal are used for anonymized statistics that all state employers include in their annual reports. More information about gender equality initiatives at UiO can be found here .

We hope you will apply for the position with us.

We offer

• Salary NOK 595 000 – NOK 670 000 per annum depending on qualifications in position as Postdoctoral Research Fellow (position code 1352). From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund
• A professionally stimulating work environment
• Attractive welfare benefits

  Formal regulations

  Please refer to Regulations for the Act on universities and colleges chapter 3 (Norwegian) and the guidelinesand regulations for appointments to Postdoctoral Fellowships at the University of Oslo .

  No one can be appointed for more than one Postdoctoral Fellow period at the University of Oslo.

  Applicant lists can be published in accordance with the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we cannot, you will hear from this list.

  The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.

  The University of Oslo is Norway’s oldest and highest ranked educational and research institution, with 27 400 students and 6 900 employees. With its broad range of academic disciplines and internationally recognised research communities, UiO is an important contributor to society.
  The Department of Special Needs Education is one of the three departments at The Faculty of Educational Sciences.

  The department focuses on basic and applied research and education of bachelor-, master- and doctoral level candidates within the field of special needs education in Norway.
  The department has approximately 800 students distributed between bachelor- and master's degree studies in special needs education as well as PhD-studies.

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