Postdoctoral Fellow in Special Needs Education

Universitetet I Oslo; Oslo; Hybrid; NOK 595,000 - 670,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Pension scheme

Professional development

Job summary

The University of Oslo invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow in Special Needs Education based in Oslo. The project investigates the impact of Norway's 2024 Education Act reform on ADHD children, using pre- and post-reform data and cross-national comparisons where possible.

The appointment is a full-time position for three years (up to four with duties), with responsibilities including data collection, analysis, ethical approvals, and authorship of publications, aiming to advance a

Qualifications

• Must hold a Norwegian doctoral-equivalent degree in Special Needs Education, Psychology, or related field.
• Fluent oral and written English communication.
• Demonstrated knowledge of neurodevelopmental disabilities and quantitative methods.

Responsibilities

• Develop a research proposal aligned with pre- and post-reform data.
• Apply for data access and ethical approvals.
• Collect primary data and conduct data analysis; plan and lead publications.

Skills

Fluent English

Quantitative analysis

Statistical programming

Data management

Scientific writing

Education

Doctoral degree in Special Needs Education or Psychology

Tools

Stata

R

Mplus

Job description

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
• 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 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
• Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse , which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes

It is expected that the successful candidate will be able to complete the project during the period of employment.

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 us.

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

About The University of Oslo

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 employs over 50 scientific staff in addition to about 20 administrative employees. The department has approximately 800 students distributed between bachelor- and master's degree studies in special needs education as well as PhD-studies.