One doctoral position in Education with a Focus on Longitudinal Analyses and Register Studies

Göteborgs universitet; Göteborgs kommun; On-site; SEK 279,000 - 334,800; Full time

Job summary

Göteborgs universitet is offering a doctoral student position in Education focused on longitudinal research at the Department of Education and Special Education. Candidates must have a second-cycle degree and 90 credits in Education, showing qualifications in research and analysis.

This position allows students to engage in educational and research projects, focusing on data management, quantitative analysis, and presentation of findings. The initial employment lasts one year, extendable up to four years, with a flexible working percentage between 50-100%.

Qualifications

• Completed a second-cycle degree or equivalent.
• 90 credits in Education, with specific focus on second-cycle.
• Strong background in research methods and analysis.

Responsibilities

• Engage in doctoral education and formulate a dissertation project.
• Participate in the departments' research environment creatively.
• Present dissertation work at national and international conferences.
• Manage undergraduate teaching and administrative activities.

Skills

Experience in the Swedish school system

Quantitative analysis

Scientific writing

Methodological development in large-scale studies

Longitudinal individual-level data handling

Proficiency in English

Proficiency in Swedish

Education

Second-cycle degree or equivalent (240 credits)

90 credits in Education (30 at second-cycle)

Job description

Doctoral Student Position – Education

Education is a doctoral subject focusing on education, teaching, upbringing, socialisation, and learning. The subject has a particular interest in the relationship between individuals and society, and the conditions under which institutional arrangements operate and have operated over time. Research in education examines processes of influence and their significance for the relationship between structure and agency, both within and outside the formal education system.

Research Environments

IPS hosts several strong research environments that contribute to increased dynamism between research, education, and collaboration with society. These environments include FUR, LUBS, PRIS, SKUL, KRIT, POP, and FYRK, each with its own distinct profile but sharing a common commitment to educational issues: https://www.gu.se/en/education-special-education/research-environments.

The doctoral student position will be affiliated with the department's research environments and preferably connected to ongoing research projects.

The FUR research environment focuses on classical educational questions within three main areas: individual conditions for education, the organisation and resources of education, and educational outcomes at both individual and system levels.

LUBS, with its focus on learning, teaching, and assessment in language education, works to integrate these aspects into both internal and external activities, including teacher education and collaboration with actors outside academia.

PRIS seeks to bring together issues in special education with aspects of school development and leadership.

SKUL focuses on school development and leadership, with particular attention to what teachers and school leaders do to promote children's and students' development and learning. It also addresses how preschools and schools manage processes of change and improvement.

KRIT engages with research questions related to power, subjectivity, and resistance within educational institutions and is grounded in a critical sociology of education tradition. This environment employs methods such as critical ethnography, policy studies, and narrative analysis.

POP studies the political dimensions of educational phenomena, drawing on traditions in curriculum theory, comparative education, and analyses of educational processes and systems.

FYRK is a relatively new research environment focusing on research questions in vocational education and training.

Doctoral Project

The Department of Education and Special Education at the University of Gothenburg hosts the national longitudinal infrastructure Evaluation Through Follow-up (UGU). The doctoral student position is specifically linked to UGU's activities and the challenges associated with managing, developing, and analysing longitudinal individual-level data.

UGU is currently in a dynamic phase in which development work concerning missing data, the construction and application of weights, and longitudinal analyses is of particular importance. The doctoral student will have the opportunity to participate in all aspects of UGU's work—from questionnaire design, piloting, and collaboration with teachers to the analysis and presentation of survey data.

This means that the doctoral project may include substantive topics within the UGU framework concerning constructs such as motivation, engagement and school‑related well‑being as well as methodological and analytical components. An important aspect of the project concerns ensuring robust methodological approaches for designing and analysing longitudinal educational data and advancing methods for addressing the challenges posed by extensive non‑response in large‑scale survey studies.

Duties

The doctoral student will engage in doctoral education. In collaboration with supervisors, the doctoral student will formulate and carry out a dissertation project and complete coursework consisting of both compulsory and elective doctoral courses in accordance with the general syllabus and an individual study plan. During the doctoral period, the dissertation work will be presented and discussed in seminar form with an invited discussant on at least three occasions. The doctoral student is expected to participate actively in the department's research environment.

The department encourages and supports the presentation of dissertation work at national and international conferences.

In addition to pursuing the doctoral studies within the prescribed time, departmental duties (maximum 20%) may be assigned in teaching, research commissioned activities, and administration in accordance with applicable regulations. The employment period will then be extended accordingly.

Eligibility and Qualifications

Applicants admitted to doctoral education will receive a four‑year doctoral studentship at the department.

To be admitted to doctoral education, applicants must meet the requirements for both general and specific eligibility and be deemed to possess the ability otherwise required to benefit from the education, in accordance with Chapter 7, Section 35 of the Higher Education Ordinance.

General eligibility is granted to those who have completed a second‑cycle degree or completed course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 credits are at second‑cycle level. General eligibility is also granted to those who have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way, either in Sweden or abroad.

For specific eligibility in Education, 90 credits in Education are required, of which at least 30 credits must be at second‑cycle level. The qualifying education must include an independent degree thesis of at least 15 credits at second‑cycle level.

Eligibility may also be granted to applicants who have acquired equivalent knowledge through other means, in Sweden or abroad.

Selection Criteria

• Quality of the qualifying degree theses (or equivalent document)
• Quality of the submitted research proposal

Given the orientation of the project, experience and knowledge of the Swedish school system are required. Experience of research work, quantitative analyses, and scientific writing are considered merits.
Particularly meritorious are experience of working with longitudinal individual‑level data such as UGU data, methodological development in large‑scale studies, and analytical work.
Significant weight will also be given to personal suitability.
Good proficiency in both English and Swedish, spoken and written language, is required.

Employment Details

Applicants admitted to doctoral education will be employed as doctoral students. Regulations concerning doctoral student employment are found in Ordinance SFS 1993:100.
The initial employment may be valid for a maximum of one year and may be renewed for up to two years at a time.
A doctoral student may be employed for a maximum of eight years, but the total period of employment may not exceed the equivalent of four years of full‑time doctoral education.

Type of employment: Fixed‑term employment corresponding to four years of full‑time doctoral studies
Extent: 50‑100%
Location: Department of Education and Special Education, University of Gothenburg
Starting date: 1 October 2026, or by agreement

Contact Information

Director of Doctoral Studies: Daniel Bergh, [e-mail], 0766‑18 21 09