PhD Research Fellow in Special Needs Education 

Job descriptionApplicants are invited for a three to four-year full-time position as PhD Research Fellow in Special Needs Education and Inclusive Practice at the Centre for Research on Special Needs Education and Inclusive Practice (SpedAims). The successful candidate will have their workplace at Department of Special Needs Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, at the University of Oslo.   SpedAims is a collaboration between five Norwegian institutions and is led by the Department of Special Needs Education, University of Oslo. The PhD position is connected to work package ABC123, a work package focusing on math and reading difficulties. The main focus of the current position is on math skills and difficulties, but also the relationship between math, language and reading. An important next step in the ABC123 work package is to further develop and validate instruments for assessing math difficulties within a response to intervention framework. These tools are intended to support both research and practice by providing valid, reliable, and practically useful ways to identify children's needs and evaluate the effECTS of special education efforts. The candidate will play an important role in this. Also, pending on the candidate’s background and interest, it can also be relevant to focus on interventions and skill development both through collecting new data sets and using existing data. The successful candidate will contribute to this work by developing and validating the assessment tools, collecting and analyzing data, contributing to the design of new studies. Residence in Norway is expected during the fellowship period. PhD fellows are also encouraged to spend time abroad, for instance for research stays or conferences.  More information about the research center can be found on the center's website.  More about the positionThe fellowship period is 3 years. A fourth year as a PhD Research Fellow may become relevant, and it will involve 25 percent of other career-promoting work. Other career-promoting work may consist of teaching, supervision, and/or research assistance. This will depend on the candidate's qualifications and the needs of the institute. The research fellow must take part in the faculty’s approved PhD program and is expected to complete the project within the set fellowship period. The main purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful completion of a PhD degree.  For more information, please see our web site.  Qualification requirementsApplicants must satisfy the requirements for admission to the faculty´s PhD programme. This normally includes: Applicants must hold a Master’s degree or equivalent in Special needs education,  Education, Psychology, Assessment and measurement or other relevant fields  A Master’s degree (120 ECTS) with a minimum grade B (ECTS grading scale) or equivalent. The master’s degree must include a thesis of at least 30 ECTS, with a minimum grade B A bachelor’s degree with a minimum grade C (ECTS grading scale) For 5-year studies, the average grade must be C or better for the first three years, and B or better for the last two years (ECTS grading scale). The Master thesis must have been graded with a minimum grade B Fluent oral and written communication skills in English and Norwegian (or another Scandinavian language) is a requirement In the assessment of applications, emphasis will be placed on: Familiarity with quantitative methodology and mathematical cognition/development Personal skills We are looking for a motivated and engaged PhD fellow with strong potential for high-quality research. Personal suitability will be emphasized and assessed based on the following qualities:  Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in an interdisciplinary research team  Strong analytical and problem-solving skills  Ability to give and receive constructive scientific feedback Structured, reliable, and results-oriented working style  Good communication and collaboration skills We need different perspectives in our workUiO 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 offerExciting and meaningful research tasks as part of an ambitious project on mathematical learning difficulties  The opportunity to research children's mathematical development, contributing to knowledge with real-world impact for schools and educational practice  A friendly, interdisciplinary, and international research environment with dedicated colleagues at the Department of Special Needs Education  Enrolment in the faculty's structured PhD programme, with close supervision and support throughout the fellowship period  A workplace with good development and career opportunities  Salary NOK 550 800 – NOK 594 000 per annum depending on qualifications in a position as PhD Research fellow (position code 1017). From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund  Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement, in addition to Oslo’s family-friendly environment with its rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities  How to apply and what to include in your applicationThe application must include: Cover letter (1 page), including statement of motivation and research interests  A project description, including progress plan (5-7 pages) and a short summary of research gaps, research questions the candidate regards relevant to pursue within the topic of assessment. As the candidate will carry out research within the ABC123 part of  SpedAims, the project description is regarded more as documenting the candidate’s ability to develop research ideas, prove that the candidate understands the rationale of assessment within the response to intervention framework and apply both methodological and substantial skills in scientific writing, rather than a concrete plan for carrying out the research that will be carried out. Please see our guidelines CV (summarizing education, positions, and academic work)  Copies of educational certificates (academic transcripts only). Foreign applicants must attach an explanation of their university’s grading system  Documentation of English proficiency (for information on required documentation, see information on this webpage)  Master thesis  A complete list of publications and academic works  List of reference persons: 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail, and phone  number)  Incomplete applications will not be assessed.  The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system Jobbnorge. When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language). When evaluating the application, emphasis will be given to the project description and the applicant’s academic and personal prerequisites to carry out the project. Applicants may be called in for an interview. Formal regulationsPlease see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Research Fellowships, Regulations for the Act on universities and colleges chapter 3 (Norwegian) and Regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo. No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo. Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, 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 appointment may be shortened/given a more limited scope within the framework of the applicable guidelines on account of any previous employment in academic positions. The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results etc.