Ph.D. fellowship position related to children's and young people's everyday life in an interprofessional perspective

The Faculty of Education and International Studies announces one Ph.D. scholarship position affiliated with the research group CHILDLIFE at the Department of Early Childhood Education.

“The Lives of Children and Professional Practice” (CHILDLIFE) is one of the Faculty's excellent academic environments and has members affiliated with various faculties at Oslo Metropolitan University. For several years, CHILDLIFE has conducted research and developed education focused on children’s and young people's upbringing, learning and participation in a welfare state context. Teachers in early childhood settings (kindergarten) and primary school are in a special position among those who work with children/young people as their primary task, but they must also collaborate with other institutions and professionals, e.g. child welfare and health services (ref. the Kindergarten Act, sections 19–22 and the Education Act, section 15). CHILDLIFE's research portfolio includes the exploration of how societal changes such as increased educational and qualification requirements affect, and are affected by, the everyday lives of children and families.

Area of research

We are looking for original empirical and theoretical projects of high quality. In this announcement, we are specifically looking for projects that contribute to the development of knowledge about competency related to children’s upbringing and education. Formal competency at the master's level is in demand in various professions that work directly or indirectly with children and young people. A possible project may therefore be to investigate how teachers who have a master's degree and work
in early childhood settings (kindergarten) apply their knowledge and how it benefits the
kindergarten. Other possible projects may be to investigate the importance of interprofessional competency, or kindergarten teachers’ collaboration with other professions and/or how kindergarten teachers' competency may impact such work.

The Ph.D. fellowship position is a 100% position for three years, available from 01.09.2021. The successful applicant should have the goal to complete the Ph.D. program within this time frame and receive a Ph.D.

Applicants must submit a Ph.D. project description with the application based on the template available here. The Ph.D. project description must be in English or a Scandinavian language. Potential applicants are asked to get in touch with the contact person for the overall project for additional information about the project and input on the planned individual project description.

For advice on how to develop a good project description, applicants are encouraged to sign up for a digital project description seminar that the faculty offers December 16th, from 3 pm to 4:30 pm, at Zoom Registration via this link: https://nettskjema.no/a/174724, registration deadline is December 14th. Registrered participants will receive the link to Zoom in email prior to the seminar.

Required qualifications and terms:

• Successful applicants must have completed a master’s degree (equivalent to 120 credits) with a grade B or better, and in addition have a background in teacher education or other relevant education at a comparable level. For more information, see Admission requirements. Foreign diplomas must be translated into English by the degree-conferring institution. Education taken abroad should be recognised in advance by NOKUT, and an authorized copy of the letter of recognition should be enclosed.
• Admission to the Ph.D. programme in Educational Sciences for Teacher Education is a
prerequisite.
• Successful applicants must be fluent in a Scandinavian language, and have excellent written and oral communication skills in English.

When assessing and ranking the qualified applicants, emphasis will be placed on:

• The scientific quality of the Ph.D. project description, including originality and potential
• The Ph.D. project's feasibility within the standard period (three years)
• The relevance of the Ph.D. project description to the overall project to which the Ph.D.
proposal is linked (cf. the overview above)
• Knowledge of kindergarten teacher education and the activities in kindergartens
• Attached scientific work
• Other relevant publications
• Experience from previous research activities and project participation
• Teaching experience at the college and university level can be an asset
• Personal qualities that can contribute positively to the working environment

Desired qualifications:

• Motivation and potential in the field of research
• Personal qualities that, among other things, show perseverance and the ability to complete tasks
• The ability to work independently and in collaboration with others, as well as the ability to be innovative and creative
• The ability to work systematically and under pressure

Oslo Metropolitan University strives to ensure that our employees reflect the diversity of the population of the region. We work continuously to further develop Oslo Metropolitan University as an inclusive workplace, and to adapt the workplace if required. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates, also those who have experienced periods without work, education or training.

We offer:

• an exciting job opportunity at Norway’s third largest university
• participation in a dynamic and diverse academic community
• participation in an established doctoral program and a research group relevant to the Ph.D. project
• a dynamic workplace
• loan and pension arrangements with the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• good employee welfare arrangements

Further information:

For further information about the position, please contact:
• Head of Studies, Inger Marie Lindboe, + 47 954 75 435
• Leader of CHILDLIFE, Professor Anne Greve, + 47 959 90 942

The salary for the Ph.D. fellowship position is in accordance with the pay scale for Norwegian state employees, job title and position code. PhD and position code 1017. State salary wage scale 54, NOK 482 200,- per year.

Expert evaluation:

Applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. All applications will be reviewed by the faculty before the application papers are forwarded to the expert committee. Applications from applicants who are not qualified, will not be forwarded for assessment.

The following documents must be uploaded with the application by the deadline:

• CV, references and all pages of all certificates/diplomas. The certificates/diplomas must include ECTS grades (A–F). Foreign diplomas must be translated into English by the degreeconferring institution. Education taken abroad should be recognised in advance by NOKUT, and an authorized copy of the letter of recognition should be enclosed.
• Ph.D. project description: maximum of 10 pages. The Ph.D. project description must be written in English or a Scandinavian language.
• Master's degree/second degree thesis (and any other scholarly work that the expert
committee should take into consideration)
• List of publications, if relevant

Original documents must be presented in connection with an interview.

Oslo Metropolitan University inspects documents in order to give all candidates a proper evaluation and ensure fair competition.

If you have documents that cannot be uploaded electronically, please contact hbakkeli@oslomet.no

Please note that incomplete applications will not be considered. The application must state your reasons for applying and provide reasons for why you are particularly qualified for this Ph.D. fellowship position.

Practical information about relocation to Oslo and living in Norway

In order to apply for the position, please apply electronically by clicking the button at the bottom of the page.