PhD Research Fellow in the field of Special Needs Education

Job description

Applicants are invited for a three to four-year full-time position as PhD Research Fellow in Special Needs Education, based at the Department of Special Needs Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Oslo.

We invite applications for doctoral projects within the broad field of counselling in special needs education. Counselling is a central component of special needs education and contributes to promoting participation, inclusion, learning, and well-being among children, young people, and adults with special educational needs. Research in this field encompasses collaboration among individuals with special educational needs, families, educators, and professionals across educational, health, and welfare services, and addresses relational, communicative, ethical, organizational, and evidence-informed aspects of counselling practice. 

For this position, we particularly encourage applications with a quantitative empirical orientation. Relevant projects may make use of large-scale survey data, administrative or register-based data, repeated cross-sectional or longitudinal designs, evaluation studies, or combinations of these. Applicants should demonstrate methodological rigour and propose statistical methods appropriate to the research questions and data. Mixed-methods, qualitative, participatory, design-based, or intervention components are also welcome where they strengthen the overall project. Relevant data sources include Ungdata, HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children), other large-scale survey data, and administrative or register-based data. For example, Ungdata provides opportunities to investigate changes over time in adolescents' school well-being, school belonging, teacher and peer relationships, psychosocial difficulties, and future educational expectations, and how these factors relate to support needs, counselling, early identification, and preventive work in schools and local services.

Relevant doctoral projects may address, but are not limited to: 

• Communication, interaction, and counselling processes in special needs education 
• Counselling to support inclusive education, participation, and equitable educational 
  opportunities
• Family – professional partnerships and parent counselling
• School well-being, school belonging, teacher and peer relationships, mental health, and 
  educational aspirations among children and adolescents
• The interplay between school experiences, psychosocial difficulties, social background, and 
  counselling-related support needs
• Interdisciplinary and interagency collaboration
• Counselling within schools, kindergartens, and the Educational and Psychological Counselling 
  Service (PPT)
• Professional judgement, ethical decision-making, and relational competence
• Implementation, evaluation, and improvement of counselling practices and support systems
• Digital and technology-supported counselling and supervision

We welcome innovative and methodologically rigorous projects that advance knowledge and practice in counselling within special needs education.  

The successful applicant will become part of an active and collaborative research environment and is expected to participate in one of the Department's research groups. 

The 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. 

Applicants must satisfy the requirements for admission to the faculty´s PhD program. This normally includes:

• Applicants must hold a Master’s degree or equivalent in education, special needs education, psychology or other fields of relevance for the announced position 
• 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)

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: 

• Is academically curious, proactive and able to work independently 
• Has good collaboration and communication skills, including the ability to collaborate and  be a part of a cross-disciplinary academic community 
• Is structured, reliable and result-oriented in their work 
• Has strong analytical and problem-solving skills 
• Has the ability to give and receive constructive feedback

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.

• 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
• A friendly, interdisciplinary, and international research environment with dedicated colleagues at the Department of Special Needs Education 
• A workplace with good development and career opportunities

The application must include:

• Cover letter, including statement of motivation and research interests
• A project description (written in English), including progress plan (5-7 pages). Please see our guidelines 
• CV (summarising 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’s 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 will be called in for an interview. 

Please 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.

Om arbeidsgiveren:

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.