Postdoctoral position (3 years) with a focus on educational measurement - Befattningen är under tillsättning eller redan tillsatt, och det är inte längre möjligt att lämna in en ansökan

The Department of Applied Educational Science is looking for a postdoctoral research fellow with an interest in and documented scientific competence of relevance for Educational Measurement. The postdoc researcher is expected to focus on quality issues (validity and reliability) concerning large-scale testing or issues of relevance for educational measurement in general. The application deadline is 2023-03-31.

Project description
In the subject of Educational Measurement, research on reliability and validity issues related to educational measurement is in focus. This can concern the quality of instruments such as tests, questionnaires or other types of scales and the interpretations and uses, or consequences of such instruments. It can also concern how individual differences influence test and school performances as well as behavior more generally. Both the Swedish Scholastic Assessment Test, the SweSAT, and National tests in Mathematics and Science are developed at the department of Applied Educational Science, and the postdoctoral fellow will preferably work with data linked to any of these tests, but other lines of research connected to educational- and performance measurements are possible.

Job description
An appointment as a postdoctoral research fellow aims to give the employee an opportunity to develop independence as a researcher and to create conditions for further qualifications. The postdoctoral fellow's main task will be to conduct research. If needed, the postdoctoral fellow is expected to teach at basic, advanced, and possibly doctoral levels.

The details of the appointment will be dependent on the specific interest and competencies of the applicant and will be determined and implemented in collaboration with a postdoc supervisor.

Qualification requirements
To be appointed under the postdoctoral agreement, the postdoctoral fellow is required to have completed a doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree. This qualification requirement must be fulfilled no later than at the time of the appointment decision.

To be appointed under the postdoctoral agreement, priority should be given to candidates who completed their doctoral degree, according to what is stipulated in the paragraph above, no later than three years prior. If there are special reasons, candidates who completed their doctoral degree prior to that may also be eligible.

The candidate is required to have a Ph.D. degree in a relevant area, and expertise in quantitative research design and statistical analyses, preferably in the field of education.

In ranking qualified applicants, special consideration will be given to academic and personal qualifications, the proposed research plan, and previous documented research experience in related areas. Experience from working with large-scale data is a merit, as the experience of research on achievement testing, educational psychology and/or psychometrics. The position requires that the applicant is proficient in academic written and spoken English.

Employment conditions
The appointment is a full-time, fixed-term position for three years in accordance with the terms of contract for fixed-term employment as a postdoctoral researcher. The position consists of at least 80 percent research and up to 20 percent teaching. The successful candidate shall be based at the department and take an active part in its activities. Employment commences by agreement.

Application
The application is made through our e-recruitment system and must contain a personal letter that summarizes the applicant's qualifications, competencies and interest in the position, a complete CV and list of publications, and a maximum of three selected publications (including the Ph.D. thesis). Also, the applicant is expected to attach a brief research plan (no more than three pages) describing a proposed postdoc research project relevant to the position. Application deadline is 2023-03-31.

About us
The Department of Applied Educational Science has approximately 100 employees working in teaching and research as well as commission services with a focus on schools and the education system in particular. The department has a broad profile that rests on an interdisciplinary and practical foundation. For more information about the institution's activities, see: https://www.umu.se/en/department-of-applied-educational-science/

The current position is placed in the section of the department doing research and development in the area of educational measurement, with a particular focus on achievement testing: https://www.umu.se/en/research/groups/measurement-in-behavioral-sciences-/