The teacher education department is looking for a PhD candidate for a research project focusing on factors in the learning environment that contribute to enhancing student wellbeing (or diminishing of stressors that could lead to lower wellbeing), without compromising the quality of learning or of graduates. Within this broad theme the PhD candidate would be able to emphasize their own interests in their research design. Collaboration with international researchers is a real possibility. The PhD candidate will become a member of the research school ICO (www.ico-education.nl/).
The PhD candidate will be a member of the research division higher education, contribute to meetings, and where possible cooperate within other research projects of the group.

- a master degree in educational science or another relevant field, preferable a research master
- demonstrable interest in, motivation and ambition for research
- a clear interest in collaborative research (team player)
- affinity with and knowledge of the Dutch Higher Education system
- experience with (or a strong motivation to become proficient in) quantitative as well as qualitative methods for data collection and analysis
- good ability to communicate verbally and in writing in English; basic understanding of Dutch would be an advantage
- good demonstrable academic writing and presentation skills.

Fixed-term contract: 48 months.

The University of Groningen offers a monthly salary starting from € 2,325,-- gross per month up to a maximum of € 2,972,-- for a full-time position (salary scale Dutch Universities). The position will be offered for an initial fixed term of one year. Upon a satisfactory evaluation, the position will be extended to a total of 4 years.

Starting date:1 March 2019

Application
You may apply for this position until 14 January 23:59h / before 15 January 2019 Dutch local time by means of the application form (click on "Apply" below on the advertisement on the university website).

Unsolicited marketing is not appreciated.

Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences

The University of Groningen (UG) is an innovative and research-driven institute in the Northern part of The Netherlands. It is an internationally oriented university with 31,000 students and 5,600 employees. Quality has been a top priority and consequently the University has a strong international reputation and maintains a firm position in the international university ranking lists.

The Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences of the UG excels in teaching and research in the fields of behaviour, thinking, learning and how people live together. We want to continue developing our well-founded theoretical and methodological knowledge domains: psychology, sociology, pedagogy, educational sciences and teaching methodology.

The Faculty aims for a leading position in studying and solving social issues and problems people encounter in everyday life. Our ambition is to develop and assess scientifically substantiated interventions, in consultation with social parties. We aim to develop the Faculty infrastructure for empirical research to a leading global level.

Teacher Education

Our department prepares pre-service teachers for secondary education, and supports lecturers’ professional development in the faculty. The research programme consists of three research foci; determinants of effective higher education is one of them. It focuses among others on research into the factors that influence student success and student wellbeing.