The University of Groningen is a research university with a global outlook, deeply rooted in Groningen, City of Talent. Quality has had top priority for four hundred years, and with success: the University is currently in or around the top 100 on several influential ranking lists.

The Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences excels in teaching and research in the fields of human behaviour, thinking, learning, and how people live together. We work on societal issues and problems that people experience in daily life. Central to this is individual and societal resilience and how to increase this. To this end, we focus on the topics of migration, the environment and climate, health, upbringing and education, the protection of vulnerable minorities, and sustainable partnerships.

Our research and teaching has a strong foundation in the scientific disciplines of educational sciences, pedagogical sciences, psychology, sociology, and teacher education. The Faculty offers four Bachelor’s degree programmes and over 20 Master’s tracks, including the two-year Research Master’s in Behavioural and Social Sciences. The Faculty also hosts the university teacher education programme.

Over 4,500 students and over 800 staff members study and work at the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences.

For more information about the Faculty please check the link https://www.rug.nl/gmw/

Part of this Faculty is the Department of Pedagogical and Educational Sciences. This Department offers Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes in both Dutch and English, and supervises internal and external PhD students.

The unit Inclusive and Special Needs Education
The unit Inclusive and Special Needs Education is together with the unit Child and Family Welfare responsible for the research and teaching within the discipline of the ‘Orthopedagogiek’. Both units are part of the Department of Pedagogical and Educational Sciences.

The aim of the unit Inclusive and Special Needs Education is to improve the understanding, needs-based support, and improvement of the development in (young) children/students, youngsters and adults with special needs on a theoretical and applied level. Our research is framed within a transactional, developmental and system-oriented perspective, thereby focusing on the interaction between individuals and their environment. It includes different levels like child/students, adult, family, system, society and policy.

Participation and inclusion of individuals with challenging needs is the point of departure of our expertise group. We focus on different target groups in our research, for example students with special educational needs (e.g., specific learning problems and/or social-emotional and behavioral problems), (young) children/students with developmental problems, individuals with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities and people with congenital and acquired deafblindness. We have strong and long-lasting collaborations with societal and clinical partners nationally and internationally and try to involve youth and their families as well as professionals in our efforts as much as possible by taking a participatory approach.

The members of the unit are involved in different teaching activities regarding the bachelor and master programs. On a Bachelor’s level (Dutch), we provide courses on a wide range of topics that are specific for the unit of Inclusive and Special Needs Education, including a Clinical Minor ‘Orthopedagogiek’. On a master level, we are especially involved in the Mastertrack Special Needs Education (Dutch). We also participate in the faculty wide Research Master track (English).

For the current position, we are looking for a full professor with a focal area aiming at persistent problems in learning and development, more specifically on themes related to specific learning disorders and support programs for children and youngsters (permanently) at-risk or their teachers/caregivers in and outside schools.

We are looking for a full professor who will strengthen the cooperation between the research areas of school related problems in learning and development on the one hand side and of the support of children, adolescence and adults with multiple (intellectual, visual, auditory, motor) disabilities on the other hand side. We value a colleague who can strengthen and complement our current successful research projects and courses, and who has a clear link to educational practice and (youth) care and support services. We wish to strengthen the quality of our scientific output and the (international) visibility of our researchers.

The professor’s proficiency will complement and strengthen the expertise of the current staff members at the Nieuwenhuis Research Institute. At the same time, connections with other programs are encouraged, as well as the ability to conduct research and write grants with colleagues both within and beyond the research institute.

• a Master's degree and doctorate in the behavioral, educational and/or social Sciences
• has developed their own line of research within the domain of persistent problems in learning and development
• an excellent research reputation, as demonstrated by scientific publications in international peer-reviewed journals that are relevant to the profile of the chair
• has experience in successfully applying for research funding from national and/or international funding bodies
• is experienced with successfully supervising PhD students
• is highly experienced in academic teaching (lectures, work groups, supervision thesis)
• in possession of the University Teaching Qualification (BKO) certificate or the willingness to obtain one
• excellent oral- and writing skills in English and Dutch (or dedicated to learn Dutch within 1 year)
• excellent social- and communication skills
• important competences are vision, binding leadership, persuasiveness and entrepreneurship.

We offer you in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

- depending on qualifications and work experience, a salary of € 6,099 to a maximum of € 8,881 (salary scale H2) gross per month for a full-time position
- a holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income an 8.3% end-of-the-year allowance
- attractive secondary and market terms of employment
- the position is classified in accordance with the University Job Classification (UFO) system; the UFO profile is Full Professor 2
- an appointment on a permanent base.

The work takes place in Groningen and we expect a willingness from the candidate to come to live near the work site.

Interested parties can request a copy of the structure report before 23 December 2022 or after 9 January 2023, by emailing faculteitsbestuur.gmw@rug.nl

The appointee will ideally commence as soon as possible

For more detailed information about working conditions and working for the University of Groningen, please check: https://www.rug.nl/about-us/work-with-us/