EdEthics Director of Research

The Stanford Graduate School of Education (GSE) seeks a full-time Director of Research to help set, implement, and oversee EdEthics’ philosophical, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research about ethical challenges in education, ethical learning and development, and the impact of EdEthics’ work on individuals, groups, and organizations.

This position is hybrid. Interested applicants should include a resume and cover letter describing why they are interested in this position at this stage of their career.Note: This is a 1-year fixed term position that may be renewed subject to funding and operational need.

Who We Are:

The Stanford University Graduate School of Education (GSE) is a top-ranked school of education, known for its prestigious faculty, rigorous graduate degree programs, and its impact on the quality of education across the world. The GSE is committed to developing leaders in education research, practice, and policy. Our community includes over 60 faculty, 400 students, 200 staff, 14,000 alumni and countless people from the local and global communities we work with and impact.

EdEthics is led by Meira Levinson, Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. EdEthics supports educators and policymakers to ask important questions about the ethical dimensions of their work, develops new language to talk about educational ethics, and provides frameworks for developing a philosophically rigorous, pragmatically useful theory of educational justice. EdEthics works with K-12 practitioners and school districts, higher education, policymakers, and scholars in a range of initiatives and networks. EdEthics also develops and publishes normative case studies, academic research, digital resources, and other resources in various mediums. Current projects include online and in-person offerings to help teachers and educational leaders address ethical dilemmas and values in education, research on intellectual humility, and supporting the teaching of the legacies of slavery and navigating controversial conversations in the classroom. More information is available on justiceinschools.org.

POSITION SUMMARY

Reporting to Faculty Director Meira Levinson and to the Executive Director, the Director of Research will work collaboratively with the Faculty Director to set, implement, and oversee EdEthics’ research agenda. This includes philosophical, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research about ethical challenges in education, people’s and institutions’/systems’ ethical learning and development, and the impact of EdEthics’ work on individuals, groups, and organizations.

CORE DUTIES

• Lead IRB preparation, submission, approval, and compliance
• Design and maintain EdEthics’ complex research instrument and data infrastructure to ensure safety, privacy, integrity, scalability; and usability
• Write, edit, and disseminate materials at every stage of the research funding lifecycle, from letters of inquiry and grant applications through research publications and final reports
• Oversee and directly participate in data collection, cleaning, and analysis activities, including through supporting, training, and troubleshooting undergraduate and graduate RAs, postdoctoral fellows, EdEthics staff, and partner researchers
• Manage the EdEthics research team and relevant budgets
• Work with research and practice partners across multiple disciplines, methodologies, and professional settings (e.g. college and university, K-12 schools and districts, research shops, non-profits)
• Work collaboratively with other EdEthics staff and with partner organizations to integrate research projects and findings into EdEthics’ partnership, policy, and teaching and learning initiatives
• Represent EdEthics’ research agenda and findings to multiple audiences orally and in writing, including to educators, administrators, parents, students, and policy makers and at both academic and professional conferences
• Mentor postdoctoral fellows, doctoral and masters students, and undergraduate RAs
• Identify strategic research and funding opportunities and build EdEthics’ relationships with program officers and other research funders
• Design, analyze, and interpret research to inform EdEthics’ strategic planning and development
• Participate in regular EdEthics leadership team meetings
• Co-design and help bring to fruition EdEthics conferences, research workshops, seminars, and fellowship initiatives

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Education & Experience

Education: PhD in education, psychology, learning sciences, sociology, political science, data science, philosophy, public policy, or related field.

At least three years post-PhD experience as PI or co-PI conducting qualitative, quantitative, and/or mixed-methods research studies from conception through execution and analysis to publication

Experience as a member or leader of multidisciplinary and/or mixed-methods research teams

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Familiarity with core concepts in moral, ethical, and/or political philosophy and/or moral psychology
• Interest in integrating normative and empirical inquiry
• Expertise in an array of qualitative and/or quantitative research methods that enable rigorous investigation of many different kinds of research questions
• Demonstrated skill and comfort with qualitative and/or quantitative digital research tools and technologies such as SPSS, Atlas.ti, Qualtrics, and LLMs
• Demonstrated record of first-authored scholarly publications in high-quality research journals
• Demonstrated ability to write (or lead teams in writing) successful research grant applications to external funders at a $250,000 level and above
• Expertise working with IRB and ensuring ethical data collection, management, analysis, reporting, and storage practices
• Excellent project management and organizational skills; able to set and adhere to timelines across multiple projects, give attention to detail, take initiative, and manage ambiguity well.
• Excellent interpersonal skills; able to work both independently and collaboratively with team members across academic disciplines.
• Demonstrated communication skills, both oral and written, with a wide range of audiences in both formal and informal settings

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience as a K-12 teacher or working with K-12 teachers, e.g. through conducting teacher professional development
• Experience working with external partners in education (e.g. K-12 schools or districts, institutions of higher education, departments of education, education policy shops, or educational non-profits) in co-designing and implementing research, including experience leading or participating in research-practice partnerships