Offer Description
The position
At the Department of Education (ILP), within the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education (HSL), there is a vacant position in subject didactics (history didactics, religious education didactics, or social studies didactics) focusing on Sámi and/or Kven topics in schools and teacher education. Applicants must specify their academic focus in the application.
The objective of the position is to complete research training to the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position. The PhD fellow position is for a period of three years and full time studies with the possibility of an extension of the appointment period. If the doctoral dissertation is submitted for appraisal within 3 years or within 3.5 years, the PhD candidate is qualified for a completion grant for either 12 or 6 months. The completion grant should be used to further qualification measures such as courses in teaching in higher education, lecturing and other relevant work at the faculty. More information about the completion grant scheme can be found here.
The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.
About the Topic and Affiliation with Research Group
The position is affiliated with the research group Subject Didactics for the Humanities in the High North (FAHUMNO). The research group conducts broad research within the humanities and social sciences, with a particular focus on Sámi and Kven topics. This ties into a broader theme concerning Indigenous peoples and national minorities in schools and teacher education.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report (Stortinget 2023, pp. 614, 652) highlighted that there is still a significant knowledge gap about Sámi and Kven peoples in Norwegian society. This need pertains to a general understanding of Sámi and Kven peoples, their culture and history, as well as their democratic opportunities and rights, based on the Norwegian state's obligations under international conventions on Indigenous peoples and national minorities. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission assigns a significant responsibility to the school and education system in addressing this.
The PhD candidate is expected to contribute to advancing knowledge related to perspectives on Indigenous peoples and national minorities in schools and teacher education, with a particular focus on Sámi and Kven topics. The project is expected to contribute to the development of subject didactic perspectives for relevant subjects in schools and teacher education.
Research Area of the Position
The PhD position is particularly intended to explore how teachers engage with topics related to Sámi (indigenous peoples) and/or Kvens (national minorities) as part of their practical and overarching professional competence. The project may be connected to primary schools, secondary schools, and/or teacher education.
Several questions and approaches are relevant for the position. Examples of potential research questions include:
- How are structural frameworks and practical teaching in social studies designed to support teachers' competence related to topics on Sámi and national minorities?
- How do teachers articulate their own competence and their needs for professional development in light of their practice?
- How do teachers and/or teacher educators evaluate schools' strategies and their own competence as part of the reconciliation efforts emphasised by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission?
The PhD project can be conducted using various research designs. Textual/document analysis, as well as other qualitative and quantitative methods, may be applied.
Theoretical perspectives may vary across disciplines. We are open to theoretical approaches that differ between history didactics, religion education didactics, and social studies didactics, or that adopt an interdisciplinary orientation. Decolonial perspectives and/or perspectives related to Indigenous education are relevant.
Following the introduction of the lates curriculum reform (LK20) and the strengthening of Sámi topics in the national curriculum, there is an increasing need for research that examines how schools understand, practice, and convey Sámi knowledge and perspectives.
In the application and project description, applicants are encouraged to specify their academic orientation (history didactics, religion education didactics, or social studies didactics) or argue for an interdisciplinary approach to the project.
The applicants must present a description outlining the academic basis of the PhD project. The project description must be 3-5 pages long, literature references included. It must include a description of the topic, research question(s) and a reasoning of the choices. It should also indicate the methodologies to be used. The final project description will be developed in cooperation with the supervisor. Template for project description can be found here.
Contact
For further information about the position, please contact Professor and Research Group Leader FAHUMNO Bengt-Ove Andreassen:
- telephone: +47 77660469
- email: bengt.ove.andreassen@uit.no
Qualifications
Required qualifications:
- A master's degree in history, study of religion, sociology, political science, or another relevant field. Qualification with a master's degree is required before commencement in the position. You may still apply if you are in the final stages of the master's degree, but the master's thesis must be submitted for evaluation within the application deadline. You must submit the thesis and transcript of grades for the master's degree with your application.
- Good knowledge in English. Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.
Desired qualifications:
- Approved teacher education (primary school teacher education, secondary school teacher education for years 8–13, or Practical Pedagogical Education [PPU]) with a subject didactics focus in the master's subject.
- Documented knowledge of Indigenous peoples and national minorities, particularly Sámi and Kven topics.
- Proficiency in Sámi and/or Kven (Finnish) language.
In the assessment, the emphasis is on the applicant's potential to complete a research education based on the master's thesis or equivalent, and any other scientific work. The project description will also be considered. In addition, professional experience and other experience of significance for the completion of the doctoral programme will be taken into consideration.
We will also emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position. We are looking for candidates who:
- Have good collaboration skills
- Have good communication and interaction with colleagues and students
- Wants to contribute to a good working environment
As many people as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.
Admission to the PhD programme
For employment in the PhD position, you must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education and participate in organized doctoral studies within the employment period.
Admission normally requires:
- A bachelor's degree of 180 ECTS and a master's degree of 120 ECTS, or an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS.
- A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 30 ECTS for a master's degree of 120 ECTS.
- A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 20 ECTS for an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS.
All applicants should have a grade point average of B (or equivalent) on their master's degree in order to be admitted to the PhD programme. The grade point average also applies to 300 ECTS points integrated five-year master's degrees, in which all courses are to be included in the grade point average. A more detailed description of admission requirements can be found here.
If you are employed in the position, you will be provisionally admitted to the PhD programme. Application for final admission must be submitted no later than two months after taking up the position.
Applicants with a foreign education will be subjected to an evaluation of whether the educational background is equal to Norwegian higher education, following national guidelines from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills. Depending on which country the education is from, one or two additional years of university education may be required to fulfil admission requirements, e.g. a 4-year bachelor's degree and a 2-year master's degree. UiT normally accepts higher education from countries that are part of the Lisbon Recognition Convention.
Inclusion and diversity
UiT The Arctic University of Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity are a strength, and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.
If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite at least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics.
We offer
- Involvement in an interesting research project
- Good career opportunities
- A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues
- Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement
- Pension scheme through the state pension fund
- PhD Fellows are normally given a salary of 550 800 NOK/year with a 3% yearly increase
- Opportunity to apply for a scholarship for an extended research stay abroad
Norwegian health policy aims to ensure that everyone, irrespective of their personal finances and where they live, has access to good health and care services of equal standard. As an employee you will become member of the National Insurance Scheme which also include health care services.
More practical information about working and living in Norway can be found here: https://uit.no/staffmobility
Application
Please note that the application will only be assessed based on the information submitted by the application deadline via Jobbnorge. It is therefore important that you include all necessary documents demonstrating your qualifications for the position.
Your application must include:
- Cover letter explaining your motivation and research interests. Applicants must specify their academic focus in the application.
- CV (providing a complete overview of education, supervised practice, and work experience)
- Official diplomas for Bachelor's and Master's degree in the original language
- Official transcripts of grades/academic record for Bachelor's and Master's degree in the original language
- Official translation of diplomas and transcripts of records (ToR) to English or a Scandinavian language, if applicable
- Explanation of the grading system for foreign education (Diploma Supplement if available)
- Documentation of English proficiency
- References with contact information
- Master's thesis, and any other academic works
- Project description (3-5 pages)
Qualification with a master's degree is required before commencement in the position. You may still apply if you are in the final stages of the master's degree, but the master's thesis must be submitted for evaluation within the application deadline. You must submit the thesis and transcript of grades for the master's degree with your application.
All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. If English proficiency is not documented in the application, it must be documented before starting in the position.
Assessment
The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee's mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants' qualifications based on the written material presented by the applicants, and the detailed description draw up for the position. A copy of the assessment report will be sent to all applicants.
The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview should among other things, aim to clarify the applicant's motivation and personal suitability for the position.
General information
The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants.
Remuneration for the position of PhD Fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1017. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted. You will become a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, which gives you many benefits in addition to a lifelong pension: You may be entitled to financial support if you become ill or disabled, your family may be entitled to financial support when you die, you become insured against occupational injury or occupational disease, and you can get good terms on a mortgage. Read more about your employee benefits at: spk.no.
A shorter period of appointment may be decided when the PhD Fellow has already completed parts of their research training programme or when the appointment is based on a previous qualifying position PhD Fellow, research assistant, or the like in such a way that the total time used for research training amounts to three years.
We process personal data given in an application or CV in accordance with the Personal Data Act (Offentleglova). According to the Personal Data Act information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure. You will receive advance notification in the event of such publication, if you have requested non-disclosure.
In case of discrepancies between the Norwegian and the English version of this description, the Norwegian version takes precedence.
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