Sweden Uppsala University PhD position in Physics Education Research

June 25, 2008

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Uppsala University hereby invites applications for aPhD position in Physics Education Research working in Higher Education
at the Department of Physics and Materials Science. Starting date 1 September 2008
The Physics Education Research Group is an integral part of the Department of Physics and Materials Science. The research focus is on interplays between the experience of student learning and the learning environment. This includes the form and content of university physics curricula and teaching. The conceptual and theoretical framing draw on methodology that is typically anchored in attributes such as social identity, epistemology, metacognition, language, gender, visualization, simulation, culture and worldview. More detail may be found on our home page http://www.fysik.uu.se/didaktik/ .

The retention and attrition of students (trajectories of participation), particularly in the area of study choices, has long been an important concern in higher education, particularly in the area of technology and science. Our interest in this area focuses on education programmes that have significant physics content. Here, to effectively address the ‘trajectory concern’ insights into why students are choosing a study direction and why they are choosing to leave such studies are needed. Such insights could then effectively inform related curriculum development, teacher practice, and the transformation of the educational environment.

The successful PhD applicant will undertake research work that focuses on modeling a better understanding of participation (in relation to study choices) in physics and engineering education in Sweden. The methodology will principally, but not exclusively, be qualitative in nature and Discourse Analysis will form an important part of the work. Consequently excellent language skills in both Swedish and English are essential.

If you are interested, you are welcome to send your application including a statement of research interest, a CV, copies of exams, degrees and grades, a copy of your Master thesis (or a draft thereof), published articles or other relevant material (if applicable) to the address below. Letter(s) of recommendation may be included.

The PhD position is for four years, extendable to a maximum of five years including department duties at a level of at most 20% (typically teaching). Further information: http://www.physics.uu.se/education/gradU/

Uppsala University is striving to achieve a more even gender balance and women are especially encouraged to apply.

For more information, please contact: Staffan Andersson, Staffan.Andersson@fysik.uu.se tel +46-(0)18-471352. Union representatives are: Anders Grundström, SACO-rådet, tel +46 18-471 5380, Carin Söderhäll, OFR-S/ST, tel +46 18-471 1996, Stefan Djurström, SEKO, tel +46 18-471 3315.

The application should be sent to: Registrator, UFV-PA 2008/1731, Uppsala universitet, Box 256, 751 05 UPPSALA, Sweden; fax +46-(0)18-471 2000 or e-mail: registrator@uu.se . Deadline: 4 August, 2008. An application by fax or e-mail must be followed by a letter containing the original documents, not later than one week after application deadline.

Scholarship Tags: EDUCATION, PhD, Physics, Position, research, Sweden, University, Uppsala