3 fellowships attached to the PhD program: Educational Sciences for Teacher Education | Νορβηγία

PhD Fellowship position in the field of vocational education

The Department of Vocational Teacher Education announces up to 3 fellowships attached to the PhD program: Educational Sciences for Teacher Education, in the Faculty of Education and International Studies.

The positions may also be linked to projects at the newly established Center for vocational education, training and research.

The Faculty's strategic goal is to become a leader in the field of teacher education. Within the Department of Vocational Teacher Education, this means pursuing new research subjects on vocational trades and vocational education; relationships between education at school and workplace based learning, as well as practice-led knowledge development and research.

We seek original, empirical and theoretical projects of high quality.

The positions will be based at the Department of Vocational Teacher Education at Campus Kjeller.

Area of research
The PhD fellows will develop projects or subprojects related to one of the department’s target areas:

1. Quality in professional practice and vocational training

This area focuses on quality in vocational education in schools, businesses and the public sector. The research will help to illuminate and develop quality and flexibility in professional practice and vocational education, from the perspectives of both individuals and future industry stakeholders. Analyses of the competence needs for the labour force, professional practice and work processes should be considered as a primary focus, and should form the basis for content and working methods in vocational education. Vocational didactics, as a tool in the development of vocational training and occupational differentiation, is central to the development of quality in vocational education. Other areas that may be considered are changes in occupation and the need for vocational skills in different professions, including for example key skills and/or generic skills. 

2. Relevant competence in vocational teacher education

This area focuses on the qualification of vocational teachers in vocational teacher education (YFL and PPUY). Research in this area will help to highlight and develop quality and flexibility in both vocational education and in vocational teacher education, from the perspectives of both individuals and future industry stakeholders. Key research themes here are, for example, changes in vocational skills, key skills and/or generic skills. The relationship between quality in vocational education and quality in vocational teacher education is pivotal, especially the relationship between the professionalization of vocational education (including professional didactics), professional relevance and professional practice. 

3. Technology in vocational training, vocational education and vocational teacher education

This area focuses on the development of technological competence, digitalization, automation, robotization, and simulation, as well as relationships between technology and learning in different vocations and professions. What implications might these changes have for vocational education in upper secondary school and for vocational teacher education? Research on the development of learning technologies, changes in both learning processes and the roles of teachers, as well as online support for teaching and guidance in teacher education is also relevant. 

4. Diversity and inclusion in vocational training and vocational education

This area focuses on the challenges associated with diversity issues, including the relationship between specially facilitated teaching and education, dropout rates and motivation, development of alternative learning arenas, training practice and training candidature schemes, the teaching of students with Norwegian as a second language. In this area of focus it may also be appropriate to develop projects related to the management of diversity and inclusionary practices in relation to gender, ethnicity, functional capacity, etc. Research questions related to vocational students' daily school lives, and the relationship between youth and vocational identities in different learning situations are also relevant. 

5. Lifelong learning

Learning through the lifetime and validation of real-world skills is an important research field. The field is linked to workplace learning, lifelong learning, requalification, experiential competence and methods of assessment, dual models in adult learning, migration and qualification of refugees for the Norwegian workforce.

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