Vacant job

University of Gothenburg meets societal challenges with versatile knowledge. 58,000 students and 6,800 employees make the university a large and inspiring workplace. Strong research and attractive education attract researchers and students from all over the world. With new knowledge and new perspectives, the University of Gothenburg contributes to a better future.

For information about the doctoral education in pedagogy at the University of Gothenburg: https://www.gu.se/larande-ledarskap-halsa/vara-nya-forskarskolor-for-lararutbildare (https://www.gu.se/larande-ledarskap-halsa/vara-nya-forskarskolor-for-lararutbildare). For information about the Department of Education and Special Education: https://ips.gu.se/ (https://ips.gu.se/)

Subjects

The Department of Education and Special Education is now announcing three doctoral positions within the framework of the STEPS graduate school (see below) in the doctoral education subjects of pedagogy or educational work. See more information about the subjects: https://www.gu.se/larande-ledarskap-halsa/var-forskarutbildning (https://www.gu.se/larande-ledarskap-halsa/var-forskarutbildning)

Pedagogy is a subject at the doctoral level focusing on education, teaching, upbringing, socialization, knowledge formation, and learning. The subject of pedagogy has a special interest in the relationship between the individual and society and the conditions under which institutional circumstances operate and have operated over time. Within the subject of pedagogy, influencing processes and their significance for the relationship between structure and agency are examined, both within and outside the formal education system.

Educational work is a subject at the doctoral level that addresses various perspectives and aspects of work within educational institutions in society. Research in educational work addresses issues relevant to educational practices, professions, and activities. This includes conditions for teachers' and students' work with teaching and learning, both in practice and in relation to policy and educational reforms.

Tasks

Graduate School STEPS

The doctoral positions are funded by the Swedish Research Council, Dnr: 2025–07018, Strengthening Teacher Education for Equitable Practice in Swedish Schools (Graduate School STEPS). The graduate school is coordinated by the University of Gothenburg in collaboration with Uppsala University and Stockholm University.

The STEPS graduate school has the overarching aim of offering future teacher educators a doctoral education based on current research on equity, school segregation, and the school's societal mission. Through course development, practice-oriented initiatives, and close collaboration with active teachers, doctoral students gain tools to understand and address issues of how schools can become more equitable, inclusive, and better fulfill their compensatory mission. STEPS connects research and pedagogical practice and ensures that future teacher educators are both academically grounded and relevant to the reality of schools. In the long term, STEPS aims to develop and support a new generation of teachers who can translate this knowledge into practice and create inclusive, just, and beneficial learning environments in Swedish schools.

Three research areas will be focused on at the Department of Education and Special Education at the University of Gothenburg.

• Project 1 investigates the factors driving unequal teacher mobility and sorting, as well as its organizational consequences and impact on student outcomes over the past three decades.
• Project 2 examines how social sorting in school student composition affects students' educational transitions and their long-term labor market outcomes. It analyzes how these transitions shape career paths, employment status, and income later in life.
• Project 3 aims to explore how children, parents/caregivers, teachers, and principals experience and navigate the segregated educational landscape. It investigates their perspectives on school choice, teaching, and leadership practices, as well as the factors they perceive as enabling or limiting educational opportunities.

Doctoral candidates will connect to the research environments FUR and YPW, the research program SSIS. FUR focuses on classic educational questions within three main areas using large-scale quantitative data: individual conditions for education, the organization and resources of education, and the outcomes of education at both individual and system levels. YPW focuses on issues related to children's and young people's learning, upbringing conditions, and everyday life from a qualitative methodological approach. These will constitute the primary research environments for STEPS doctoral students' research activities.

In addition to engaging in doctoral education with the aim of completing it within the designated time, some service (max 20%) may occur within education, research, and administration according to special provisions in the regulation. The employment will then be extended by the corresponding time. The studies should be conducted within the doctoral education subject of pedagogy or educational work.

Application

For the complete advertisement and application, please visit: University of Gothenburg | Three doctoral positions in pedagogy/educational work within the STEPS graduate school (https://www.gu.se/larande-ledarskap-halsa/vara-nya-forskarskolor-for-lararutbildare)

The application must be received no later than: 2026-03-16

The university actively works for a work environment with equal conditions and values the qualities that diversity brings to the organization.

The university applies individual salary setting.

According to the regulations of the National Archives, the university is obliged to store application documents for two years after the appointment decision. If you, as an applicant for a position, specifically request the return of your documents, they will be returned after the two years have passed; otherwise, they will be disposed of.

To staffing and recruitment companies and to you as a seller: The University of Gothenburg engages a contracted advertising agency in connection with the recruitment of staff. We kindly but firmly request no direct contact with staffing and recruitment companies or sellers of job advertisements.