PhD fellowship in social work with special focus on inclusion of children with autism

PhD fellowship in social work with special focus on inclusion of children with autism

At The Department of Sociology and Social Work at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities two PhD fellowships in Social Work with special focus on inclusion of children with autism are available. The fellowships are available from 1 February 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter. The PhD fellowship has a duration of three years.

Jobbeskrivelse
The two PhD positions are part of the project“Disabling Exclusion. Negotiated Practices of Social Welfare Targeting Families with Children with Disabilities” funded by The Independent Research Fund Denmark.

The project investigates what kind of knowledge, and discursive meaning on disability that is unfolded and negotiated during encounters between families with a child with Interrupted school attendance, school refusal, and Autism, or under observation for Autism and the Danish welfare system and how this shape the help given and the families’ well-being and opportunities for social participation. The aim of the project is to produce in-depth knowledge on how discourses on disability unfold and vary in the practice of frontline professionals, how they are negotiated between the frontline professional and families and how this affects the help given to these families. The project uses children with autism spectrum disorders as a paradigmatic case in combination with a mixed method approach.

The project is organized in two work packages and each work package includes a PhD project. Work package 1 investigates the negotiations of disability from the frontline professionals’ perspective and investigates how frontline workers define and understand disability. The emphasis is on how discourses of disability are unfolded and challenged during encounters with families and how these discourses explain variations in frontline practice. This work package is based on quantitative analysis of surveys with schoolteacher and social workers and qualitive interviews with frontline professionals. The Phd fellow will be responsible for part of the work package and associate professor Iben Nørup will serve as the main supervisor. A candidate with experience working with quantitative analysis and mixed methods is preferred.

Work package 2 investigates the topic from a family perspective. It analyzes how families and children with autism spectrum disorders understand, explain, and define the central needs and mechanisms producing social exclusion, or the opposite: well-being and chances of participation, and how their knowledge is included during encounters with frontline professionals. This work package is based on qualitative sensitive methods with children and families as well as observations in schools and of meetings with social workers, teachers and pedagogical teams in the schools. The Phd fellow will be responsible for part of the work package and associate professor Pia Ringø will serve as the main supervisor. A candidate with experience with qualitative methods preferably with children and/ or individuals with autism is preferred.

Applicants to both positions must speak and write fluent Danish due to the data collection and analysis which will be conducted in Danish.

Qualification requirements
Applicants to the PhD fellowship must hold a degree equivalent to a Danish Master's degree. Applicants enrolled at a Danish Master programme who expect to graduate before the date of appointment must forward statement from thesis supervisor, verified transcripts, a copy of thesis contract and documentation for the date of their final exam. Proficiency in Danish and English is required.

See more requirements at ourwebsite.

General information
The completion of the fellowship will be in accordance with the Ministerial Order on the PhD Programme at the Universities No 1039 of 27 August 2013(the PhD Order), and it is a prerequisite for allocation of a scholarship that enrolment as a PhD student at the Doctoral School of Social Sciencestakes place. According to the PhD Order, the PhD study comprises among other requirements: Participation in active research environments, including stays at other, mainly foreign, research institutions, private research enterprises etc.

Please visit the website of the doctoral school for further information on the PhD programme, application procedure, and admission requirements.

As part of the scholarship the candidate is expected to undertake some teaching and supervision obligations.

Application
The application must include the following:

• letter of motivation
• Application for enrollment
• diplomas confirming academic degrees(Master’s degree), including academic transcripts
• Curriculum vitae(CV)
• List of written work(optional)
• Co-author statement. If publications that have been written in cooperation with others are submitted, a declaration from each of the authors must be enclosed. The declaration must state the extent of the applicant's contribution to the total work and be signed by the authors.
• project proposal(approx. 5 pages) containing the research project title, an outline of the course of study and a description of the overall problem areas. The project proposal must be in English. Please mark the project proposal“work package 1” or“work package 2”. If applying for both positions, please include two separate project proposals in the same document(approx. 10 pages).
• Application for credit transfer if relevant.
• Sample of written work, e.g. master’s thesis(optional)
• Applicants WHO are planning to complete a doctoral thesis in English and who do not have English as a first language or WHO have not completed an English language-based Master's programme(or an equivalent educational achievement in English) shall provide documentation that they have passed one of the following official tests with the respective minimum score: IELTS(band score): 7, TOEFL(paper-based): 600, TOEFL(internet-based): 100. The language test must be no more than five years old at the time of the application.

The complete application including attachments shall be sent electronically by selecting the"apply online" function on AAU's job-portal https://www.stillinger.aau.dk/(no other online job portals that may have reposted the position).
Please note that zipped files are not supported by the recruitment system, please upload only Word or PDF files.

Assessment
The assessment of candidates for the position will be carried out by qualified experts.

Shortlisting will be applied. This means that after the application deadline, the head of the department, with the assistance of the hiring committee, will select the applicants to be assessed. All applicants will be informed whether they have been shortlisted for assessment or not.

When the hiring process is completed, a final rejection will be sent to the applicants who are not considered for the position.

Contact
Any enquiries about the position may be addressed to the PI Iben Nørup, 599408169, [email protected], Pia Ringø, 4599408106, [email protected] or Head of Department, Jakob Skjøtt-Larsen: 99407297

For general information about the application process etc., please contact Lene Møller on e-mail: [email protected] phone:+45 9940 9658

AAU wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background or belief.

The hiring process at Aalborg University may include a risk assessment as a tool to identify potential risks associated with new hires, ensuring the safety, compliance, and integrity of the workplace.

Løn og ansættelsesvilkår
The employment is in accordance with the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities(the Appointment Order) and the Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities. Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with the collective agreement between the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations and the state(AC collective agreement)(only in Danish) and circular concerning protocol on certain terms of employment of academic staff at universities(only in Danish).

Ansøgningsfrist
2024-12-19

Ref. nummer
13-24074

Afdeling
Sociology and Social Work