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Postdoctoral Fellow at the Faculty of Education, Arts and Sports

Deadline: 23.08.2020

Western Norway University of Applied Sciences

With about 16,000 students, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences is one of the largest higher education institutions in Norway. A broad range of academic programmes are offered at Bachelor, Master and PhD levels, spread out on five campuses Førde, Sogndal, Bergen, Stord og Haugesund.


Our ambition is to build stronger and more solid academic and research environments that will interact nationally and internationally. The aim is to become a recognized actor on the international higher education arena. Increased international cooperation and engagement in externally funded projects will work towards this goal.


The Faculty of Education, Arts and Sports has four departments with staff in Bergen, Sogndal and Stord. This Faculty is one of the largest teachers training institutions in the country with around 6200 students and a staff of 550, offering kindergarten teacher training, primary and secondary school teacher training for Classes 1-7 and 5-10, practical pedagogical education and Bachelor’s, Master's and PhD programmes.


The faculty will offer an extensive programme of continuing and further education. Research activities at the Faculty are organised into research programmes and research groups.

The Western Norway University of Applied Sciences has a temporary vacancy for a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Faculty of Education, Arts and Sports.

We have a two-year temporary vacancy for a postdoctoral fellow associated with the Centre for Physically Active Learning (SEFAL). The Faculty has five research programmes, and the candidate would be a member of one of the groups engaged in this research associated with the research group «play, games and participatory learning».

The Postdoctoral will be a part of SEFAL and focus on the research field of physical active learning (PAL) in the elementary school. SEFAL was established at HVL, Campus Sogndal, in August 2018. SEFAL has 13 employees and is headed by Professor Geir Kåre Resaland. SEFAL works in close partnership with schools and offers a one-year, workplace- and web based continuing couniting professional development program (CPD) in physically active learning (FAL), with two alternatives: 1) a CPD without study credits and 2) a CPD with 15 credits (ECTS) on master's level. SEFAL`s CPD preferably involves most employees at the school and embrace a whole school system approach. Also, the CPD has a strong link between PAL and the professional development of the teacher's pedagogical practice. Therefore, it is desirable for a candidate who has pedagogical and/or didactic competence. The candidate will work with school-based data, therefore knowledge regarding how schools function and teaching experience from the elementary school are favorable. There is considerable research related to the SEFAL education programs, and SEFAL has a large international academic network.

The primary objective of the appointment as a Postdoctoral Fellow is to ensure qualification for scientific positions. This position is particularly focused on international publishing within the framework of SEFAL research data.

Work description:

The Postdoctoral student position will be part of SEFAL with Campus Sogndal as the workplace. SEFAL aims to further develop research within PAL as a teaching method in primary and secondary school. There is considerable and versatile data material and potential for future data in SEFAL, and the Postdoctoral student can use both qualitative and quantitative data or a combination. The main focus of the Postdoctoral student will be SEFAL data from hundreds of teachers and principals who are part of the SEFAL education programs. Central to SEFAL is to examine teachers 'and principals' experiences with the SEFAL education, as well as how the education contributes to teachers developing their teaching practice, both individually and collectively. In addition, the SEFAL research team have a goal to apply for EU funding in 2021, and international publishing and project development are important goals in strengthening research in this field.

During the two-year period of the Postdoctoral Fellowship, the candidate is expected to:

  • publish at least 5 articles
  • publish some of these articles at level 2
  • co-publish with international partners (English)

This position may also involve project development which will support SEFAL’s activities and be relevant for top-level qualification.

Qualifications required:

The applicant must present a draft project proposal for the qualification work based on the main project. It is assumed that the applicant will be able to complete this secondary project over the period of employment and that written scientific work will be submitted to journals for assessment within two years.

The draft project shall cover up to 5 pages, including references, and a progress and publication plan (font size 12, Times New Roman, line spacing 1). This may be written in a Scandinavian language or English.

Applicant whose education is from another country than Norway, need to also attach a certified translation of the diploma and transcript of grades to English or a Scandinavian language, if the original is not in any of these languages. It is required that the applicant enclose a review from NOKUT whether the education (bachelor and master’s degree) is of a scope and level that corresponds to the level of a Norwegian master’s degree. Please see www.nokut.no/en for more information about NOKUT’s general recognition. This may take some time and we recommend you to apply as soon as you know you will apply for this position. If no answer within the application deadline, please enclose documentation from NOKUT that they have received your application.

During assessment, primary emphasis will be placed on scientific works submitted and the feasibility of the project proposals for the qualification work. The letter of application should include a rationale for the position and reasons as to why the candidate is appropriate for the position.

  • Applicants must have a PhD in the field of pedagogy, didactics and/or PAL in school, or they must have submitted their doctoral thesis for assessment and have a set date for their public defence before the application deadline. The thesis should ideally be no more than 5 years old.
  • Experience with writing articles The working languages are Norwegian and English.
  • The publication language is English, so good written English skills are required

Desired qualifications:

  • Experience of educational research
  • Proficiency in research methodology

Personal characteristics:

  • Applicants must be able to work independently, in a structured way and have good cooperation and dissemination skills Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal characteristics
  • Ambitious academically, with great potential
  • Postdoctoral student will work with other members of SEFAL team and good collaboration skills are therefore important

How to apply for the position?

Submit your application and CV by clicking the “Apply for position” button on this page.

You should be aware that applications will be assessed on the basis of the information entered in www.jobbnorge.no before the deadline for submitting applications. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all relevant appendices are entered before the deadline, including scientific work (up to 5 items), a full list of publications, draft projects and publication plans (up to 5 pages), certificates and diplomas. If diplomas, grade transcripts or other documentation are not in a Scandinavian language or English, the applicant must upload certified translations. If the appendices exceed 15 MB, they must be compressed before uploading or be attached as a link.

Applicants for scientific positions will be assessed by an expert committee. Based on the recommendations of the committee, the relevant applicants will be called upon to attend an interview. The appointment body is the Appointment Committee/Board at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences.

Applications are submitted electronically to the expert committee. Applications must not be submitted by e-mail to individuals at the University.

We offer the following:

  • Good pension, insurance and loan schemes with the Norwegian Public
  • Service Pension Fund An exciting professional environment with opportunities available for enhancing one’s expertise and development
  • Opportunities for exercising during working hours

Postdoctoral fellows will receive a salary commensurate with rank code 1352.

A 2% contribution will be deducted from the salary and paid to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund. The appointee must comply with the guidelines which apply to the position at all times.

General information:

The successful applicant must comply with the guidelines that apply to the position at any one time.

Please note that according to a new Norwegian Freedom of Information Act, information about applicants may be published even if the applicant in question has requested not to appear on the list of applicants. Applicants will be notified if such requests cannot be complied with.

Whenever possible the public sector workforce should reflect the diversity of the population in Norway. It is, therefore, one of our personnel policy aims is to achieve a balanced age and gender composition and to recruit people with immigrant backgrounds and physical disabilities. The Western Norway University of Applied Sciences is an inclusive access institution.

Contacts at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences are:

1) Professor Geir Kåre Resaland, e-mail: geirkr@hvl.no, tel.: +47 416 21 333.

2) Vice-Dean for Research Torill M. B. Larsen, e-mail: tbla@hvl.no, tel.: +47 415 01 127.

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