Postdoctoral Scholar Position in the Early Learning System Initiative Coaching Core in the Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families, College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University
Position: Full-Time
Salary: $60,000 plus benefits
Start date: July 2022 or TBD
Dr. Bridget Hatfield and colleagues (Drs. Megan McClelland, Shauna Tominey, Shannon Lipscomb, & Megan Pratt) at Oregon State University seek a full-time postdoctoral scholar in HDFS/early care and education/developmental/educational psychology or a related field. The postdoc will work as part of team on a grant funded through the Oregon Department of Education’s Early Learning Division focusing on developing, and offering high-quality coaching and training to early childhood leaders and educators supporting early learning systems across the state of Oregon that are serving young children and families. This work is part of a new center, the Early Learning System Initiative (ELSI) at Oregon State University (OSU) that will serve the early childhood educator workforce in Oregon.
The ELSI Coaching Core is responsible for: (1) implementing and refining a mentor coaching framework to increase coaching competencies in early childhood leaders and coaches supporting early childhood programs, (2) creating and implementing a certification/recognition system for the newly developed coaching competencies and tiers, and (3) working with our external partners on the collaborative evaluation of these new initiatives in coaching. Primary responsibilities include collaborating with faculty, mentor coaches, and other staff in ELSI, as well as our coaching evaluation partners on: designing and implementing needs assessments, survey development, data analysis, conceptualizing scientific papers and presentations, creating content for the certification/recognition system for the coaching competencies, supporting mentor coaches, and preparing manuscripts for submission to academic journals, white papers, and/or policy reports. This position offers an excellent opportunity to engage in state and community partnerships, connect research, policy and practice and to further analytical and writing skills on scientific papers and policy reports from an equity-focused perspective using innovative approaches to engage practitioner voice across all aspects of the project. It also will provide the opportunity to gain applied research and evaluation experience in response to community voice and need, and create professional development programming on coaching competencies at scale. The postdoc will participate in a mentoring experience working with a dedicated team while also networking with a rich, multidisciplinary community of scholars and practitioners, with opportunities to attend workshops and colloquia.
Qualifications include:
- a Ph.D. in HDFS/early care and education/developmental/educational psychology or a related field
- Content expertise and/or applied experience related to professional development in early childhood education and care
- Research interests and experience in early childhood care and education
- Strong analytical skills (multivariate models, multi-level models and SEM) and experience with statistical analysis packages (e.g., STATA, MPlus) or related programs
- Excellent writing skills and experience with presenting research and submitting manuscripts to academic journals
- Demonstrated effectiveness working independently and collaboratively on a team on multiple projects
- Great organization skills and attention to detail
- Commitment to enhancing and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion
Preferred
- Experience conducting research with practitioners (preferably early childhood)
- Experience working in early education setting or with early education practitioners preferred
- Experience conducting, evaluating, and/or creating professional development for educators
- Experience engaging with adults from diverse communities (e.g., rural, racial/ethnic, linguistic, ability status, socioeconomic) using inclusive and equitable approaches.
- Experience designing, implementing, and/or presenting research or evaluation with community partners
- Experience with implementation of coaching programs (preferably early childhood)
One-year commitment required, with the potential for additional renewal pending funding.
To apply, please send the following to Dr. Bridget Hatfield (bridget.hatfield@oregonstate.edu)
- cover letter
- curriculum vitae
- research statement
- contact information for three references