PostDoctoral Fellowship Community-Based Educational Research (COMBER) Research Focus Area at North West University

Job description

• The candidate should provide evidence of a research focus in any one of the following six sub-areas: early childhood development, language development, inclusive education and support services in communities, environmental education for sustainable development, holistic wellbeing in communities, or lifelong learning and development in communities. COMBER defines research as a partnership between students and community members who collaboratively engage in research to address pressing educational challenges, generating knowledge, skills, and processes that enhance sustainable learning and development. The methodology most suited to this approach is action research, which emphasises conducting research with people, rather than on them. It is crucial for university partners to listen to the community and understand how they perceive the problem and envision solutions. Research conducted in this way becomes educative, as participants in the process learn to communicate effectively, improve their self-esteem, and gain confidence, enabling them to collaborate with others and find creative ways to enhance their own lives.

Minimum requirements

• must have completed a doctoral degree related to education research within the last five years at a university other than the North-West University and the focus of the doctoral study should be in one of the following sub-areas: Early childhood development, language development, inclusive education and support services in communities, environmental education for sustainable development, holistic wellbeing in communities, or lifelong learning and development in communities
•  must be willing to significantly contribute to the research outputs related to the central scholarly focus of the Research Focus Area;
•  must demonstrate evidence of scholarly performance including a relevant publication record preferably ISI-listed or IBSS-listed journal articles; and
• must demonstrate English language proficiency, as well as sound conceptual and writing skills.