PhD Trajectory TeacherLab: Big Data Analysis & Teacher Labor Market

Are you a talented quantitative researcher or data scientist? Are you enthusiastic about conducting quantitative research and do you like a dynamic work environment? Apply fort his PhD position at VU University Amsterdam (VU). Please apply at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Location: AMSTERDAM
FTE: 1 - 1

Education is evolving in a context of an increasing teacher shortage, many job switches by teachers and a low attractiveness of the profession. The teacher shortage is a structural problem and unevenly distributed, and few educational problems have received more attention in recent decades. But, nevertheless the underlying causes are unclear. Therefore there is an urgent need for a better understanding of how to stabilize the teacher labor market in a way that creates sustainable employment relationships and makes the teaching profession more attractive. In particular, a better understanding of why teachers leave the profession, and what it takes to retain or return them, is critical to improving educational opportunities for all students and especially for students in the most disadvantaged schools.

In this PhD trajectory, the increasing possibilities of big data and advanced estimation techniques are used to obtain data-driven insights into how the unequal distribution of teacher shortages arise. In this way, knowledge is developed that can contribute to a better understanding of teacher shortages and to more effective policy.

The trajectory focuses – in any case - on three issues surrounding the teacher shortage in the Netherlands. The first is focused on when and why students drop out of teacher training programs. The results of this study provide insight into possible effective interventions to retain students in teacher training. The second is to what extent the labor market for teachers can be effectively modeled as a “marriage market” between teachers and schools in order to identify if eliminated teacher shortages at one school effectively contributes to shortages at other schools. Finally, the theoretical Roy model is tested on Dutch labor market data to examine how the inflow and outflow of teachers is related to possible quality and reward structures within and outside education.

The PhD Position is embedded in the TeacherLab. TeacherLab is an initiative of the VU University Amsterdam and Maastricht University and in the Lab Knowledge is created about the causes of teacher shortages, about which interventions appear promising in structurally reducing the teacher shortage and the causal effects of these promising interventions are  empirically evaluated. The Teacher Lab works according to the so-called 5D methodology (van Klaveren and Cornelisz, 2022) and co-creation between scientists and educational professionals is considered crucial. As PhD candidate for this position you can be stationed in Amsterdam or Maastricht and you will be a member of EducationLab (www.education-lab.nl ) and the Amsterdam Center for Learning Analytics (www.acla.amsterdam ).

• You have a master degree in economics, econometrics or data science.
• You have excellent analytical skills and advanced data modeling techniques.
• You have excellent communicative and writing skills.  
• You have excellent programming skills (STATA, R or Python)

A challenging position in a socially involved organization. The salary will be in accordance with university regulations for academic personnel and amounts €2,770 (PhD) per month during the first year and increases to €3,539 (PhD) per month during the fourth year, based on a full-time employment. The job profile: is based on the university job ranking system and is vacant for 1 FTE.

The appointment will initially be for 1 year. After a satisfactory evaluation of the initial appointment, the contract will be extended for a total duration of 4 years.
Additionally, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam offers excellent fringe benefits and various schemes and regulations to promote a good work/life balance, such as:

• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• solid pension scheme (ABP)
• discount on (and occasionally exclusive access to) theater performances and courses at the Griffioen Cultural Center
• contribution to commuting expenses
• optional model for designing a personalized benefits package

The ambition of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is clear: to contribute to a better world through outstanding education and ground-breaking research. We strive to be a university where personal development and commitment to society play a leading role. A university where people from different disciplines and backgrounds collaborate to achieve innovations and to generate new knowledge. Our teaching and research encompass the entire spectrum of academic endeavor – from the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences through to the life sciences and the medical sciences.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is home to more than 31,000 students. We employ over 5,000 individuals. The VU campus is easily accessible and located in the heart of Amsterdam’s Zuidas district, a truly inspiring environment for teaching and research.

Diversity
We are an inclusive university community. Diversity is one of our most important values. We believe that engaging in international activities and welcoming students and staff from a wide variety of backgrounds enhances the quality of our education and research. We are always looking for people who can enrich our world with their own unique perspectives and experiences.

Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences
The Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences focuses on the broad domain of behaviour and health. Our teaching and research programmes are devoted to current developments in society, from healthy aging to e-health, from juvenile crime to dealing with depression, from training for top athletes to social media as a teaching tool. We are unique in that we combine three academic disciplines: psychology, movement sciences and education.

Working at Behavioural and Movement Sciences means working in an ambitious organization that is characterized by an informal atmosphere and short lines of communication. Our faculty offers tremendous scope for personal development. We employ more than 600 staff members, and we are home to around 3,400 students.

About the department, institute, project
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Are you interested in this position? Please apply via the application button and upload your curriculum vitae and cover letter until

. The job interviews are scheduled within two weeks after the deadline. 

Submitting a diploma is part of the application process.

Applications received by e-mail will not be processed.

Vacancy questions
If you have any questions regarding this vacancy, you may contact:

Name: Chris van Klaveren
Position: Full Professor
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: +3128961359

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