Fully Funded PhD Research Studentship

Fully Funded PhD Research Studentship

Project Title: Investigating the influence of gender stereotypes and social learning on young people’s subject and career choices

PhD Studentship: Abertay University R-LINCS2 funding. A PhD studentship that comprises tax-free stipend of £15,609 (increasing in line with UKRI per annum) per year over 3.5 years, student tuition fees paid, and a generous study package (e.g. limited research consumables, travel budget, and training when appropriate). 

The successful candidate will have access to the pan-University Graduate School, which offers facilities and an integrated training programme to the postgraduate community within a single centre, serving to inculcate interdisciplinary and collaborative working in our next generation of researchers.

You will be expected to undertake limited teaching duties of no more than 70 hours a year. We provide training on this activity, and it is a valuable part of career development.

The Studentship is available for a February 2022 start.

Interviews are likely to be online in the November/ December 2021.

Project Description: Gender stereotypes continue to influence the educational choices of young people, creating a gender imbalance in many school and university subjects, as well as subsequent career choices. These choices may be influenced by social learning, whereby individuals copy the behaviours of peers and older role models. The proposed project tests the impact of gender stereotypes and social learning on subject and career choices, using this data to shape interventions designed to encourage gender equity.

As stereotypes are culturally constructed, and gender imbalances in education and careers show cross-cultural variation. This work will focus primarily on gender imbalances in Scotland and their impact on corresponding views of young adults in Scottish schools and universities.

Key project objectives:

Measuring adolescent gender bias: we will systematically review the extent of gender inequity in adolescent education and career choices (e.g., male dominence in physics, female dominence in nursing)

Identifying the influence of key social learning biases: we will experimentally investigate the ability of key social learning biases (e.g., majority influence, expert influence) to counteract gender bias in adolescent choices.

Developing interventions: we will develop an intervention on the basis of our experimental findings, the effectiveness of which will then be tested on young people.

It is anticipated that the output of this research be of widespread and significant benefit to schools and Higher Education Institutes and would lead to improved interventions for encouraging gender equality across subjects and careers. The project would also involve delivering talks to adolescents, teachers in secondary schools and educational practitioners in Higher Education. This aspect of the studentship will provide excellent experience for the student as well as increasing the impact of the research. The theoretical underpinning and novelty of the research will contribute to the academic field of psychology, specifically child development, social psychology, and educational psychology. Research findings would be disseminated to both academic and public audiences, building both theoretical advances and real-world impact.

Supervisory Team: The candidate will be supervised within the Division of Psychology by Dr Lara Wood and Prof Sheila Cunningham. Queries on this project should be directed to Dr. Lara Wood ([email protected]).

Entry Requirements: Candidates must have, or expect to obtain, a first class or upper second-class honours degree in a BPS (or equivalent) accredited Psychology programme, or a closely aligned discipline. We are looking for an independent, enthusiastic, and driven candidate with an understanding of UK cultural gender stereotypes. Applicants should have experience in designing and running psychological studies including experiments, research methods and statistical analysis (e.g. R and/or SPSS).

The successful candidate will have to have some experience of working with children and a clear criminal records check and obtain clearance to work with children via the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme. Candidates must work well with others and represent the university when working with key stakeholders (e.g., schools).

For applicants who are non-native speakers of English, the University requires IELTS of 6.5 (with no band less than 6.0) or an equivalent qualification accepted by the Home Office.

Applications and closing date: 29th October 2021

Applicants should submit through the Abertay University jobs page https://www.abertay.ac.uk/about/working-at-abertay/jobs/, submitting a personal statement of application detailing why you are interested in undertaking this project, and a CV.

If you are selected for interview you will be required to complete an online Research Student Application Form which includes the submission of a research proposal. Guidance on how to write the proposal can be found here: https://www.abertay.ac.uk/study-apply/how-to-apply/how-to-apply/, Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact Dr. Lara Wood ([email protected]) for advice on developing a proposal prior to submitting it.

Abertay University was named top modern university in Scotland (Guardian Good University Guide 2019; Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017) and University of the Year for teaching quality (Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021).  According to the results of the Research Excellence Framework 2014 (REF2014), Abertay was part of the leading group of modern universities ranked highest in the UK for 'research intensity'. Abertay was the first University in the world to offer a degree in games and is the only European university listed in the ‘Princeton Review World Top 25 Games Universities’. Abertay is also lead of the multi-million InGame project in partnership with Dundee University and the University of St Andrews. The aim of the project it to establish a dedicated research and development hub for the Dundee video game cluster and to drive services, products and innovation in the industry.  

Entry requirements

Essential requirements:

Desirable requirements (but not essential)

First class or upper second-class honours degree in BPS accredited (or equivalent) Psychology or a closely aligned discipline. 

Masters of science level qualification in a relevant discipline

Experience in working with SPSS or R and experimental designs

Experience in working with key stakeholders in education (e.g., schools, education authorities, local and national government)

Experience in working with children

Experience in research with children and/or working in schools

Good scientific writing

Involvement in the preparation of articles for publication in scientific journal(s)

Good numerical and statistics skills and familiarity with text editing software, such as Word, Excel, etc.

Knowledge of advanced statistical methods.

Good interpersonal and communication skills

No previous criminal record that prohibits work with children (prospective candidate will have to successfully apply to  PVG scheme after commencement of PhD)

Applicants who are non-native speakers of English, the University requires IELTS of 6.5 (with no band less than 6.0) or an equivalent qualification accepted by the Home Office