Senior Lecturer - Psychology of Education

Position Details

• School of Education
• Full time starting salary is normally in the range £51,034 to £59,135. With potential progression once in post to £77,108 a year
• Full time
• Permanent

Summary of Role

The Department of Education and Social Justice in the School of Education seeks to appoint a Senior Lecturer in Psychology in Education. This post will contribute to the development of the field of psychology of education through research, engagement and teaching. They will bring an active, world-class research agenda; provide specialist teaching in the new BSc undergraduate BPS-accredited programme Psychology in Education; and contribute to the development of our M-level psychology offer.

The successful candidate is expected to have demonstrable excellence in teaching and learning, be an outstanding researcher with an international profile, and have the ability to immediately contribute to leadership within the Department and School.

The successful candidate will have access to mentoring and a world-class research and teaching environment.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Research

The School is looking to strengthen and extend its research profile, with particular interest in candidates with expertise in the areas of cognitive science and the science of learning; developmental psychology; individual differences; and quantitative research methods. Candidates with expertise in other areas of educational psychology are also encouraged to apply.

The successful candidate will be a strong researcher with an excellent track-record within the subject area and the ability to make a consistently outstanding contribution to the research in the School. The following are particularly important:

• Publications of internationally excellent and/or world leading quality, published in reputable academic outlets, and the ability to continue to produce strong publications after appointment;
• A track record of generating external research income, and the ability to continue grant capture activity after appointment;
• A clear research trajectory for the next five years;
• Ability and willingness to contribute to the School's research culture and environment;
• Ability and willingness to supervise doctoral research projects;
• Willingness to examine PhD students, both within the institution and externally;
• Manage research activities and/or supervise other research staff;
• Evidence of, or planning to engage in, knowledge exchange and impact-driven work;
• Ability and willingness to contribute to research leadership and management;
• Referee and review articles for peer reviewed academic journals and grant applications by research councils and/or other major funding bodies

Learning and Teaching

The successful candidate will have demonstrable success in teaching and learning in Higher Education and be an engaged and inspiring lecturer with an excellent understanding of innovative and inclusive practices. They will also be committed to educational equality and equity through working to reduce attainment gaps and contributing to activities to decolonise higher education.

The appointee will be required to lead and teach the across modules on the BSc Psychology in education. Module contributions are likely to include: Introduction to Developmental Psychology; Individual differences and learning; and=/or Quantitative/qualitative research methods. There will be scope for the successful candidate to develop collaboratively with colleagues specialist modules at UG or PGT level.

Additionally, the candidate will be required to:

• Supervise UG and Masters dissertation projects;
• Act as a personal tutor for UG and Masters students;
• Contribute to teaching and marking across the School as needed;
• Plan and review own teaching approaches and act as a mentor to encourage others to do the same;
• Develop module/programme proposals and make substantial contributions to the design of teaching more widely in the School;
• Undertake and develop the full range of responsibilities in relation to supervision, marking and examining;
• Use appropriate approaches to learning and teaching in their field (including digital and inclusive methods);
• Have the ability and willingness to contribute to teaching and learning management/leadership in the department;
• Have an excellent teaching profile and performance in terms of both impact and quality. The teaching quality demonstrated to be informed by an appropriate level of scholarship. High national reputation for the development of teaching and learning excellence within the discipline
• Offer successful and sustained use of a range of appropriate teaching methods, and assessment strategies that promote high quality learning, including learning that is flexible, distinctive and current and stimulates learners' natural curiosity
• Offer high quality and sustained contributions to fostering excellence in teaching activities more widely, i.e. in the Department/School or College and/or externally
• Have a track record of substantial and sustained high value impact on the enhancement of the student experience, and/or employability
• Offer mentoring and expert advice which develops the skills of colleagues in teaching and in fostering learning

Leadership/Citizenship

The candidate is expected to demonstrate qualities of academic leadership commensurate with career stage and to be a 'good citizen' generally. This will require the ability to take on leadership roles as appropriate whilst contributing to student recruitment and other School activities.

Excitingly, the School is exploring developing an MSc in psychology in education; the successful candidate will be expected to play a leading role in developing and eventually leading that programme.

Management/Administration

• Ability and willingness to chair/lead activities and represent the School on University committees or working groups;
• Ensure own work is consistently carried out to a very high standard;
• Develop and manage staff and resources in support of major research and/or teaching activities (as appropriate);
• Contribute significantly to the development and delivery of knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement and public engagement activities with a sustained high-value impact of manifest benefit to the College and the University contribute to the administration/management of research and/or teaching
• Advise on personal development of staff and students (as appropriate);
• Make a sustained contribution to widening participation, Open Day and/or recruitment activities, schools outreach and/or public understanding of the discipline;
• Contribute to administrative activities within the University (e.g. appeals panels, working groups)

Person Specification

Essential:

• A PhD in psychology, Educational psychology or a cognate field
• Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (or a willingness to obtain this within a period following appointment

Desirable: Masters in Psychology or Educational Psychology

Demonstrated competence in Research; Learning and Teaching; and Management and Administration; and excellence in at least two of these areas.

Research requirements

An excellent national reputation and a developing international profile through significant original research work and a clear record of impact. Evidence of success under the following headings, as appropriate to the discipline:

• High-level peer esteem as evidenced by
• Excellent reputation in the UK and often internationally, reflected in sustained high quality output, level of innovation, impact on subject and recognition
• An excellent and sustained record of peer reviewed research publications
• Successful and sustained supervision of doctoral students to completion
• Substantial and sustained research income generation, e.g. through research grants, contracts, research consultancy or other external funding
• Sustained high value impact knowledge transfer and enterprise that is of manifest benefit to the College and University

Learning and Teaching Requirements

An excellent teaching profile and performance in terms of both impact and quality. The teaching quality demonstrated to be informed by an appropriate level of scholarship. Evidence of success under the following headings:

• High national reputation for the development of teaching and learning excellence within the discipline
• Successful and sustained use of a range of appropriate teaching methods, and assessment strategies that promote high quality learning, including learning that is flexible, distinctive and current and stimulates learners' natural curiosity
• Significant and sustained contribution to one or more of the following: strategic development of new programmes; approaches to learning; the development of learning resources
• High quality and sustained contributions to fostering excellence in teaching activities more widely, i.e. in the Department/School or College and/or externally
• Track record of substantial and sustained high value impact on the enhancement of the student experience, and/or employability
• Mentoring and expert advice which develops the skills of colleagues in teaching and in fostering learning

Management and Administration-related requirements

Demonstrated significant achievement in management and administration-related activities, which may include leadership of activities/initiatives. Evidence of success under the following headings

• Successful and sustained performance in significant administrative/managerial role (s) (e.g. exams officer)
• Significant and sustained high quality innovative contributions to the management/administration of the Department/School/College or University
• Successful and sustained contribution to the corporate life of the School/College/University, displaying willingness to contribute actively to committees, collaborative teaching and administrative tasks.

Informal enquires to Dr Reza Gholami, email: r.gholami@bham.ac.uk , Head of Department of Education and Social Justice.

We value diversity at The University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community '

Valuing excellence; sustaining investment