PhD Candidate 60 %

About the job

Start date:

1 March 2027, the position is limited until 28 February 2031

Workplace:

Bern

Role of interactions in teaching on child development

PHBern awards around 800 teaching diplomas per year and is thus one of the major Universities of Teacher Education in Switzerland. Equally significant is its commitment to further education and services for teachers and school leaders as well as its practice-oriented research, development and evaluation.

The Institute for Research, Development and Evaluation coordinates the research, development and evaluation area of PHBern. It supports the connection of research with teaching and the professional field, ensures effective networking within and outside the university, and conducts its own projects.

The dissertation examines the role of the school context (including school climate as well as personnel and integrative resources) for the quality of interactions in teaching and the learning and development of children, especially depending on individual learning and developmental prerequisites. A longitudinal study with four measurement points and around 1,200 children from 120 primary school classes is planned. Characteristics of the school context are recorded via register data and school team surveys, the quality of interactions in teaching with standardised observation methods, and child development with tablet-based measurement instruments in various cognitive, social and school-related areas.

The dissertation is part of the international research network LEVANTE (Learning Variability Network Exchange) initiated by the Jacobs Foundation, which investigates variability in learning and development of children aged 2 to 12 years.

Your tasks

• Substantive collaboration in the further development of research questions on school climate, school resources and child development
• Assistance in recruiting and supporting participating schools and classes
• Participation in organising and conducting data collection
• Collaboration in the design, implementation and quality assurance of school team surveys
• Preparation and analysis of longitudinal research data
• Development of own research questions, writing a cumulative dissertation and publishing results within the international LEVANTE network

Your profile

• Excellent Master’s degree in Psychology or Educational Sciences, preferably with a focus on Developmental Psychology
• Strong interest in issues of school and teaching development, school integration and the conditions for successful learning in the school context
• Good knowledge of quantitative research methods and statistics
• Interest in analysing longitudinal and hierarchically structured data and willingness to engage with complex statistical methods
• Very good English skills, both spoken and written
• Careful, reliable and independent working style as well as organisational skills
• Enjoyment of working with schools, children and teachers as well as working in an international research team

We offer you

• Attractive development and further training opportunities
• An open, committed and competent team
• High flexibility in organising work
• Opportunity for international research stay

Contact

Further information is provided by:
Prof. Dr Caroline Sahli Lozano, Head of the Inclusive Education Focus Programme
(caroline.sahlilozano@phbern.ch)

We kindly accept your application in a single PDF file by 24 October 2026.

We do not consider application documents from recruitment agencies.