PRR Project

Summary

The prevalence of special educational needs (SEN) in regular schools has dramatically increased over the last decade, with most cases requiring extensive environmental and attitudinal adaptations in multiple settings, such as family, school, social services, work, and healthcare. To ensure the optimal development of an inclusive contemporary society, equipping developmental and learning contexts with resources that enable adaptation and foster flourishing communities is imperative.The prospective employee is expected to conduct, facilitate, and manage research processes, with substantial scientific independence, on the thematic areas of SEN and inclusive society. The core tasks to be assigned to the prospective employee are as follows:- Develop and conduct research studies within the scientific areas related to this position;- Develop and publish reports, journal articles, books, and presentations;- Create, review, revise, and update research materials;- Assist in the development and evaluation of technical and administrative procedures;- Provide supervision and mentorship to other researchers, particularly junior staff;- Provide consultation and support to other professionals and institutions;- Suggest and implement structured plans to develop and consolidate innovative research trends;- Facilitate the implementation of research initiatives and services (e.g., scientific meetings, consortiums, knowledge transfer);- Evaluate and review the research work done by others;- Support organizational initiatives by contributing to policy development and program development.This position is intended for an academic researcher with solid research work conducted in the areas of special needs, disability studies and inclusive society. Generally, the curriculum of the candidate should demonstrate expertise in understanding how social development and learning contexts affect individual adaptation, how disabling chronic conditions impact on developmental outcomes, and how educational, health and social care are delivered to ensure equitable access to opportunities and full participation in society.Additionally, the candidate should have a solid knowledge on the educational and societal challenges related to SEN in a wider sense, and on multi-level interventions that reflect contemporary research trends, such as the social model of disability, intersectionality, and assistive technologies.Specifically, the scientific profile required should encompass the following dimensions:- A tracking record of publications in reputable journals that is capable of reflecting the originality, consistency and practical applicability of the researcher’s previous work;- Scientific production with a focus on topics such as adaptation to chronic disabling conditions (particularly those of underrepresented populations, such as children and adolescents, and/or living with multiple adversities, such as in poverty contexts), developmental outcomes assessment, and educational applications of assistive technology;- A highly knowledgeable researcher on the multilevel intervention needs (e.g., family, school, health and social care institutions) that currently warrant research to improve inclusive society outcomes;- Demonstration of valuable work developed within an interdisciplinary framework to address the contemporary societal challenges of inclusive practices;- Proven ability to establish strategic academic partnerships, both at the national and international levels, that can improve the quality of the scientific research performed as well as the dissemination and visibility of its outcomes;- Experience and/or training in providing scientific mentorship to students and early career researchers.The Centre for 20th Century Interdisciplinary Studies - CEIS20 - is a research unit of the University of Coimbra (UC) that aims to pursue its high-quality interdisciplinary research in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations. This position aims to strengthen the scientific capital, competitiveness and investment of the CEIS20 in areas that have been explored in some previous research projects, but are now intended to be systematically targeted alongside the following SDG-UN: SDG3 (to ensure health lives and promote well-being for all at all ages), by improving the care provided to people with SEN, namely those who are disabled and/or disenfranchised by their developmental environments; SDG 5 (to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), by prioritizing research of situations that portray intersectionality with gender issues (e.g., being a girl/woman, having a disability and living in poverty); and SDG 10 (to reduce inequality within and among countries), by attending to situations of multiple disadvantage (e.g., disability/able-bodiedness, poverty) and seeking to empower those populations and contexts through interdisciplinary research.