{"id":23031,"date":"2026-04-16T10:11:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:11:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nordmedianetwork.org\/?post_type=vacant-positions&p=23031"},"modified":"2026-04-16T10:11:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:11:06","slug":"2-two-year-postdocs-on-childrens-political-socialization-at-aarhus-university","status":"publish","type":"vacant-positions","link":"https:\/\/nordmedianetwork.org\/fr\/latest\/vacant-positions\/2-two-year-postdocs-on-childrens-political-socialization-at-aarhus-university\/","title":{"rendered":"2 Two-year Postdocs on Children\u2019s Political Socialization at Aarhus University"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Department of Political Science at Aarhus University invites applications for two two-year full-time postdoctoral researchers to join an ERC-funded research project<\/a> on children and youths\u2019 conceptions of political power (YOPOW). The project is headed by Associate Professor Kristina Bakk\u00e6r Simonsen<\/a> with whom the postdocs will be working closely together. The starting date is flexible and subject to mutual agreement but expected to be between September 2026 and February 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research project<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Political marginalization, understood as the systematic underrepresentation of social groups in political office, is a major democratic problem. To understand its entrenched, structural nature, the YOPOW project will examine how societal norms take root already early in life and give rise to beliefs about who is fit for power.

The project is organized around three work packages. Work package I examines the messages<\/em>children and youth receive about political power in school materials, children\u2019s news media, and politicians\u2019 social media. Work package II studies their beliefs<\/em> about political power. Finally, work package III zooms in on the early experiences <\/em>of politically interested youth and how these experiences teach them lessons about their own fit in politically powerful positions. The two positions advertised in this call focus primarily on the second work package.

The YOPOW research project runs for five years from August 2025 until July 2030 and is carried out by a team of three postdocs, two research assistants, and Associate Professor Kristina Bakk\u00e6r Simonsen as the project leader. The two postdocs advertised in this call will be responsible for developing the qualitative design for story-telling interviews to be conducted among 12\u201315-year-old children to examine their beliefs about political power. The project is funded by an ERC Starting Grant, the flagship funding program of the European Union, which supports frontier, cutting-edge research. Read more about the project here<\/a> in an interview with Kristina Bakk\u00e6r Simonsen and check out the project homepage<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Job description<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The two postdocs are expected to engage in collaborative research with project leader Kristina Bakk\u00e6r Simonsen and other team members. The postdocs will take on leading roles in developing, designing, and coordinating work package II, which seeks to understand children\u2019s beliefs about what political power is, who can hold it, and how it can be exercised.

The methodological emphasis of the positions is on qualitative interviewing and interpretive and qualitative content analysis. Core tasks involve recruitment of participating schools in different countries, seeking ethical approval of the study (IRB), communicating with schools, parents, and children, developing the interview guide using age-appropriate questions\/tasks, conducting interviews, analyzing interview transcripts, and writing academic articles based on the data.

YOPOW seeks to deliver cross-national evidence across the three work packages, with work package II oriented toward a small set of countries varying on political descriptive representation of gender, class, and ethnic minorities. The preliminary selection includes Denmark and Germany, with openness to adding a third country. Applicants are invited to reflect on country choice, including their own prerequisites in terms of language skills, network, and country knowledge necessary for planning and conducting interviews there.

Because of the methodological span across the project\u2019s three work packages\u2014ranging from large-scale, computational analysis to in-depth, qualitative interpretation\u2014successful candidates are expected to be open-minded, intellectually curious, and respectful of different approaches to knowledge generation. To the extent that applicants hold additional methodological competencies beyond interviewing and qualitative analysis, they are invited to reflect on how they can put them to use in examining children\u2019s beliefs about political power.

Research will primarily be carried out in collaboration with other project members. In addition, the positions involve opportunities to pursue independent work within the overall focus of the project. The successful applicant will become part of an exciting and ambitious research project and a supportive research team with a collegial and respectful atmosphere. There will be excellent opportunities for intellectual development and mentoring, with a focus on how the candidate can make use of the postdoctoral position to develop their career.

In addition to the outlined research tasks, the position implies modest teaching obligations equivalent to one course per year. If the postdoc is interested, a one-year further extension in return for additional teaching might be negotiable (to be decided by the Head of Department), depending on the candidate\u2019s prior teaching experience and the department\u2019s need for teaching during the period of employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your qualifications<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Applicants are expected to hold or be close to completing a PhD in political science or another field relevant to the project such as sociology. In addition, applicants are expected to demonstrate the following qualifications:

Qualitative interviewing and analysis<\/p>\n\n\n\n