Postdoctoral Research Fellow

About the role

As a postdoctoral research fellow, you will be embedded in a supportive team of researchers from the University of Sussex, the University of Exeter, and University College London Institute of Education. We have received funding from the Education Endowment Foundation to evaluate a recent reform to secondary school admissions procedures in Brighton and Hove. Based at the University of Sussex, you will work closely with Dr Matthew Easterbrook (University of Sussex), as well as Dr Sara Bragg (UCL Institute of Education) using qualitative and quantitative research methods.

About the reform and evaluation plan

School admissions criteria in England are used to determine which students are allocated places, in what order of priority. In 2024, Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) introduced a new criterion for its maintained schools that gives priority to all students in the city eligible for free-school-meals (typically those from low-income families), above those in the local catchment area of the school, up to a quota. This is the first large-scale implementation of a policy designed to promote more equitable access to schools by young people from under-resourced backgrounds. Our evaluation will therefore provide important evidence about the role of school admissions for/in educational equity, of interest to the Department for Education and other cities.

A six-year impact evaluation will assess whether this reform results in changes to GCSE outcomes for students. Our shorter / three-year process evaluation will run alongside the impact evaluation to explore the perspectives of schools, parents, and students on the reform. It will use mixed methods – qualitative interviews, observations, document analyses, and quantitative analyses of surveys and secondary data – to evaluate:

• how the reform was implemented and communicated by BHCC,
• whether the reform is associated with changes in school funding, climate, and outcomes, and how schools adapt to these changes,
• how the reform was understood and received by students, parents, teachers, and school leaders.

About you

As the research fellow on this project, you will usually have (or be about to complete) a doctorate in psychology, sociology, education, or a related field, and have experience of conducting qualitative interviews, managing datasets, and conducting quantitative data analyses. You will ideally have gained insights into issues of equity in education and the role of policy in enhancing change.

You will have demonstrated a capacity for conducting high-quality research and have an emerging record of high-quality publications.  You will have excellent communication skills, and, ideally, have experience of communicating with a range of stakeholders, including teachers, young people, and members of under-resourced communities. 

About our School

Please find further information regarding the School of Psychology.

Why work here

Find out more about our reward and benefits package.

Find out about our equality, diversity and inclusion

Further Key Information

Please contact Matthew Easterbrook (m.j.easterbrook@sussex.ac.uk) for informal enquiries.

Eligibility

This role involves regular contact with children or vulnerable adults, or positions of trust in legal, financial, and security sectors and therefore will require the successful candidate to complete a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check.

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