Post Doctoral Research Fellow

About the job

Minimum Qualifications

The Child Development, Literacy, and Special Education Department in the Reich College of Education at Appalachian State University seeks a postdoctoral fellow to work with the Spangler Distinguished Professor of Early Child Literacy. The candidate should possess the following minimum qualifications:

• An earned doctorate (Ph.D. or Ed.D.) in literacy or reading education, or another closely related field, with specific expertise in elementary literacy by January 2027.

• Demonstrated expertise in elementary literacy development and instruction, especially in one or more of the following areas: vocabulary and comprehension.

• Experience conducting education or literacy research in schools, classrooms, or other applied learning settings.

• Experience with research design, data collection, and analysis.

• Evidence of scholarly writing and dissemination, such as peer-reviewed publications, reports, conference presentations.

• Strong organizational skills, including the ability to manage multiple tasks, timelines, and collaborative projects.

• Ability to work effectively and collaboratively with faculty, teachers, school partners, and research assistants.

Essential Job Functions

The postdoctoral research fellow will be responsible for independent and collaborative development, implementation, and analysis of scientific research in the discipline of literacy education. Approximately 50% of the postdoctoral research fellow’s time will be devoted to supporting the development and implementation of a professional learning project for NC elementary teachers, NC Literacy Hub (NC Lit-Hub). Responsibilities include participation in all aspects of Lit-Hub design, testing, and implementation. Duties include literature review, collection of data, report writing, data collection and management, data analysis, and the development of collaborative presentations and publications.

Approximately 50% of the postdoctoral research fellow’s time will be devoted to supporting the Spangler Distinguished Professor’s early literacy research, teaching, and service, which centers on culturally sustaining and humanizing early literacy practices, highly effective teachers, and transformative approaches to teacher preparation and professional learning. Duties include data collection and analysis, scholarly writing, editorial duties for a national literacy journal, and assisting with undergraduate literacy methods teaching.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in K–5 literacy instruction.

• Experience with design-based research, iterative development, improvement science, and/or user-centered design.

• Experience supporting teacher professional learning, instructional coaching, and/or classroom implementation of interventions.

• Experience with educational technology.

• Experience with culturally sustaining pedagogies

Physical Demands of Position

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

Special Instructions to Applicants

Applicants should submit a letter of interest, CV and a list of 3 professional references with contact information included

Not Eligible for Visa Sponsorship

VISA sponsorship is not available for this position. All candidates must be eligible to work and live in the U.S