The National Institute of Education invites suitable applications for the position of Research Assistant on a 12-month contract at the Office for Research.

Project Title: Understanding the Development and Drivers of Adolescents’ Educational Pathways: The Singapore Longitudinal Cohort Study (Phase 1 of Year 1) (SG-LCS)

Lead Project Introduction: This study seeks primarily to understand (a) the nature of educational pathways made by students through secondary education, (b) the drivers of the decisions made about educational pathways through secondary education (especially self-identity and agency, school and career aspirations, and social and relational contexts), (c) the stability and change patterns of educational pathways as well as factors that may be associated with change. We expect the drivers of educational pathways to be interrelated, and (d) through retrospective investigation, the factors at early childhood and primary school that contribute to educational pathways. Furthermore, this study will allow focus on educational pathways of specific subgroups to understand the differential impact of educational pathways for (e) students with special educational needs (SEN) and (f) for students from financially disadvantaged environments.

Project 4 Research Questions

1. To what extent do adolescent lifestyles and wellbeing differ across groups of students cross-sectionally, at Year 1?

2. What are the contributions of individual, school, and home factors to adolescents' emotional wellbeing at Year 1?

3. What is the association between adolescent relationships (with parents, teachers, peers) and wellbeing at Year 1?

Project 6 Research Questions:

1. What is life like for adolescents with SEN in secondary schools?

2. How do their lifestyle similar or different from that of their peers?

3. How do students with SEN in secondary schools do in terms of their wellbeing?

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree preferably in Psychology, Sociology, or a related field; Applicants with advanced degrees or relevant skills may apply for the senior position  
• Familiar with the Singapore education system (mainstream / special education) 
• Familiar with survey data collection and management 
• Able to perform statistical analysis confidently (e.g., factor analysis, regression) 
• Proficient in Microsoft WORD, EXCEL, and POWERPOINT, TEAMS applications 
• Possess strong interpersonal communication, writing and language skills 
• Possess knowledge of qualitative and quantitative statistical software programs 
• Able to work independently with minimal supervision. 
• Able to work cooperatively in both small (<3 pax) and large teams (>10 Pax) 

Preferred

• Proficient in using at least one statistical software package (e.g., SPSS, R, Stata, Mplus) 
• Experience in working with databases. 
• Experience with Qualtrics 
• Familiar with major theories in educational social psychology (e.g., motivation, self and identity, social and cultural capital) 
• Possess relevant experience in educational or psychological research. 
• Familiarity with the Special Education Sector will be beneficial for Project 6

Responsibilities

• Liaise with participating schools/parents/teachers and other researchers involved in the project 
• Prepare for, and implement data collection 
• Maintain records and document research progress 
• Assist with data preparation, entry, and analysis 
• Assist in the administration and management of project related matters 
• Assist in writing of reports and papers for publication 
• Conduct and summarise academic literature reviews 
• Learn and perform statistical analysis independently 
• Other tasks as assigned by the Principal Investigator / Co-PIs 

Application

Applicants (external and internal) will apply via Workday. We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Closing Date

Closing date for advertisements will be set to 14 calendar days from date of posting

Hiring Institution: NIE