Research Assistant (Postdoc) (m/f/d)
(E 13 TV-G-U)
to be filled for a limited period of 36 months at the earliest possible date. The salary grade is based on the job characteristics of the collective agreement applicable to Goethe University (TV-G-U).
The project is jointly led by Prof. Dr. Birgit Becker and Dr. Thomas Zimmermann.
The planned project examines the ideas parents of 6-10-year-old children have about their child’s future social status. We analyze the extent to which status aspirations differ according to socio-economic status (SES) and migration background and what role these status aspirations play in parents’ educational aspirations and the educational decisions made in families. Regarding the concept of status aspirations, we refer to rational choice theories that consider the motivation for intergenerational status maintenance as a central mechanism for socially stratified educational decisions. The desire for upward mobility, on the other hand, is theoretically less relevant. These theoretical assumptions are rarely questioned, although there are indications in the literature that in some social groups, the desire for upward mobility is decisive for educational decisions. However, an empirical examination of the theoretical assumptions (the desire to maintain status outweighs the desire for upward mobility) is usually tricky since these two forms of status striving are often not differentiated in the operationalizations. It is also often not taken into account that “social status” is a multidimensional concept, and it is unclear what relative importance the various dimensions of the concept (education, prestige, income) have for the educational decisions of different social groups.
We are therefore planning a theoretical reconceptualization of familial status aspirations, the development and extensive testing of suitable measurement instruments and the empirical analysis of sociological questions on the distribution of status aspirations according to SES and migration background as well as on the (differential) effects of different forms of status aspirations on educational decisions. Extensive pretests are planned to test the newly developed instruments. Following this instrument development, data will be collected based on a register sample of parents with 6-10-year-old children through an online survey. In addition to extensive analyses of this primary data, a supplementary secondary analysis using data from the National Educational Panel Study is planned to investigate the effects of status aspirations longitudinally.
Requirements:
- completed academic university degree (Master/Diploma) in the field of social or educational sciences
- very good doctorate in a subject relevant to social or educational science (preferably sociology, political science, psychology or educational science)
- relevant knowledge in several of the above-mentioned project-relevant subject areas ((educational-) inequalities according to socio-economic status (SES) and/or migration background; social mobility; rational choice theories)
- excellent knowledge in the application of advanced quantitative methods (e. g. imputation of missing values) with Stata and/or R, proven by national and international peer-reviewed journal publications
- very good knowledge of English
- experience in instrument development and web survey programming is desirable
For your application, the following documents should be combined in one PDF document: Cover letter, CV, list of publications, certificates, a two-page outline of a research paper you would write as a postdoc on this project. Applications should be sent electronically, quoting the reference number 16/2024 by 16.09.2024 to the Dean of the Department of Social Sciences of the J.W. Goethe University, e-mail address: dekanat.fb03-bewerbungen@soz.uni-frankfurt.de
Goethe University actively promotes equal opportunities and particularly welcomes applications from persons with a migration background. Women are given priority if they have the same qualifications; this also applies to persons with disabilities. Great importance is attached to the family-friendly organization of university working contexts. There are additional (also financial) resources to support the career development of female scientists and the compatibility of family and career for scientists of all genders with care responsibilities.