Scholarships & funding

CoSS PhD Scholarship – How Teachers’ Engagement in Research Activities Develops Their Knowledge and Shapes Their Pedagogical Decisions

Information on the School/Research Group

This studentship is one of two funded by the University of Glasgow, College of Social Sciences, as part of its commitment to supporting the Scottish Government’s new Centre for Teaching Excellence, which it now hosts.

The successful student will be part of the Centre for Transformative Change in Schools (CenTCS). CenTCS, formerly known as the Robert Owen Centre for Educational Change, is an international research centre housed at the University of Glasgow School of Education that generates research and facilitates collaborative practice to support equity through transformative change in schools. We enact this vision through a core focus on educators' professional learning and praxis. CenTCS fulfils its aims by:

• Creating a vibrant and committed research group that increases grant income, evidences impact and develops a nurturing environment for academic growth;
• Developing national and international networks that support knowledge exchange and impact;
• Developing and researching sustainable Research-Practice Partnerships;
• Growing its national and international reputation as a leader in the field of research on educator professional learning and praxis as a lever for transformative change in schools. 

CenTCS members led the bid for the Centre for Teaching Excellence (CfTE), and several are members of the core team leading its development and implementation. CfTE is a national service that supports teachers to access, create and use research to further enhance teaching and learning in Scottish schools. The University of Glasgow School of Education, in collaboration with the School of Social and Environmental Sustainability and Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, was awarded the bid to further conceptualize and carry out the objectives of CfTE from January 2025 to April 2026, with the possibility of additional funded activities beyond this initial funding period. 

CfTE will meet its objectives by:  

• Engaging with teachers to identify priority areas of focus in learning, teaching and assessment in which they wish to (further) develop research-informed knowledge and understanding;
• Supporting teaching-focused research in priority areas identified;
• Providing timely, accessible and up-to-date syntheses of research focusing on the priority areas identified;
• Supporting teachers to access and use research;
• Providing a space – both physical and digital – to facilitate engagement with, and in, research that supports knowledge-building in the priority areas identified;
• Ensuring access to the CfTE for all teachers in Scotland.

This project will focus on the activities of teachers involved with CfTE in the first instance.

For more details, please click here.

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria

• Have a good Master’s degree (or overseas equivalent) in Curriculum and Instruction, Pedagogies, Sociology of Education, Teacher Education, Professional Development and Adult Learning, or related area;
• Have taught full time for at least three years in a primary or secondary school in the past ten years.
• Be detail-oriented, with well-developed skills at working collaboratively and independently.
• Be able to balance taking initiative with prioritizing the needs of the team.
• Have a demonstrated interest in the topic area under investigation.
• Have a demonstrated ability to forge connections between research and practice.
• Must be able to study full-time.
• Meet or exceed the University’s minimum English Language requirement.

Desirable (but not essential) criteria:

• Have led school-based professional learning.
• Have participated in research-practice partnerships involving school and university personnel.
• Have demonstrated knowledge of the Scottish education landscape.
• Can articulate the benefits of teachers’ engagement with research as well as the challenges that may limit both the engagement with research as well as the benefits of this engagement.

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Education, PhD. 

Number of Scholarships

1

Value

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in October 2025. The funding includes:

• An annual stipend at the UKRI rate
• Fees at the standard home or international fee rate
• Students can also draw on a Research Training Support Grant, usually up to a maximum of £940 per year

How to apply

Applicants must apply via the Scholarships Application Portal (please see Scholarships Application Portal - Applicant Guide for more information).The funding opportunity is under 'College of Social Sciences Postgraduate Research Funding > COSS-25-015'), uploading the following documentation:

• CoSS PhD Scholarship Teachers Engagement Application form (in Word format)
• Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
• Academic Prizes
• Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of this project's supervisory team can act as your referee. Please refer to CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further information
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)
• Academic Writing Sample produced soley by the applicant in the previous five years without the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

*Please note that when you enter your referees contact details on the Scholarships Application Portal and send the reference request, your referees are expected to provide their references  no later than 1 week following the closing date of the Scholarship (below). It is strongly recommended you complete this as soon as possible, as late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Selection process

Applications will be assessed by the project team. Shortlisted applicants may be requested to attend an Interview.

All scholarship awards are subject to candidates successfully securing admission to a PhD programme in the School of Education. Successful applicants will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programme after they are selected for funding.

Closing Date: 06 June 2025

 

For more information contact: Brianna.Kennedy@glasgow.ac.uk