Postdoctoral Position: Youth, Digital Media, and Democracy in Education (1.0 FTE, 2 years)

Postdoctoral Position: Youth, Digital Media, and Democracy in Education

How do social media and digital technologies shape how adolescents understand societal issues and form democratic attitudes? How can education help them to build resillience to online influences? We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic postdoctoral researcher to investigate these questions with us. Join our team at the Cognition in Development (CoDe) Lab led by Dr. Ili Ma at Leiden University.

What you will do

This postdoctoral project focusses on investigating educational interventions that aim to strengthen youths’ democratic values and resilience in the digital context. The postdoc will be embedded in a team which investigates how the digital information environments of adolescents relate to their beliefs and attitudes about societal issues, their democratic values and civic participation. We are looking for a candidate who is enthusiastic about the opportunity to do fundamental, impact-driven research together with adolescents, schools, and societal partners on this topic of high societal relevance.

A background in developmental science, educational science, political psychology, social psychology, cognitive science, or a related field is desirable. Experience with the Dutch educational context, social media data, longitudinal data, or participatory youth research is an advantage though not a prerequisite.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Designing and conducting longitudinal studies on educational interventions for adolescents and young adults
• Collaborating with youth, schools and other societal partners
• Publishing research findings in international scientific journals and impact reports for societal partners
• Presenting research at national and international conferences
• Co-supervising PhD student projects

This is a fulltime (1.0 fte) 2-year position with a flexible starting date ranging from November 2026 to February 2027. This postdoctoral position is funded by the European Research Council, ERC starting grant DISINFORMED TEENS awarded to Dr. Ili Ma. The project offers the opportunity to conduct innovative and societally relevant research at the intersection of adolescent development, digital technology and democracy. You will become part of a supportive research community committed to working with youth and translating scientific insights into knowledge that can benefit schools, policy and society.

Where you will work

What you bring

We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher with:

• A PhD in developmental psychology, political psychology, computational social science, cognitive science or a related field, completed or expected to be completed before the position begins
• Experience in designing and conducting behavioural experiments
• Strong quantitative research skills, including experience with R and/or Python and preferably behavioural or computational modelling
• Experience with, or an interest in developing expertise in, donated social media data and other forms of digital trace data
• Strong analytical and organisational skills, including the ability to plan and conduct research independently
• Excellent written and spoken English, with the ability to communicate research to both academic and non-academic audiences
• Proficiency in Dutch is highly preferred, as the position involves regular interaction with adolescents, schools and societal partners
• Enthusiasm for working with adolescents, together with a careful and ethically sensitive approach to research involving youth and personal digital data
• A collaborative and inclusive mindset, openness to learning new methods and a willingness to share knowledge within and beyond academia
• Enthusiasm for translating scientific findings into practical applications and sharing them with schools, policymakers and other societal partners

What we offer

We also offer:

• An employment contract for (38 hours per week), initially for a period of 1 year, with the possibility of extension of 1 year after a positive evaluation. This contract falls under the CLA of Dutch Universities;
• A salary between €3706 - €5760 gross per month, based on a full-time appointment (38 hours) (Scale 10);
• A holiday allowance (8%), an end-of-year bonus (8,3%), and an attractive pension scheme at ABP;
• Full reimbursement of public transport commuting costs for home-to-work travel;
• Flexible working hours: as a standard, you are entitled to a minimum of 29 leave days on the basis of a full-time working week of 38 hours; you can also save for extra leave, for example by working 40 hours a week, and in this way accrue an extra 96 leave hours, or exchange 96 leave hours for a 36-hour week.
• Lots of options when it comes to secondary employment conditions; we can, for example, discuss options for a sabbatical or paid parental leave. Within our terms of employment individual choices model, you can exchange leave days and/or salary for benefits such as an advantageous sports subscription and bicycle scheme;
• If your work allows it, hybrid working is possible within the Netherlands;
• A home-working allowance (day and internet allowance) and attention for good workplaces. The University will also provide you with a laptop and a mobile telephone.

What we value

Promoting an inclusive community is central to Leiden University’s values and vision. We strive to be an open community in which all students and staff members feel valued and respected, and are able to fully develop themselves. We consider an inclusive academic environment, where students and staff can share their experiences and viewpoints, to be essential for the development of talent.

Want to apply or find out more?

• We believe mobility is very important. That is why we are also publishing this vacancy internally. In case of equal suitability, we will give priority to the internal candidate.
• You live and are officially registered as resident in The Netherlands or are willing to relocate upon starting the position.
• A pre-employment screening (references, diplomas, certificate of good conduct (VOG)) may be part of the selection procedure.
• Acquisition in response to this vacancy is not appreciated. If you nevertheless choose to send us CVs, no rights can be derived from this.