Postdoctoral position: Exploring student writing with generative AI in the Danish L1 classroom, based either in Copenhagen or Aarhus

The Danish School of Education (DPU) at the Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University, invites applications for a fixed-term one-year postdoctoral position associated with the project Hybrid text practices in the Danish L1 classroom. Polyphony, coherence and involvement when writing with generative AI, financed by the Independent Research Fund Denmark. The project runs for 44 months, beginning in March 2026.

The position is full-time (37 hours/week) and begins on 1 March 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Our new colleague will be employed at the Department of Educational Theory and Curriculum Studies, Educational Philosophy, and General Education. The position is based at DPU at either Aarhus campus or Emdrup campus (see the description of DPU below). Since the department is situated in both Aarhus and Copenhagen, the selected applicant should expect some travel activity.

The Danish School of Education (DPU) is committed to diversity and encourages all qualified applicants to apply regardless of their personal background.

Research context
In the project Hybrid text practices in the Danish L1 classroom. Polyphony, coherence and involvement when writing with generative AI, we explore a potentially new broad form of hybrid human–AI writing that also involves navigating artificially generated text.

Through a qualitative text and classroom design, we examine writing with generative AI tools in Danish L1 classrooms in Year 7 and 8 from dialogical, sociocultural and social semiotic perspectives. We focus on students’ observable writing processes in terms of strategies and interactions, their texts, and their explicit reflections on these processes and their writing choices.

We are particularly interested in how generative AI contributes to or challenges students' involvement in writing, and how it affects the way they orchestrate multiple voices and create coherence in texts – all of which are pivotal for literacy learning. Besides much-needed empirical insights, we expect to enrich the theoretical concepts of polyphony, coherence, and involvement with new dimensions.

Postdoctoral position
The selected applicant will work in close collaboration with PI Kristine Kabel and the rest of the research team throughout the employment period, including planning and conducting fieldwork, analysing data, disseminating, and arranging advisory board meetings.

The two main tasks will be to conduct and write a literature review to identify existing knowledge about lower secondary students' writing processes, texts, and reflections on writerly choices in non-GAI practices, and to carry out a specific work package in the project in collaboration with the entire research team. In this work package, we seek to explore what characterises Year 7 and 8 students’ observable writing strategies and interactions when participating in hybrid text practices with generative AI tools. As part of this work package, the postdoctoral researcher will be expected to conduct fieldwork in three classrooms in collaboration with the researchers in the team, in spring 2026, and autumn/winter 2026-27, and participate in analytical activities and the writing of one article, also as part of a collaborative effort.

Teaching and supervision
As a postdoctoral researcher, your position is primarily research-based but will also involve a limited amount of teaching and supervision. To that end, the successful applicant will be expected to participate in the department’s teaching and supervision activities and teach and supervise at MA levels and above at the Department of Department of Educational Theory and Curriculum Studies, Educational Philosophy, and General Education. Any teaching activities is agreed upon with the head of the Department.

Qualifications
Applicants must have a PhD degree in a field related to writing and/or literacy in the context of the subject Danish at the secondary school level. As part of the application, applicants are asked to describe how their previous research experience and qualifications are of relevance for the position and the stated research context and framework of the research project. Furthermore, applicants must be able to document relevant to the position:

• an internationally oriented research profile within writing and/or literacy research as documented by a PhD dissertation and/or research publications
• interest and experience in research collaborations
• solid experience in planning and conducting qualitative fieldwork in classroom or equivalent settings
• excellent communication skills required to engage productively both within the research team and with teachers, students, and other external collaborators
• given the nature of the project’ s empirical work, applicants must be fluent (or almost fluent) in Danish. Furthermore, applicants should master spoken and written English at an advanced academic level.

The application should not exceed 1-2 pages. Additionally, a short CV and a list of publications as well as a short documentation of teaching experiences of relevance for the position should be included.

Please note that although the application process can be completed on the Aarhus University system without uploading publications, applications that do not include uploaded publications (maximum two) will not be considered.

Although the Aarhus University application system includes an option to upload letters of recommendation, please do not include letters of recommendation or references with the application. Applicants who are invited to an interview may be asked to provide references.

Work environment
Active participation in the daily life of the department is a high priority, and we emphasise the importance of good working relationships, both among colleagues and with our students. In order to maintain and develop the department’s excellent teaching and research environment, the selected applicant is expected to be present at the department at a daily, or at least weekly, basis, and to attend for example meetings in the Danish L1 research unit.

For further information about the position, please contact the PI, associate professor Kristine Kabel, email: kabel@edu.au.dk, tel.: + 45 61407646.

Read about the Department of Educational Theory and Curriculum Studies, Educational Philosophy, and General Education, link.

The application must be submitted in English.

About the Danish School of Education  
The Danish School of Education at Aarhus University is Denmark’s largest centre for research and teaching in the fields of education, didactics and learning, with approximately 240 full-time researchers, including 80 PhD students, and 4,500 Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students. The school’s activities are characterised by a high degree of interdisciplinarity and close interaction with society, including businesses, organisations, government agencies and institutions, both in Denmark and abroad.  

International applicants  
International applicants are encouraged to read about family and work-life balance as well as the attractive working conditions and other benefits of working at Aarhus University and in Denmark, including healthcare, paid holidays and, if relevant, maternity/paternity leave, childcare and schooling. Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including a relocation service and career counselling for expat partners. For information about taxation, see the taxation aspects of international researchers’ employment by AU. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here: http://international.au.dk/research/ 

The applicant must be able to teach and publish in English. The applicant will be expected to contribute actively to the department’s academic environment. We emphasise the importance of good working relationships, both among colleagues and with our students.
 

Read more at arts.au.dk/en

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.

 

Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/