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Associate Research Director, Questionnaire Dev't & Policy Research
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Position Number: 1869533
Location: Chestnut Hill, MA
Position Type: Laboratory and Research

Associate Research Director, Questionnaire Dev't & Policy Research
Boston College

Boston College Introduction

Founded in 1863, Boston College is a Jesuit, Catholic university located six miles from downtown Boston with an enrollment of 9,377 full-time undergraduates and 4,420 graduate and professional students. Ranked 37 among national universities, Boston College has 878 full-time and 1,201 FTE faculty, 2,750 non-faculty employees, an operating budget of $1 billion, and an endowment in excess of $2.2 billion.

Job Description

The TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center is hiring an Associate Research Director, Questionnaire Development and Policy Research, reporting to the Executive Directors.

Located at Boston College's Lynch School of Education and Human Development, IEA's TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center conducts regular international comparative assessments of student achievement in mathematics and science (TIMSS) and in reading (PIRLS) in more than 60 countries. TIMSS (the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) and PIRLS (the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) together comprise the core cycle of studies for IEA - the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement. Headquartered in Amsterdam and with a major data processing and research center in Hamburg, IEA has been conducting international comparative studies of student achievement since 1959.

TIMSS and PIRLS collect an array of information about home, school, and classroom contexts in which students in each country learn mathematics, science, and reading. Collecting comparable data about students' opportunities to learn is at the core of TIMSS and PIRLS, and the results are reported regularly in relation to countries' achievement on the mathematics, science, and reading assessments and as a matter of interest to educators and policy makers.

The Associate Research Director, Questionnaire Development and Policy Research, is responsible for managing questionnaire development of the Home, School, Teacher, Students, and Curriculum Questionnaires. The position also involves using TIMSS & PIRLS results to prepare policy briefs to help TIMSS and PIRLS countries make evidence-based decisions to improve educational achievement and to make TIMSS and PIRLS results more useful with each assessment cycle. The position requires travel to approximately six international meetings per year, and involves supervision of research assistants and graduate students.

Responsibilities:

Updating the TIMSS and PIRLS Contextual Questionnaire Frameworks for TIMSS and PIRLS.
Lead international expert panels (TIMSS Questionnaire Item Review Committee and PIRLS Questionnaire Development Group) to advance TIMSS and PIRLS questionnaire design, content, and implementation.
Coordinating and contributing to the analysis and reporting of the context questionnaire data in the International Reports for TIMSS and PIRLS.
Contribute to ongoing improvement of the TIMSS and PIRLS questionnaires, keeping up to date with enhancements of, and research on, data collection and analytic methods designed for self-reports in cross-cultural settings.
Conducting in-depth analyses of TIMSS and PIRLS questionnaire data; writing and editing reports and articles based on TIMSS and PIRLS data; disseminating TIMSS and PIRLS results.
Writing research proposals.

Requirements

Advanced qualifications and experience in educational measurement and research
Experience in developing questionnaires for educational or psychological research
Experience in research and analytic methods designed for self-reports in cross-cultural settings
Experience in analyzing and reporting questionnaire data relevant to educational policies
Experience in writing research publications and proposals
Experience working in an international and multicultural environment
Strong communication skills, both oral and written
Skill in using word processing, excel, database, and presentation software
The ability to work with others under pressure to adhere to tight deadlines
Exercise maturity of judgment
PhD in educational research/international education policy/cross-cultural psychology/policy analysis, or related field (or MA plus equivalent experience)

A minimum of 5 years of experience in the field for the Assistant Director level.

A minimum of 10 years of experience in the field for the Associate Director level

This is a grant funded position.

Competitive salary commensurate with experience.

Closing Statement

Boston College offers a broad and competitive range of benefits depending on your job classification eligibility;

Tuition remission for Employees
Tuition remission for Spouses and Children who meet eligibility requirements
Generous Medical, and Dental Insurance
Low-Cost Life Insurance
Eligibility for both 401K and University Funded 403B Retirement Plans
Paid Holidays Annually
Generous Sick, and Vacation Pay
Additional benefits can be found on https://www.bc.edu/employeehandbook

?Boston College conducts background checks as part of the hiring process.

Boston College is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of any legally protected category including disability and protected veteran status. To learn more about how BC supports diversity and inclusion throughout the university please visit the Office for Institutional Diversity at https://www.bc.edu/offices/diversity .

Boston College's Notice of Nondiscrimination can be viewed at https://www.bc.edu/offices/diversity/compliance/nondiscrim

To view the full job posting and apply for this position, go to: https://bc.csod.com/ats/careersite/JobDetails.aspx?id=3825&site=1

Boston College is a Jesuit, Catholic university that strives to integrate research excellence with a foundational commitment to formative liberal arts education. We encourage applications from candidates who are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive academic community. Boston College is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of any legally protected category including disability and protected veteran status. To learn more about how BC supports diversity and inclusion throughout the university, please visit the Office for Institutional Diversity at http://www.bc.edu/offices/diversity.