PhD-researcher (PhD; 4 years 100% employment): Invisible barriers to equal opportunities in education: Are (changes in) 'cultural fit' in self, cognition and motivation related to well-being and school success?

The current PhD-project is the first to empirically address some hitherto invisible barriers to equity in education, namely cultural (mis)fit between schools' expected and students' embodied patterns of self, cognition and motivation, which are known to vary across cultural and social class contexts. It integrates insights from social and cultural psychology and acculturation psychology with those from educational sciences and sociology to answer - in a quantitative way - how (changes in) cultural (mis)fit in self, cognition and motivation are associated with both well-being and school outcomes. This project is embedded in the 5-year ERC Starting Grant project PsychAcc in which Prof. Jozefien De Leersnyder and her team of 2 PhD-students, 3 postdocs and a research coordinator aim to ‘Rethink Psychological Acculturation’. (this is WP3).

The research will be carried out within the Centre for Social and Cultural Psychology (CSCP), which is part of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at KU Leuven. The CSCP enjoys an international reputation in the field and is widely recognized for its innovative research on acculturation, living together in diversity, cultural and gender diversity, stigma, and affective processes, which are studied from both theoretical and cross-cultural angles. The CSCP consists of 5 female professors as well as a very diverse team of about 20 PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. Through nourishing a critical but constructive attitude, they together conduct research on the above described themes. They join each other for weekly seminars and an annual retreat.
Website unit

Project

In many countries — and in Flanders, Belgium, in particular — there is a large and persistent academic achievement gap between students from ethnically minoritized and/or low socio-economic status (SES) groups and students from ethnic majority and high SES groups (Hanushek et al., 2022; OECD, 2019). This gap cannot be ‘explained away’ by individual characteristics like IQ or home language (Korkmazer & Agirdag, 2015), pointing instead to structural barriers. Indeed, studies have shown how a discriminatory school climate can undermine both school-belonging and performance (Baysu, Agirdag & De Leersnyder, 2023) and how school’s approaches to diversity matter a lot (e.g., Agirdag & De Leersnyder, 2024; Bardach et al., 2024; Celeste et al., 2019; Konings & De Leersnyder, 2025). Overall, these studies show how approaches that consider cultural differences as a ‘deficit’ and push for assimilation have negative effects on the well-being and school outcomes of all pupils, while those that embrace diversity and consider it a resource for learning have positive effects.

To date, the study of diversity approaches has mainly focused on the explicit recognition of cultural, linguistic and religious identities and practices at school. However, the ‘hidden curriculum’ of a school also tends to be very much cultured, ranging from expectations on how students should relate to their teacher (self-concept), what constitutes logical reasoning (cognition) and which drivers for action are considered fruitful for learning (motivation). Drawing upon the large literature in cultural psychology, we can see that Western educational systems typically expect students to behave in an independent and autonomous way (Stephens et al., 2012), promote an analytic cognitive style (Kim, 2002) and consider motivations centered on self-set goals and successes as most fruitful (Stephens et al., 2012). Yet, these expectations reflect white, middle-class norms and socialization practices; those common in non-Western or lower class families may not be geared towards these psychological tendencies (see also Bourdieu, 1974 for a similar reasoning). Therefore, ethnic minoritized or low SES students from cultures/families where holistic thinking or interdependent selves and motivational styles are valued, may experience a ‘cultural misfit’  or less ‘cultural fluency’ at school than their white middle class peers. Through its set up, expectations and didactics – irrespective of a decolonial curriculum and explicit acknowledgement of diverse cultures – Western educational systems may thus inadvertently disadvantage ethnic minoritized and low SES students and the ‘cultural (mis)fit’ between schools’ expected and students’ embodied self, cognition and motivation, may thus constitute an hitherto invisible barrier to equity in education.

The current PhD-project is the first to empirically address these questions, thereby integrating insights from social and cultural psychology and acculturation psychology with those from educational sciences and sociology. Specifically, this project is embedded in the 5-year ERC Starting Grant project PsychAcc that aims to ‘Rethink Psychological Acculturation’. While dominant theories of psychological acculturation —defined as changes in individuals’ psychological and behavioral patterns arising from sustained contact with another culture (Graves, 1967)— have traditionally focused on explicit attitudes and identities of ethnic minority groups towards both the heritage and majority culture (Berry, 1999), the current project aims to document acculturation in other ‘core’ psychological tendencies, such as self, cognition and motivation, which all implicitly reflect people’s cultural affiliations (see e.g., Yilmaz, Phalet & De Leersnyder, 2024 for a demonstration in the domain of self and earlier work of Prof. De Leersnyder for an elaboration of emotional acculturation). The current PhD-project constitutes work package 3 in which students’ cultural fit or misfit with the dominant as well as heritage cultural groups’ patterns of self, cognition and motivation are associated with school outcomes and well-being. Given the longitudinal nature of the study, it will also tackle whether changes in (mis)fit are associated with changes in outcomes. The 2-year study that includes 5-waves of datacollection is set in 40 secondary schools in Flanders, in which we aim to follow 3000 students from ethnic majority Flemish Belgian and mostly Turkish and Moroccan minoritize youth in Flanders (ages 14-18). The analyses will not only investigate the aforementioned links among students from ethnic minoritized groups, but also among students from the majority group, and can take other individual level factors into account such as ethnic identities, need for closure etc., as well as important school-related factors such the schools’ explicit diversity models, ethnic and SES composition, etc. This rich and longitudinal dataset forms the basis to answer the research questions in a quantitative way and to write an article-based PhD by the summer of 2029

The scientific importance of this research lies in its ability to redefine psychological acculturation as a multifaceted process of change. At the societal level, it encourages a shift in how people and policymakers view cultural change and 'integration' – away from a narrow focus on the willingness of minorities and towards recognizing the often invisible nature of these processes that affect everyone. In addition, and the focus of this PhD-project, PsychAcc also highlights possible hitherto invisible barriers such as the cultural 'misfit' between the ways of being, thinking and getting motivated in which young people are socialized and the white middle-class norms that are encouraged and rewarded by schools. If the theoretical rationales are underpinned with empirical evidence, PscyhAcc’s ultimate goal is to help educators and schools to be more welcoming of different selves, cognitive and motivational styles to advance equity in education.

More information on the project can be found on our website: www.psychacc.be

You will be supervised by Prof. Jozefien De Leersnyder and a co-supervisor of your choice. You will be embedded in a warm team with weekly meetings and for all practical aspects of data collection, you will be assisted by a research support officer and a team of jobstudents. During your 4-year position, you will:

• conduct research on the theme outlined above, aiming to obtaining a doctorate
• publish your scientific articles in English-language and peer-reviewed international journals
• actively participate in international conferences and help organize local study days and conferences
• provide limited teaching assistance (max. 40 hours per year) for courses in the Bachelor or Master of Psychological and/or Educational Sciences

Profile

• You hold a Master's degree in Social or Cultural Psychology, a research master's degree in Psychology, Migration Studies, Sociology, School Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Educational Sciences, Educational Sciences, Educational Sciences, or a Master's degree in a related discipline in which you have acquired demonstrable expertise in the field of social and cultural psychological processes, education or migration, and advanced statistics. Students who will graduate in the summer of 2025 are also encouraged to apply, provided they have a demonstrable chance of success.
• You have a good knowledge of multivariable statistics and you are motivated and able to learn advanced statistical methods, such as longitudinal analyses and multilevel analyses.
• You are self-directed and have a sense of initiative, but you are also a team player who wants to learn from others and help others where possible.
• You have a good knowledge of English (B2-C2 level); multilingualism in one of the migration languages of Belgium is a plus.
• You have a smooth pen.
• Having multiple cultural frames of reference and/or experiences in different cultural contexts is a plus.

Offer

• We offer full-time employment (100%) as a doctoral scholarship holder for a period of 1 year. In the (very likely) event of a positive evaluation, the appointment will be extended for another 3 years. In total, 4 years of PhD-funding is reserved for this project. 
• We also offer guidance in your growth process as a researcher by a young and driven supervisor and a co-supervisor (team).
• You will have the opportunity to participate in national and international conferences to present your own research 
• You will get plenty of opportunities to take on advanced training courses within the framework of this project (e.g., advanced statistics, course on diversity in education, etc.)
• Start date: September 1st, 2025.
• For remuneration and benefits: https://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/en/working-at-kuleuven/working-at-kuleuven

Interested?

For more information please contact Prof. dr. Jozefien De Leersnyder, tel.: +32 16 37 23 16, mail: [email protected].

KU Leuven strives for an inclusive, respectful and socially safe environment. We embrace diversity among individuals and groups as an asset. Open dialogue and differences in perspective are essential for an ambitious research and educational environment. In our commitment to equal opportunity, we recognize the consequences of historical inequalities. We do not accept any form of discrimination based on, but not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnic or national background, skin colour, religious and philosophical diversity, neurodivergence, employment disability, health, or socioeconomic status. For questions about accessibility or support offered, we are happy to assist you at this email address.