The making of school: a study of school arrangements and pedagogical considerations KU Leuven in United Kingdom

The doctoral project “The making of school: a study of school arrangements and pedagogical considerations” is offered by KU Leuven in Belgium within a collaboration between the Education, Culture and Society (ECS) research unit and the Architecture and Design Sint-Lucas unit. The project is situated at the intersection of pedagogy, educational studies, architecture, and design, and examines how schools are made through everyday arrangements of time, space, materials, rhythms, rules, gestures, language, care, and attention.

The research asks how school arrangements take shape today, how they are pedagogically considered, and how they might be reimagined in response to contemporary challenges such as digitalization, diversity, sustainability, care, authority, and changing forms of living together. Rather than treating school only as a functional learning environment, the project approaches it as a public and pedagogical form in which young people encounter the world, others, and themselves.

The project is organized around three strands: an Atlas of School Arrangement documenting concrete school practices; a Grammar of School Arrangements that develops concepts for understanding underlying pedagogical assumptions and tensions; and a School Design Studio exploring how schools, researchers, and designers can study and potentially redesign their own arrangements.

The successful candidate will conduct a four-year doctoral project combining theoretical work with empirical fieldwork, publish scientific articles, participate in conferences, help organize academic events, and provide approximately 10% teaching assistance. The position is a full-time doctoral scholarship (100%), initially for one year and extendable by three years after positive evaluation.

Applicants should hold a relevant master’s degree in Educational Sciences, Educational Studies, Pedagogy, or a related discipline such as Architecture and Design Sciences, Social Sciences, Anthropology, Philosophy, or Arts and Humanities, with demonstrable expertise in education. Students graduating in September 2026 may also apply if they are likely to complete their degree successfully. A good command of Dutch is essential, and English is also required.

The application deadline is 2026-08-31 23:59 (Europe/Brussels). Interviews will be held in Leuven on 2026-09-10, and a written test will take place on 2026-09-07. Interested candidates should apply through the KU Leuven job portal using the provided application link.