Professor / Principal Investigator, Special Education Teacher Preparation

About the Workforce Intelligence Lab (WIL)

The Workforce Intelligence Lab (WIL) is a workforce research institute studying how workforce conditions affect the delivery of public investments and programs, including the education workforce. WIL builds research partnerships with universities, school systems and education partners for grant and sponsored-research pursuits. Learn more: https://wilinstitute.org

Opportunity type: this is a project-based, part-time grant key personnel role, not a salaried faculty position. WIL is seeking a professor-level researcher to serve as Principal Investigator on a federal education research proposal studying how preservice teacher education can attract, prepare and retain preK-12 general and special education teachers. The proposal is due in December 2026, with an optional letter of intent in late October. Work depends on an award and final staffing approval, and no work is guaranteed. We will ask your permission before naming you or including your CV in any proposal.

What you'll do

• Serve as Principal Investigator, leading the research design and scholarly framing of the proposal

• Shape research questions on recruiting, preparing and retaining general and special education teachers through preservice preparation

• Lead the methods, measurement and analysis plan, working with WIL's workforce data and research team

• Help identify teacher-preparation programs, school districts and other partners for the study

• Write and review key proposal sections, including the significance, research plan and personnel narrative

• Contribute your CV, biosketch and citable prior research to the application

• If funded, lead the study, its findings and its publications with the project team

Apply to be considered.

Requirements

Required

• Earned doctorate (EdD or PhD), preferably in education, special education or teacher education

• Current or former faculty appointment (assistant, associate or full professor, or equivalent)

• Published or funded research on teacher preparation, the special education workforce or teacher retention

• Ability to commit part-time, remote effort to proposal development in October through December 2026

Nice to have

• Prior IES or other federal research grant experience as PI, co-PI or key personnel

• Experience with preK-12 general and special education teacher-preparation programs or district partners

• Quantitative, mixed-methods or causal research design expertise