The Interdisciplinary Research Network started its cycle of seminars

On November 7, the first scientific seminar organised as part of the Interdisciplinary Research Network (ISB) established by the Educational Research Institute was held. The meeting was attended by nearly 30 experts representing academic centres from the entire country.

The seminar began by recalling the life of the recently deceased Professor Maria Dudzikowa, long-term vice-president of the Pedagogical Sciences Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences, editor-in-chief of the “Pedagogical Yearbook” of the Polish Academy of Sciences, scientific and didactic staff person at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. The work of Prof. Dudzikowa contributed to developing an interdisciplinary approach to viewing the functioning of the school in Poland, which is one of the objectives of the ISB. The seminar was dedicated to her memory.

The significance of higher education in the modern world

The starting point of the seminar was a question about the essence of higher education in the modern world. It was pointed out that education is a good or a resource that places individuals in the social hierarchy and provides them with a number of benefits. It was also emphasised that higher education stimulates the ability to think critically and theoretically, and also directs one towards autotelic values.

The topics discussed during the seminar revolved around issues relating to the broadly understood concepts of teaching and education. Demographic conditions of the functioning of education and the market value of formal higher education were discussed. Educational inequalities and the influence of social origin on educational choices were also discussed. An important problem raised during the discussions was the importance of mechanisms mitigating the dysfunctionality of the impact of level of education on an individual’s professional position. The role of lifelong learning and the need to develop competences were emphasised. This relates to the ongoing changes in the labour market and society. Taking into account such factors as making job roles more flexible, combining family and professional roles, and finally over-education, a career should not be understood today only as a professional career, but more holistically – as a lifetime career.

Cycle of thematic seminars

The next seminars will focus on the following topics:

The culture of higher education institutions:

  • higher education institutions as an environment of cultural transmission
  • the ethos of higher education, cultural norms and models relating to the functioning of higher education institutions and their students
  • the connection between level of education and the relations formed among entities functioning in the public sphere and among people 

Psychological and pedagogical issues in the context of higher education:

  • the significance of higher education in developing personal characteristics
  • the significance of educational expansion for the (re)construction of a biography
  • the influence of higher education on civic engagement
  • career counselling and forming aspirations
  • the teaching staff of higher education and their approach to their work in the context of the changing realities of the functioning of higher education

Finances and the economy – various conditions affecting higher education:

  • public finances
  • household budgets
  • the labour market
  • technological advances
  • forecasting the need for occupations, qualifications and skills

The Interdisciplinary Research Network

The Interdisciplinary Research Network (ISB) was established by the Educational Research Institute. Its aim is rational, orderly and fact-based discussion about the role of higher education and its interaction with other key areas of life. Network participants acknowledge the premise that the effects of the higher education system influence both the economy, public finances, as well as the health and safety of society. And vice versa: the condition of the economy has a measurable impact on the financing of education, while technological advances allow the use of modern technologies in education. ISB aims to identify and describe these interactions. A task of the research network is also to accumulate experience and knowledge about education.

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On November 7, the first scientific seminar organised as part of the Interdisciplinary Research Network (ISB) established by the Educational Research Institute was held. The meeting was attended by nearly 30 experts representing academic centres from the entire country.