Eastern European Universities Research Articles

Promoting intergenerational learning in higher education: participants’ perspectives on co-management and project-based learning

ABSTRACT Intergenerational (IG) practices foster understanding among diverse age groups, enhancing active ageing and social cohesion. Universities, as key stakeholders in lifelong learning, are pivotal in IG initiatives. Hence, this study investigates IG practices, rooted in project-based learning and co-management, in an international collaboration of universities. It explores participants’ views on IG learning experiences, emphasising generational perspectives and institutional situatedness. The research was conducted in 2022/2023 across Central and Eastern European universities, involving 45 participants (25 older learners, 20 students). Focus group interviews were employed, using a hybrid deductive-inductive approach. Results reveal age-related differences in IG learning perceptions: younger participants emphasised self-expression and connections, while older adults reported view changes about younger generations. Project-based collaboration and effective communication were key facilitators. Institutional situatedness was also identified as a relevant perspective. Participants at Mendel University emphasised the social engagement of older adults; at Eötvös Loránd University, the focus was on the choice of topics and roles; while at University of Split, there was an emphasis on fostering creativity and cooperation. The study thus underscores IG learning’s complexity and advocates for inclusive IG practices in universities, leveraging project-based and co-management principles.

The Place of Academia in the Knowledge Triangle: How Students Recognize the Role of Scientists for Building an Innovation Ecosystem

Abstract: Universities traditionally play a central role in building a thriving knowledge and innovation ecosystem. However, in many Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, universities and research centres are hardly recognized by students as attractive places for career development or as partners for successful business endeavours. Many factors can explain why the public image of scientists in countries like Bulgaria is underestimated: from low investments and under-financed research to old research infrastructure, poor media coverage, low international mobility and lack of interest from local businesses. At the same time, new opportunities and investments remain hidden for students and young people who remain sceptical about pursuing a research career. Considering this, the paper aims to explore the main challenges for positioning Academia back in the centre of the innovation ecosystem. Starting with a short overview of the main pillars of the knowledge triangle, it further enlarges the analysis with the role of the new national institutions (such as Centre of Excellence and Centres of Competence) within the modern innovation ecosystem. Focusing on the researchers’ role, the paper summarizes how universities can further help to strengthen the knowledge sharing within the society. The paper is structured as follows. The literature review identifies the main components of the thriving innovation ecosystem, considering some of the pressing national and international challenges, recent technology opportunities and public expectations. Then, it presents the EU-level initiative – the European Researchers Night (ERN) role in boosting public awareness and interest in science. More specifically, it explores the K-TRIO project activities in Bulgaria from a knowledge-sharing perspective. In the next part it analyses the opinions of about 107 ICT students who took part during the last year in surveys and round tables dedicated to the role of researchers, research careers and research opportunities for building a sustainable innovation ecosystem. The outcomes of the surveys and round table discussions are presented along with the main conclusions and lessons learned, summarizing their perceptions, prejudices and recommendations. The last part highlights how working with young people and attracting them to Academia can boost its importance for the innovation ecosystem.

Fostering Organizational Performance at Central and Eastern European Universities: The Impact of Knowledge Creation and Affective Commitment

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of knowledge creation and affective commitment on organizational performance. The study also explores the mediating role of affective commitment in this relationship. The results based on the sample of 825 academics and members of the administrative staff at universities from Central and Eastern European countries support the proposed hypotheses of this research. Exploratory and Confirmatory factor analyses were performed to assess the reliability of scales, while structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the hypotheses. This study demonstrates that knowledge creation and affective commitment are predictors of organizational performance. It also shows that affective commitment, which is influenced by knowledge creation, is an important mediating factor that affects organizational performance at public and private universities in Central and Eastern European countries.

Listening to the Outliers: Refining the Curriculum for Dissertation Camps

Seeking to support graduate student writers, writing centers at research universities have developed highly successful dissertation camps over the past 15 years. Previous research from North American dissertation camps has demonstrated significant benefits from these camps, as dissertation writers developed new writing habits and increased their productivity. In this study, however, a closer look at initial and follow-up survey responses provided by participants from dissertation camps at two institutions—an Upper Midwestern university in the United States that has held camps for 11 years and an Eastern European university that held an online camp during the 2020 pandemic—suggests that focusing on the positive responses may obscure some telling tensions between dissertation camps’ benefits and limitations. Our research reveals tensions around four key parts of dissertation camp curricula—developing writing habits and schedules, sustaining a community of writers, focusing on the drafting stage, and emphasizing cross- disciplinary participation. Listening more deeply to these outlier responses sheds valuable light on the affordances and limitations of dissertation writing camps and on how the curricula of dissertation camps might be reimagined to better articulate and embrace those tensions.

Effectiveness of academic institutional models in Europe: university instructor perception case research from Bosnia and Herzegovina and France

PurposeThe aim of this study is to explore the perception of existing academic institutional models through the lens of individual university teacher assessment scores and add knowledge base to the root causes of the effectiveness level of higher educational models between Eastern and Western European universities. The research utilizes higher education instructor performance by exploring positive and negative outcomes from both models.Design/methodology/approachThis mixed methods study is based on 195 questionnaires in conjunction with 42 in-depth interviews of early-stage university teachers, associate professors, and senior university instructors (i.e. full professors) from the University of Banja Luka (UBL), Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Paris Diderot University (UP7), Paris, France. Key performance indicators are calculated in piecing together the existing institutional models to elucidate the opportunities and challenges university instructors face at these institutions. A scoping literature review that examined an East-West European divide was also conducted to add weight to the research.FindingsResults indicate the UBL model is considered mostly ineffective while the UP7 model showed signs of ineffectiveness. An East-West divide that exists in European universities was deduced through additional literature, and cohesion-based practices may be needed to truncate model differences as a result of the East's lack of academic freedom.Originality/valueThe research demonstrated important recommendations for academic institutional models by immediately signaling a need to open up the level of creativity of their instructors (i.e. the idea that university teaching is a creative profession that requisites a certain level of academic freedom). The research examined university concern – morally and financially – and weighed in on university instructors' options of abandoning university instructors' workplace in search of working in a prosperous Western country.

Pedagogical Senses of Digital Learning ion the Context of the Covid‑19 Pandemic: Case Studies of Several Eastern European Countries

In the context of the Covid‑19 pandemic, teacher education at universities has faced great problems concerning the teaching-learning practice. Educational processes have become possible only with the help of digital technologies. The development of digital technologies and the new level of accessibility to educational resources have opened up new ways for teaching and learning and the creation of new didactic scenarios. The reopening of educational institutions after the Covid‑19 is followed by many tasks that challenge the main actors in the teaching-learning process in a new way. The authors reflect on whether it makes sense for teachers and future teachers to continue learning how to work with digital technologies and create new learning formats for their students. In order to develop teacher education at universities and serious attention to digital didactics, not only the challenges but also the pedagogical senses of the Covid‑19 pandemic need to be identified. The unconscious and «detached» perception of current digital transformations in educational policy, higher teacher education and school education hinders the development of teacher education at the university and decreases the role of the teacher in society. A comparative analysis of cases of teacher education from five Eastern European universities is used to address these goals. The analysis aims to examine the hypotheses stated with inductive reasoning

Social Responsibility and Community Engagement at a Hungarian Regional University

The article highlights that the concept of social responsibility does not only offer possibilities for brand building, but is also the social obligation of universities for the empowerment of their various external communities. After an overview of the current terminology of corporate- and university social responsibility and university community engagement, it presents forms of practice differentiating between USR and community engagement activities using the example of an Eastern-European university of applied sciences. The mainly qualitative data, collected from the content analysis of institutional documents and semi-structured interviews with key members of staff, demonstrate that although the university is a small regional institution, its social responsibility practice is commendable.

Service-Learning as a Novelty Experience at Central and Eastern European Universities: Students’ Narratives of Satisfaction and Premises of Change

As a proxy of community-engaged teaching and learning pedagogy in higher education institutions (HEIs), service-learning (SL) has just recently become a phenomenon of research and policy interest in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). This study explores the first-ever service-learning experience of 246 students coming from three universities at Central and Eastern Europe (Slovakia, Romania and Croatia). The quantitative part of the survey was used to compare the differences between countries, whereas the qualitative part of the survey was a summative assessment, i.e., reflections on the satisfaction with SL experiences were collected through the open-ended questions of the survey, by treating the three countries as one dataset. Research findings speak in favour of students’ satisfaction with their first-ever SL experience, regardless of the country of their residence. Students from all three countries highly value their SL experience as it provided them with possibilities to learn a lot about the academic field and community as well, by facilitating their personal and professional contribution to the community. The legacy of SL courses relates with paradigmatic shifts in various academic aspects, like students and professors changing roles, students being placed in the centre of the learning process, connectedness of the curricula with the real-life setting, better understanding and appreciation of subjects studied. As for the non-academic related aspects, students’ reflection disclose their acknowledgment of personal growth and changes related with cognitive, emotional and behavioural dimensions. Our findings reveal that the unique experience students had with the SL courses shaped their narratives into ones of satisfaction and change.

University student satisfaction with blended learning: a cross-national study between North Macedonia and Jordan

The study aims to investigate the impact of blended learning (BL) as a novel teaching and learning methodology. Two different learning platforms were considered in this study; Google Classroom used at the South Eastern European University (SEEU) and Moodle used at Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT). A total of 369 respondents participated from both universities. Results reveal that the teacher-student interaction is significantly improved with BL. Both, atmosphere created during the process and independent learning were positively related to students' satisfaction with BL. In addition, it was accepted that BL platforms make it easier for publishing resources and organising courses. Moreover, results show that there are some differences in satisfaction between students in Jordan and students in North Macedonia. Finally, the study could be further improved through conducting wider in depth cross-country/culture comparative studies to investigate if the differences observed in this study will withstand further scrutiny.

University student satisfaction with blended learning: a cross-national study between North Macedonia and Jordan

The study aims to investigate the impact of blended learning (BL) as a novel teaching and learning methodology. Two different learning platforms were considered in this study; Google Classroom used at the South Eastern European University (SEEU) and Moodle used at Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT). A total of 369 respondents participated from both universities. Results reveal that the teacher-student interaction is significantly improved with BL. Both, atmosphere created during the process and independent learning were positively related to students' satisfaction with BL. In addition, it was accepted that BL platforms make it easier for publishing resources and organising courses. Moreover, results show that there are some differences in satisfaction between students in Jordan and students in North Macedonia. Finally, the study could be further improved through conducting wider in depth cross-country/culture comparative studies to investigate if the differences observed in this study will withstand further scrutiny.

Reflection of the personality-oriented approach by the subjects of its implementation in Eastern Europe

The article deals with the study of the assessment of personality-oriented approach by the subjects of its implementation in the formation of pedagogical professionalism in higher educational institutions in Eastern Europe, where such an approach is still considered innovative. Students and teachers of physical education faculties were selected as the reference group. The main objective is to clarify the relationship between the classical principles of personality-oriented approach and its reflection by the subjects of the educational process. A remote survey of students and teachers of physical education faculties helped identify a number of universities, regional and personal advantages in using a personality-oriented approach. The authors clarified key concepts and patterns of this approach, its objective and subjective attributes and patterns. The method of ranking of student and teacher preferences and associative concepts helped identify trends, advantages and disadvantages of the implementation of personality-oriented learning in Eastern European universities. The article clarifies that there is a dissonance in the academic and personal student understanding of the implementation of the analysed approach in Eastern Europe: the main generalizing concepts for teachers are choice, initiative, personality, independence, while for students these are independence. The ratings of the advantages of personality-oriented learning from the point of view of students of Eastern and Western Europe are also compared. On the basis of the obtained data, the authors developed the scheme of the modern implementation of the personality-oriented approach, and determined the prospects for further research. The latter is to solve the problem of harmonization of compulsory and variable (individual) components of the content of education; development of methods to increase motivation, responsibility and self-acquisition of professional competencies by future teachers.

Optimism, interest and gender equality: comparing attitudes of university students in Latvia and Ukraine toward IT learning and work

ABSTRACT Global processes of digitalisation are transforming learning and work. University students in all nations are under pressure to develop positive and productive technology-related skills and dispositions. This study investigates the attitudes of 1,006 Latvian and Ukrainian university students towards information technology. Survey responses from the Attitudes towards Information Technology scale were collected, validated, analysed and interpreted. By generating group-response profiles and conducting multivariate analyses of variance, the attitudinal orientations of participants were compared, and significant differences between gender and nation subgroups identified. From a gender perspective, one noteworthy finding is that males in both countries expressed a significantly higher interest in learning about IT than females. From a national perspective, Ukrainians reported significantly higher optimism about IT in the workplace than Latvians. This study produces several novel findings addressing the attitudes of Eastern European university students towards information technology and their readiness for digitalised learning and work.

Analysis of the Efficiency of China’s Distance Economic Education in Force Majeure Circumstances

This article focuses on the latest approaches to the effective delivery of distance education for the students of economic specialties in China’s higher education institutions in force majeure circumstances. Distance education was introduced due to the complex global epidemiological situation, unpredictable for the entire world community. The growing role and importance of distance learning in contemporary higher education overall and the education of economists in particular have been outlined. The need to use and constantly upgrade software and distance learning platforms is emphasized. The current Chinese approaches to the provision of the economists’ distance education in higher education institutions are outlined. The efficiency factors of the economists’ distance education in China’s higher education institutions were determined and substantiated. Namely, the following efficiency factors were considered: importance of approbation and implementation of the new interaction methods among the participants of the teaching and learning process, game approach application aimed at the formation of motivation of students to study, the creation and continuous modernization of the informational and educational environment of the university, the provision of a free access to up-to-date digital technology and information and communication learning technologies, the use and efficient combination of distance learning platforms in teaching disciplines, the formation of digital competence of students and teachers, as well as the openness of the colleges and university management and faculty to change. The effectiveness study of distance education provision for the students of economics was experimentally tested. The results of distance learning and teaching during the semester in force majeure circumstances were analyzed on the basis of empirical data from the students’ survey at the Department of Economics of a state-owned Chinese higher education institution. The research findings emphasize the feasibility of studying and analyzing China’s positive experience in the provision of distance learning economic education in force majeure circumstances. Recommendations for the implementation of China's experience in economists’ training in Eastern European universities were elaborated and presented.

Economic and Mathematical Methods for Ranking Eastern European Universities

Economic and Mathematical Methods for Ranking Eastern European Universities

Linking reward types to organizational performance in Central and Eastern European universities: The mediating role of affective commitment

Scholars and managers have been discussing and investigating assets that could offer superior performance for decades, and they found that human resources are the most important asset that enables organizations to improve their organizational performance. This study focuses on rewarding systems in universities as one of the human resource management practices, and its effects on universities’ organizational performance. Furthermore, it provides a research model which examines the direct and indirect effects of reward types on organizational performance, where affective commitment is used as a mediator between rewards and organizational performance. This study provides empirical evidence for affective commitment mediating the link between rewards and organizational performance in a sample of 825 academics and administrative staff at universities from Central and Eastern European countries. Exploratory and Confirmatory factor analyses were performed to assess the reliability of scales, whereas structural equation modelling was utilized to evaluate the proposed research hypotheses. Our results showed that affective commitment mediates the link between some rewards and organizational performance. Research results indicate the significance of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards to improve affective commitment and organizational performance in universities. Moreover, this research also contributes to the knowledge of the antecedents of affective commitment and organizational performance.

The adaptation of students during academic mobility processes: The case of Belarus

The article describes the experience of Belarus in the field of international academic mobility. The purpose of the article is to reveal the theoretical and methodological aspects of the internationalization of higher education and academic mobility and describe the current situation on the integration of Belarus into the international context, from a sociological and statistical perspective. In view of the significant number of Belarusian students in Polish and Eastern European universities, the topic is relevant in the context of the study of academic mobility in Eastern Europe. As part of the first task, the theoretical aspects of studying the internationalization of higher education in the country are described – with justification for the development of both the external and internal internationalization, as well as a description of various types of students’ adaptation when studying abroad (academic, linguistic, socio-cultural). As part of the second task, the results of the author’s sociological study are presented, which includes two main components. Firstly, the results of a survey devoted to the study of the views of Belarusian students regarding academic mobility (including cognitive, affective and behavioural aspects) are presented. Secondly, the results of a series of in-depth interviews among participants in the processes of academic mobility aimed at studying the practices of Belarusian students staying abroad for educational purposes are considered. The studies showed the need to increase the awareness of Belarusian students about the possibilities of academic mobility (the vast majority of students have incomplete or fragmented ideas about the possibilities of academic mobility), as well as the problem of the incomplete involvement of the Belarusian higher education system in the international context (the activity of students participating in exchange programs is not counted at Belarusian universities). In accordance with the results, recommendations are given for the further integration of the Belarusian higher education system into the international context.

Eastern European universities score highly in university gender ranking

The annual Leiden Ranking of institutes’ scientific performance includes a measure of gender balance for first time. The annual Leiden Ranking of institutes’ scientific performance includes a measure of gender balance for first time.

Invasive Fungal Infection in Romania: Changing Incidence and EpidemiologyDuring SixYears of Surveillance in a Tertiary Hospital.

The present study aimed to evaluate the incidence of candidemia, the trend of species distribution and the antifungal susceptibility patterns of all invasive strains of Candida spp. isolated over a 6-year period in an Eastern European University hospital. A total number of 156 isolates were reidentified by MALDI-TOF and tested for susceptibility by SensititreTM YeastOne™. Isolates were assigned as non-susceptible or belonging to the wild type according to the new CLSI (2017, 2018) break points and epidemiological cut-off values. C. parapsilosis (37.82%) was the most frequently isolated yeast, followed by C. albicans (26.28%). The general tendency of the species distribution during the surveyed period shifted towards an increase in C. parapsilosis and C. lusitaniae isolates. Fluconazole resistance was present in 23.52% of C. glabrata, 5.08% of C. parapsilosis and in none of the C. albicans, C. tropicalis and C. lusitaniae isolates. Echinocandin resistance was present only in 1(5.88%) C. glabrata isolate. The study emphasises the importance of monitoring local epidemiologic data and antifungal susceptibility trends due to the diversity of affected patient groups in our hospital.

Implicit Theories of Marital Relationships: A Grounded Theory of Socialization Influences

ABSTRACTA qualitative study was conducted in an Eastern European university, involving 16 participants from functional and dysfunctional families who participated in semistructured interviews about the development of their implicit theories of a happy marital relationship. The students shared their ideas of a happy marriage, their parents’ marriage, including the level of happiness, conflict and other issues, what they thought were major influences on the formation of their ideas of marriage including exploration of the role of fiction media. The following major socialization influences emerged as themes: parental relationship, individual parental characteristics, observation of other relationships, gender role ideology, education, media, and experiences of own relationships.

Between Social Tutelage and Individual Responsibility: Dilemmas of Higher Education in Eastern Europe

What explains the crisis of the Eastern European universities, and how can they overcome it? This article tries to find the causes of such a crisis in the communist tradition and the lingering communitarian systems of thought in Eastern Europe. The current state-controlled academic systems in the region continue to reproduce such a culture. Instead, this article suggests the transformation of Eastern European universities to entrepreneurial universities focused on creating entrepreneurial graduates who invest in and benefit from their careers. A university—industry—government triple helix model would have been the right model had not industry in many Eastern European countries collapsed under communist regimes. In such a case, universities should take over the task of encouraging industry creation. Also, other societal stakeholders might help.