European Education Research Articles

Докторантското обучение в България в светлината на Болонския процес и Европейското образователно пространство

Abstract: Doctoral training is a key prerequisite for building the European Education Area. The article aims to provide an overview and an analysis of doctoral training in Bulgaria in the context of the Bologna Process and the European Education Area. The mains tasks are to outline the perspectives and challenges facing doctoral education, while at the same time attempting to derive recommendations for optimizing the educational and research process within doctoral education in Bulgaria. To achieve these aims, desk research and secondary data analysis were used, as well as content analysis of administrative and legal documents. The working hypothesis is that although the national-level regulatory framework is largely in line with European standards and guidelines, there are gaps in the implementation of the Bologna Process tools. Key words: doctoral training; Bologna Process; European Education Area; europeanization of education; European university alliances.

Думи на водещите броя

Думи на водещите броя

Education Mobility as a Service: A Study of the Features of a Novel Mobility Platform

The European Union’s Erasmus+ program strongly supports mobility for finding training or work opportunities. However, in the era of pandemics, there is a need to find remedies for restricted movement. One solution is to create a platform for collaboration in the spheres of work and training. This article aims to identify the crucial factors for the development of a novel ecosystem for the European education mobility. This mixed-method study employed interviews with 140 respondents. The authors utilized the NVivo software, specifically its Word Frequency Query functionality, to identify relevant features in the four main categories: competence acquisition, pedagogy, organization, and technology. Findings suggest that the acquisition of competencies should be oriented towards the future labor market, students prefer gamified activities, the platform should be organized to allow for easy job and training searches, and 2D and 3D solutions should be combined for versatility. Overall, future-oriented content, motivation, and technologically diverse activities are positively perceived by students and can be seen as a major trend in creating similar tools. This type of user experience research could also be extended to a group of teachers and administrative personnel engaged in education mobility as service activities. This research was conducted as part of the ERASMUS+ project eMediator.

The “Ukrainian Science Diaspora” initiative in the wartime

The devastating russian military invasion of Ukraine forced millions of people to flee their homes. Among those affected are highly skilled scientists, resulting in a significant loss of human capital for Ukraine, which is crucial for the post-war reconstruction. To address this pressing issue, the Young Scientists Council (YSC) at the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine launched the “Ukrainian Science Diaspora” initiative to mitigate the brain drain.The purpose of this study is to outline the first steps taken by this initiative. Moreover, it demonstrates lessons learned from the pilot meetings. The essence of the initiative is to keep links with scholars who left Ukraine and join the efforts of different migration waves of Ukrainian scientists for the further rebuilding of Ukraine. The YSC and other institutions prepared the analytical report on the needs and plans of Ukrainian scientists abroad. In addition, the paper highlights various events and activities organized by the YSC and other self-formed associations of Ukrainian scientists worldwide, working together to establish networks that could take the form of public organizations or be part of local unions of scientists. At present, efforts are focused on identifying Ukrainian scientists interested in joining this initiative, with the ultimate goal of identifying areas where Ukrainian scientists can participate in post-war reconstruction. The success of this initiative will undoubtedly play a crucial role in ensuring that Ukraine can retain its valuable human capital and continue to thrive in the face of adversity. AcknowledgmentThis study is co-funded by the European Union through the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) within the project “Europeanisation of Doctoral Studies in Line with the Innovative Doctoral Training Principles in Europe: Towards a Common Future” 101083493 – EDOCS – ERASMUS-JMO-2022-HEI-TCH-RSCH https://edocs.snau.edu.ua/en/

Agricultural education in times of war: Strategic visions, leadership practices and post-war reconstruction

In the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, agricultural universities will provide the state with specialists capable of implementing the seamless integration of “green” benchmarks. The full-scale war has not only threatened the sustainable operation of all spheres of higher education institutions but also forced them to look for new ways of adaptation and development. This study aims to assess the readiness of higher education institutions in the agrarian sector to meet the personnel needs of the state in the medium-term of post-war reconstruction. The paper used a group of parameters with specific indicators: education (change in the number of graduates at the Bachelor’s and Master’s educational levels, the ratio of publicly-funded and fee-based education seekers, changes in the average entrance score), science (change in the number of articles published in Scopus and the corresponding h-index, the number of Erasmus grants received, the amount of budget funding for science), recognition (academic ranking of higher education institutions by the Webometrics and Top-200 Ratings), and financing (estimated amounts of funding from the general and special fund, and their ratio). The study offers a unique approach to calculating the Integrated Sustainability Index of higher education institutions. This index clearly illustrates how efficiently 15 agricultural higher education institutions have adapted to wartime transformations. For example, Sumy National Agrarian University and Lviv National Natural Resource Management University have this index exceeding 30%. The study draws attention to the problematic areas of university activity during the war and suggests extending the valuable experience of Sumy National Agrarian University. AcknowledgmentThe authors are grateful to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who are liberating the territory of Ukraine at the cost of their own lives, as well as to Ukrainian farmers, who, despite the war, are doing everything possible to prevent a food crisis in the world.This study is co-funded by the European Union through the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) within the project “Europeanisation of Doctoral Studies in Line with the Innovative Doctoral Training Principles in Europe: Towards a Common Future” 101083493 - EDOCS - ERASMUS-JMO-2022-HEI-TCH-RSCH https://edocs.snau.edu.ua/en/

З історії суднобудування: «одеський» період діяльності професора Чарльза Кларка

The purpose of the study is to conduct a comprehensive study of the biography of Ch. Clark in the “Odesa” period of his life at the pedagogical and scientifi c levels. Th e research methodology is based on the principles of concrete-historical approach or historical method, ob- jectivity, comprehensiveness and integrity, consistency, and on the usage of the given me thods: analysis and synthesis, historical-genetic, comparative-historical, historical-typological, and problem-chronological. Th e scientifi c no velty of it is that for the fi rst time in historiography, the role of Professor Ch. Clark in the creation and formation of the methodical-pedagogical and scien- tifi c-technical base of higher polytechnic education in Odesa, as one of the leading educational and scientifi c centers of Ukraine, is comprehensively presented. Conclusions. Ch. Clark made a signifi cant contribution to the organization and institutionalization of the Odesa Polytechnic Institute, in particular to the development of shipbuilding in Odesa and in Ukraine in general. Th e article is devoted to the analysis of the «Odesa» period of life of the well-known European spe- cialist in the fi eld of shipbuilding, design engineer, researcher of heat engineering, hydraulics and hydraulic engines – Ch. Clark. Reconstruction of this period of the scientist’s life allows to estab- lish the factors that infl uenced the changes in his life and moving to Odesa, to analyz e the main directions of his activity, which became part of the content and specifi cs o f the formation and development of higher shipbuilding education in Ukraine. Th e factual understanding of the main directions of life of the theorist and the practice of shipbuilding against the background of histori- cal events and phenomena will allow to fi nd out about his place and role as a person in history. Th e «Odesa» period of Ch. Clark’s life, his scientifi c and pedagogical aspects of activity still remain unexplored, so wit hout a doubt, deserve a special scientifi c study that will demonstrate the cont- ribution of this extraordinary person to the development of educational and scientifi c processes in the technical fi eld. Ukraine. Based on the biographical method of analysis, the creative path o f the founder of higher shipbuilding education in the South of Ukraine is considered. Th e appea- rance of Ch. Clark in Odesa contributed to the penetration into the academic environment of the technical fi eld of knowledge of the traditions of Western European education and science, which generated the popularization and intensifi cation of scientifi c and technological progress. In his new place, the scientist became an authoritative specialist in the process of formation and evolu- tion of many areas of the technical fi eld of science, which became the driving force in creating their theoretical and methodological basis. Using a wide range of methods of historical research and on the basis of archival sources, the factors of development of higher polytechnic education in Odesa, the formation of scientifi c schools in the fi eld of shipbuilding and other areas of technical science are identifi ed. Th e signifi cant and invaluable contribution of Clark to the motivation and actualization of the development of higher education and research in the fi eld of shipbuilding in the coming years is pointed out. Th e emergence of a higher polytechnic education institution in the south of Ukraine, which trained highly qualifi ed technical personnel, in particular in the fi eld of shipbuilding, generally contributed to the modernization of the Ukrainian higher polytechnic education system and the formation of one of the leading centers of scientifi c and technical intel- ligentsia. methodological principles and practical experience of technical science.

Ethical Leadership in the Field of Education in Europe: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract The purpose of this research is to explore the characteristics of ethical leadership in in the field of education in Europe. In an era, when there are no transcendental principles and universally accepted values and, within organizations, a mainly “situational” and “procedural” ethics has been developed (Voyé, 1999), educational mission, goals and procedures are changing. Thus, it could be extremely challenging to explore aspects of educational leadership that are not considered necessarily self-evident, maintaining at the same time a critical and skeptical attitude regarding power relations and the promotion of moral values and democratic processes at school. The present research was carried out in Greece, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, France and Spain and, the sample consisted of 451 primary and secondary education teachers. The findings of this research demonstrated that, according to teachers’ perceptions, principals at schools- in carrying out their duties- have to develop responsibility and moral values so as not to deviate from the main goals of education, which are system’s eudaimonia through the all-round development of the future citizens of a democratic society (Goldring & Greenfield, 2002). More specifically, teachers from all participating countries affirmed that educational leaders put the emphasis– to a great extend- on core values such as honesty, sincerity, integrity, altruism, trust, rewarding ethical contribution and moral responsibility.

Editorial: Evolution Education in Europe

Editorial: Evolution Education in Europe

Evolution in the Spanish Primary Education Autonomic Curricula and Textbooks. A Geographic Analysis

Evolution by natural selection is a theory that constitutes a powerful paradigm capable of conveying the teaching-learning of multiple concepts in biology. However, it has been controversial from its formulation to the present, which also affects education. For instance, while some of the basic curricula of primary education in Europe are arranged around the concepts that are considered necessary for structuring the scientific model of evolution (i.e., Sweden), other curricula do not contemplate such concepts. The last is the case of the basic curriculum of primary education in Spain. However, in Spain, on the basis of such a curriculum, there are 17 different primary education curricula corresponding to each of the autonomous communities of the state. The objective of this work is to state a detailed geographical picture of the presence of the concepts necessary to articulate the model of evolution through the analysis of the autonomic curricula of Spain. With such an aim, words that represent such concepts (evolution, inheritance, selection, adaptation and biodiversity, etc.) have been searched for in the natural sciences and social sciences areas of the autonomous curricula of primary education. Furthermore, a search for such evolution-related concepts has also been performed in the activities of eighteen Spanish primary education textbooks on natural and social science subjects. For this purpose, two aspects were considered: characterisation and scientific skills. Both the autonomous curricula of primary education and the textbooks hold important gaps when addressing evolution. The texts include activities that prioritise basic cognitive skills over the more demanding ones associated with scientific competence.

Some aspects of protection of labor freedom in higher education institution

The successful implementation of the activities of the higher educational institution, its prestige and quality depend to a significant extent on the qualifications of the academic staff and the skills of knowledge transfer. Freedom of labor is its main foundation. Therefore, the subject of our research in this article is the provision of freedom of work for academic staff. The purpose of the study is to reveal the challenges of ensuring the freedom of work of professors, associate and assistant professors, as well as academic staff as a whole, and ways to solve them. The object of research is the international and Georgian legislation on the regulation of labor relations, its protection. For this purpose, we used the methods of analysis, synthesis and critical evaluation of the implementation of the laws regulating the freedom of labor of academic staff in practice. At the higher educational institutions of Georgia, the practice of signing a labor contract for a specified period of time is established for the contest winners and also then re-announcing the vacant position after the expiration of same contract. On the one hand, such an approach is ineffective in terms of content and on the other hand, it contradicts the requirements of the international and Georgian legislation, because it increases and contributes to the emergence of threats to academic staff, restrictions on their freedom , manipulation, favoritism, nepotism, and corruption. According to Article 12 of the Labor Code of Georgia, the winning staff must sign a lifetime contract. There is no other objective circumstance that justifies the conclusion of a fixed-term employment contract. Accordingly, the requirements of the law on higher education, which concern the holding of periodic re-competitions, contradict the organic law of the labor code, which itself indicates that it must comply with its requirements. Based on all of the above, increasing the effectiveness of the education system, perfecting the personnel system, promoting teaching by qualified teachers for students as much as possible, bring the Georgian educational legislation closer to the best practices of the European education system, it is advisable for higher educational institutions to get rid of restrictions on the freedom of work of academic staff and to comply with the requirements of international and Georgian labor legislation. Key words: System of education, Academic staff, freedom of labor, labor contract, effectiveness of teaching.

The importance of the English language training in higher military educational institutions

In the period of the successful development of Azerbaijan's comprehensive relations with the countries of the world, the problem of studying foreign languages, which play a leading role in the modern world, and primarily English, which is globally recognized as the main language of communication, has become of particular importance. Today, as in all other fields in Azerbaijan, serious reforms are carried out in the field of Education. As is known, the Azerbaijani education system integrates into the European education system. However, despite the significant reforms carried out, a number of problems are still awaiting their solution. The most important of these problems is the training of Foreign Language teachers who meet the requirements of the day in the era of globalization.

Ukrainian education in European educational context

The integration of Ukrainian education into the European educational space is main theme of this article. The differences between the Ukrainian and European education systems are considered. The ways of involving European and other Western forms and methods of education and personality education in Ukrainian schools are determined. These forms and methods have a creative basis. They are activating the thoughts, feelings and imagination of personality. Western pedagogy is distinguished by its democracy and humanism. This pedagogy are educating a free, comprehensively developed, creative, competitive personality. Thanks to the freedom the pupil and student have the opportunity to develop in accordance with their peculiarities and capabilities. Children may or may not prepare homework. The pupil himself decides whether he needs to do homework at home. The students independently determine the task and date for presentation this task. Because in Western education, in contrast to our education, there is individual approach to personality. The Dalton-plan is playing an important role in determining the individual peculiarities of personality.
 European pedagogy is art. Art is facilitating the learning for pupils and students. Art is developing creative abilities of personality. Therefore teacher must be creative personality. Very important art method for learning is play. Thanks to play children are learning with great enthusiasm. Our education practically does not use play method of learning. But for a child the play is the main method of learning. By means play pupil develops his own physical and spiritual powers. The play contributes to the development of the child's social sense. The involvement of creative methods of learning will contribute to the humanization, democratization and European integration of Ukrainian education.

The Jean Monnet Chair Freiburg for European Education (JMC-FrEE)

This paper presents the teaching, research and other activities realized from 2020 to 2023 within the EU-funded Jean Monnet Chair Freiburg for European Education (JMC-FrEE) at the University of Education in Freiburg (Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg). The main objectives of the JMC-FrEE-project are first of all to provide expert guidance to future educators and teachers about European matters, and to prepare them to organize learning and teaching processes in a European context for the education of the next generation of active European citizens. Secondly, more public awareness for the topic European Education in and outside of the academic world shall be raised on a national and international level in cooperation with scientists, teachers, civil society actors, policy makers, journalists and school pupils. To achieve these two goals there are multidisciplinary teaching activities, research projects and special events in these areas: Europeanization of Education, Intercultural Education (esp. Multilingual Education) in Europe and Education for disadvantaged children (esp. from the Roma-minority) in Europe.

Activities and Development of Open Universities in the States of European

The urgency of the research lies in the possibility of providing educational services even in the crisis conditions of modern times, caused by geopolitical problems and the spread of the global coronavirus pandemic. The activities of Open Universities in the states of the European Union are characterized by openness and the possibility of providing complex educational programs according to modern pedagogical practice. The importance of Open Universities’ activities is underpinned by the use of modern pedagogical methods, namely: distance education and interactive classes. The issue of applying the European education system of Open Universities is crucial to the possibility of improving the population’s general educational level and contributing to the enhancement of the population’s qualifications in EU states. The purpose of the academic paper is to study the principles of activity and aspects of the development of Open Universities in the states of the European Union. The objectives of the research are to analyse the functioning of Open Universities, define the educational program and outline the prospects for further development. The object of the research is the factors of activity and development of open universities in the European Union’s states based on modern digital technologies. By using the methods of scientific research, both exploratory and analytical ones, an assessment of the activities of Open Universities in European countries was carried out. The research methodology consists in the analysis of theoretical and methodological approaches to the Open University as an educational institution and conducting a study of the prospects for the development of Open Universities in the countries of the European Union. The results obtained can be used in practical training of students for their subsequent admission to higher educational institutions and improving the process of developing a complex of educational programs in Open Universities. The academic paper examines the principles and factors of the development of Open Universities in the countries of the European Union.

Clinical Legal Education for Gender Justice in Europe

Generated directly from the field, this paper elaborates on the knowledge shared during the process of a research project called LAWGEM (New Quality in Education for Gender Equality – Strategic Partnership for the Development of Master’s Study Program on LAW and GENDER) in an effort to develop a Gender Equality Legal Clinic to sensitise students about gender issues within legal education in Europe. The paper elaborates on the experience of two countries, Sweden and Serbia through discussing the challenges in achieving gender justice. Finally, it introduces Gender Equality Legal Clinic as a learning outcome of LAWGEM project for legal pedagogical purposes.

Resisting Europeanisation: Poland’s education policy and its impact on the European Education Area

Since the 2004 accession to the European Union (EU), Poland, like many other post-communist countries, have gone through a significant process of convergence to the EU institutions, laws and processes. In this process, the European values, policies and institutions have become an important reference point for the legitimacy of major national system reforms. In education, there have been a significant number of reforms aligned with ‘European standards’ as integration with the EU was seen as a priority for Poland’s national interest. This paper is interested in the changing policy discourses that have been defining and legitimising Poland’s education policy objectives, with a particular attention given to the idea of ‘quality education’ and the role of education. In this way, it is also interested in the processes of Europeanisation and de-Europeanisation – turning away from ‘EU-isation’ of policies. The emerging picture from the analysis illustrates the tensions between the neoliberal and populist policy discourses pursued by a variety of Polish governments, including significant policy shifts under the government of the Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS) (Law and Justice) coalition.

THE RELATION BETWEEN PHYSICAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM TIME ALLOCATION AND OBESITY IN 6-10 YEARS OLD CHILDREN: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

ABSTRACT. Introduction: Overweight and obesity are major problems in our society, because it’s prevalence “among children and adolescents aged 5-19 has risen dramatically from just 4% in 1975 to just over 18% in 2016. The rise has occurred similarly among both boys and girls: in 2016 18% of girls and 19% of boys were overweight. While just under 1% of children and adolescents aged 5-19 were obese in 1975, more 124 million children and adolescents (6% of girls and 8% of boys) were obese in 2016” (WHO, 2021). Objectives: The aim of our research is to examine the relationship between the time allocated to physical education at school and overweight/obesity in 6-10 year old children on a global and continental level. Methods: Our study is a cross-sectional, population-based descriptive study. We used the data from the World-wide Survey of School Physical Education report published by UNESCO in 2013. We used BMI for the age group 6-10 years from the database published by the Global Burden of Disease Collaborative Network. The GDP data for the countries was taken from the database of the United Nations Economic Commissions for Europe. Results: In our study, we analyze data from 145 countries on six continents. The average time devoted to physical education in these countries is 95.6±35.0 minutes per week. The minimum is 30 minutes and the maximum is 225 minutes. The 90 minutes occurs with the highest frequency, 26 times. The median also shows the 90-minute value. Examining the results by continent, it is revealed that significantly more time is devoted to school physical education in Europe than in Africa (p=0.020) and Asia (p=0.022), but there is no significant difference between the average of the other three continents and Europe. A Spearman's rank-order correlation was run to assess the relationship between GDP and physical education time allocation. One hundred forty states were included in the analysis. There was a weak positive statistically significant correlation between GDP and physical education time allocation, rs(128) = .298, p < .001. Conclusions: The amount of time devoted to physical education at school shows a wide variation from state to state. The time allocated to physical education at school is 95.6 minutes on average. Europe and Australia/Oceania are the two continents where the most time (about 110 minutes) is devoted to physical education per week. We did not find a relationship between the time devoted to physical education at school and the frequency of obesity or overweight.

Under- and post-graduate training to manage the acutely unwell patient: a scoping review

BackgroundJunior doctors are often the first responders to acutely unwell patients and yet frequently report feeling under-prepared to do so. To understand whether this is consequential of how medical students and doctors are trained to manage acutely unwell patients, a scoping review was conducted using a systematic approach.MethodsThe review, informed by the Arksey and O’Malley and PRISMA-ScR guidelines, identified educational interventions targeting the management of acutely unwell adults. Seven major literature databases were searched for journal articles published in English from 2005 to 2022, in addition to the Association of Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) conference proceedings from 2014 to 2022.ResultsSeventy-three articles and abstracts were eligible for the review, the majority of which were from the UK or USA, and demonstrated that educational interventions were more commonly targeted at medical students than qualified doctors. The majority of studies used simulation, but very few integrated complexities of the clinical environment within scenarios such as multidisciplinary working, distraction-handling techniques and other non-technical skills. A wide range of learning objectives pertaining to acute patient management were stated across studies, but few explicitly cited educational theory underpinning their study.ConclusionsThe results of this review encourages future educational initiatives to consider enhancing authenticity within simulation to promote transfer of learning to clinical practice, and use educational theory to augment the sharing of educational approaches within the community of clinical education practice. Additionally, increasing the focus on post-graduate learning, building upon undergraduate educational foundations, is essential to promoting lifelong learning within the ever-changing healthcare environment.

Gifted Students within the Greek Educational Context: Challenges and Perspectives in the Frame of Contemporary Inclusive European Education

Practitioners and researchers in the field of gifted education recognize cognitive and psychosocial variables as determining influences in the successful development of talent. Gifted children seem to manifest both signs of intelligence and strong abilities especially in sectors related to their interests provided that they are identified in time and they are appropriately motivated. The aim of the article is not only to present contemporary inclusive methods or both gifted and talented children’s education in European countries but also to focus on how such students are educated when it comes to the Greek curricula. This review paper further pinpoints the certain conditions under which Greek educational settings of gifted and talented students can become both feasible and effective. Τherefore, it concludes that gifted pupils of all levels in Greece often attend school classes without their individual abilities having been previously recognized in depth, nor their intrinsic needs having been sufficiently met, either. Additionally, the current school system actually fails to take full advantage of gifted students’ potential, a fact that obviously disrupts their motivation and impedes their school performance.

Two instruments, one melody: The parallel evolvement of European and German alliances for apprenticeships

European education and training policies have gained momentum with the debt crisis and soaring youth unemployment. In 2013, the ‘European Alliance for Apprenticeships’ was launched. In Germany, a role model for apprenticeship training in Europe, a national ‘Alliance for Initial and Further Training’ was signed just one year later. Both Alliances represent a new, experimentalist governance mode, in which a novel steering entity orchestrates stakeholder cooperation. What explains the parallel evolvement of alliances for apprenticeships in Germany and at the EU level? Studying developments around the Alliances in the last two decades, we trace and critically discuss four theorised drivers: (1) German-driven VET governance reforms with a strong influence of German best practices, (2) EU-driven cooperation that influences German VET policies, (3) cross-fertilising reforms and (4) externally driven, parallel reforms in response to governance mega-challenges. Our analysis supports a prevalence of the fourth driver: increasingly complex policy problems push both the EU and Germany to implement policy innovations such as the Alliances for apprenticeship training. In an experimentalist setting that often entails a governance by (seemingly neutral) numbers, benchmarking and learning, this also gives leeway to Germany to present itself as a pioneer of the EU’s focus on dual training.