Maria Grzegorzewska University Research Articles

Doctoral Theses in the Digital Age – ICT use by Social Sciences PhD Students of The Maria Grzegorzewska University

The article is a result of a complementary advanced publication workshop accompanying the curriculum course exercises for PhD students, on the role of ICT in the research work of a scientist. To fulfill the extended course requirements the participants decided to write relevant paper, if possible, related to their individual research endeavors and their relations to the digital world. The paper consists of a collection of short chapters written by young researchers. They express their own views, based on early research experience, relevant generally to the inclusion of critical digital age components in their theses. The chapters are only moderately consulted by the tutor in the direction of finding a common denominator related to social sciences.

Kultura ubóstwa na warszawskiej Pradze

This article presents a study of the urban culture of poverty conducted between 2019 and 2021 in Warsaw’s Praga district, culminating in a PhD thesis written at the Maria Grzegorzewska University (APS). The research conducted provides a better understanding of how the persistence of the culture of poverty, a kind of social “disability” and, at the same time, a social necessity, is sustained. It points to problems in the relationship between respondents and their social environment, as well as to mechanisms of marginalisation and self-exclusion. The article consists of three parts. The first presents the concept of the culture of poverty, the second presents the form and conduct of the research, and the third presents the research results and conclusions.

Maria Grzegorzewska as a director of the State Institute for Special Pedagogics

The article describes the over 45-year period of functioning of the State Institute of Special Education (PIPS) under Maria Grzegorzewska's leadership, i.e from its establishment in 1922 until Grzegorzewska's death in 1967. The university's history is shown based on a query of archival materials, which are primarily in the resources of the Maria Grzegorzewska University, and legal acts. The focus was on the status of the Institute, as well as the organization with its curricula, staff and the number of graduates. Grzegorzewska's desire to transform PIPS into an independent research and teaching institution, and then a university with master's studies, is presented. This goal was achieved in 1970–1973.

The work of Professor Edyta Gruszczyk-Kolczyńska – care for small children and the quality of preschool education

During the next turn of civilization, in the face of social, political, ecological and technological dilemmas, the upbringing and education of new generations should once again be at the forefront of the concern and attention of the family, state and educational institutions. After all, the quality, manner and scope of actions taken towards young children today will determine the way and quality of our world functioning in the future. The article presents the unique event of awarding Professor Edyta Gruszczyk-Kolczyńska, Ph.D., with the first Medal of Maria Grzegorzewska in the new century of the history of the Maria Grzegorzewska University, for exceptional merits resulting from the Professor's concern for the high quality of pre-school education.

Philosophy of anthropocentrism in the system of modern values

The report, which was presented as part of the ceremony of awarding the title of Doctor Honoris Causa at The Maria Grzegorzewska University (Warsaw, Poland), first of all, expresses sincere gratitude to the Polish people, the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda, and the Government of Poland for their great support of Ukraine in the fight against the Russian aggressor and invaluable assistance to Ukrainian women and children. The issue of the philosophy of anthropocentrism, which is highly demanded in the context of the globalized information and digital world and the creation of artificial intelligence, is actualized. The new challenges and existing threats that arise in this regard in the value-semantic and psychophysical spheres of human life are characterized. The phenomenon of anthropocentrism as a metaphilosophical synthesis of different approaches to the study of the prospects of human life is substantiated. The author shows the human perspective in the modern world on the basis of the affirmation of the value principles of their further development.

Opening of the Museum of Maria Grzegorzewska and the Maria Grzegorzewska University

The article presents two important events related to the celebration of the University Holiday,which took place in May 2023. The first was the ceremonial unveiling in front of theOchota District Office at Grójecka st. 17a, a plaque commemorating the creator of specialeducation and patron of the university – Maria Grzegorzewska. The second was the openingof the Museum of Maria Grzegorzewska and the Maria Grzegorzewska University inthe newly built D building of the university, which was prepared in stationary, virtualand interactive versions.

100th anniversary of the Maria Grzegorzewska University in Warsaw

This article is a report on the jubilee celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Maria Grzegorzewska University and presents the most important events organized by its employees in order to commemorate and promote the mission of the Patroness of the Year 2022 Maria Grzegorzewska.

Students' responses to Maria Grzegorzewska's Letters to a Young Teacher

The problem of the article is situated in the field of pedeutology and concerns specific resources of pedagogical knowledge, generating personal pedagogical theories of students preparing to perform the profession of early education teacher. The celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Maria Grzegorzewska University and the celebration of the year 2022 as the Year of Maria Grzegorzewska were considered by the authors as unique opportunities to confront the thought of the patroness, her pedagogical credo contained in Letters to a Young Teacher with the reflection of contemporary young adults inspired to speak by the content of the correspondence. The direct stimulus prompting first-year preschool and early childhood pedagogy students in the 2019 and 2020 academic years to reflect on the role of the teacher was the reading of a selected Letters ...by Maria Grzegorzewska. After reading its, students wrote responses to the patroness of their university in the form of quasi-formal essays, the content of which was then analyzed to reconstruct the dominant themes. This paper presents selected results of the qualitative content analysis. The students' statements are organized according to the temporal criterion, as they report their past educational experiences, refer to the present, and also outline a vision of the anticipated role of a teacher in the future, after the stage of academic education has been completed. The main conclusions confirm the lasting vitality of pedagogical thought of the University's founder among contemporary young people. Outlined student collective portrait of the teaching profession is not overly idealized and devoid of features, hope arouses critical reflection of students on the role of the teacher in modern times

Developing the creativity of future teachers of early childhood education: an educational project using children’s folklore texts

The article is a description and a proposal for a project implemented in 2021/2022 at the Maria Grzegorzewska University in Warsaw among students of pedagogy (3rd year), specializing in pre-school and early school education. The first, theoretical part of the study presents information on children’s folklore and the role it plays in the education of the youngest. The issue of shaping the creative imagination through poetic texts as perceived by various researchers and theorists of literature was also discussed. The second part of the study is a presentation of various methods of work with the use of folkloric texts, carried out by students of preschool and early school education as part of academic classes in the following subject: Design and methodology of Polish language classes. It was ensured that the developed project would combine the implementation of an academic programme, and at the same time develop creativity in future teachers of early childhood education. The activity was aimed at developing the creative competences of future teachers of early childhood education and acquiring practical skills necessary for the effective performance of these skills in future professional work.

When Students Faced Online Learning in Coronavirus Times: A Case Study

In this paper, we present survey research which we conducted at Maria Grzegorzewska University, Poland, on April 2nd-10th, 2020. This work aimed at gathering information about online learning responses among full-time students of pedagogy. Due to the pandemic situation caused by coronavirus all activities at Polish universities have been suspended. Nevertheless, the learning process has been continued. For the first three weeks, academics and students have tried to adjust to a completely new way of education design and work. Our research provides insight into students’ thoughts and emotions which accompanied them during those weeks of online learning courses. During the survey, respondents reported also their difficulties and observations regarding the quality of educational material, contact with lecturers, and reviewed assessments. In general, the majority of respondents have been doing well in this particular situation and positively evaluate the efforts of the lecturers. They find although online learning challenging. In the Introduction, we present circumstances of the research process and methodological background for the survey design. In the Methods section, we describe the survey structure and the respondent group, then we define the survey instruments. Next, the results are presented in two parts. First, we introduce the students’ experiences and emotions associated with online learning. Second, we show what respondents said about their actual online courses taken in the studied period. In the following discussion, we present the most important findings and their possible explanation. In Conclusion, we summarize our analysis of the collected material and make recommendations for future research.

Challenges of administering university examinations remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. e-mentor, 3(90), 22–31. https://doi.org/10.15219/em90.1519

The article presents the results of a research questionnaire conducted among students and lecturers after the first, and repeated after the second, exam session during the pandemic crisis as this was the first time the examinations were conducted by distance education at The Maria Grzegorzewska University (Warsaw, Poland). Lecturers see the advantages of remote examination in the technological possibilities of conducting examinations (automation in checking and assessing the tests and archiving the results), time savings (immediate availability of results, flexibility of examination dates), and organizational improvements. Students indicate the comfort of writing the exam in a friendly environment, which reduces stress, and appreciate the possibility of obtaining results quickly and the need to spend less time on the exam itself. In the case of disadvantages of remote exams, lecturers indicate a lack of control over the independence and integrity of students, and students complain about the stringent time constraints, distractors and stress, as well as the level of the exam (both higher and lower compared to the level of traditional exams) and the adequacy of the grades obtained. Both groups consider technical problems that arise during the exam to be severe. Twenty percent of students admit to using unauthorized assistance during tests and exams. Academic teachers try to reduce the dependence of students by choosing an appropriate form of the exam (problem tasks, oral exams, open-ended questions, test variants), using special strategies (comparing students’ work, control questions, looking for parts of final papers on the Internet), and using technical solutions (requirement of turning on the camera, checking the metadata of files, the need to document work). The search for an effective and appropriate method of verification of learning outcomes is ongoing.

Teaching sociological subjects in English to university students: a case study of the Polish university

Nowadays, the role of English in teaching sociology has been increasing significantly, as far as the English language is an international medium of academic communication worldwide. Polish universities also follow this global trend. Students are offered not only general English courses but also specialised facultative courses in English. Taking into account the last one, a reflexive qualitative research has been carried out at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, the Maria Grzegorzewska University in Warsaw. The objective of four face-to-face expert interviews with the academic teachers was exploring teaching methods and techniques, as well as difficulties in the process of teaching sociology with the use of English as a foreign language. An expert interview was designed starting from the teaching background, followed by teaching reflections on their didactic practice and ending with the academic teachers’ thoughts on the role of English in sociology. The following issues were considered: 1) methods and techniques of incorporating English in teaching sociology to Polish students; 2) strategies of motivating students to use English in sociology; 3) the perception of difficulties; 4) reflections on empowering students.The research results in the field of the sociological facultative English-based courses revealed the dominance of some ways of using the language over others. All experts acknowledged that they aimed to develop sociological English through the communicative and task-based approaches. They engaged students in reading sociological texts and critically discussed them. Some of the academic teachers referred also to watching and listening to native speakers as important ways to activate students during their classes. Moreover, the experts took into account students specific interests and encouraged them to prepare a presentation or to write a short essay. Some experts used also the collaborative methods when students were involved in group projects and group presentations. In general, the experts developed interesting and important topics of social life and research to strengthen the students’ intrinsic motivation. It was noticed that the presence of foreign students becomes a reasonable factor of improving English-based communication among Polish and foreign students in classroom. The experts pointed out that there were various linguistic, psychological and institutional barriers in teaching sociological subjects in English for Polish university students. Nevertheless, they tried to overcome those obstacles whenever it was possible.

Crisis Remote Education at The Maria Grzegorzewska University During Social Isolation in the Opinions of Students

Crisis Remote Education at The Maria Grzegorzewska University During Social Isolation in the Opinions of Students

Crisis Remote Education at The Maria Grzegorzewska University During Social Isolation in the Opinions of Academic Teachers

Crisis Remote Education at The Maria Grzegorzewska University During Social Isolation in the Opinions of Academic Teachers

Crossing the higher educational divide for people with intellectual disability

In this paper university life for people with intellectual disability will be described across international boundaries, with a particular emphasis on the model of inclusion at the University of Sydney. How the latter model was developed, researched and implemented will be included in the presentation followed by a critique of positive and challenging outcomes reported by universities that have opened their doors to students with intellectual disability. The student voice and that of lecturing staff will be digitally heard within the presentation exemplifying how unity in diversity has enabled students to self-actualize, through increasing their responsibilities and autonomy as adult learners. In keeping with the philosophy of the Maria Grzegorzewska University it will be argued that inclusion at the higher education level means a “good university for all”. Within the presentation the work of the Inclusive Research Network (IRN) at the Centre for Disability Studies will illustrate how in real life both co-design and co-researching between people with intellectual disabilities and people without can add to the concept of both building unity across diversity and crossing the divide.

Urszula Eckert (1928–2019) – Her life and pedagogical and academic work

Prof. Urszula Eckert was a special educator committed to rehabilitation and education for children and adolescents with hearing impairments. She dedicated her professional life to The Maria Grzegorzewska University in Warsaw, where she provided training for research workers and students – future teachers of students with hearing impairments. Her scientific work focused on the early assessment and rehabilitation of children with hearing impairments, including specifically correcting and improving hearing and speech.

University ethos versus the idea of sustainable development

The authors take the view that science is responsible today for building society according to the idea of human community, and university mission – apart from striving for the truth – should consist in serving social needs by developing human capital. In the article, they emphasize the importance of cultivating academic ethos for the existence of science and the academic community, and express concern, as the destruction of this ethos, weakening of thinking with reference to values, and recognition of the superiority of instrumental values (interests) over autotelic (cognitive and moral) values are observed. The authors note that in many European countries, education comes down to equipping university graduates with qualifications that enable rapid adaptation to changes in the labor market, that is to acknowledging that the intensification of economic growth is the primary social task. In the university education sphere, humanistic reflection, which is a distinguishing feature of European culture, which subordinates technology and economy to the goals delineated by wisdom, is poorly expressed or even absent. This places even more responsibility on universities for educating teachers – educators of future generations. These universities, including The Maria Grzegorzewska University, that train students to work with people with special needs have a special duty toward society, as modern university graduates should not only be top-class specialists but, above all, people who are sensitive to others’ needs, tolerant, reflective, creative, open, and active in support, and for the welfare, of environment in a broad sense.

EDITORIAL

This is an introductory piece that sets up the scene for a special issue of Society Register dedicated to Language, Discourse and Society. It aims to briefly discuss the context, the aims of the issue and the content of accepted articles. The articles included in this issue were first presented at the ISA RC 25 Mid-term Conference in Warsaw. The conference took place at the Maria Grzegorzewska University in September 2019 with the support of Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Polish Commission for UNESCO, ISA RC 25, ISA RC 32 and the UNESCO Janusz Korczak Chair in Social Pedagogy.

Students of pedagogy on social relations at the beginning of the pandemic – in the light of a qualitative analysis of their personal and social reflectiveness

The article presents partial results of qualitative research concerning opinions of pedagogy students on the psychological-social situation experienced by people at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The necessity of limiting the transmission of the virus sentenced whole societies to home confinement, limited their mobility and people-to-people contacts, brought the world to a standstill. For many, it also became an inspiration to reflect on the current hierarchy of values. 36 students of the Maria Grzegorzewska University were the sample of the research and they were divided into two age groups - those beginning their studies and those finishing them. They were asked to prepare short essays collecting their reflections from the first stage of the pandemic. The texts wereanalysed in accordance with the research methodology. There were 4 key categories singled out in the students’ utterances, which made it possible to show the group differences in their attitude towards discussed issues. The younger respondents were more concentrated on their personal perspective and their opinions were more emotional and optimistic. The older respondents showed more distance towards reality, their remarks were bitter and targeted the issues of social policy, consumerism and egoism of modern societies, more frequently treating the question of the pandemic not as an end in itself but as a springboard for more thorough social criticism.

PROFESSIONALIZATION OF A MILITARY PILOT: A SOCIO-PEDAGOGICAL DISCOURSE

BERA Sebastian – Postgraduate student of the Institute of Pedagogical Science, Maria Grzegorzewska University, Szcześliwicka Str., 40, Warszawa, 02-353, Poland E-mail address: s.bera@wp.pl ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3698-2643 To cite this article: Bera, S. (2019). Professionalizacia pilota wojskowego: dyskurs spoleczno-pedagogiczny [Professionalization of a military pilot: a socio-pedagogical discourse]. Liudynoznavchi studii. Seriia «Pedahohika» – Human Studies. Series of «Pedagogy», 8/40, 229–238. doi: 10.24919/2413-2039.8/40.164466 [in Polish]. Article history Received: January 14, 2019Received in revised form: February 17, 2019 Accepted: February 18, 2019Available online: April 22, 2019 Journal homepage:http://lssp.dspu.edu.ua/p-ISSN 2313-2094e-ISSN 2413-2039 © 2019 The Author. Human studies. Series of «Pedagogy» published by Drohobych Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University & Open Journal Systems. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).Abstract. On the one hand, the military pilot is a professional soldier, that forms a separate professional category, and on the other - the aircraft operator. This profession includes specific tasks such as defence of the fatherland and serving the community, readiness to devote the highest values to the country. On the other hand, he is an important specialist who needs to have psychophysical inclinations, knowledge and skills in piloting complex aviation equipment. The conditions of his service in the air are unusual for the functioning of a human. He performs his tasks in conditions in which a person is naturally not adapted. He is subjected to a strong negative impact of environmental factors: overload, vibration, noise, limited visibility, the execution of tasks at different times of the day and night, and the like. Moreover, the use of expensive equipment and the implementation of dangerous air missions often in an unknown area cause tension and pressure. The conditions of this service mean that the profession of a pilot is rather elitist, and the service is extremely prestigious. This uniqueness also leads to the formation of strong social connections and examples of behavioural patterns characteristic of pilots. The functioning of the pilot in difficult situations is included in the professiogram of the pilot. The pilot may feel in his service a situation of deprivation arising from the inability to meet important physiological, psychological or social needs. Performing tasks of different degrees of complexity and in different conditions can be a source of physical and mental overload. In order to carry out air missions reliably, he must often overcome the inconveniences caused by independent reasons. In turn, performing missions over an enemy area under conditions of service in foreign missions may suffer the loss of important values, especially health and life. The fulfilment of these tasks requires constant attention and concentration, accuracy of actions and the adoption of various important decisions with limited time. Sometimes conflicts and misunderstandings arise in the pilot՚s team; there is a disorganizing factor in his professional activities. A special burden for the military pilot is stress, which is the body՚s response to the destructive effects of stimuli and reactions imposed on psychological or physical requirements, conditions for performing air tasks, and the threat of attack on the enemy on his territory. In the case of foreign missions this will lead to a burden arising from remoteness from relatives and constant functioning in conditions of danger not only during the flight, but also in the conditions of military service on the land, where there is a threat of possible terrorist attack. Acknowledgements. Sincere thanks to the Board of Maria Grzegorzewska University, in the person of Prof. Stefan Kwiatkowski, Rector.Funding. The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.