Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences: Doctoral program in Pedagogy

The last decade has seen a series of major educational reforms at all levels (preschool, primary, secondary, and tertiary education) in our national educational system. Each reform requires competent adjustment and development of the education system to comply with the requirements of aligning the Croatian system with other national systems as part of European/international integrations. All significant education system reform measures (such as the introduction of HNOS, NOK, the State Graduation Program, the Bologna Process, the implementation of PISA research, introduction of the program “School for Life” and other announced projects and reforms) are looking for highly specialized professionals who will lead and direct the work of educational institutions and practitioners in accordance with new professional challenges, and educational policies must be based on data and highly specialized analyses.

Considering Croatia’s strategic priorities of development and the tendency towards establishing a knowledge-based society, it is important to emphasize that the knowledge from the scientific field of pedagogy is the foundation for the realization of key strategic areas and goals. It is a complex sector in which a number of diverse professional activities take place simultaneously (for example, preschool, primary, secondary, and tertiary education; lifelong learning and adult education; education and upbringing for various categories of students; education in juvenile detention centers and other educational institutions; human resource development in companies; deliberation on key educational policy issues in state and local government offices, school management, etc.). Each mentioned part of the education system requires a special approach to reflection, research, and development of pedagogical activities. Participants can choose and thoroughly study the area for which they develop a special research interest from a rich selection of research areas. They will thereby follow the fundamental and contemporary knowledge of pedagogical science and the selected area of research.

During the course of the study, collaboration and communication are ensured with key institutions/organizations responsible for or interested in the education sector. Close cooperation with educational institutions and civil society organizations is provided, especially in the context of cooperation in the execution of a part of the teaching process as well as scientific-research process. This refers to those institutions or civil society organizations that engage in educational activities in a broader sense. It is also worth mentioning the necessity of cooperation with local and regional self-governing authorities, with which the Department of Pedagogy has many years of great collaboration.

Special attention is directed towards strengthening cooperation with the Agency for Upbringing and Education and inclusion of teachers and professional associates in primary and secondary schools in the system of lifelong (postgraduate) education (a cooperation agreement has been signed between the Agency for Upbringing and Education and the University of Rijeka). Similar initiatives are planned to be undertaken with other relevant institutions/ organizations. By participating in existing scientific research projects and joining current research teams, participants will be able to acquire fundamental competencies of scientific research, as well as enable them to design their own research projects and establish communication with both domestic and foreign researchers. Thus each new generation of participants in this postgraduate doctoral program will significantly improve the university research community and strengthen the research potential of the education system.