Projects of basic and applied research
The European Teacher Academy for Online Teaching and Learning – Fostering Online teaching Readiness and Competences in Education (E-FORCE)
The European Teacher Academy for Online Teaching and Learning (E-FORCE) aims to enhance online teaching proficiency among educators in early childhood, primary, and secondary education. This project will address the digital readiness and capacity of teachers and schools to transition seamlessly to online education, fostering a resilient and inclusive digital learning environment. By creating a structured network for collaboration and professional development across Europe, E-FORCE will support the exchange of best practices, influence educational policies, and promote inclusive online learning. Key outputs include professional development programs, policy recommendation letters, and a sustainable framework for ongoing teacher training and support in digital education.
Brno Lab on Learning, Instruction, and Development (BOLD LAB)
We are a team of researchers from the Department of Educational Sciences at Masaryk University’s Faculty of Arts, dedicated to understanding how people learn within the educational system, during professional development, and in everyday life.
The National Institute for Research on Socioeconomic Impacts of Diseases and Systemic Risks (abbreviated as SYRI)
SYRI is a virtual scientific hub that brings together experts from Masaryk University, Charles University and institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences. The SYRI National Institute brings together scientists who would not otherwise collaborate and provide solutions and recommendations in real time. Social scientists will focus on research of situations of risk and mitigation options for reduction of problems brought by sudden unexpected events like the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, inflation, price increases, and climate change.
Mediated society (MEDIS:ON)
The Mediated Society (MEDIS:ON) project responds with its content and goals to the dramatic development of technologies that are part of the everyday life of modern society. MEDIS:ON focuses on examining the impacts of artificial intelligence on society and the perception of artificial intelligence as a tool for expanding capabilities, as well as a request associated with the deepening digital divide, the spread of conspiracies and deepfakes, and the insufficient development of AI literacy. The primary goal of the MEDIS:ON project is to shift and deepen the understanding of processes related to the process of working with information at the individual, social and societal levels through the perspective of selected social science and humanities disciplines (psychology, political science, theology, pedagogy) and in close cooperation with computer disciplines (computer science).
Developing and Implementing Tools for Data-Driven Decision-Making in Health and Social Care: Utilizing Microsimulation and a Modular eHealth System (DECIDEHealth)
The project aims to develop tools for effective decision-making regarding prevention, healthcare provision, social care in the Czech Republic, and delivery of interventions addressing lifestyle diseases. The project is based on methods and findings from social sciences. Key elements are adapting the Future Elderly Model (FEM) for the Czech context and establishing a modular eHealth system. The first objective is to enhance the predictive potential of the FEM by integrating machine learning elements and expanding the model to include the analysis of administrative data and neurodegenerative diseases. The second objective involves creating and validating an eHealth system and programs to support the health status of diverse populations while collecting relevant health and behavioral data.
Research on perceived work ability among lower secondary school teachers
The project responds to teacher aging and teacher attrition. Specifically, it focuses on examining the work ability of lower secondary school teachers and is grounded in the job demands-resources (JD-R) model. In the project, (i) a research instrument for measuring the perceived work ability of a specific professional group of teachers will be developed and verified; (ii) the associations between work ability and other variables (e.g., demographic, workrelated, relational, psychological) will be examined in order to identify the antecedents and outcomes of work ability; and (iii) the question of whether there is an organizational climate in upper secondary schools that affects the level of work ability of the teaching staff will be answered. The research will employ a longitudinal and mixed-method research design. The main instruments for data collection will be questionnaires (quantitative part) and semistructured interviews with headteachers (qualitative part). The results will be published in four peer-reviewed journals.
Diagnostics of dyslexia using eye-tracking and artificial intelligence
The aim of the project is to more effectively diagnose dyslexia with the help of the most modern artificial intelligence tools (neural networks) and technical equipment (eye-tracker) and thus significantly contribute to improving reeducation procedures for dyslexic students. The project applies current scientific knowledge of pedagogy, psychology and information science. Through the accurate detection of the eye movements of dyslexic students while solving verbal and nonverbal problems and their subsequent analysis using machine learning tools, the project will create effective solutions for the more accurate diagnosis of dyslexia. The output of the project will be a software platform enabling the diagnosis of dyslexia directly in pedagogical-psychological counseling centers.
Previously researched topics
Research on learning in online educational systems
Learning in online educational systems is becoming an increasingly important part of education at universities. That is why we have been devoting research attention to this topic at the Institute of Educational Sciences for many years. Currently, we are focusing on learning in online educational systems primarily within the framework of a research project entitled Using Multimodal Learning Analytics to Study Self-Regulated Learning Processes in Learning Management Systems, which was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (see information about the project on the MUNI website).
Life pathsways of unsuccessful graduates (DRAMA)
Every year, about 20% of the students who register for the state matriculation exam fail. We do not have any information about their future fate, especially with regard to their further educational path. The aim of the research is to describe the perception of the reasons for failure in the matriculation examination and the further life path of the failed matriculants in the form of a multi-case study (at least 10 cases), especially with regard to their further educational path during the two years following the failed matriculation examination. The output of the project is a final research report containing substantiated recommendations for further education policy measures in this area.
Digital technologies in education
The Department of Educational Sciences has a single team in the Czech Republic which is involved in long-term and systematic research in digital technologies in education and e-learning. Our research so far has dealt with integration of digital technologies in lives of basic schools and teachers teaching in them. The Department’s project targeting basic school students is a unique initiative in Czech educational sciences. The goal of the research is to understand how digital technologies enter lives of adolescent students, both at school and beyond. One of the topics is thus life and learning in the virtual space. Other research undertaken by us focused on university students, teachers-to-be and adults, exploring, for instance, attitudes towards modern technologies as well as reasons adults had for not using digital technologies.
Intergenerational learning
The intergenerational nature is one of the most natural aspects of learning, which has been accompanying us for all of our lives. Intergenerational encounters and learning are simply happening and we are interested in how, why, with what results, and who takes part and how it benefits them. We have been dealing with the topic for a number of years, thanks to two grants by the Czech Science Foundation. The first one focused on family generations and the other one on further social environments: school, workplace and communities.
School leadership, management and administration
In this area we focus mainly on school culture, career paths of school leaders, organizational learning in schools, management of inclusion in schools and other related topics.
Career flexibility in secondary-school students
The research explores the multidimensional psychosocial construct of career flexibility across groups of secondary-school students. It studies the capacity of individuals to cope with existing or expected change and traumas in career roles.
History of education and pedagogy
The Department’s research in this area focuses mainly on history of education in the second half of the 20th century in the area of what is now the Czech Republic, socialist education being an underexplored and sensitive topic in this history. Our research project focusing on exploring lives of basic schools and their teachers during the so-called Normalization (1969-1989) is the first of its kind in Czech educational sciences. The project proposes an original methodology, combining oral history with archival research.
Working ability of individuals 50+
Workforce ageing has been a global phenomenon with major consequences for countries of Europe. This requires interventions aimed to facilitate active pursuance of job activities until employees reach the retirement age. Since the very end of the 20th century, a new concept of work ability has been shaped in Finland, providing a comprehensive path to acquiring a better harmony between ageing and work. Our research focuses on investigating work ability in a variety of demographic groups within Czech population over 50 and establishing links between work ability and demographic and anthropometric parameters and individual illnesses.
Non-traditional students studying for education degrees in tertiary education within the Czech Republic
The project is focused on non-traditional students studying for education degrees in tertiary education. We selected adults within the non-traditional students category who have undertaken higher education in subjects which qualify them for work within schools, both teaching and non-teaching in nature (e.g. advisors, youth workers, teaching assistants, etc.) because this group is considered to be important source of qualified personnel in education on the one hand and problematic in their studies on the other. The project combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies with a mixed design. Three research phases and a subsequent summary phase represent an integral whole within a logical sequence of steps. The research begins with the (first) quantitative phase whose objective is a detailed quantitative description of the study population. The second phase will involve a set of biographical interviews. The objective here is an in-depth analysis of participants’ life and education path and their typology. Data collection will be undertaken in the third phase with the use of focus groups methodology on the participants’ perception of the course of study. The objective of this phase is to describe and interpret relevant aspects of study which are decisive in the students’ chance at success in their study. As a part of the final phase options to support teaching of recurrent learners on the basis of their needs will be defined. In focusing on adult further education, the proposed project falls within the adult education research field, which has not undergone sufficient development in the Czech Republic either from a topical or methodological perspective.
Vital teacher
Vital Teacher is an interactive signpost that helps teachers support their work ability, improve their lifestyle and find ways to achieve mental well-being. Teachers will also find information and tests on the website to support the prevention of stress and burnout. The website was created as a result of several years of work by a multidisciplinary team as part of a project with state support from the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic.