The main fields of research are as follows:
The purpose of this research project is to analyze the philosophical, historical and methodological foundations of education. Thus the project aims at an analysis of the philosophical, theoretical and methodological basis of the educational sciences on the one hand, and at an examination of the philosophical and culturohistorical conditions of the process of education on the other. Important research topics include the traditions of educational theory, qualitative methodology, education and modernization.
The research unit studies learning performance at different stages of human development, making use of experimental methods and the analysis of activity in practical situations. The experimental research has been targeted at the development of human activity systems in particular, and efforts are being made to study them, for instance, by measuring performance and organizational changes in brain activity in the context of goal-oriented activity. Efforts are made to target the research at the analysis of pr actical teaching situations, teaching and learning of skills and development of education.
A colour picture from the Laboratory of Developmental Neuropsychology.
On the basis of the idea of ecological stress in particular, the follow-up study on the conditions for successful university studies examines factors which bind the students' resources in the individual/environment system. Special attention is given to the strategieses of energy use and acquisition which the students have developed and are developing further during their studies.
The use of information technology and data networks in studies and education is researched, developed and tested in the Laboratory of Educational Technology through multidisciplinary projects. Efforts are made through this research to create new learning environments, techniques of distance learning and multimedia-based learning materials.The themes in the work done in the laboratory include the use of multimedia, hypermedia and simulation, interactive communication and data systems and the effects of new information technology on the strategies used in educational technology.
The project studies the interaction between man and culture and tries to produce both theoretical and empirical research data on growth and education in the context of different cultures. The research topics include the concepts of culture and multiculturality, growth in the cultural context (identity, personality and thinking) and education in the cultural context (socialization, enculturation, acculturation).
The phenomena are examined in a multidisciplinary way from the viewpoints of education, psychology, linguistics, and social and cultural anthropology. Efforts are also made to use different methodological approaches, with a special emphasis on the development on interpretative methods.
Environmental consciousness is studied historically on the one hand and by comparing different social groups on the other. Its manifestation in social movements and institutions is also studied. In this context, the functions of environmental education and the opportunities and practical solutions offered by it are being established. The parties with which the project is cooperating include the Faculty of the Humanities and the Department of Teacher Education.
The project on childhood and early education studies the reality of childhood and growth from the viewpoints of the child, family and day care. Day care is studied from the points of view of the education process, the educator and his professional work, and the family. In this project, an important role is played by international comparative research of growth environments and qualitative assessment in day care. In the research done in this project, the topics are approached both through quantitative basic research and through qualitative research orientations.
This research team focuses on studying the "social age" and the social, cultural, psychological and biological characteristics of different age groups. A historical approach is also applied in the examination of different age groups, focusing on "times" and "eras" and the social and cultural developmental characteristics which are connected with them. To support the educational sciences and educational practices, the research team is producing data on different age groups and their relation to education (f ormal and informal) and educatability. The project is functioning in a multidisciplinary way in the fields of the social sciences, educational psychology, education and teacher education, among others.
Social exclusion at schools is a research project which was started early in 1993, aiming at analyzing the problem of social exclusion in education and the nature of the social exclusion process. The project is seeking answers to questions such as: 1) What does social exclusion mean? 2) How and to what extent do the social and cultural structures of the school itself cause exclusion? 3) How and to what extent can social exclusion at school be possibly changed into social inclusion by means of the school? The research undertaken in this project is multidisciplinary and, in addition to education, it takes advantage of the theories of disciplines such as psychology, sociology and social policy.
