Department of Childhood Pedagogy

Department of Childhood Pedagogy

Description of the research area and directions:

The research focuses on recognising the educational environment and creating changes in the educational reality through implementing positive solutions.

Primary research directions:

A child and childhood in the perspective of inspiring and oppressive culture discourses: childhood as a collection of a child’s experiences and activities, experienced children’s world immersed in the public and private domain, children’s astonishment with the world and spontaneous and original activities to make it familiar. In this type of research, a child becomes a scientist, philosopher or thinker.

Cultural and social context and conditions for developing childhood skills (creative, language, literary, fairy tale, theatre, logical, research, artistic, etc.): ways to “experience the world” (seeking, discovering, naming, ordering, valuation, embodied recognition) from the perspective of a child discovering, learning, evaluating and developing their inherent potential and development capabilities – the natural, discovered and acquired ones – turning into needs and becoming competencies.

Causes of educational institutions’ stagnation and seeking remedies for contemporary school: identifying ideological premises embedded in educational practice, de-infantilising pre-school and early-school education and breaking the schematic role of institutionalised education by using, e.g. a project-based method or Dalton Plan.

Major publications:

Bonar J., Using Creative Activities to Discover Children’s Understanding of the World, “The New Educational Review” No. 4, 2019.

Bonar J., Buła A., Edukacyjna wartość dziecięcych pytań, Łódź 2019, Wyd. UŁ.

Kaliszewska-Henczel M., Fairy Tales in Chains of Education, “Elementary Education in Theory and Practice”, Vol. 15, No. 2(56), 2020.

Kisiel W., Dźwiekoznaki – literaki. Wyzwalamy myślenie ruchem, Łódź 2020, Wyd. UŁ.

Kowalewski M., Ocenianie wspierające w budowaniu jakości praktyki edukacyjnej szkoły, Łódź 2021, Wyd. UŁ.

Kwella M., Helen Parkhurst – na drodze do planu daltońskiego, “Biografistyka Pedagogiczna”, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2021.

Leżańska W., Płóciennik E., Pedagogika przedszkolna z metodyką, Łódź 2021, Wyd. UŁ.

Maj A., Koncepcja stu języków dziecka w przedszkolach Reggio Emilia. O przełamaniu hegemonii języka werbalnego w dziecięcym procesie uczenia się, “Problemy Wczesnej Edukacji”, No. 1(36), 2017.

Wiśniewska-Kin M., Dominacja a wyzwolenie. Wczesnoszkolny dyskurs podręcznikowy i dziecięcy, Łódź 2013, Wyd. UŁ.

Wiśniewska-Kin M., Skuteczne zdziwienie. Wyzwalająca myślenie nauka czytania, Łódź 2020, Wyd. UŁ.

Major research projects:

Implementation project of the National Centre for Research and Development NCBiR POWR.03.01.00-IP.08-00-PKN/18. “Model education of future pre-school and early-school teachers”. A team project led by dr hab. Jolanta Bonar, University of Łódź professor (2019-2021)

Research project of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education Innovation Incubator 2.0 “Two Languages – One Way” – an innovative educational package for learning reading and writing in two languages (Polish and English) for preschool children. Team project led by dr hab. Monika Wiśniewska-Kin, University of Łódź professor (2019-2020)

Short description of collaboration with academic centres

University of Groningen, the Netherlands – educational online lectures (webinars) on the Dalton Plan educational approach for pre-school and early-school education students (conducted by Piet van der Ploeg).

Reggio Children (Reggio Emilia, Italy) – educational online lectures (webinars) and online study visits in early education facilities in Reggio Emilia for early-school and preschool education students; Reggio Emilia’s educational approach was the subject matter of the events.

The collaboration was held under the “Model education of future pre- and early-school education teachers” implementation project. The students and employees of the Department of Childhood Pedagogy students and staff members were the collaboration beneficiaries.

Major awards

Effective astonishment. Let us trigger thinking project was awarded twice during the INTARG (International Fair of Inventions and Innovation). It won the international World Invention Intellectual Property Associations award granted by the WIIPA (World Invention Intellectual Property Association) from Taiwan and the gold medal at the Intarg International Invention and Innovation Show.

The Minister of Education and Science 2022 award was granted for implementation activities; Łódzkie Eureka 2020 distinction in the Science category. It received a distinction in the Book of the Year 20200 IBBY’s competition.

The staff members of the Department received the following individual awards and distinctions:

Medal of the Commission of National Education

Silver Medal for Many Years of Service

Gold Badge of the University of Łódź

Master of Pedagogy

University of Łódź Rector’s Award for scientific/educational/organisational achievements