The Department of Social Sciences of the Faculty of Education is a constituent unit made up of scientists and educators of outstanding scientific achievement and strong shared educational involvement in the community. The main characteristic of all members of the department is a focused orientation towards teaching and scientific excellence, which is annually evident in excellent student grades, but also in the continuous engagement of all members of the Department in professional and scientific faculty, university, national and international projects. The members of the department regularly organizers and holders, but also members of the committees of national professional and international scientific conferences. International educational and scientific experiences, professional specializations possessed and developed by the members of the Section as a personal choice, as well as teaching and scientific success, make the Department of Social Sciences a productive unit of scientists and educators of various fields of social interest and strongly developing expertise for the benefit of the community.
Head of Department
Tijana Borovac, Associate Professor, Ph.D.
First and last name | Tijana Borovac, Ph.D. |
Profession | Associate Professor |
tborovac@foozos.hr | |
Office number | 49 |
Research interests | early and preschool education, initial education of educators, professional development of educators, leadership in early and preschool education (EPE) |
Curriculum vitae (up to 300 words) | Dr. Tijana Borovac, Associate Professor, completed her primary and secondary education (Jezična Gimnazija-Language Grammar School) in Osijek. In 2002, she graduated from the College of Teacher Education in Osijek, earning the title of Preschool Educator. During her studies in 2000, she received the Rector’s Award for exceptional academic achievement. In 2004, she graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Osijek (Marketing Management programme), obtaining the title of Graduate Economist. She earned her doctorate in the field of Social Sciences, specifically Pedagogy, by defending her dissertation titled Social Interaction of Children in Age-Mixed Groups in Early and Preschool Education Institutions. Her doctoral studies were completed at the Postgraduate Doctoral Programme in Pedagogy, focusing on Early Education in Family and Institutional Settings at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb. Since 2007, she has been employed at the Faculty of Education in Osijek. She teaches courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels in Early and Preschool Education, specialising in the areas of integrated curriculum, leadership, and action research in early and preschool education. Dr Borovac has participated in several professional and scientific research projects (financially supported by HRZZ-ECLAT, Adris, and UNICEF), consistently aiming to explore the perspective of children at an early and preschool age. She is the author of numerous professional and scientific papers in the field of early and preschool education, focusing on the education of future educators, their professional development, children’s executive functions, play, and more. She is also the author and co-author of three chapters in Croatia’s first textbook on early and preschool pedagogy, Pedagogy of Early and Preschool Education. She has presented at numerous national and international conferences on early and preschool education (EECERA, OMEP) and has served as a member of several scientific, programme, and organisational committees. Dr. Borovac is the Chair of the Programme Committee and a member of the Organising Committee for the 1st and 2nd International Scientific-Professional Conference KOMPAS – Competent Systems in Early and Preschool Education, held at the Faculty of Education in Osijek in 2022 and 2024. In 2020, the Education and Teacher Training Agency appointed her Chair of the Examination Committee for Professional Certification Exams for Preschool Educators in Kindergartens. |
List of publications (link to CroRIS) |
Members of Department
Tena Velki, Full Professor, Ph.D.
First and last name | Tena Velki, Ph.D. |
Profession | Full Professor |
Office number | 50 |
Research interests | Primarily developmental psychology, developmental disorders, and educational inclusion. In the past 10 years, she has actively focused on information security, awareness, data privacy, and the risk behavior of computer users. |
Curriculum vitae (up to 300 words) | Tena Velki, PhD, is a Full Professor in the field of developmental psychology. She served as the Vice Dean of Science for two years. She graduated as the top student in psychology in 2008 from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek and completed her PhD in 2012 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. In 2015, she received recognition from the Faculty of Education for her successful work and extraordinary contribution. In 2017, she was acknowledged by the Croatian Psychological Association, and in 2018, she received the "Marulić: Fiat Psychologia" social recognition for her significant contribution to the development and promotion of Croatian applied psychology. In 2019, she was awarded for the best scientific article. |
List of publications (link to CroRIS) |
Alma Škugor, Associate Professor, Ph.D.
First and last name | Alma Škugor, Ph.D. |
Profession | Associate Professor |
askugor@foozos.hr | |
Office number | 52 |
Research interests | student-centered teaching, professional development of teachers, alternative pedagogical concepts, pedagogy of sustainable development, pedagogy of practical life skills |
Curriculum vitae (up to 300 words) | She has been employed at the Faculty of Education since 2007. She obtained her PhD degree in 2013, and since 2021, she has been working as an associate professor. From 2014 to 2018, she was the coordinator for working with the training schools for all methodology courses for students of the integrated undergraduate and graduate five-year university class teacher studies. Until 2018, she conducted practice in the courses Didactics of Natural Science II and Research in Natural Science. She teaches Pedagogy of Sustainable Development, Pedagogy of Practical Life Skills, Alternative Schools, Alternative Pre-school Programs, Pedagogy for Children with Special Needs, and Methodology in Education. In 2017, she successfully completed Montessori educational training in teaching children aged 3 to 12. In doing so, she acquired an international degree (Montessori - Pädagogik Diplomlehrgang) in accordance with the guidelines and the standards of the Austrian Montessori - Ősterreich umbrella association. She collaborated on the research project of the Croatian Science Foundation: “Professional development of teachers in the function of improving the learning outcomes of elementary school students in natural sciences and mathematics” (2018-2022). She has participated in a number of international and national scientific and professional educational conferences and has published about forty professional and scholarly papers. She is the Head of the Career Development Centre for Students Foozos. She was a co-chair of the Organizing Committee of the 42nd International Scientific Conference on Changing Perspectives and Approaches in Contemporary Education in cooperation with the Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE). In cooperation with the Education Agency, she conducts professional training for teachers. |
List of publications (link to CroRIS) |
Dunja Jurić Vukelić, Assistant Professor, Ph.D.
First and last name | Dunja Jurić Vukelić, Ph.D. |
Profession | Assistant Professor |
Office number | 10 |
Research interests | educational psychology, developmental psychology, health psychology |
Curriculum vitae (up to 300 words) | Dunja Jurić Vukelić, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, was born on August 27, 1988, in Sisak, where she completed elementary school and general gymnasium. She earned her master's degree in psychology from the Faculty of Croatian Studies at the University of Zagreb in 2013. She completed her internship at the SUVAG Polyclinic for the Rehabilitation of Hearing and Speech in 2015. From March 2016 to September 2017, she worked as a professional associate in the School and University Medicine Service and the Department for Mental Health, Prevention, and Outpatient Treatment of Addictions at the Public Health Institute of Sisak-Moslavina County. Since 2015, she has participated in teaching at the Faculty of Croatian Studies at the University of Zagreb as an external lecturer, and from 2017 to 2023, she was employed as an assistant at the Department of Psychology. In 2021, she earned her doctorate from the postgraduate doctoral program in Biomedicine and Health at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Zagreb, with a dissertation on the psychosocial characteristics of women undergoing assisted reproduction. In September 2023, she was employed as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Social and Humanities Sciences at the University of Slavonski Brod, and since November 2023, she has held the same position at the Faculty of Educational Sciences at Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek. Her advisory, professional, and research interests focus on the fields of educational psychology, developmental psychology, and health psychology, as well as the practical applications of knowledge in the combination of these areas. |
Željko Rački, Assistant Professor, Ph.D.
First and last name | Željko Rački, Ph.D. |
Profession | Assistant Professor |
Office number | 51 |
Research interests | educational psychology, creativity, giftedness and gifted education, psychological strengths |
Curriculum vitae (up to 300 words) | Željko Rački, PhD, Assistant Professor, ECHA Specialist in Gifted Education, is a licensed psychologist (Croatian Psychological Chamber) with twenty years of experience spanning primary education, the Clinical Hospital Centre Osijek, and higher education and research. He served two terms as head of the Department of Social Sciences (2018–2020 and 2020–2022) and coordinated the Osijek Centre of Excellence project for the education of gifted primary school students in the City of Osijek (2017–2020). He is currently the head of the Faculty’s Centre for Talent Research and Education. He is a member of the Croatian Psychological Chamber, the Independent Union of Science and Higher Education, the Croatian Mountaineering Society "Bršljan-Jankovac," and the European Council for High Ability (ECHA). |
List of publications (link to CroRIS) |
Višnja Vekić-Kljaić, Assistant Professor, Ph.D.
First and last name | Višnja Vekić-Kljaić, Ph.D. |
Profession | Assistant professor |
Office number | 49 |
Research interests | Preschool pedagogy, Preschool curriculum, Action research, Project learning |
Curriculum vitae (up to 300 words) | Višnja Vekić-Kljaić was born on November 2, 1967, in Osijek. She completed her elementary education at Dobriša Cesarić Elementary School in Osijek and graduated from the "Braća Ribar" CUO in Osijek, earning the title of Associate in Preschool Education. In 1988, she graduated from the Preschool Education program at the Faculty of Education in Osijek, obtaining the title of Preschool Educator. In 2010, she earned the professional title of Professor of Preschool Education from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Educational Sciences at the University of Mostar. She completed her PhD in 2020 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek with a dissertation titled Structural and Content Determinants of Early Childhood Education Curriculum. She lives in Osijek with her husband and two daughters. From 1989 to 2021, she worked as a preschool teacher at the Osijek Kindergarten in the "Pčelica" facility, with a mixed-age group integrating the English language. Since 2021, she has served as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Social and Humanistic Sciences at the University of Slavonski Brod. In 2023, she was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the scientific area of Social Sciences, the scientific field of Pedagogy ( Pedagogy of early and preschool education). In September 2024, she joined the Faculty of Education at the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek as an Assistant Professor. She has participated in two institutional projects and Erasmus+ mobility programs, publishing several scientific and professional articles in journals, scientific monographs, and conference proceedings in the field of pedagogy. She has also presented her work at professional and scientific conferences. Her research interests focus on early childhood and preschool education pedagogy. |
List of publications (link to CroRIS) |
Ida Somolanji Tokić, Assistant Professor, Ph.D.
First and last name | Ida Somolanji Tokić, Ph.D. |
Profession | Assistant Professor |
isomolanji@foozos.hr | |
Office number | 49 |
Research interests | ECEC, integrated curriculum, play, transition |
Curriculum vitae (up to 300 words) | Ida Somolanji Tokić, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, was born on February 5, 1985, in Požega. She completed her primary and secondary education in Osijek. In 2007, she graduated from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek with a degree in pedagogy and Croatian language and literature. She earned her PhD at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb in 2018 with the dissertation “Transition from early childhood education and care to compulsory school education - the curricular meeting place” under the mentorship of Edita Slunjski, PhD. She began her career in primary education and has been employed at the Faculty of Education in Osijek since 2008, currently holding the title of Assistant Professor. She is a member of the Department of Social Sciences and the Center for Teaching Methodology and Student Practice, where she oversees the implementation of practicum in kindergartens for undergraduate and graduate students of Early and Preschool Education programs. She teaches courses in early childhood pedagogy, integrated curriculum, project-based learning, and action research. Her research interests focus on integrated curricula, professional development, children's play, and educational transitions. Through her teaching and research, she strives to advance contemporary knowledge and foster pedagogical innovations tailored to the Croatian educational context. She is the author of numerous academic and professional papers in these fields, including two chapters in the first Croatian textbook on early childhood pedagogy. She actively participates in and delivers invited lectures at conferences. She serves on committees for both national and international conferences and is one of the key contributors to the establishment of the international conference Competent Systems in Early Childhood Education and Care (KOMPAS). She is a reviewer for domestic and international journals. She is a member of working groups, including the Committee for the Development of Qualification Standards in Higher Education. Among her project involvement, she highlights “Improving the Inclusivity of Initial Education for Early Childhood Educators” (UFZG and UNICEF). She chairs examination boards for licensing exams for pedagogues and educators in kindergartens. Additionally, she is a member of the Croatian Pedagogical Society, OMEP Croatia, the Croatian Association for Educational Research, the ENNEA Professional Learning Community, and Alumni FFOS. |
List of publications (link to CroRIS) |
Dražen Rastovski, Assistant Professor, Ph.D.
Name and surname | Dražen Rastovski, Ph.D. |
Title | Assistant Professor |
Office Nr. | 56 |
Research interests | Swimming, kinesiological methodology, kinesiological education |
| Dražen Rastovski was born in Osijek on April 8, 1970, where he finished primary and secondary school. He is a Croatian citizen. and graduated on the Faculty of Kinesiology in Zagreb in 1998 and became a professor of physical culture with an additional specialization - water sports. Since 1999 he has been working at the City Swimmingpool in Osijek where he starts and runs a swimming school with children of all ages. He has been working at the Teachers' College in Osijek since 2001 as an external associate, and since 2003 he has been permanently employed as a lecturer for the subject Physical and Health Culture. As part of his work at the Teachers' College, he leads methodological exercises in the subject Methodology of Physical Education and Health, leads Kinesiological Culture, and in 2003 he introduced the elective subject Swimming, for which he fully developed the curriculum, both for five-year teacher training and for preschool professional study. Since the academic year 2007/2008. introduces a new course, Kinesiology practicum, for which he posted his lectures on the Faculty's website in the same year. In 2004, he won the Annual Award of the Croatian Association of Sports Recreation, for his contribution to the training of non-swimmers in the Republic of Croatia. In the same year, by the decision of the Ministry of the Republic of Croatia, he was appointed a member of the commission for the development of a plan of program activities and the implementation of swimming training. Since November 2008, he has been the vice president of the Association of Kinesiologists of the City of Osijek. From the academic year 2017/18. he also works in Kinesiology where he teaches Swimming and recreation. |
List of publications (CROSBI link) |
Daria Župan Tadijanov, Assistant Professor, Ph.D.
Name and surname | Daria Župan Tadijanov, Ph.D. |
Profession | Assistant Professor |
Office number | 56 |
Research interests | Kinesiology teaching methods, kinesiology education, physical activity and physical education |
| Daria Župan Tadijanov, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Education (Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek), was born in Osijek, where she has gained primary and secondary education (III. Grammar School). In 2010 she graduated from the Faculty of Kinesiology (University of Zagreb) with a major in Kinesitherapy. A year later she enrolled on a postgraduate doctoral study programme in Kinesiology, field of specialisation: Kinesiology Education. The dissertation title is "Determining Differences in Kinantrophological Characteristics of Students With Cochlear Implants Included in the Compulsory Teaching of Physical Education From the Standpoint of Etiology“. From 2008 to 2015, Daria Župan Tadijanov worked as a Physical Education teacher in several primary and secondary schools in Osijek. She also worked as a teacher at the Universal Sports School in Osijek from 2008 to 2010, and a conditioning trainer at TK Olimpija from 2010 to 2014. In February 2015, she was appointed Lecturer in Social Sciences, field of Kinesiology. In May 2017, she received a Charter of Appreciation for creating a new study programme for Kinesiology. The areas of her research interests are: kinesiology teaching methods, kinesiology education, physical activity, and P. E. Within the field of kinesiology, she has published several papers in scientific and professional journals, and has appeared at several international scientific and professional conferences. |
List of publications (CROSBI link) | •Klaričić, I. i Farkaš, D. Razlike u natjecateljskoj učinkovitosti smeča u procesu napada i kontranapada. //Zbornik radova 22. ljetne škola kineziologa Republike Hrvatske / Findak, V. (ur.). Zagreb: Hrvatski kineziološki savez, 2013. 218-222 (objavljeni rad, znanstveni). •Farkaš, D., Branko, J. i Tomac, Z. High School Students' Attitudes and Interests Toward Sporting Activities and Physical Education Syllabus Content. 3rd International Scientific Conference „EXERCISE AND QUALITY OF LIFE 2013“ / Madić, D. (ur.) Novi Sad: Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Novi Sad, 2013. 315-320 (objavljeni rad, znanstveni). •Papec, M., Farkaš, D., Štriga Đapić, S. Trends in increase of functional abilities in primary school students. 8th FIEP European Congress „Physical Education and Sports Perspective of Children and Youth in Europe“ / Zapletalova, L. (ur.). Bratislava: Comenius University, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, 2013. 172-173 (sažetak, znanstveni) •Vidranski, Tihomir; Tomac, Zvonimir; Farkaš, Daria. •Farkaš, Daria; Tomac, Zvonimir; Petrić, Vilko; Novak, Dario. •Vidranski, Tihomir; Tomac, Zvonimir; Farkaš, Daria. •Vidranski, Tihomir; Farkaš, Daria. •Krešimir Ižaković; Branko Jovanovac; Daria Župan: Influence of the frequency of physical activities on anthropometric characteristics of male and female students at the Faculty of Agriculture in Osijek / Utjecaj učestalosti tjelesnih aktivnosti na antropometrijska obilježja studenata i studentica Poljoprivrednog fakulteta u Osijeku, Zbornik radova 5. međunarodnog znanstvenog simpozija “Gospodarstvo istočne Hrvatske – vizija i razvoj”,održanog u Osijeku, 2.-4.lipnja 2016., str. 411.-421 •Đapić Štriga, S., Farkaš, D., Kolić, L. (2013). Kondicijska priprema vojnika. 11. godišnja međunarodna konferencija "Kondicijska priprema sportaša 2013" / Jukić, I., Gregov, C., Šalaj, S., Milanović, L., Wertheimer, V. (ur.). Zagreb: Kineziološki fakultet Zagreb, Udruga kondicijskih trenera Hrvatske, 363-368 (objavljeni rad, stručni). •Budetić, Vedran; Velki, Tena; Župan, Daria. |
Ivana Borić Letica, Assistant, Ph.D.
First and last name | Ivana Borić Letica, Ph.D. |
Profession | Assistant |
iletica1@foozos.hr | |
Office number | 50 |
Research interests | developmental psychology, adolescents' risky behaviors, online risks |
Curriculum vitae (up to 300 words) | Ivana Borić Letica, Ph.D., Assistant, was born in 1991 in Osijek, where she finished primary school and III. (science and mathematics) high school. She graduated in Psychology in 2015 from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek with excellent academic results. She won the Chancellor’s Award for the 2015-2016 academic year. She completed the second level of behavioral-cognitive therapy education (HUBIKOT, Zagreb, 2017-2020). She defended her doctoral dissertation under the title "Examining the Prototype willingness model for explanation of adolescents' behavior on social networks" in 2024 at the doctoral studies in Psychology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb. From 2015 to 2023, she worked as a school psychologist and psychology teacher in elementary school and various secondary schools in Osijek. Since 2018, she has been working as an external associate, and since 2023, she has been employed as an assistant at the Faculty of Education in Osijek on various courses in the field of Developmental Psychology. She published several scientific papers and participated in several international scientific conferences. She is a member of the Croatian Psychological Chamber (CPC), the Croatian Psychological Association (CPA), and the secretary of the Society of Psychologists Osijek (SPO). |
List of publications (link to CroRIS) |
Jurica Lovrinčević, Senior Lecturer
Name and surname | Jurica Lovrinčević |
Title | Senior Lecturer |
Office Nr. | 56 |
Research interests | Kinesiology, kinesiology education, kinesiological recreation, kinesiology of sport, athletesnutrition |
| Born on June 18th 1984 in Osijek. After completing the Jesuit classical grammar school, I enrolled the Faculty of Kinesiology in Zagreb. From early age I showed interest in sports. As a student in high school and collegeI participated in various sport competitions and won medals. The sport I decided to train was water polo.I actively trained for 20 years and after finishing my career as water polo player,I started working as a coach of younger categories.I am a member of the Civil Defence Department of the Osječko – Baranjska county and the Red Cross rescue team. In 2016 I started working at the Faculty of Education. In my leisure time I play tennis, soccer, water polo, swim and exercise in the gym. |
List of publications (CROSBI link) | - |
Petra Bučević, Assistant
First and last name | Petra Bučević |
Profession | Assistant |
pbucevic@foozos.hr | |
Office number | 49 |
Research interests | childhood, early childhood education and care |
Curriculum vitae (up to 300 words) | Petra Bučević was born in Osijek in 1991. She is an educator for early and preschool-aged children. She graduated from the Faculty of Education, where she currently works as a teaching assistant in the interdisciplinary field of educational sciences. She is pursuing her doctoral studies at the Faculty of Education. Her research focuses on childhood studies, documenting the educational process, and early and preschool education. Currently, she leads seminars and practical exercises in courses related to early and preschool pedagogy, the integrated curriculum of early and preschool education, and project-based learning in kindergartens. |
List of publications (link to CroRIS) |
Matej Zrno, Expert associate
First and last name | Matej Zrno, mag. cin. |
Profession | Expert Associate |
Office number | 13 |
Research interests | kinesiology, kinesiology education, kinesiology recreation, sports kinesiology, nutrition of athletes |
Curriculum vitae (up to 300 words) | Matej Zrno, Master of Kinesiology, was born on 8 July 1996 in Osijek. He completed his primary education at Grigor Vitez Primary School and then graduated from the 1st Grammar School in Osijek. In 2017, he enrolled in the Kinesiology programme at the newly established Department of Kinesiology within the Faculty of Education. He earned his first academic degree in 2020 when he was awarded the title of Bachelor of Kinesiology. From 2020 to 2022, he was a member of the Student Union of the Faculty of Kinesiology. During his studies, he participated in various sports, particularly excelling as the long-time captain of the university handball team. He is currently involved as the coach of the handball team. In addition to representing the university team, Matej has been actively involved in handball since the age of nine, playing for the Osijek Handball Club (RK Osijek). RK Osijek, where he has been a long-time captain, is a permanent member of the Paket24 Premier League, the highest tier of Croatian handball. During his studies, he worked as a licensed handball coach starting in 2020 at RK Osijek, coaching youth teams (U11 and U13). After completing his master’s degree, he ceased coaching the youth teams at RK Osijek and began working on a project to promote handball and encourage greater participation among children and young people in the sport. He continues to contribute to this project as one of the coaches at RK Osijek. He has also worked as a Physical and Health Education teacher at Josipovac Primary School. Since 27 May 2024, he has been employed as an Associate at the Department of Kinesiology within the Faculty of Education. |
List of publications (link to CroRIS) |