The Faculty of Education, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, is a partner in the international research project Metatheoretical Analyses of Social and Educational Concepts in Welfare and Educational Contexts (MASEC), which will be conducted from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2035.
The project is led by Linnaeus University (Sweden) and brings together researchers and research groups from universities in Sweden, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Japan, Ukraine, and South Africa. It establishes a long-term international and interdisciplinary collaboration focused on qualitative meta-syntheses and meta-ethnographic analyses of key theories and concepts within the fields of education, sociology, social pedagogy, special education, social work, linguistics, and criminology. Representing the Faculty in the project are Associate Prof. Maja Brust Nemet, PhD, Assistant Prof. Ružica Tokić Zec, PhD, Assistant Prof. Antonija Huljev, PhD, and PhD candidates Dušana Marić Čubra, Mia Bašić Bučanović, and Krunoslava Duka.
The project responds to the growing need for critical analyses of the concepts that shape education, welfare systems, and social life in a period characterised by global migration, democratic tensions, digital transformation, and increasing social fragmentation. Its overall aim is to develop a deeper theoretical and empirical understanding of how central social and educational concepts are shaped, applied, and transformed within research and practice across educational and welfare contexts and countries.
The research will be conducted through qualitative meta-syntheses, meta-ethnographies, and discursive and metatheoretical analyses of previous empirical studies, peer-reviewed journal articles, doctoral dissertations, policy documents, institutional texts, and other relevant sources. Particular attention will be devoted to concepts related to identity, belonging, inclusion and exclusion, migration, democracy, social justice, professional collaboration, education in the age of artificial intelligence and digital transformation, and the development of inclusive, democratic, and socially sustainable educational and welfare systems.
Through its participation in MASEC, the Faculty further strengthens its international research collaboration and contributes to the advancement of theoretical and methodological approaches in educational research. The project is expected to result in international publications, edited volumes, conferences, doctoral networks, and long-term research collaborations among participating universities and research environments worldwide.
More at the link.