Institute for Social Research in Zagreb
The Institute for Social Research in Zagreb (ISRZ) is a public scientific research institution, conducting quantitative and qualitative scientific research of different aspects of the Croatian society. We are the oldest sociological public research institution in Croatia, with a 60-year-old tradition of exploring the topics of youth, education, urban/rural studies, gender studies, and other socially relevant topics. Our research team consists of
36 senior and junior researchers, from the disciplines of sociology, psychology, educational science, political science, philosophy and anthropology. The ISRZ is the publisher of the journal Sociology and Space, and the book editions Science and Society and Special Editions, in which we publish the results of our research. We also foster international collaboration with similar educational and research institutions. ISRZ communicates the results of our research by presenting them at national and international conferences, and by sharing them with the media, as our mission is to provide evidence-based data to serve as a basis for creating policies contributing to the development of the Croatian society.
The ISRZ research group involved in the VETprep project consists of six researchers from the Institute’s two research centres: two Scientific Advisors, a Research Associate and Research Assistant from the Centre for Educational Research and Development, as well as Senior Research Associate and Senior Research Assistant from the Centre for Youth and Gender Studies. Based on the experience and skills acquired in previous research within the VETprep project IDIZ will lead the research package on European VET transition patterns. We will examine the differences between educational trajectories of post- and pre- pandemic youth cohorts across the five included EU countries by analyzing national register data, supplemented by long-standing large-scale EU survey microdata (EU-SILC and EU-LFS) encompassing the period from 2010 to 2024. We will also be in charge of creating a joint data report on transition patterns covering the impact of COVID19 on VET transitions, and the outcomes considering social background and comparing different educational cohorts.
Main research areas:
01
Educational and professional aspirations, choices and trajectories of students.
02
Social dimension of education, including gender, regional and socioeconomic
inequalities
03
Organizational structure and change in the education system
04
Monitoring and evaluation of youth policies
05
Internal and external evaluation of educational outcomes and policies
06
Improving the quality of learning and teaching in schools
07
Social inequalities with regard to age and gender
08
Youth well-being and mental health
09
Political culture and participation
10
Social capital and social inclusion of youth
11
Digital inequalities
12
Migrations
Researchers:
Teo Matković
PhD – Scientific Advisor
Principal Investigator and main contact
Josip Šabić
PhD – Research Associate
Researcher, team member
Sandra Antulić Majcen
PhD – Senior Research Assistant
Researcher, team member
Dunja Potočnik
PhD – Senior Research Associate
Researcher, team member
Saša Puzić
PhD – Scientific Advisor
Researcher, team member
Marko Lucić
MA – Research Assistant
Researcher, team member
Related projects & activities
The project explored educational and psychosocial effects of these changes on pupils, with a focus on their educational experiences, well-being and educational aspirations, with an emphasis on pupils with disabilities, low SES, and gifted pupils. The findings impacted government policy regarding school opening.
The project aimed to contribute to solving the non-existence of coordinated and effective agency of CSOs (in collaboration with other stakeholders) in shaping the public policies for addressing social inequalities in lifelong education in Croatia, from ECEC to tertiary education and adult education. The project affected the national education plan and resulted with a series of recommendations.
A project financed by the national Ministry of Science and Education under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan 2021-2026 (NPOO), and coordinated by the ISRZ. The purpose was to provide a comprehensive, spatially granular evidence-based foundation for future structural reform of secondary education, including VET programmes. The project results were implemented in subsequent capacity planning.
This action-driven project aims to raise awareness and increase knowledge about the problem of gender-based cyber violence (cyber GBV) and to advocate for comprehensive legal and policy responses to cyber GBV in Croatia, Spain and Portugal, but also at a wider European level. The main results are in-depth knowledge about various aspects of cyber GBV, an educational tool for working with young people on cyber GBV, initiated process of evidence-based law- and policy-making to tackle cyber GBV, national media campaign and promotional activities to sensitize relevant stakeholders and Croatian citizens about cyber GBV.
The project aims to establish, describe and analyse the level, structure and dynamics of the quality of life of young people in Croatia at four time points: 1999, 2004, 2013 and 2025, as well as the social factors that have shaped it, while enabling a comparative insight into the youth quality of life dimensions that have undergone progress, stagnation or regression in the period of a quarter of a century. Research on the quality of life is based on the fact that it is a multidimensional concept consisting of structural (social status, social relations), cultural (value orientations, aspirations) and socio-psychological dimensions (mental health).
The project aims to deepen the understanding of various aspects of the political competence of the new generation of final-year secondary school pupils in Croatia. It is focused on the generation that is at the verge of full participation in the political life of the community. The project aims to acquire an in-depth insight into the pupils’ understanding of the political competence, the current state of their political knowledge, and to explore how well informed they are and what attitudes they have towards politics. The collected data will enable a comparison with the previous research waves that explored youth political literacy (2010, 2015 and 2021).