The investment approach in social policy, a response to the economic, social, and demographic changes in European countries, has its unique and intriguing interpretation in the Central European context. The article’s main aim is to identify and analyze two trends in the social policy of the EU Member States, which are coherent with the paradigm of the state of social investment. The first is the reduction of institutional support, resulting in deinstitutionalization and ceding the responsibility for care services to the family. The other trend reshaping the traditional models of social policy is the marketization of social care services provided to children and older adults. Because of their historical background, the countries analyzed, Poland and the Czech Republic, adopted the social investment paradigm, creating a unique and intriguing Central European interpretation.

Theatre is an experience. The importance of the cognitive function of theatre from the perspective of analysing the field of social policy

This article aims to analyse the validity of including a theatrical perspective in the diagnosis of social reality to prepare plans and programmes in the field of social policy. Accordingly, the considerations within the text oscillate around the question: „Is the cognitive function of theatre important in the diagnosis of social reality?“ Based on the tenets of understanding naturalism, it is assumed that theatrical narratives and theatre’s social engagement are representations of social dichotomies. By revealing the discrepancies between normatively perceived reality and functioning understandings of social rules, they enable us to grasp the axiological and ontological premises underpinning the processes taking place in social reality. These, in turn, can become an essential source of data for the design of social policy interventions regardless of the ideological options represented.