This paper is based on piloting of blended learning as a transformative learning process in order to keep pace with technological innovation. Our redesign of the course was the intention of the use of blended learning as a tool for high-quality, meaningful and longer lasting knowledge, improvements in learning outcomes and greater engagement of students in learning. We chose Moodle platform as a highly sophisticated learning management system with many modules and its possibilities of application in the learning context to develop the online component as a supplement to classroom lessons. After conducting an analysis of the course and a questionnaire, we concluded that students use all the segments of the online component and they become more engaged, their assignments end on time and at the end they would express their satisfaction with the course redesign. Using the T-test for large independent samples there is statistically significantly better performance in the final test (p<0.01) for students who have used Moodle compared to students from the previous generation attending traditional classes, while in the theoretical part of the exam there are higher grades instead of middle, but without statistical significance (p>0.05), which leads us to the view that blended learning helps, above all, average students to upgrade and advance their knowledge. Considering that many of our student are athletes, blended learning is a good choice for them as they are professionally engaged in sports and they can follow the course and complete their assignments in addition to sports commitments. This piloting will serve as a parameter for future use of blended learning to be more adapted to the needs and objectives of students and eliminate any disadvantages.

The article presents the results of the research on one of the manifestations of trust in higher education institutions, namely the attitude of students to examination and test supervision executed by objective observers. The research was conducted in June 2013 and the specific question applied in the research tool was a real example from the academic life, which was discussed in the media. The context of the analysis is mass nature of higher education. The text presents statistics showing the scale and growth of academic enrolment rate in Poland in the last quarter-century. The analysis focuses on the consequences of the mass nature of higher education for the experience of trust in educational interactions, and precisely on the experience of trust during examinations. In this paper we present a small part of our research on culture of trust in educational interactions assisted by ICT.

The recent changes in Europe have changed the understanding of higher education systems in Turkey; as such, higher education institutions have affiliated themselves with a reconstruction period. In this process, it has been emphasized that today’s societies are in need of individuals who are well-developed in personal and professional domains. The concept of life-wide learning has emphasised that the people graduating from universities just with the knowledge of their domains will be inefficient for fulfilling the needs of future societies. This study reflects on the results of research that was designed to develop and test an instrument that could identify the components of an undergraduate’s life-wide learning habits. Since it was difficult to anticipate the components of lifelong learning because of its complex nature, considerable attempts were made in order to handle the process for cognitive, physiological, affective, social, technical and cultural domains. The instrument which was developed - Life-wide Learning Habits Scale- was trialled with 645 undergraduate students studying at the faculty of education across a range of variables. The data was subjected to an explanatory factor analysis, allowing the identification of four dimensions of lifelong learning. These dimensions appear to be capable of differentiating between the personal developmental habits, professional habits, care-based habits, leisure habits of graduates. The developed scale was applied to 296 undergraduate students and the life-wide learning habits of students were assessed regarding their genders, departments and socio-economic situations. Depending on the collected data, lifelong learning habits of university students have been discussed, and some suggestions have been proposed to overcome diffi culties in organizational changes in higher education.

The presented study is a primary initiative in the Peruvian literature for understanding the factors which influence undergraduate students´ choice of a B-school offering a Master´s Degree in Business Administration. A self-administered questionnaire and focus group discussions were used in order to collect data from 700 respondents, with a usable response rate of 92%. Analysis of the data was carried on through exploratory factor analysis. The seven revealed factors which accounted for 63.2082% of the total variance were: Corporate Social Responsibility, Essentials of an MBA Program, Quality Yardsticks, Entrepreneurship, Location, MBA Technical Specifications, and Physical Facilities. Entrepreneurship education should be addressed primarily, as entrepreneurship is vital for economic growth in Peru. In order to raise their value proposition, B-schools are expected to take true initiatives in the CSR area and promote entrepreneurship education in their curricula, through both business-skills training and practical support given by the B-school.

The presented paper describes the characteristics of a study conducted on Synchronous Virtual Classrooms (SVCs), virtual spaces which harbour such resources as videoconferences, shared desk-tops, etc. The main objective of the research was to assess teaching and methodological, communication and technological aspects of SVCs in e-learning processes. Empirical methodology of quantitative and descriptive nature was used; a questionnaire was designed to assess these issues with a sample of 116 university students from six different fields of study at the University of Extremadura. As a conclusion, we report that SVCs with a constructive methodology enhance students’ creativity, favour virtual collaborative work, promote critical and independent thought, and create alternative channels to stimulate students’ active participation by means of flexible and attractive interfaces.

For decades, critics of higher education have been asserting that competencies students can demonstrate upon course completion are much better predictors of what students know and can do than time spent in courses or grades. However, assessment of student learning has not been adopted by faculty and their leaders, and the effort is normally addressed as a bureaucratic demand. The objective was to identify topics that could help shape the discourse regarding the assessment of student learning. The study revealed that the universities in Poland are ready to ensure graduating students competencies demanded by the contemporary world.

Education, in particular tertiary education, as the main “tool” in forming a person intellectually, has always been among the scope of interest of the country’s politics. In the old days, universities were considered as the place where one could get accumulated knowledge and graduates were simply “carriers” of that knowledge. In the modern society, universities are seen as having power to influence the socio-political development of a country. A modern educated person is intelligent enough to have an individual outlook on things or events. It is very hard to change an intellectual’s mind about something he/she does not believe. If a person is educated, he/ she can and will be engaged in political matters, social life or contribute greatly to the development of the country’s better future. Enquiries proved that a person’s level of intelligence is directly connected with his/her political participation and voting behavior, as well as social interaction. The Bologna Process has helped the Georgian higher education system in its transitional period. Owing to this process, Georgia managed to effectively change the education system from a centralized Soviet system to a modern, democratic system. Launching mobility projects, diploma recognition, and quality enhancement projects played a great role in the development of the Georgian modern society and in forming their national as well as pro-European attitude.

Processes of selection of schools have already constituted the object of the Doctoral Dissertation of Professor Ryszard Borowicz, prepared under a scientific supervision of Professor Zbigniew Kwieciński, and also of his numerous books and papers published throughout his whole scientific career. One of the leading concepts applied in the projects carried out by Professor Ryszard Borowicz was the meritocratic concept. Application of that theory in the explanation of phenomena taking place in the contemporary education system has been subject of critical analysis. Besides, the possible directions of studies have been proposed concerning the selection of schools, including the university-level of education. A number of questions have been raised worth answering, especially in face of dynamic transformations taking place in the Polish society that are somehow a consequence of belief in education that was supposed to create stratification mechanisms enabling promotion of positively selected individuals, according to the relation “merit-award”. With consideration for the Professor’s achievements, and for current indicators, some phenomena have been presented that currently exist in the system and are directly related with the problem of selection of schools.

The article is devoted to Professor Ryszard Borowicz, his research and critical analysis of the changes taking place in the Polish higher education. Ryszard Borowicz was their researcher, witness and participant, as well as, in many aspects, also their co-author, fulfilling many political, management and social functions in that period. The article aims to analyze the transformation of the Polish higher education from the point of view of Borowicz’s critical position, whose research interests were centred on revealing hidden forms of inequality in access to education. The analysis presented in this article is concentrated on the three most import_ant processes: (a) massification of higher education, (b) marketisation of higher education and (c) demographic decline as the most import_ant factors influencing the availability and quality of the education offered by the Polish higher education institutions. The text contains references to a large number of disputes and debates that I had with Professor Ryszard Borowicz throughout the past decade, for which unfortunately I did not manage to thank him.

The article is an attempt to take a scientific controversy with one of the many valuable scientific texts written by professor Ryszard Borowicz. The article is an attempt to take a scientific controversy with one of the many valuable scientific texts written by professor Ryszard Borowicz, the eminent sociologist and educator. Posed by Professor Borowicz thesis in the analyzed text on some of the consequences spread of higher education in Poland are inspiring a deep and thorough analysis of the current condition of higher education, with particular emphasis on non-public education. Reference was made to selected parts of the article of Professor Ryszard Borowicz indicating that professor rigorous evaluation can only be some problems recognizing of the higher education in Poland from only one perspective.

The research focused on identifying differences in the sense of self-efficacy and self-regulation of stress among 470 students from Polish and Spanish universities and on determining the differences between students starting and finishing their studies. The following tests were used in the study: General Self-Efficacy Scale, COPE Inventory and Self-Regulatory Formative Questionnaire. Statistical analysis confirmed the correctness of the 6 hypotheses. The obtained results showed that the level of self-efficacy and self-regulation and the choice of coping strategies are related to gender, nationality, age, and multiple attitudes to a stressful situation. Moreover, other confirmed hypotheses show the conclusions that self-efficacy is higher in the group of men than in the group of women. On the other hand, women have higher self-regulatory skills and are more likely than men to choose favourable stress regulation methods. In contrast, the hypotheses about cross-cultural differences show that Spanish students have better self-regulatory skills and choose adaptive coping strategies, while Polish students use non-adaptive strategies.

The article sheds light on the nexus between higher education and foreign policy. International higher education has become an increasingly prominent element of some states’ policies towards other countries as a flank to traditional foreign policy. It has occurred in Central Asia, where the European Union, China and Russia are all supporting teaching, research and capacity-building activities in the tertiary sectors of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Although they employ similar tools and instruments, the assumptions and visions underpinning their respective strategies diverge. Russia’s strategy is shaped by historically informed identity factors and the impulse to entrench predominance in the post-Soviet space, whilst China uses its support for higher education as a soft infrastructure for its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Meanwhile, the EU has integrated higher education into its strategy for the region, which aims at drawing Central Asia closer to its orbit through democratisation and the rule of law.

Ombudsman Institutions in Universities and the Principle of Their Autonomy

The constitutionally guaranteed principle of autonomy of universities, necessary for the implementation of the mission of the system of higher education and science means, among other things, that the authorities of higher education institutions must be left with the sphere of free decision on matters of internal organization. In view of the problems that occur in the life of academic communities, related, among others, to the implementation of the principle of equality and non-discrimination, the need to provide special protection for persons with disabilities, the authors reflect on the need to create ombudsman institutions in universities, indicating the principles on the basis of which such bodies could be created and operate in such a way that it could be reconciled with the principle of autonomy of universities.

This study aimed to examine the relationship between self-concept and creative/ non-creative attitudes among undergraduate students majoring in special education. A total of 99 Polish university students participated in the study. A creative/non-creative attitude – the dependent variable was examined by a Creative Behaviour Questionnaire by Popek. Students’ self-concept (including self-esteem) – the independent variable was assessed with a Tennessee Self-Concept Scale by Fitts. The outcomes of the regression analysis proved that the strongest predictors were found for non-creative (reconstructive) attitudes. The personal barriers to developing students’ creative attitudes (concerning self-concept) were identified. The article contains conclusions in conjunction with practical implications.

The article discusses transformations of political science studies in Poland in the last two decades. The emphasis is put on the changes that took place in higher education system and in political science itself, as well as on the fact that the number of political science higher education institutions is increasing together with the number of candidates for the studies, political science students and graduates. The condition of political science studies is compared to the condition of other, selected faculties. Data presented in this article shows that political science, as a faculty, recently underwent rapid changes. Fast increase in the number of students in the 90’, as well as in the number of educational institutions at the beginning of the XXI century caused political science to become one of the most popular faculties in Poland. However, in the past few years the total number of students has been decreasing, political science students included. This change is significant enough to have an influence on the condition of educational institutions, many of which face difficulties maintain the faculty. What is important, these changes seem to be independent of the tendency observed in higher education in Poland in general, as well as other faculties.

Remote teaching became one of the key topics in educational research due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our article looks at the other side of the story, i.e., in-person education during the pandemic. This aspect of teaching excellence has been overlooked because it seemed to be thoroughly studied. However, COVID-19 has profoundly changed in-person teaching. In our study, we focus on the Polish medical and technical universities as the studies they offer include solid practical components (labs or clinical classes). Our article examines how in-person classes were administered and organised during three consecutive semesters, starting in the Spring of 2020, when teaching at Polish HEIs was mostly conducted remotely. We build our analysis on internal legal acts issued by rectors and interviews with university staff who oversaw the teaching process. The legal documents describe the procedures related to in-person teaching or frontline teaching in person. The interviews complement this image by providing the rationale behind the regulations, their reception by the students and the faculty, or the backstage of in-person teaching. The LogFrame was applied to provide a conceptual framework to understand how universities could continue providing their services.

Formation of Professionally Significant Personality Traits of a Future Technology Specialists in Terms of Dual Education

The article considers the main ways of formation of professionally important qualities of a future food technology specialist in the light of specific features of the given profession. The activities of a food industry specialist are presented as multifunctional and multicomponent. The main functions of the activity are listed. These functions of activity include: organizational, operational, prognostic, informational. The implementation of each function is considered as a necessary factor in the development of professionally significant personality traits of a future food technology specialist. There are six groups of qualities that must be possessed by a specialist in nutrition technology. Among them: cognitive (perception, memory, thinking, attention, imagination), communicative (attentiveness, personal culture, professional communication, interaction with customers, consumers, colleagues, management), competence (awareness, diligence, dedication, commitment). efficiency, experience, professional self-determination and self-realization), emotional and volitional (initiative, activity, optimism, politeness, tact), organizational (punctuality, concentration, discipline), motivational and value (sustainable motivational values and guidelines, professional interests, positive motivation, perseverance in achieving the goal), moral and psychological humanism, honesty, decency, tolerance, responsibility for their own actions and deeds). The role and place of each of the groups of professionally significant qualities of nutrition technology specialists, their significance for work in production are analyzed. Dual education has been identified as an important aspect of the formation of professionally important personality traits of future specialists in food technology. Dual education provides high quality training in nutrition technology, continuity and consistency of all stages of learning, flexibility and variability of educational programs, adaptability and socialization of students to the working environment, creates appropriate conditions for personal development of students, development of their important professional qualities. It is emphasised that dual education creates the conditions for engaging enterprises into the training process. The peculiarities of the implementation of dual education are related to the alternation of periods of theoretical training and practical practice, updating the learning conditions, flexibility of the curriculum, taking into account the individual trajectory of development and the interests of each student.

The subject of the research is the problem of mass migration of the intellectual elite from Belarus. The analysis of the current situation in Belarus shows that a special role in the migration of Belarusian scientists and academic teachers is not played by economic factors, but to a greater extent, by political and social factors. Migration has taken the form of flight from Belarus, which is leading to a huge crisis in Belarusian science, education and society in general. The largest number of Belarusian scientific migrants is in Poland, where programs of assistance to Belarusian scientists and favourable conditions for moving have been created. Highly qualified specialists, leaving to work in other countries, bring significant bene-fits to the host country, at the same time causing huge, irreparable damage to the country they leave. For host countries, the migration of the intellectual elite serves as a tool to increase the country’s competitiveness in the world market.

Higher education is a dynamic global industry with a highly competitive and developed market. Universities communicate their international programs to attract prospective students interested in studying abroad. This study addresses a question whether there is a difference between communicated characteristics of international programs among universities from various cultures. Websites of seventy universities coming from different cultural clusters are analysed using data-mining methods. The results suggests that marketing communications in international higher education do not stand on cultural grounds as there are only minor differences between international program communications across the world. The only difference in the group of prime international higher education providers was found between the Anglo-Saxon universities and the rest of the world.

This paper reports on the benefits and challenges of integrating service-learning pedagogy into a professional course taught at a US Midwestern university. Data were collected via observations, interviews and analyses of students’ online discussions, written reflections, and project work. Findings revealed that the servicelearning approach improves academic learning, increases motivation to learn and serve, escalates civic values and develops a sense of concern over broader social issues. Most importantly, it prepares students to be civic-minded professionals who are concerned with the betterment of society. Additionally, the authentic and open nature of service-learning was found to contribute to intense group conflicts. Suggestions to eliminate such challenges are also discussed.