Mgr. Oksana Yuriyivna Stupak, Ph.D., DrSc., Assistant Professor at the Department of Pedagogy, Faculty of Education, Masaryk University, has been awarded a prestigious JUNIOR STAR grant to continue her research on the inclusion of Ukrainian pupils in the Czech education system. The project focuses on the current issue of inclusion of Ukrainian children in the Czech education system. It aims to improve the educational conditions for Ukrainian pupils who fled the war and to support the development of an inclusive environment in Czech schools.
Oksana Stupak moved to the Czech Republic in March 2022, when she had to leave her homeland because of the war in Ukraine. In Ukraine, she worked as an academic at pedagogical faculties in Kiev and Donbas. After arriving in the Czech Republic, she started working at the Institute of Educational Sciences of the Faculty of Arts of MU, where she worked on the adaptation of Ukrainian children to Czech schools. „As a mother, I was interested in how my children, aged four and eleven, could handle the transition to the Czech educational environment. This personal interest gradually turned into research on supporting Ukrainian pupils,".
The first steps led to personal research in which she approached several schools in Brno and conducted interviews with children, parents and teachers. These efforts led to the larger SYRY project, which revealed the difficulties of adaptation not only for the pupils themselves, but also for the teachers and principals who had to cope with the new situation."We have found that adaptation has to take place on both sides - for the pupils and for the schools," the researcher points out.
The JUNIOR STAR grant was new for Oksana Stupak. "I found out about this grant at the Faculty of Education at Masaryk University. It is a prestigious programme that supports budding scientists in their scientific independence," she explains. In collaboration with her colleagues, she decided to take the opportunity to apply for a project that would focus on the integration of Ukrainian pupils into the Czech education system.
"It was important to find a topic that would be topical and relevant to the entire Czech school system. In the end, we decided on inclusion, which includes not only children from Ukraine, but also the approach of Czech schools to foreigners in general," he adds. The grant provides her with funding for five years of research that combines qualitative and quantitative methods. "The research will include interviews with children and parents, questionnaires from teachers and quasi-experiments that will focus on Czech children's reactions to their Ukrainian classmates," the researcher explains.
The JUNIOR STAR Grant from the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (GAČR) is one of the prestigious awards for budding scientists. It is intended for those who are in the first eight years of their scientific career after obtaining their Ph.D. and have already achieved significant results, such as publications in prestigious international journals. The JUNIOR STAR programme offers five-year funding of up to 25 million crowns, giving young researchers the opportunity for scientific independence and the potential to build their own team. Oksana Stupak is the first scientist to receive this prestigious grant at any faculty of education in the Czech Republic.
The research takes place at a time when the conditions for the inclusion of Ukrainian pupils in Czech schools are changing. "Compared to 2022, the situation has changed significantly. For example, financial support for Ukrainian assistants is no longer available and there is a lack of paid tutoring in Czech," says Oksana. "On the other hand, teachers now have more experience with the integration of Ukrainian pupils, so we would like to find out how they use this experience and how the support for schools is changing."
The main aim of the research is to find out how Czech schools approach inclusion and what could improve this process. "The results of our research will include scientific articles and conference presentations. We also plan to publish recommendations and organise seminars for school staff to promote inclusion at all levels,". The research team consists of colleagues from the Faculty of Education, who are providing essential support to the researcher. "This is my first major project and I am very grateful for the expert guidance and support I have had since I started at the Faculty."
Oksana Stupak is at the beginning of a five-year research project that aims to change the view of inclusion in the Czech education system. "I hope that our research will contribute to better integration of all pupils and to creating a more welcoming and stimulating environment for all children learning and growing up in the Czech Republic," she concludes.
Thanks to the JUNIOR STAR grant, she has the opportunity to research key aspects of inclusion in Czech education and contribute to their improvement. Her project is not only a scientific contribution, but also a practical guide for schools on how to effectively integrate foreign pupils into the Czech education system.
Alex, a student from Australia who chose to study at the Faculty of Education in Brno, has a remarkable journey filled with unique experiences and bold decisions.
We cordially invite you to the Advent Concert of the Faculty of Education of MU, which will be held on 26 November at 7:00 pm in the Hall of Merciful Brothers. Admission is free.
