Department of Social Sciences

Head of Department:

Tijana Borovac, Associate Professor, Ph.D.

Name and surname	Tijana Borovac, Ph.D.
Title	Associate Professor
e-mail	tborovac@foozos.hr
Office Nr.	49
Research interests	Early childhood education, play, project learning, leadership, professional development, ICT in early childhood
	Tijana Borovac completed primary and secondary school in Osijek. In 2002 she graduated from Teacher Training College in Osijek acquiring the title of early childhood educator. During her study in 2000 she received Rector’s reward for outstanding success at Teacher Training College. In 2004 she graduated at the Faculty of Economics, and acquiring the title of Master of Economics in Marketing Management. In November 2014 she acquired her doctoral degree in Pedagogy at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb after having defending the thesis titled The Social Interaction of Children in Mixed Age Kindergarten Groups. From 2000-2001 she worked as a project assistant on project Parent School Partnership organized by humanitarian organization Catholic Relief Services ( CRS). From 2001-2003 she worked in company Heinrich Hirdes as project manager assistant. Between 2003-2007 she worked as a project coordinator in Youth organization „Breza“ in Osijek. Since 2007 she has been working as an assistant, senior assistant and now assistant professor at the Faculty of Education in Osijek, at the Department of Education (Early childhood education).
List of publications (CROSBI link)	CROSBI Tijana Borovac

Members of Department:

Edita Borić, Full Professor with tenure, Ph.D.

Name and surname	Edita Borić, Ph.D.
Title	Full Professor with tenure
E-mail	eboric@foozos.hr, editaboric@yahoo.com
Office number	45
Research interests	nature and society methodology and biology, research teaching, lifelong learning, cultural heritagestudent-centered learning , ICT
	Professor of biology and chemistry, PhD in teaching methods of biology from Slovenia. Teaching methodology of lifelong learning, outcomes and competencies of teachers, student-centered learning, teaching methods, etc. Expert in learining outcomes and outdoor research teaching. Gives lectures within Pedagogical–psychological-didactical-and-methodological training for assistants at the University in Osijek. Held numerous lectures for students, teaching assistants and teachers of different Universities. Participated in education for external auditors of the quality assurance system in higher education institutions. Participated in numerous international scientific conferences in Croatia and abroad. Has certificate for external auditors of the insurance system for the quality in higher education institutions organized by the Agency for Science and Higher Education. Held lectures in 2017 as visiting professor under the project “Involvement of visiting foreign experts and university teachers in the pedagogical process as a pillar of quality development process of internationalization of the University of Maribor“ co-funded by the EU and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports. She was a leader of the numerous scientific projects (national and international, Orientation of teaching Nature and society to student achievement levels; „Cultural Heritage in Primary Education of Slovenia and Croatia" BI-HR/16-17-014.).
List of publications (CROSBI link)	CROSBI Edita Borić

Tena Velki, Full Professor, Ph.D.

Alma Škugor, Associate Professor, Ph.D.

Name and surname	Alma Škugor, Ph.D.
Title	Associate professor
e-mail	askugor@foozos.hr
Office Nr.	52
Research interests	student-centered teaching, professional development of teachers, educational assessment, self-efficacy of teaching, and Montessori pedagogy.
	Since 2007 she has been employed at the Faculty of Education. She obtained her PhD degree in 2013 and since 2016 she has been working as an assistant professor. From 2014 to 2018 she was the co-ordinator for working with the training schools for all methodology courses of students of the Integrated undergraduate and graduate five-year university class teacher studies. Until 2018 she conducted practice in the courses Didactics of Natural Science II and Research in Natural Science. She teaches the courses of the Pedagogy of Sustainable Development, Pedagogy of Practical Life, Action Research in Preschool Education, Methodology of Final Work, Methodology of Thesis Paper. In 2017 she successfully completed Montessori educational training in teaching children aged 3 to 12 and thus acquired an international degree (Montessori - Pädagogik Diplomlehrgang) in accordance with the guidelines and the standards of the Austrian Montessori - Ősterreich umbrella association. She collaborated on the research project of the Croatian Science Foundation: Professional development of teachers in the function of improving the learning outcomes of elementary school students in natural sciences and mathematics (2018-2022). She has participated in a number of international and national scientific and professional conferences in the field of education and has published about thirty professional and scholarly papers. She was a co-chair of the Organizing Committee of the 42nd International Scientific Conference on Changing Perspectives and Approaches in Contemporary Education in cooperation with the Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE). In co-operation with the Education Agency, she conducts professional training for teachers.
List of publications (CROSBI link)	CROSBI Alma Škugor

Dunja Jurić Vukelić, Assistant Professor, Ph.D.

Željko Rački, Assistant Professor, Ph.D.

Dražen Rastovski, Assistant Professor, Ph.D.

Name and surname	Dražen Rastovski, Ph.D.
Title	Assistant Professor
E-mail	drastovski@foozos.hr
Office Nr.	56
Research interests	Swimming, kinesiological methodology, kinesiological education
	Dražen Rastovski was born in Osijek on April 8, 1970, where he finished primary and secondary school. He is a Croatian citizen. and graduated on the Faculty of Kinesiology in Zagreb in 1998 and became a professor of physical culture with an additional specialization - water sports. Since 1999 he has been working at the City Swimmingpool in Osijek where he starts and runs a swimming school with children of all ages. He has been working at the Teachers' College in Osijek since 2001 as an external associate, and since 2003 he has been permanently employed as a lecturer for the subject Physical and Health Culture. As part of his work at the Teachers' College, he leads methodological exercises in the subject Methodology of Physical Education and Health, leads Kinesiological Culture, and in 2003 he introduced the elective subject Swimming, for which he fully developed the curriculum, both for five-year teacher training and for preschool professional study. Since the academic year 2007/2008. introduces a new course, Kinesiology practicum, for which he posted his lectures on the Faculty's website in the same year. In 2004, he won the Annual Award of the Croatian Association of Sports Recreation, for his contribution to the training of non-swimmers in the Republic of Croatia. In the same year, by the decision of the Ministry of the Republic of Croatia, he was appointed a member of the commission for the development of a plan of program activities and the implementation of swimming training. Since November 2008, he has been the vice president of the Association of Kinesiologists of the City of Osijek. From the academic year 2017/18. he also works in Kinesiology where he teaches Swimming and recreation.
List of publications (CROSBI link)	CROSBI Dražen Rastovski

Marinela Rosso, Assistant Professor, Ph.D.

Ida Somolanji Tokić, Assistant Professor, Ph.D.

Daria Župan Tadijanov, Senior Lecturer, Ph.D

Name and surname	Daria Župan Tadijanov Ph.D.
Profession	Senior Lecturer
E-mail	dzupan@foozos.hr
Office number	56
Research interests	Kinesiology teaching methods, kinesiology education, physical activity and physical education
	Daria Župan Tadijanov, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Education (Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek), was born in Osijek, where she has gained primary and secondary education (III. Grammar School). In 2010 she graduated from the Faculty of Kinesiology (University of Zagreb) with a major in Kinesitherapy. A year later she enrolled on a postgraduate doctoral study programme in Kinesiology, field of specialisation: Kinesiology Education. The dissertation title is "Determining Differences in Kinantrophological Characteristics of Students With Cochlear Implants Included in the Compulsory Teaching of Physical Education From the Standpoint of Etiology“. From 2008 to 2015, Daria Župan Tadijanov worked as a Physical Education teacher in several primary and secondary schools in Osijek. She also worked as a teacher at the Universal Sports School in Osijek from 2008 to 2010, and a conditioning trainer at TK Olimpija from 2010 to 2014. In February 2015, she was appointed Lecturer in Social Sciences, field of Kinesiology. In May 2017, she received a Charter of Appreciation for creating a new study programme for Kinesiology. The areas of her research interests are: kinesiology teaching methods, kinesiology education, physical activity, and P. E. Within the field of kinesiology, she has published several papers in scientific and professional journals, and has appeared at several international scientific and professional conferences.
List of publications (CROSBI link)	•Klaričić, I. i Farkaš, D. Razlike u natjecateljskoj učinkovitosti smeča u procesu napada i kontranapada. //Zbornik radova 22. ljetne škola kineziologa Republike Hrvatske / Findak, V. (ur.). Zagreb: Hrvatski kineziološki savez, 2013. 218-222 (objavljeni rad, znanstveni). •Farkaš, D., Branko, J. i Tomac, Z. High School Students' Attitudes and Interests Toward Sporting Activities and Physical Education Syllabus Content. 3rd International Scientific Conference „EXERCISE AND QUALITY OF LIFE 2013“ / Madić, D. (ur.) Novi Sad: Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Novi Sad, 2013. 315-320 (objavljeni rad, znanstveni). •Papec, M., Farkaš, D., Štriga Đapić, S. Trends in increase of functional abilities in primary school students. 8th FIEP European Congress „Physical Education and Sports Perspective of Children and Youth in Europe“ / Zapletalova, L. (ur.). Bratislava: Comenius University, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, 2013. 172-173 (sažetak, znanstveni) •Vidranski, Tihomir; Tomac, Zvonimir; Farkaš, Daria. Indicators of Kinantrophologic characteristics in Students with Cochlear Implants in Individualized pe class program creation // Proceedings book 9th Fiep European Congress and 7th International Scientific Congress „Sport, stress, adaptation” / Daniela Dasheva, Branislav Antala, SteNa Djobova, Milena Kuleva (ur.). Sofia : SoIa 1700, Studentski grad, naOonal Sports Academy “ Vassil Levski”, 2014. 454-458 (poster,međunarodna recenzija,objavljeni rad,znanstveni). •Farkaš, Daria; Tomac, Zvonimir; Petrić, Vilko; Novak, Dario. Anthropometric characteristics and obesity indicators among preschool children in an urban area in Croatia. // Graduate Journal of Sport, Exercise & Physical Education Research. 3 (2015) ; 13-27 (članak, znanstveni) •Vidranski, Tihomir; Tomac, Zvonimir; Farkaš, Daria. Motor proficiency of students with cochlear implants. // Croatian Review of Rehabilitation Research. 51 (2015) , 1; 1-9 (članak, znanstveni). •Vidranski, Tihomir; Farkaš, Daria. Motor Skills in Hearing Impaired Children With or Without Cochlear Implant - A Systematic Review. // Collegium antropologicum. Supplement. 39 (2015) , Suppl. 1; 173-179 (pregledni rad, znanstveni). •Krešimir Ižaković; Branko Jovanovac; Daria Župan: Influence of the frequency of physical activities on anthropometric characteristics of male and female students at the Faculty of Agriculture in Osijek / Utjecaj učestalosti tjelesnih aktivnosti na antropometrijska obilježja studenata i studentica Poljoprivrednog fakulteta u Osijeku, Zbornik radova 5. međunarodnog znanstvenog simpozija “Gospodarstvo istočne Hrvatske – vizija i razvoj”,održanog u Osijeku, 2.-4.lipnja 2016., str. 411.-421 •Đapić Štriga, S., Farkaš, D., Kolić, L. (2013). Kondicijska priprema vojnika. 11. godišnja međunarodna konferencija "Kondicijska priprema sportaša 2013" / Jukić, I., Gregov, C., Šalaj, S., Milanović, L., Wertheimer, V. (ur.). Zagreb: Kineziološki fakultet Zagreb, Udruga kondicijskih trenera Hrvatske, 363-368 (objavljeni rad, stručni). •Budetić, Vedran; Velki, Tena; Župan, Daria. Odnos bavljenja sportskim aktivnostima i socio- emocionalni razvoj adolescenata. // Zbornik 26. ljetne škole kineziologija Republike Hrvatske: Kineziološke kompetencije u područjima edukacije, sporta, sportske rekreacije i kineziterapije / Findak, Vladimir (ur.). Poreč, 2017. 127-131 (predavanje,domaća recenzija,objavljeni rad).

Jurica Lovrinčević, Senior Lecturer

Ivana Borić Letica, Assistant

Nikolina Jozić, Assistant

Marta Zečević Berbić, Assistant

About the Department

The Department of Social Sciences of the Faculty of Education is a constituent unit made up of scientists and educators of outstanding scientific achievement and strong shared educational involvement in the community. The main characteristic of all members of the department is a focused orientation towards teaching and scientific excellence, which is annually evident in excellent student grades, but also in the continuous engagement of all members of the Department in professional and scientific faculty, university, national and international projects. The members of the department regularly organizers and holders, but also members of the committees of national professional and international scientific conferences. International educational and scientific experiences, professional specializations possessed and developed by the members of the Section as a personal choice, as well as teaching and scientific success, make the Department of Social Sciences a productive unit of scientists and educators of various fields of social interest and strongly developing expertise for the benefit of the community.

Name and surname	Tena Velki, Ph.D.
Title	Full Professor
e-mail	tena.velki@gmail.com; tvelki@foozos.hr
Office Nr.	50
Research interests	Research interests are focused primarily on the area of developmental psychology, developmental disorders, inclusion and rights of children with disabilities. In addition, the area of information security, awareness, data privacy and the risk behavior of computer users have been actively in focus in the last 5 years.
	Tena Velki, PhD, works as an Associate Professor in the field of developmental psychology and as a Vice Dean for science at the Faculty of Education in Osijek. She graduate psychologyin 2008 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science in Osijek, and finished PhD study in 2012 at the Faculty Humanities and Social Science in Zagreb. In 2015. she received the recognition of the Faculty of Education for the successful work and the extraordinary contribution, in 2017. acknowledgment of the Croatian Psychological Society, and in 2018. social recognition "Marulić: Fiat Psychologia" for a particularly valuable contribution to the development and promotion of Croatian applied psychology. She has participated in over 60 international and domestic scientific and professional conferences. She has published over 40 scientific papers and 6 books. She also hosts the Assistant Training Program for Children with Developmental Disabilities and People with Disabilities and a postgraduate specialist study in Inclusive Education.
List of publications (CROSBI link)	CROSBI Tena Velki

Name and surname	Ivana Borić Letica
Profession	Assistant
E-mail	iletica1@foozos.hr, ivanaboric9@yahoo.com
Office number	50
Research interests	developmental psychology, risky behavior and emotional difficulties of children and adolescents
	Ivana Borić Letica was born in 1991 in Osijek. She graduated in Psychology in 2015 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social sciences in Osijek with excellent academic result. She is the winner of the Chancellor's Award for the academic year 2015/2016. She completed the education for experts working with children supported by the International Academy for Play Therapy and Psychosocial Projects at the Center for Play Therapy in Zagreb (2016-2017) and the second level of behavioral-cognitive therapy (Croatian Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, Zagreb, 2017-2020). Since 2019, she is a doctoral student at the Postgraduate Doctoral Studies in Psychology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb. From 2015 to 2023 she worked as school psychologist and psychology teacher in an elementary school and various secondary schools in Osijek. Since 2018 she has been working as an external associate, and since 2023 she has been employed as research assistant at the Faculty of Education in Osijek in the field of Developmental Psychology. She is a member of the Croatian Psychological Chamber (CPC) and the Croatian Psychological Association (CPA).
List of publications (CROSBI link)	https://www.bib.irb.hr/profile/40021

Ime i prezime	Nikolina Jozić
Zvanje	asistentica
E-mail	njozic@foozos.hr
Broj ureda	57
Istraživački interesi	Natural and social sciences teaching, Research in teaching of natural and social sciences, History of education
	Nikolina Jozić was born in 1999 in Slavonski Brod. She graduated in the academic year 2021/2022. at the Faculty of Education in Osijek on the subject of Schooling during the Homeland War in Brod-Posavina County and earned a master's degree in primary education. She is the secretary of the Association of Students of Educational Sciences called Futuri Magistri and the editor of the magazine for educational sciences Foo2rama. She is the winner of the second award for the best work of young historians on the history of Slavonia, Srijem and Baranja for the year 2023. She has worked in elementary school as a teacher, and since 2023 she has been employed as an assistant at the Faculty of Education in Osijek at the Department of Social Sciences.
Popis publikacija (poveznica na CROSBI)

Ime i prezime	Marta Zečević Berbić
Zvanje	asistentica
E-mail	mzecevic2@foozos.hr
Broj ureda	57
Istraživački interesi	Methodology of Science and Social Studies Student-oriented teaching Research-oriented teaching
	Marta Zečević Berbić is an assistant at the Faculty of Education of the J. J. Strossmayer University in Osijek and a doctoral student at the post-graduate university (doctoral) study of Educational Sciences and Educational Perspectives. She leads seminars and exercises from several courses such as Science and Social Studies Methodology, Research-oriented Teaching, Integrated Teaching, etc. In 2019 and 2021, she held invited lectures for students at the Faculty of Education in Maribor (Slovenia) and for students and educators at the Jözsef Eötvös school in Baja (Hungary) as part of the Spring Educational Academy. She participated in several international scientific meetings and published several scientific papers and a scientific monograph.
Popis publikacija (poveznica na CROSBI)	CROSBI Marta Zečević Berbić

Name and surname	Dunja Jurić Vukelić, Ph.D.
Title	Assistant Professor
E-mail	djvukelic@foozos.hr
Office Nr.
Research interests	Educational psychology, developmental psychology, health psychology
	Dunja Jurić Vukelić was born on August 27, 1988. in Sisak, where she attended elementary school and high school. She completed her graduate studies in psychology at the Faculty of Croatian Studies of the University of Zagreb in 2013, after which she done an internship at the Polyclinic for the Rehabilitation of Listening and Speech SUVAG in 2015. From March 2016 to September 2017 she worked in the Service for School and University Medicine and the Department for Mental Health, Prevention and Outpatient Addiction Treatment of the Institute for Public Health of Sisak-Moslavina County. At the Faculty of Croatian Studies of the University of Zagreb she participated in classes as an external associate from 2015, and in the position of teaching and research assistant at the Department of Psychology from 2017 to 2023. She received her doctorate in 2021 at the post-graduate doctoral study in Biomedicine and Health at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Zagreb, with the dissertation topic Psychosocial characteristics of women in the process of assisted reproduction. In September 2023, she was employed as an assistant professor at the Department of Social and Humanities at the University of Slavonski Brod, and from November 2023, she is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Educational Sciences at the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek. Her advisory, professional and research interests are focused on the fields of educational psychology, developmental and health psychology, and practical application of knowledge in a combination of the aforementioned fields.
List of publications (CROSBI link)	Dunja Jurić Vukelić

Name and surname	Željko Rački, Ph.D.
Title	Assistant Professor
E-mail	zracki@foozos.hr
Office Nr.	51
Research interests	Educational psychology, Psychology of giftedness, Psychology of creativity
	Željko Rački, Ph.D., ECHA Specialist in Gifted Education, is an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology, and Psychology of Giftedness, at the Faculty of Education in Osijek (European Talent Point), Croatia, Europe. As a licensed psychologist, he coordinates the Center of Excellence in Osijek, a program for the gifted primary school students aged 10–15 (https://centarizvrsnostiosijek.eu/). He is a member of the Croatian Psychological Chamber, the Croatian Psychological Society, and the European Council for High Ability. Current research and professional interests include serving as the Head of the Organising Committee of the 1st Thematic ECHA Conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia, Europe (https://echathematic2019.info/).
List of publications (CROSBI link)	CROSBI Željko Rački

Name and surname	Ida Somolanji Tokić, Ph.D.
Title	Assistant Professor
e-mail	isomolanji@foozos.hr
Office Nr.	49
Research interests	ECEC, transition from ECEC to CSE, creativity, ECEC professional development
	Ida Somolanji Tokić was born on February 5, 1985 in Požega. She finished primary school and high school in Osijek. In 2007 she attained an MA in Pedagogy and Croatian Language and Literature at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Osijek. She acquired a PhD in 2018 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. Since December 2007, she has worked as a school pedagogue at Tordinci Primary School in Tordinci. Since November 2008, she has been working at the Faculty of Education in Osijek. Currently he holds lectures from two courses: "Integrated preschool curriculum 1" and "Play in education". She has published several scientific and professional articles in domestic and foreign journals in pedagogy and has participated at domestic and foreign professional and scientific conferences. Since 2008 she has been involved in the Project for the Development of Lifelong Learning (project leader BrankoBognar, project number: 245-1221170-1063). In addition to the phenomenon of creativity, her research interest focused mostly on preschool pedagogy, with emphasis on transition from ECEC to CSE.
List of publications (CROSBI link)	CROSBI Ida Somolanji Tokić

Name and surname	Jurica Lovrinčević
Title	Senior Lecturer
e-mail	jlovrincevic@foozos.hr
Office Nr.	56
Research interests	Kinesiology, kinesiology education, kinesiological recreation, kinesiology of sport, athletesnutrition
	Born on June 18th 1984 in Osijek. After completing the Jesuit classical grammar school, I enrolled the Faculty of Kinesiology in Zagreb. From early age I showed interest in sports. As a student in high school and collegeI participated in various sport competitions and won medals. The sport I decided to train was water polo.I actively trained for 20 years and after finishing my career as water polo player,I started working as a coach of younger categories.I am a member of the Civil Defence Department of the Osječko – Baranjska county and the Red Cross rescue team. In 2016 I started working at the Faculty of Education. In my leisure time I play tennis, soccer, water polo, swim and exercise in the gym.
List of publications (CROSBI link)	-