ONGOING PROJECTS
EMPOWER
The Activation of Change: Empowering civic engagement of young Ukrainian refugees experiencing displacement in Poland and Ukraine.
The goal of the project is to examine the dynamics of civic engagement of Ukrainian youth either affected by forced migration to Poland or experiencing internal displacement across Ukraine.
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- Funding source: Foundation for Polish Science
- Duration: 2024–2025
- Principal investigator: Anzhela Popyk, Ph.D. / Assistant Professor
Structure and Agency
Transnational and School Transitions of Ukrainian Forced Migrant Adolescents in Poland.
The goal of the project is to study the transnational transitions, which include shifts from one social, cultural and educational context to another, experienced by Ukrainian forced migrant adolescents (FMA) in Poland (in two cities Warsaw and Lublin). We also aim to study the school transitions (the so-called middle-to-high-school transitions) of Ukrainian adolescents in times of forced migration. In particular, the project aims to investigate how young migrants (aged 13-17), who left Ukraine due to the Russian invasion of 2022, build new models of adaptation to social change during the critical period of academic and social transition from middle (which is upper primary school in Poland, grade 8) to high school during forced migration.
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- Funding source: National Science Center
- Duration: 2024–2028
- Principal investigator: Anzhela Popyk, Ph.D. / Assistant Professor
IRIMTA
Intergenerational Relations In Migrants’ Transitions-to-Adulthood. Polish families with young adult children in Germany and Norway
Researchers from SWPS University’s Youth Research Center will examine intergenerational relationships in Polish families living in Germany and Norway, focusing on different areas of transitions-to-adulthood.
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- Funding source: National Science Center
- Duration: 2023–2027
- Principal investigator: Paula Pustułka, Ph.D. / Assosciate Professor
RaM-CLASS
Class reproduction and mobility - biographical experiences in academic, artistic, and business fields
The goal of the ULTRAGEN project is to investigate the impact of social crises on the process of transition-to-adulthood. By comparing qualitative data concerning life stories of young Poles with the life trajectories of their parents, and by analyzing information from social media and study questionnaires, we will obtain comprehensive information on long-term social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on values, social practices and relationships in today’s Poland. The intergenerational perspective, in particular concerning solidarity, will allow us to capture social change that has been happening right here, right now. This knowledge is indispensable in the context of the prolonged pandemic and the impending recession – two phenomena that contribute to the ubiquitous feeling of ultra-uncertainty.
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- Funding source: National Science Center
- Duration: 2023–2026
- Principal investigator: Justyna Kajta, Ph.D. / Assistant Professor
Learning for old age and ageing
Integrational education in a relational perspective
The project addresses social issues around negative attitudes of youth towards seniors, which result in a generalized negative perception of old age. This is related to the weakening of intergenerational bonds within families (for example, due to urbanization and migration), which means that young people in Poland have fewer opportunities to directly interact with older people in personal relationships.
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- Funding source: Ministry of Education and Science
- Duration: 2022–2026
- Principal investigator: Magdalena Romanowska, doctoral student
Futures of Ukraine
Youth, mobility, and post-war reconstruction
A team of researchers from Poland, Germany, and Great Britain will research the situation of young migrants form Ukraine, currently living in the three countries, and their intentions related to potential return to post-war Ukraine. At SWPS University, the project is managed by SWPS Innovations, SPV.
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- Funding source: University of Birmingham
- Duration: 2023–2024
- Principal investigator: Anzhela Popyk, Ph.D.
ULTRAGEN
Becoming an adult in times of ultra-uncertainty: intergenerational theory of 'shaky' transitions
The goal of the ULTRAGEN project is to investigate the impact of social crises on the process of transition-to-adulthood. By comparing qualitative data concerning life stories of young Poles with the life trajectories of their parents, and by analyzing information from social media and study questionnaires, we will obtain comprehensive information on long-term social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on values, social practices and relationships in today’s Poland. The intergenerational perspective, in particular concerning solidarity, will allow us to capture social change that has been happening right here, right now. This knowledge is indispensable in the context of the prolonged pandemic and the impending recession – two phenomena that contribute to the ubiquitous feeling of ultra-uncertainty.
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- Funding source: National Science Center, OPUS-19
- Duration: 2021–2024
- Principal investigator: Paula Pustułka, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
PARLIN
Institutionalization of political parties in the parliaments of Central Europe – data mining of parliamentary debates
The institutionalization of political parties is a process of continuous, dynamic adaptation and stabilization resulting in a shift from loose, spontaneous initiatives to more organized modes of collective action. In the project, we plan to analyse how internal institutionalization (consistency in parliamentary speeches, personal stability, internal divisions) and external one (influence on other parties in the parliament) affect the party's durability and its ability to survive.
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- Funding source: National Science Center, OPUS
- Duration: 2020–2024
- Principal Investigator: Agnieszka Kwiatkowska, Ph.D. / Assistant Professor
COMPLETED PROJECTS
CHILDTRAN
Socialization agents shaping transnational transitions and multi-scalarbelonging of migrant children in Poland
Over the past several years, the number of migrants from various countries have been arriving and settling in Poland. Migrant children must adjust to new circumstances, transition from culture to culture, and socialize with new friends in foreign schools. This study investigates how the transition process happens and who are “socialization agents” facilitating this process.
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- Funding source: National Science Center, PRELUDIUM 18
- Duration: 2020–2023
- Principal investigator: Anzhela Popyk
GEMTRA
Transition to Motherhood Across Three Generations of Women
“It takes a whole village to raise a child,” in Poland this “village” means exclusively women. Although, times are changing, and with them the meaning of parenthood changes too, society is still convinced that it is the mother’s responsibility to raise a child and prepare it to live in a society. Besides personal and social expectations, there is also the reality of motherhood and intergenerational relations between mothers. Researchers from SWPS University will study the process of transition to motherhood through the eyes of three generations of Polish mothers: first-time expecting mothers, their mothers and grandmothers.
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- Funding source: National Science Center, SONATA-13
- Duration: 2018-2021
- Principal Investigator: Paula Pustułka, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
CEEYouth
The comparative study of Poles and Lithuanians in the context of Brexit
This is an international and interdisciplinary study examining risks that young (19 to 34 years of age) Polish and Lithuanian migrants, who have been migrating to the UK since the 2004 EU enlargement, face post Brexit Referendum. Moreover, the researchers will analyze the impact of subsequent Brexit consequences on the lives of Poles and Lithuanians, with particular emphasis on changes in the patterns of entering adulthood. The objectives of the project correspond to three main concepts: social anchoring, strategies and risks. The study aim to comparatively asses social anchoring of young Poles and Lithuanians in Great Britain, as well as to compare migrating youth from Poland and Lithuania (movers) with their peers who stayed in their country of origin (stayers). In addition, the project aim to analyze and compare trends in the latest return migration of young Poles and Lithuanians, and if possible to analyze the diversity of migratory behaviors of ethnic Poles and Lithuanians and ethnic Lithuanians from Poland staying in the UK.
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- Funding source: National Science Center (Poland) ane Research Council of Lithuania – DAINA 2017/27/L/HS6/03261 funding scheme
- Duration: 2018–2021
- Principal investigator: Professor Izabela Grabowska
Peer Groups and Migration
The school-to-work transition is not a one-time event in the lives of young people. Rather, it is a phase that may last a few years and may include several career changes. It is also a time, when young people typically decide on the future direction of their lives. After the accession of Poland to the European Union in May 2004, one in three young people from rural areas and small towns have decided to look for their first job outside of Poland. The researchers from SWPS University will be monitoring this process, through the lens of Peer Groups, i.e. groups of close friends. The participants of the study will include people who left their home towns to look for work in other cities in Poland and abroad, and also those that have stayed in their local communities.
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- Funding source: National Science Center
- Duration: 2016–2020
- Principal Investigator: Professor Izabela Grabowska