Science and Research
The breadth of research that is undertaken here is central to all our activities: it enhances our teaching and learning, and it enriches the lives of all our staff and students. The main social science research topics at FSS MU are: families and youth, personality development in the processes of socialisation and social reproduction, ethnicity and social identity; along with related social problems such as poverty, unemployment, marginalised groups and incidental socially-pathological phenomena, as well as interventions aimed at their solutions; also political systems and political situation in the Czech Republic and in Europe; media analyses and environmental problems. Within their research projects, teachers and scholars cooperate with colleagues from a whole range of foreign universities, in the area of applied research, we collaborate with public administration institutions at all levels.
Research at the Faculty of Social Studies is organised under specialized institutes, two of them being successors to previous large research schemes.
The Institute for Studies on Social Reproduction and Integration is linked to an almost ten year effort in sociological and social work research. The basic topics of its projects are related to the biological and social reproduction of Czech and European society. It also carries out research into such areas as social inclusion and exclusion, poverty and unemployment that became part of the agenda of EU and national public policy.
The Institute for Research on Children, Youth and the Family is engaged in a long-term study of children and their families that is part of a unique European research project. This longitudinal research, based on a widerange and detailed observation of hundreds of volunteers, is accompanied by satellite projects and validation programmes. Special attention is devoted to social and health risks of personality development and their impact on the psyche of young people.
The Institute for Comparative Political Research is involved in a series of research projects focused mainly on the political development of the Central European region, with special emphasis on research concerning political parties and issues of European integration. The scientific profile of this institute is closely connected with the work of the Department of Political Science and the Department of International Relations and European Studies.
The Institute for Regional Journalism, established in 2006, focuses on the transformation of regional media in Central Europe in the context of European integration.
Further research projects and studies are run by the faculty departments in line with their teaching and professional interest. The results of our research are regularly presented at international conferences. Recent research projects were supported, among others, by these institutions: The Ministry of Education, Fund for Development of Higher Education, Grant Agency of CR, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Jan Hus’ Educational Foundation, European Commission within JEAN MONNET programme, European Social Fund, and 5th, 6th and 7th Frame EU Programmes.
In 2008, the total annual budget for research at the faculty rose to over 74 million CZK.