SKVO Project: Study Visit of Assistant Professor Toni Popović, PhD, to Charles University in Prague

Gorana Bandalović — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 12:53:39 GMT

As part of the activities of the project Hidden Curriculum in Higher Education (SKVO), our colleague Assistant Professor Toni Popović, PhD, visited the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague, in May and June 2026. The study visit was undertaken with the aim of conducting field research, namely the preparation and organisation of a focus group with university teaching staff. The research focuses on the ways in which the hidden curriculum, through the actions of academic staff and higher education institutions, shapes the career orientations of sociology students.

The purpose of the research is to understand how teaching staff, teaching practices, mentoring and everyday relationships, as well as the institutional culture of the faculty, contribute to students’ perceptions of desirable careers, competences, employability, and professional identity.

In addition to the focus group conducted with sociology teaching staff at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague, the research also includes a focus group with university teachers of sociology in Croatia. The comparison of the Czech and Croatian socio-professional contexts is relevant from a research perspective because both countries belong to the broader Central European and post-socialist higher education landscape, while differing in terms of institutional traditions, the organisation of study programmes, and opportunities for the professional integration of sociologists.

Such a comparative approach makes it possible to distinguish shared patterns of the hidden curriculum from those specific to individual national and institutional contexts. At the same time, it may contribute to a better understanding of the ways in which higher education shapes the employability and professional identity of highly educated professionals in the early stages of their careers.

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FFST - SOCIOLOGY

SKVO Project: Study Visit of Assistant Professor Toni Popović, PhD, to Charles University in Prague