2020-2021: YOUTH (Mladina) 2020 Study
Financed by: Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Youth, Ministry of Education, Science and Sport.

  • Description
    The Mladina 2020 study was created on the basis of a public tender by the Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Youth with the aim of conducting a study that would offer insights into changes in the social profile of Slovenian young people, maintain comparability with previous research in this field (Mladina 2000 and Mladina 2010), and ensure adherence to the principles of evidence-based public policies. The study was carried out by a consortium of two public higher education institutions, namely the University of Maribor (Faculty of Arts) and the University of Ljubljana (Faculty of Social Sciences), under the coordination of Prof. Miran Lavrič and Prof. Tomaž Deželan. The study’s field implementation was supported by the Slovenian market research agency Aragon d. o. o. The current study is a continuation of widely recognised, long-running, and high-quality ongoing research on young people in Slovenia, which is based mainly on periodic empirical youth research supported by the government. In this context, it is worth mentioning the study Mladina 2000 headed by Prof. Vlado Miheljak and Mladina 2010, led by Prof. Miran Lavrič. In addition to the aforementioned studies, the reference framework of the Mladina 2020 survey includes previous research on young people and youth in this field, which has traditionally come from the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Social Sciences (e.g. Youth and Ideology (Ule, 1988), Future of Youth (Ule and Miheljak, 1995), Youth in the 1990s: Analysis of the Situation in Slovenia (Ule, 1996a)), as well as a wave of new studies conducted by the coordinators of this research group in the last decade (e.g. Youth in South Eastern Europe, Substantive Youth Representation, Youth Progress Index, Research-based analysis of Youth in Action, etc.

    • Full report.

2018-2020: Cultural Participation of Young People in Slovenia and Europe – An Analysis of Trends, Determinants, Consequences and a Proposal of Solutions.
Financed by: Ministry of Culture of Republic of Slovenia and Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS).

  • Description
    The main goal of the research project is to analyse cultural participation of young people (between 12 and 34 years old) in Slovenia and Europe. Cultural participation, which we define as cultural consumption (attending cultural events, visiting places, etc.) and cultural engagement (active engagement in organized and/or individual cultural activities) is one of the pillars of social and economic development and also of an individual’s identity and well-being. For example, individuals who are more frequently involved in cultural activities are also more prosocially oriented and better integrated into society; they are also more politically active and have better academic and health outcomes. Research also shows that the levels and forms of cultural participation within and between societies are unequally distributed, and that in recent years there has been a decline in several forms of cultural participation, especially among young people. The project aims to longitudinally analyse young people’s values and life transitions in late modern society, along with their contribution to cultural participation. It also aims to examine other key macro– and micro–level determinants and consequences of cultural participation, including socioeconomic and democratic development, cultural funding and supply, as well as health outcomes, civic participation and school performance. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the project will, among other aims, also develop a typology of cultural participation in connection with their value orientations and life transitions (e.g., transitions between different levels of education, from schooling to employment (or precarity), leaving the parental home, transition to parenthood, etc.). The results of the project will provide a basis for further policy development in the area of cultural participation.

    • Contact CePSS member Andrej Kirbiš for more information or go to project website.

2018-2019: YOUTH STUDY SOUTHEAST EUROPE 2018 / 2019 – Slovenian Youth 2018
Financed by: The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES).

  • Description
    ES Youth Studies Southeast Europe 2018/2019” is an interna-tional youth research project carried out simultaneously in ten countries in Southeast Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. The main objective of the surveys has been to identify, describe and analyse attitudes of young people and patterns of behaviour in contemporary society. The data was collected in early 2018 from more than 10,000 respondents aged 14–29 in the above-mentioned countries who participated in the survey. A broad range of issues were ad-dressed, including young peoples’ experiences and aspirations in different realms of life, such as education, employment, political participation, family relationships, leisure and use of information and communications technology, but also their values, attitudes and beliefs.Findings are presented in ten national and one regional study and its accompanying policy papers, which have been published in both English and the respective national languages.

    • For more information go to project website.

2016-2019: Project INFORM (INT-10-2015) “Closing the gap between formal and informal institutions in the Balkans”.
Financed by: European Commission.
http://projects.ff.uni-mb.si/~cepso/web/cepss/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/banner.jpg

  • Description
    In 2016 CePSS members became partners of INFORM (INT-10-2015) “Closing the gap between formal and informal institutions in the Balkans”, a project, which is carried out in the framework of the scientific research and innovation programme HORIZON 2020. The aim of the project is to study the political, economic and social environment in the EU candidate countries, including potential candidate countries, in the Balkan region. The research outcomes will facilitate a more effective integration in the EU, while providing a sound platform for harmonising the positions of the concerned parties.
    The Balkan region has experienced multiple waves of cardinal changes over the past century. The INFORM project rests on the observation that the changes themselves may produce certain cultural reactions, including widening of the gap between formal and informal institutions. The project aims to investigate the existing practices and provide suggestions on how to narrow this gap, acknowledging that certain informal institutions may work well and may not need to be changed during the accession process.
    Drawing on the insights gained from anthropology, economics, sociology, and political science, the research will result in comprehensive data on the role of formal and informal institutions and practices in the political, economic, and social environment, as well as interaction thereof in each of the covered Balkan countries. Thus the research project will allow for a more balanced EU integration process, taking into account such factors as local specifics and traditions.
    The outcomes of the project will provide the European Commission with an in-depth understanding of the region and recommendations for relevant policy-making.The extensive research project will cover the following themes:
    • The formal and informal political environment, e.g., processes of socially important decision-making, election procedures, ethical aspects of lobbying, and the dialogue with EU institutions;
    • Implementation of EU rules and regulations, e.g., local attitudes and traditions that shape the negotiation and accession process;
    • Economic environment, e.g., quality assurance among domestic producers and taxpaying culture;
    • Analysis of certain aspects of everyday life, e.g., gender and social equality.

    Please visit http://www.formal-informal.eu/en/ for more information.

2014-2016: Life-Strategies and Survival Strategies of Households and Individuals in South-East European Societies in the Times of Crisis.
Financed by: Swiss National Science Fundation (SNSF).

  • Description
    The central aim of the project was to identify, describe and classify changes in social practices of individuals and households in Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia brought about by the current world economic crisis. The research had several basic tasks. The first one was to identify, describe and create a typology of survival/coping strategies which are used by members of households in SEE societies in the attempt to preserve or improve their economic and social position in the times of crisis. The second task was to search for stable patterns of social practices in the fields outside the economic one, f.e. the education field, which would enable the construction of a typology of broader life strategies. The third aim was to identify and describe changes in consumption patterns of citizens of these societies in the conditions of economic deprivation, that is, changes in their lifestyles. Finally, the last series of tasks refers to comparing these “responses to crisis“ in four target societies in general and among the members of the same social groups in different societies.


2013-2014: CEPYUS-FES Slovenian Youth 2013.
Financed by: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES).

  • Description
    The primary purpose of CEPYUS-FES Slovenian Youth 2013 study was to comprehensively examine the lives of Slovenian youth (16–27-year olds). As with Youth 2010 study, Youth 2013 study represents a conceptual and methodological continuation of the tradition of youth research in Slovenia, with  some further refinements. Basis for a methodological approach were studies already carried out in Germany (Hurrelmann et al., 2002, 2006), and the approaches and concepts that appear in previous researches of youth in Slovenia since 1985. Youth 2013 study and its numerous publications provide insight into the lives, attitudes and practices of not only Slovenian youth, but also of young people from two other Western Balkan countries, namely Croatia (IDIZ-FES Croatian 2012 Youth Study) and Kosovo (IDRA-FES Kosovo 2012 Youth Study). In addition, German data was also used as a point of comparison (Shell 2010 German Youth Study). The cross-national nature of the CEPYUS-FES Slovenian Youth 2013 therefore study provides valuable insight in the field of youth studies and aims to partially fill the research gap in postcommunist countries.Among the main research areas of 2013 youth study were: demographic changes and intergenerational cooperation, education and training, (un)employment and entrepreneurship, housing and living conditions, lifestyle, health and well-being, media use, political participation and attitudes, youth mobility and globalization, etc…
  • Questionnaire, Dataset, Scientific monograph, Executive summary


2012-2013: 20 years later: Problems and prospects of countries of former Yugoslavia.

  • Description
    The dissolution of Yugoslavia gave life to new societies, states, which had previously existed as one. Although many comparative analyses are conducted today, specific studies focusing on the former Yugoslav state – i.e. its successors as subjects of comparative analysis – are lacking. The aims of our analysis was to depict the in-depth processes of evolution of these social systems, in terms of their major dimensions, for the period 1991–2011, via reliable analysis of the available quantitative data. Many publicly available data sets, such as the European Values Study and World Values Survey, supplemented by our own data set of university students from 7 post-Yugoslav entities, formed the empirical basis of this study. Such an approach was aimed at facilitating comparative analysis, including the possibility of experimental insight, since these states departed from some points in their value orientations, political culture and family structure at the time of dissolution, and many more of these changes could be attributed to the change. All major dimensions of social life are covered within the analysis, with the exception of analysis of their institutional features, to which some lesser social issues may be added.
  • Questionnaire, Dataset, Scientific monograph

 

2010-2011: Youth 2010: The social profile of young people in Slovenia.
Financed by: Ministry of Education and Sports, Office for Youth.

  • Description
    The primary purpose of Youth 2010 research was to create a comprehensive picture of the lives of youth (between 15 and 29) in Slovenia. The study represents a conceptual and methodological continuation of the tradition of youth research in Slovenia, with  some refinements. Basis for a methodological approach were studies already carried out in Germany (Hurrelmann et al., 2002, 2006), and the approaches and concepts that appear in previous researches of youth in Slovenia since 1985. The main presented problems are: demographic changes and intergenerational cooperation, education and training, creativity, culture, leisure, virtualization of everyday life, employment and entrepreneurship, sustainable way of social action, housing and living conditions, health and well-being, participation and social inclusion, voluntarism, youth mobility and globalization.
  • Questionnaire, Dataset, Scientific monograph

 

2009–2010: Value Shifts in the countries of former Yugoslavia (J5-2294) (Vrednotni premiki v državah nekdanje Jugoslavije).
Financed by: ARRS – Slovenian Research Agency.

  • Description
    The study is based on a survey of student population from the eight political enteties of the former Yugoslavia. The survey was conducted in spring 2009 on a sample composed of 250 regular students from faculties of social sciences from all the observed entities. The questionnaire included broad array of sociologically relevant subjects, such as politics, economic issues, ethnicity, religion, etc.
  • Questionnaire, Dataset

 

2006: Extrinsic and intrinsic religiosity in cross-cultural perspective (J5-6646) (Ekstrinzična in intrinzična religioznost v medkulturni perspektivi).
Financed by: ARRS – Slovenian Research Agency.

  • Description
    The main purpose of the project was to conduct a crosscultural study of the presence, functioning and wider social and personality aspects of extrinsic, intrinsic and quest religiosity, including the comparison of related concepts at a more specific level. The study was based on a survey of student populations from five different cultural and religious backgrounds: three post-Yugoslav countries Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Slovenia), U.S. and Japan.
  • Questionnaire, Dataset