The present paper aims to analyze some aspects of
university education as a specific environment for students'
involvement in research activities. The analysis is focused on the
following issues:
- What are the characteristics of
students' participation in research activities;
- What personal traits are created in the process
of research activities;
- How young people evaluate various
research activities.
The focus of the analysis is students' viewpoint
for their involvement in research activities. The
paper is based on
results obtained during the
course of the project
"European approach for public competencies and
participation in digital environment", carried
out by professors and students from the Sociology
Departments at South-West University in 2014 with team leader D.Sc.
Dobrinka Peicheva. The main methods used
for obtaining information are focus groups
(two) with students from
humanitarian studies;
Modern university education
is a unity of teaching
and research. Student centered learning
is one of the crucial educational approaches, where the
interests, perceptions and personality of the student underlie
his/her studying, learning and
understanding processes.
The involvement of students in research activities
is important
because:
- it improves students' acquired
qualifications and professional skills;
- it contributes to the
learning through applied research;
- it forms an attitude towards future
learning.
Through participation in the research
activities:
- students become more concentrated and
interested in studying and training;
- students apply what they have learned
during the lectures and classes;
Inclusion of research in the teaching
methods is crucial for the effective
education process because it is
aimed at complex personal
development both in terms of acquiring
specific skills and competencies, as well as the formation of the
qualities that are important for the establishment of a common
cognitive attitude.
The paper concludes that
students' participation in
research activities is a
prerequisite for their future
professional identity. The research
emphasizes that the creation
of students' research skills is
connected with the
curricula, which should
stimulate more creativity, individual approach and should
be based on person-centered pedagogy. It is also
necessary defining a variety of teaching and assessment methods
inciting personality in the process of studying