Prof. Danuta Piróg (University of the National Education Commission, Krakow)

Professor Danuta Piróg is the Head of the Department of Logistics, Service Geography and Labour Market at the Institute of Law, Economics and Administration, University of the National Education Commission, Kraków.

Her research interests focus on service geography and labour geography, with particular emphasis on the relationships between the supply of and demand for university graduates in changing socio-economic conditions, their transitions into the labour market, and the role of higher education quality in shaping employment outcomes. She has led major research projects on graduates’ school-to-work transitions and labour market demand for geographers.

Her current research also addresses career guidance and vocational predispositions, transformations in educational services, and the careers of school and university teachers, with particular attention to teacher shortages and workforce challenges. Across these research areas, she develops and applies innovative methods of qualitative data collection and advanced qualitative data analysis. She introduced semantic field analysis and text mining into Polish social geography research.

Professor Piróg holds numerous academic leadership roles. She serves as Scientific Secretary of the Committee on Geographical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences and chairs its Commission on Geographical Education. She is also a certified academic tutor and a ministerial expert responsible for the evaluation of school textbooks.

Title of the presentation:

Changes in the education services market: visible revolutions, less noticeable evolutions and hidden problems

Education is one of the most dynamically changing and attractive areas for investment in a market economy. Research indicates that demand for educational services, whilst significantly driven by demographic factors, is also growing (in terms of its characteristics) even in the context of a demographic decline, a falling number of school-age children and an ageing population. What remains constant, however, is the service users’ expectation that the service be provided by a professional.
The aim of this presentation is to characterise the causes and discuss the effects of the main changes in the market for educational services taking place in Poland and worldwide in the 21st century. Changes that are both revolutionary in nature and those occurring gradually will be highlighted. It will also outline processes and phenomena that are, in a sense, hidden, the results of which are either already becoming apparent or will soon be widely recognised in the structure, organisation and forms of educational services. Particular emphasis will be placed on the impact of digitalisation on changes in: the market for educational services; the range of offerings from providers of both traditional and innovative education; labour market conditions; people’s attitudes towards their own education and that of their children; and the staffing situation amongst the specialists providing such services – namely, teachers.

The topics addressed will be examined from a theoretical perspective and illustrated with examples of empirical research findings obtained by the author as part of research projects she has carried out over the last decade. The practical aspect of the paper relates to findings in the literature regarding the significant importance of the quality of educational services for building human capital, preventing or exacerbating exclusion, supporting or hindering regional development, and strengthening or weakening the economies of towns and rural areas.