Annual report of the organisation for 2021
Schola Empirica
Spreading best practices in education
We are an educational and research organisation. We educate teachers, social workers and parents so that they can provide the best possible care for children and help them reach their full potential. We draw on scientifically proven approaches and methods from abroad, adapt them to the Czech Republic, test them in practice together with our partners, evaluate their impact in the Czech environment and then disseminate the best practices.
Our mission
We are changing education so that children to succeed in school – and in life. There is little focus in our education on developing important soft skills. We want to change that. Through scientifically proven methodologies, we help educators develop children’s social and emotional skills so that they can succeed in school and in life and fully develop their talents and personality.
Our strategy
We start from foreign scientifically proven approaches and methods (evidence-based, evidence-informed), which we adapt to the conditions in the Czech Republic, together with our partners we verify them in practice and evaluate their impact in the Czech environment (evaluate). We continue to improve the implemented approaches and methods based on practical experience from pilot implementations and evaluation results. In cooperation with our partners, we continue to spread the methods proven by practice and research in the Czech Republic (scaling).
our values
Scientifically verified - Evidence
We make maximum use of and respect current knowledge with respect to the content and process of implementation of our formulated and piloted solutions. We are well aware that experience and well-reasoned opinions are often insufficient without supporting relevant scientific knowledge (evidence). We are consciously working
to increase our knowledge of relevant scientific knowledge (evidence), each for ourselves and the organisation as a whole. We try to base our internal expert discussions as much as possible on existing scientific knowledge and current expert discourse in the world.
Impact and Diligence - Working hard
We want our joint efforts to have the greatest possible impact. We try to use our working time in such a way that
has the greatest benefit. We value benefits such as flexible working hours and high control over our own activities.
They help us achieve the best possible results given our collective efforts and create a
work-life balance. We value not only our time, but everyone else's as well. We recognize that time is
most valuable resource.
Everything is possible – Can do attitude
We are not looking for obstacles, but for solutions. When we identify a problem, we try to suggest how best to deal with it as an organisation
, and we don't limit the options ahead by saying "it can't be done". We take responsibility for implementing
the agreed course of action. We actively lend a helping hand within the team.
Responsibility - Responsibility
We build on personal responsibility and autonomy for the tasks or areas entrusted to us. We are aware that we have
responsibility not only to our clients, but also to our partners and donors, without whom our work would not be possible. The administration required by donors
is a necessary part of our work. We are trying to deal with it as efficiently as possible. Each for himself
strives to have up-to-date knowledge of administrative and formal requirements so that dealing with the administrative process is
as least burdensome as possible for everyone and so that our substantive decisions do not conflict with our obligations to donors.
We fully respect the decisions of whoever has ultimate responsibility.
Openness and cooperation
We work internally and externally in linking mode, not ranking (cooperation, not competition). We know that our strength and impact lies
in our ability to work together. We actively co-create a friendly environment where individuals
and collaboration thrive best. We resolve any disagreements openly one-to-one and with the involvement of management if necessary. We coordinate the external
cooperation together. We always fulfil external commitments and ensure that the reputation of the organisation can never
be damaged. Where possible and appropriate, we promote the School and its activities. We share toys
🙂
Learning organisation
We continuously strive to improve based on reflection of our activities. We strive to develop as an organization and as
individuals. We're not afraid to experiment. We actively develop our own expertise and strive to contribute to the growth of the entire
team. We are working on professional growth not only with respect to our core expertise, but also with respect to the skills for
effective work of the whole team.
What we are working on
Our team
Egle Havrdová
Egle is a founder of Schola Empirica, she is involved in educational projects focused on well-being and soft skills. She earned an MA in Sociology from Central European University and a PhD from the Department of Public and Social Policy at Charles University. She has taught at a number of Czech and international universities. Her interests focus on crime prevention policy, social intervention strategies, and the implementation of educational programs.
[email protected]
Romana Šloufová
graduated with a Master's degree in Civic Sector Studies from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, where she worked on international research and lectured courses on social economy and social entrepreneurship. She has been bringing the topic of entrepreneurship and closely related soft skills development to Czech primary schools since 2017.
[email protected]
Monika Kotrbová
Monika holds a Master's degree in Sociology from the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University. At Schola Empirica, she coordinates the KiVa anti-bullying programme, of which she is a certified trainer.
[email protected]
Mgr. Kateřina Michalová
Coordinator of the Good Start Programme for Kindergartens and Education Methodologist
More information
More information
Kateřina Michalová
Kateřina graduated with a degree in Humanities and a degree in Pedagogy at the Charles University. She has worked as a primary school teacher and an assistant. She was also teaching in international school in Zurich, where she started the "Spielgruppe" preschool groups program. Her aim at Schola Empirica is to support teachers in kindergartens and coordinate activities related to the Dobrý Začátek methodology.
[email protected]
PhDr. Irena Zárubová
Education methodologist,
certified trainer of the KiVa programme for prevention and solution of bullying More information
certified trainer of the KiVa programme for prevention and solution of bullying More information
Irena Zárubová
She draws on her teaching experience in Czech elementary schools and at the European School in Brussels to provide training and mentoring to teachers. In particular, she guides educators in implementing methodologies for the targeted development of soft skills (Skills Builder) and for creating a safe school environment (KiVa). She emphasizes formative assessment, meaningful learning, and open, respectful communication.
[email protected]
Marek Pour
Marek is a psychologist from the Faculty of Philosophy at Charles University. Currently a PhD student at Masaryk University with a focus on Social psychology. For Schola Empirica, he is working on evaluations of projects related to education and social work. Marek focuses mainly on qualitative research methods – interviews and focus groups.
[email protected]
Alexandr Strnad
Alexandr is a methodologist in the KiVa program. He graduated from the Faculty of Education of the University of Ostrava, majoring in Mathematics - Civics. In recent years, he has gained experience as a director of a small private school or as a project manager in education. In his spare time he enjoys running, reading, travelling, and photography.
[email protected]
Ivana Hokešová
She is Skills Builder methodology consultant whose aim is to facilitate the development of essential skills in elementary school children. After completing her Master’s Degree in teaching, she had been working as an English teacher and became a teacher trainer upon completing her DELTA qualifications working for a state institution. She believes that soft skills are a key factor for success in life.
[email protected]
Jan Netík
After graduating from the Faculty of Arts of Charles University with a degree in psychology, Honza is now broadening his horizons with a PhD at the Faculty of Education, where he is working on psychometric analyses of knowledge tests. At Schola Empirica, he is mainly involved in analysing the quantitative parts of evaluations of the educational methodologies and external projects.
[email protected]
Terezie Třeštíková
she is a coordinator of Prague Summer School, project organized by Schola Empirica for international students. She is also involved in the organisation of workshops and support for the methodology coordinators. She is currently studying for a Master's degree in Territorial Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University.
[email protected]
Daniela Zelenkova
She is a methodologist in KiVa. She values its complexity, positive psychological and social impact on the child's personality development and the classroom and school climate. She has an experience as a primary school teacher, as a lecturer in leisure activities. she is interested in fields of psychology, communication and wellbeing. Her aim is to create a safe, respectful and collaborative environment where children can develop to their full potential.
[email protected]
Eliška Romaniuková
She is involved in implementation of KiVa in Czech schools. The topic of bullying was brought to her by lecturing primary prevention programmes, but also by her studies of social pedagogy at Masaryk University. She also enjoys interspersing her work with children with activities with adults, facilitating workshops in first aid. In her free time she enjoys time outdoors with her family. She enjoys climbing, skiing and hunting.
[email protected]
Kateřina Kolrosová
Kateřina graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Teaching for Kindergartens at the Faculty of Education of Charles University. She has been working at Schola Empirica since 2025 as an assistant in the Dobrý Začátek programme. Since 2021, she has also been working as a kindergarten teacher, where she has been gaining experience with the methodology in the practice.
[email protected]
Eva Skácelíková
Eva studied data analysis at the faculty of economic at Charles University, and continues studying psychology at the Faculty of Arts. She focuses on quantitative analysis and impact evaluation of individual educational methodologies. Most of her activities in Schola Empirica is now focused on the KiVa project.
[email protected]
Veronika Švomová
After studying pedagogy, she started to work with children and methodically lead a team in the field of education. The motivation for joining the KiVa was personal experience with bullying as a parent. Her goal is to help educators create a safe school environment with an emphasis on building relationships and open communication. She is currently studying Applied Ethics at the Charles University.
[email protected]
Lucie Feireislová
She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Psychology at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University. At Schola Empirica, her work focuses on the quantitative evaluation of methodologies, with her primary interest currently being the evaluation of the Skills Builder framework.
[email protected]
Membership in professional organisations
Stálá konference asociací ve vzdělávání
A voluntary grouping of educator associations, programs, and civic associations working to promote and protect progressive change in education and to facilitate the exchange of ideas among educator initiatives, the nonprofit sector, state and local governments, and the public.
Platforma pro včasnou péči (Early Care Platform)
The platform is dedicated to the support and development of early care in the Czech Republic. Its goal is to promote and advocate for services and programs provided to at-risk children and to support the building of a functional early care system in our country.
Asociace Podnikavé Česko (Association Enterprising Czechia)
The Association was established with the aim of jointly streamlining and facilitating the preparation of the Czech Republic and its education system for a future in which the only certainty is change. It advocates a proper understanding of entrepreneurship as the ability to seize opportunities and ideas and create value for others, whether financial, cultural or social.
Partner organisations
Center for Evidence Based Early Intervention
(CEBEI, Centre for Empirically Validated Early Intervention), Bangor University, Wales
More information
More information
Center for Evidence Based Early Intervention
The Centre for Empirically Validated Early Intervention (CEBEI) is a research centre that works closely with the Children's Early Intervention Trust (CEIT), a charitable organisation, to evaluate local empirically validated early intervention programmes and the subsequent development of these programmes in Wales. CEBEI is part of Bangor University in Wales, but also collaborates with many American academics (e.g. Carolyn Webster-Stratton from Seattle, Washington, USA). CEBEI is led by Prof. Judy Hutchings, a recognized expert in the field of early intervention. CEBEI is actively involved in the evaluation and implementation of Incredible Years programmes for Wales.
www.centreforearlyinterventionwales.co.uk/
KiVa International
KiVa is an innovative bullying prevention and intervention programme that has been developed by combining a wealth of experience from previous intervention programmes and cutting-edge research in more than 1,000 schools in Finland and around the world. The program was
further implemented e.g. in the Netherlands, Estonia, Italy and Wales. The methodology is based on a comprehensive approach with a wide range of tools - it targets teachers, pupils and parents and includes a variety of activities for the whole school year.
kivaprogram.net
Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) Consortium
Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH)
PLH is a set of non-commercial programs for parents to prevent violence in low-resource settings. The programmes have been developed and extensively tested in a collaboration between the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the Universities of Bangor, Oxford, Cape Town and Clowns Without Borders South Africa. Based on positive evaluation results, programmes are being scaled up in more than 20 low- and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Europe, South-East Asia and the Caribbean. At the same time, several studies are underway to develop the evidence base for these interventions. Schola Empirica is a partner of the Lifelong Parenting for Young Children Programme (PLHP) in the Czech Republic and contributes its data to international research on these interventions.
PLH website
Skills Builder Partnership
Enabling Enterprise has developed a methodology to develop soft skills in children and young people aged 3 to 18. The methodology is based on research and practical experience and has been in use in schools in the UK for over 10 years. A pilot version has been tested in more than 20 basic skills organisations. The programme has been independently evaluated twice and has so far been used with more than 200,000 children and young people.
The development of the 8 basic skills, according to available resources and data, is the foundation for success at different stages of life: in primary and secondary school, preparing students for successful transition to university and for success in employment or business.
skillsbuilder.org
Erasmus+ foreign partners
Centrum för flexibelt lärande (CFL), Hälsinglands utbildningsförbund (Sweden) http://www.hufb.se
Tiny Signers (UK) http://www.tinysigners.co.uk
SPOLECZNA AKADEMIA NAUK (Poland) http://www.san.edu.pl
Skola dokoran – Wide Open School n. o. (Slovakia) http://www.skoladokoran.sk/
PIA, information systems and services d.o.o. (Slovenia), https://www.pia.si/
Asociación Mi Hijo y Yo (Spain) http://asociacionmihijoyyo.org
Consultancy for autism, special educational diagnostics, counselling and education, Maja Skrubej Novak s.p. (Slovenia) www.avtizem.net
INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION (Slovenia) www.pei.se
Faculty Primary School and Kindergarten Barrandov II at PedF UK, Prague 5 – Hlubočepy, V Remízku 7/919 (Czech Republic) http://www.fzsbarr.cz
AUTISME-EUROPE AISBL (Belgium) www.autismeurope.org
Kocaeli Kültürel Gelişim ve Dayanışma Derneği (KOGED)
Kartepe Halk Eğitim Merkezi (HEM)
Bulgarian Development Agency (BDA)
International Organisation for Migration (IOM)
International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (Germany) icsspe.org
European Paralympic Committee (Austria) oepc.at
Pedagogical Institute (Slovenia) pei.si
Informa Psicologia y Deporte (Spain) informapsicologia.com
HASKOLI ISLANDS (Iceland) hi.is
Heilsuleikskólinn Krókur (Iceland) krokur.skolar.is
Finance & Banking, Associazione per lo Sviluppo Organizzativo e delle Risorse Umane (Italy) asseffebi.eu
Opera Nazionale Montessori (Italy) operanazionalemontessori.it
Natsionalna Asotsiatsia na Resursnite Uchiteli (Bulgaria) narubg.org
Tallinna Lasteaed Palliponn (Estonia) palliponn.edu.ee
Gradinita cu Program Prelungit Nr. 25 iasi (Romania) gradinitapp25.ro
Gymnasium Franca Miklošič Ljutomer (Slovenia) gfml.si
International College of Cosmetology (Latvia) skk.lv
Harmony Academy (Slovakia) harmony.sk
Catholic University of Ruzomberok (Slovakia) ku.sk
Euroreso (Italy) euroreso.eu/organisation
Eurofortis It Sia (Latvia) mobilitiesinlatvia.eu
Aspire-igen Group Ltd. (United Kingdom)
Business Foundation for Education (Bulgaria) fbo.bg
CIAPE – Centro Italiano per l’Apprendimento Permanente (Italy) ciape.it
Step by Step Association (The Netherlands) issa.nl
Link Campus University (Italy) linkinternational.it
History
Annual Reports
Annual report of the organisation for 2020
Annual report of the organisation for 2019
Annual report of the organisation for 2018
Annual report of the organisation for 2017
Annual report of the organisation for 2016
Annual report of the organisation for 2015
Annual report on the organisation's activities in 2014
Annual report of the organisation for 2013
Annual report on the organisation's activities in 2012
Annual report on the organisation's activities in 2011
Annual report of the organisation for 2010
Annual report on the organisation's activities in 2009
