The Research Institute of Child Psychology and Pathopsychology (VÚDPaP) is a directly managed state-funded organization Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic .
As a ministry-level scientific, research, and methodological unit, it focuses on addressing issues and current needs arising from educational practice, primarily in the area of counseling and prevention.
It conducts comprehensive research into the psychological development and personality growth of children, both within the normal range and in cases of pathology; it examines the factors and conditions influencing development, as well as ways to optimize it within the family, school, and other facilities and institutions; it creates and updates standards for professional and methodological activities; it develops professional materials; and conducts training for teaching and professional staff in the counseling and prevention system and in school educational facilities.
The tasks of the Research Institute of Child Psychology and Pathopsychology are primarily based on fulfilling the Slovak government’s program objectives in the field of education and are carried out in accordance with current legislation. It uses funds from the state budget and project financing to carry out its activities.
You can find information on current activities on the subpages at https://vudpap.sk/hlavne-cinnosti/.
From the History of VÚDPaP
VÚDPaP was established by a resolution of the Presidium of the Slovak National Council on November 26, 1963, effective January 1, 1964. The idea of founding a research institute focused on child psychology was championed by Associate Professor PhDr. Miroslav T. Bažány, who also became its first director. From the outset, the institute operated under the Ministry of Education; since 1968, the Slovak Ministry of Education has served as its founding authority. Until 1992, the institute’s jurisdiction covered the entire territory of what was then Czechoslovakia.
The tasks of VÚDPaP as set forth in its first charter included:
- research on the development of a child's psyche and the social determinants of this process,
- research on the psychological development of children with disabilities and children with learning and behavioral disorders,
- exploring fundamental theoretical issues in psychological and educational care for children and adolescents, and overseeing the operations of the Psychological and Educational Clinic in Bratislava,
- the collection of scientific information in the field of child psychology,
- pathopsychology and social pathology,
- the development, validation, and standardization of psychodiagnostic methods.
Shortly after the institute was founded, this last tasknecessitated the establishment of a separate unit (Psychodiagnostic and Didactic Tests, n.p. – now Psychodiagnostika, a.s.), and was therefore removed from the charter. The Psychological Educational Clinic in Bratislava was joined by others in other cities, eventually forming an entire system of educational counseling. Since 1976, its individual units have been called pedagogical-psychological counseling centers; in the Czech Republic, they continue to operate under this name to this day. In Slovakia, they were renamed centers for pedagogical-psychological counseling and prevention as of September 1, 2008. VÚDPaP was entrusted with their methodological management.
When it was founded, the institute had 25 employees; fiveyears later, there were57; and by 1989, the number had risen to 74. In 1993, the number was reduced to 50, and it has remained around that figure ever since. The institute’s structure has undergone changes, but for the first 25 years, the key organizational units included the Department of Developmental Psychology, the Department of Child Pathopsychology, the Department of Social Development, and the Scientific Information Center (with a specialized library). Since 1966, VÚDPaP has published the professional journal Psychology and Child Pathopsychology.
In 1989, officials at the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Socialist Republic decided to abolish the institute, despite protests from the scientific community and experts. In their view, psychology should have been more focused on supporting the goals of socialist pedagogy; therefore, the institute was merged with the Pedagogical Research Institute and placed under its leadership (resulting in the Pedagogical and Psychological Research Institute). This situation lasted exactly one year. As of July 1, 1990, the Minister of Education of the Slovak Republic restored the independence of both institutions.
Since 1991,VÚDPaP has participated in the grant system of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Academy of Sciences, within which it has been one of the most successful psychology research institutions. By 2010, its staff had completed thirty-five projects approved by the Scientific Grant Agency. Since VEGA funding is intended only for universities and institutes of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the institute did not participate in this grant scheme in the subsequent period.
