Anna Babicka-Wirkus

Prof. Dr. Anna Babicka-Wirkus

Pomeranian University in Słupsk
orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

12Years (2015-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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26 July 2021 in PLOS ONE
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Journal Article
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Anna Babicka-WirkusAnna Babicka-Wirkus
Anna Babicka-Wirkus
Łukasz WirkusŁukasz Wirkus
Łukasz Wirkus
Krzysztof StasiakKrzysztof Stasiak
Krzysztof Stasiak
PKPaweł Kozłowski
Paweł Kozłowski
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the functioning of universities worldwide. In Poland, the transfer to online teaching was announced without prior warning, which radically changed students’ daily functioning. This situation clearly showed the students’ helplessness and difficulties with coping with this new, stressful situation, highlighted in many previous studies. A sudden and far-reaching change in daily functioning caused anxiety, depression, and stress in this group. Thus, from a pedagogical and psychological point of view, it is pertinent to examine the students’ strategies of coping with stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, in 2020, a sample of Polish students was anonymously measured using the Mini-COPE questionnaire. Data was gathered from 577 students from 17 universities. The statistical analysis showed that during the coronavirus pandemic, Polish students most often used the coping strategies of: acceptance, planning, and seeking emotional support. Such factors as age, gender, and place of residence influenced the choice of specific strategies of coping with stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results also showed that the youngest students had the lowest coping skills. The results allow for concluding that the students’ maladaptive strategies of coping with stress, especially during the pandemic, may result in long-term consequences for their psychophysiological health and academic achievements. Thus, based on the current results and on the participatory model of intervention, a support program for students is proposed which would involve psychological, organizational, and instrumental support.

Anna Babicka-WirkusAnna Babicka-Wirkus
Anna Babicka-Wirkus
PKPaweł Kozłowski
Paweł Kozłowski
Łukasz WirkusŁukasz Wirkus
Łukasz Wirkus
Krzysztof StasiakKrzysztof Stasiak
Krzysztof Stasiak
This article concerns internalizing and externalizing behaviors among Polish adolescents attending primary schools in a medium-sized city in Poland. The aim of the study was to examine the levels of select problem behaviors (i.e., depression, withdrawal, somatic complaints, aggressive behaviors, delinquent behaviors, thought problems, and internalizing and externalizing disorders) in early adolescence. Another important aim was to establish the ranges of the norm and deviation which would indicate the need for intervention aimed at internalizing and externalizing disorders in the sample. The relationships between variables such as age, gender, and school achievement (grade average) and the groups of problem behaviors and externalizing and internalizing disorders were also examined. To diagnose the occurrence of internalizing and externalizing behaviors, a sample of 550 students (55.3% girls, 46.7% boys) were measured using the Youth Self-Report (YSR) questionnaire. The results showed statistically significant differences in internalizing and externalizing behaviors between boys and girls. Girls achieved higher scores on most of the YSR scales, including internalizing and externalizing disorders, as well as on the total score. The student subgroup scores were also differentiated in terms of age and their average grades. The results also have practical implications; namely, the need for obligatory screening tests of students’ emotional states; encouraging preventive measures in schools, including diagnosis and psychological support in the context of depression; monitoring aggressive behaviors and social problems, both in boys and girls; and implementing universal, selective, and indicated prevention through complex, empirically validated educational-therapeutic programs.

Łukasz WirkusŁukasz Wirkus
Łukasz Wirkus
Anna Babicka-WirkusAnna Babicka-Wirkus
Anna Babicka-Wirkus
Robert OporaRobert Opora
Robert Opora
Krzysztof StasiakKrzysztof Stasiak
Krzysztof Stasiak
The current article examined the relationship between preferred styles of coping with stress and occupational burnout among probation officers in Poland. The probation system in Poland is unique in comparison to similar organizations in Europe and the world. It is characterized by two separate specializations in the area of performed tasks: probation officers for adults and for family and juvenile clients. The main purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between occupational burnout levels among probation officers (n = 390) and their preferred styles of coping with stress. Two psychological tools were used in the study: the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS). A linear regression analysis was carried out to explain the variance in occupational burnout. Occupational burnout was the dependent variable and the CISS scales were the predictors. In order to test the moderating role of the sociodemographic factors of gender, work experience, age, and probation specialization in the relationship between coping styles and occupational burnout, a range of moderation analyses using Hayes’ PROCESS macro on SPSS was carried out.

30 July 2018 in The New Educational Review
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Journal Article
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Anna Babicka-WirkusAnna Babicka-Wirkus
Anna Babicka-Wirkus
The article attempts to systematize the issue of resistance manifestations in the context of education. The analyses presented in the article are an introduction to designing a three-dimensional model of resistance, which enables to examine acts of resistance from the angle of their three intertwined aspects: action, space and motivation. They are basic layers determining the analysis range of particular displays of resistance in education and society. These dimensions were developed based on the analysis of theoretical and empirical literature regarding the issue of resistance and on the author’s own research on this phenomenon.

25 May 2018 in Problemy Wczesnej Edukacji
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Anna Babicka-WirkusAnna Babicka-Wirkus
Anna Babicka-Wirkus
MGMaria Groenwald
Maria Groenwald
The article addresses the problems of presence and absence of child’s voice in kindergarten and their significance for the development of critically thinking entities/citizens. On the basis of our qualitative studies, two separate ways of perceiving the significance of nonadults’ voice in the early childhood education process have emerged. The first one, relating to the affirmation of free child expression, is typical for personal declarations of young educators. The second way is about practising children’s silence in kindergarten and it characterises the events described by aspiring teachers, witnessed during their professional practice. On this basis, we have identified the mechanism of inclusion and the mechanism of exclusion of child’s voice in kindergarten.

1 January 2021 in Adult Education Discourses
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Journal Article
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Anna Babicka-WirkusAnna Babicka-Wirkus
Anna Babicka-Wirkus
ACAleksander Cywiński
Aleksander Cywiński
SJStephen Muoki Joshua
Stephen Muoki Joshua
WWWojciech Walat
Wojciech Walat
The authors aim to answer the research question: ‘What do you miss most about online education?’. The rationale for the research is that this form of education is likely to continue to be used. Referring to the quality strategy, the authors concentrate on the meaning of words used in responses to the above-mentioned open question, which was part of the research on the ‘Socio-technological aspects of academic education during the pandemic – from an international perspective’. The tool used was an electronic questionnaire, which was completed by 796 respondents from Poland, including 678 students and 118 academic teachers, as well as 41 students from Kenya. The questionnaire consisted of 31 closed and 6 open questions. The responses of Polish students and academic teachers, as well as Kenyan students, indicate the following categories: ‘contact’, ‘organisation’ and ‘technical dimension’. It forms an image of a specifically understood craft, work performed in separation, and the place of residence. The component in the form of modern technologies only modernises the educational process but does not make it satisfactory for either party of the aforementioned social relationship. The conclusion that can be drawn from the research is as follows: in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the primary task is to reorganise the contact between students and academic teachers in such a way that it is possible to achieve the assumed learning outcomes.