The study presented in the paper follows the discussion about the identity of social work and its relation to the future position of the field in the society and its potential to fight social injustice (Bell 2012, Boetto 2017, Gitterman 2014, Lorenz at al. 2021, Payne 1990, Webb 2017). This discussion is closely related to the topic of the curricula of social work study programmes and paradigms of social work reflected in the curricula and in the construction of professional identities in the field (Liu 2019, Mackay & Zufferey 2014, Moorhead 2019, Navrátil & Navrátilová 2021, Rassel et al. 2019). Education, especially the university one, is believed to be one of the most important factors influencing the field identity (Dzisah & Etzkowitz 2012, Gee 2000, Wiles 2013) while professional identity refers to an understanding about one’s occupational role which also incorporates the boundaries of this role (Adams et al. 2006). It is also believed that “social work education can make significant contributions in the wake of the changing trends in state responsibility towards the poor and marginalized” (Nadkarni & Joseph 2014: 71). In this context, we pose two main research questions: 1) What are the professional identities of the university students of social work? 2) What paradigms of social work are mirrored in these professional identities? We then discuss the implications of the answers to these questions on the potential of the field of social work to fight social injustice.

We answer our research questions on the basis of 18 narrative interviews with students of bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes as well as fresh graduates of social work in the Czech Republic. The six identified identities (emerging professional, defender of clients´ rights, crossdisciplinary professional, believer, reformer of the social environment, developer of the social work profession) have been conceptualized using the theoretical framework of paradigms of social work of Malcolm Payne (2014) distinguishing therapeutical, social-law assistance and reform paradigms.

The students´ identities predominantly reflected the social-legal paradigm and to a lesser extent the therapeutic paradigm. The reform paradigm was mirrored less significantly. The findings imply that students do not see themselves as future reformers of the social environment but mostly as clients´ assistants and educated professionals. This situation seems to be related to the university curriculum which does not emphasise critical social work but rather accentuates the development of professional skills and professionalisation of the field in general. To strengthen the potential of social work to fight social injustice, strengthening of the position of the critical social work in study programmes seems to be needed.

In recent years, debates about the so-called 'boys crisis' have been identified throughout Europe. The crisis of boys is characterized by poorer school performance compared to girls. There has therefore been much discussion about the cause of boys' current school failure (Martino 2014; Connell 2000). The so-called dominance of women in the educational system has been put forward as the reason for the proclaimed crisis. The feminization thesis assumes that with female teachers, a specific female climate prevails in schools, which puts boys at a disadvantage. The lack of male role models also makes it more difficult to develop a kind of 'healthy masculinity'. As a result and a solution of the boys crises, there has been a call for more male professionals in education in many parts of Europe. Increasing the proportion of male professionals should not only help the boys to solve the crises, it also is seen as a contribution to the diversity in educational institutions.

In our paper, we would like to critically analyze this debate. Therefore, we present two case-studies, Germany and Czechia, as examples for the current discussion in Europe. We base our analysis on our research data collected in 2015-2020 from ethnographic research in elementary schools, data from analysis of policy documents and media output, data from a systematic literature review, and quantitative research. We present three re-masculinization strategies used to devalue femininity in education which are also linked to feminization thesis. First, ‘female climate’ as a reason for boys’ failure; second, father figures missing in education; third, promoting 'gender diversity' as a pretext to bring back more men and masculinity. We not only offer with our analysis a critical perspective on the debate about the boys crises, we furthermore can show that this strategies can be understood as antifeminist and go against the ideas of gender equality and social justice. According to our analyses, feminization is always perceived as problematic and is always connected to the devaluation of female teachers and their work in the public debate.

The curriculum of special education at Masaryk University includes two courses in research methodology. The objective of these courses is to impart to students the principles of scientific research and equip them with the essential skills needed for crafting a bachelor's thesis. These skills are deemed crucial to enable students to read and critically evaluate articles in their field, facilitating the application of evidence-based practices. Moreover, these skills play a vital role in countering misinformation. It is beneficial for educators and other professionals in the field of education to discern empirically based knowledge from assumptions and fallacies that run counter to verified reality (Foot‐Seymour et al. 2019). However, a survey of our students revealed that they perceive methodology courses as excessively intricate and not particularly beneficial for their academic and professional pursuits. Rather than contributing to the development of their professional self-esteem, these courses seem to foster a sense of intellectual inferiority among students.

Therefore, we have decided to develop new interactive methods for teaching research methodology, aiming to impart the advantages of social science analysis through an experiential approach (Gray 2004). These methods are grounded in journaling (Apgar 2022) and reverse the traditional teaching sequence. Unlike conventional approaches where learners initially delve into the principles and rules of research theoretically, our course employs journaling methods to gather data on topics relevant to participants. Subsequently, we utilize this data to illustrate the fundamental steps of analysis. Through these innovative methods, students can actively cultivate their observational and analytical skills within a brief timeframe of 90 minutes. Importantly, these techniques have proven effective even in large courses, accommodating up to 150 students in a lecture hall.

The classroom operates in a decentralized manner, where the teacher serves as a platform providing students with opportunities to enhance their skills. Assignments are predominantly open-ended, allowing students the flexibility to tailor them to their individual needs, enabling the pursuit of personal or professional topics (Hall & Wall 2019) within the framework of journaling assignments. In the latter part of the course, attention shifts to common topics examined collectively, such as identifying barriers to writing an undergraduate thesis. We employ a mix of individual, paired, and small group work, affording students firsthand experience in transitioning from an individualized understanding of a problem to the utility of a transindividual, evidence-based, systemic approach.

Our curriculum uniquely emphasizes aspects of research often overlooked in traditional methodology education, including creativity, positionality, and notably, emotionality (Katz 2015). We contend that addressing emotions within the context of scientific knowledge and research is crucial for overcoming the challenges associated with misinformation. Merely relying on efforts to establish truth and facts is evidently insufficient, and defining the opposition between sense and sensibility is counterproductive (Durnová 2019).

The 'ReSearching Diversity Podcast' increases the visibility of inspiring social scientists and cutting-edge research on ethnic, cultural and migration-related diversity. Each episode features a personal story from a scientist (linked to a scientific article/approach). The educational podcast attempts to address past, present and future global and scientific developments. An important goal is to inform and inspire students to engage with the topic of diversity and recognize potential career opportunities in science.

The academic podcast aims to demonstrate an approach to broadening the current narratives within academic higher education. The ReSearching Diversity Podcast is an innovative tool to engage students in higher education and to expand existing stories about who can be a researcher. In addition, this approach is intended to offer a low-threshold teaching format to better connect with the reality of students' lives and make it easier for them to access current academic discourses on diversity. The podcast was awarded the 1st prize of the CIDER Public Science Award 2022 by Leibniz Education and Jacobs Foundation.