doc. dr. sc. Iva Odak

She was born in 1979 in Split. She graduated from the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb in 2007 and received her PhD in 2015. Since 2007, she has been employed at the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, at the Center for Research and Development of Education, where she is currently employed as a research associate. In 2008, she stayed at the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Political Science, University of Pavia, Italy, as a scholarship holder of the Coimbra Group Hospitality Scheme Program. In 2017, she was elected to the title of assistant professor in the field of social sciences, field of sociology (at the University of Zagreb). Since 2022, she has been the head of the Center for Research and Development of Education at the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb. She is a member of the editorial board of the journal Sociology and Space and the journal Revija za sociologiju. She is a member of the Croatian Sociological Association and the Croatian Association for Educational Research. She was an external associate in teaching at the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, and since 2020 she has been an external associate and lecturer of the courses Sociology of Education and Art, Society and Education at the Department of Teacher Education of the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb. She has led several scientific research projects and participates as a member of project teams in various domestic and international projects in the field of sociology and interdisciplinary sciences, publishes scientific papers in foreign and domestic publications, participates in scientific and professional conferences in Croatia and abroad, and in the work of professional associations in the field of sociology and education.

In her scientific and research work, doc. dr. sc. Iva Odak deals with the sociology of education, with an emphasis on the research of social inequalities at all educational levels. Particular emphasis is placed on the topics of social and cultural reproduction and the research of theoretical, methodological and empirical approaches to these topics. Also, she deals with these topics through a national and international perspective, comparatively, as well as through the macro perspective of educational systems, the meso level of family social origin, but also the individual level with a focus on aspirations and educational decisions. Her research and teaching interests, in addition to the sociology of education, also include the sociology of art, i.e. the ways in which art affects society and society on art and artists, taking into account different areas of art.

Sociology of Education - the course prepares students to understand complex social circumstances and all contextual factors that affect the education system and all its actors. Art, Society and Education - the aim of the course is to acquire knowledge about the basic sociological theories of art and the development of critical thinking related to the social functions of art.

– Odak, I., Baranović, B. and Baketa, "You Pick Up Your Documents and Leave": A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences of Dropouts, Sociology and Space, 61 (3 (228)), 517-539. https://doi.org/10.5673/sip.61.3.4 – Odak, I., Marušić, I., Matić Bojić, J., Puzić, S., Bakić, H., Eliasson, N., ... Veldin, M., "Teachers' Social and Emotional Competencies: A Lever for Social and Emotional Learning in Schools", Sociology and Space, 61 (1 (226)), 105-122. – Puzić, S., Gregurović, M. and Odak, I., "Horizontal Differences in Higher Education in Croatia: Effects of Different Forms of Capital on the Selection of Faculties of Different Social Status", Social Policy Review, 28 (1), 5-23. – Puzić, S., Šabić, J. and Odak I., "Vocational School Students' Aspirations for Higher Education and Selected Social Background Characteristics", Sociological Journal, 57 (6). 661-682. – Puzić, S., Šabić, J. and Odak, I., "Abroad, Zagreb or some other city in Croatia? Social origin, rationality of choice and aspirations of high school students according to the place of study", Review of Sociology, 50 (2), 285-308. – Puzić, S., Odak, I. and Šabić, J., "Educational Outcomes and Aspirations of Upper Secondary School Students: The Cultural Capital and Relative Risk Aversion Perspectives", Sociology, 61 (3), 368-388. – Odak, I. and Puzić, S., "Perspective of Social Origin – Wishes, Plans and Attitudes of Secondary School Students on the Transition from Secondary to Higher Education", in What After Secondary Education? Wishes, Plans and Attitudes of Croatian High School Students, Ristić Dedić, Z. and Jokić, B. (eds.), Agency for Science and Higher Education, 84-104. – Puzić, S., Gregurović, M. and Košutić, I., "Cultural capital and educational inequalities in Croatia, Germany and Denmark: a comparative analysis of PISA 2009 data", Social Policy Review (25) 2; 133-157. - Košutić, I., The Role of Cultural Capital in Higher Education Access and Institutional Choice. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, Vol. 7, No. 1: 149 – 169. - Doolan, K.; Košutić, I.; Barada, V., "Reinforcing social disadvantage: Institutional habitus in Croatian higher education", in Die Organisation von Bildung: Soziologische Analysen zu Schule, Berufsbildung, Hochschule und Weiterbildung, Leeman, Regula Julia ; Imdorf, Christian ; Powell, Justin J.W. ; Sert, Michael (ed.). Weinheim : Beltz Juventa. pp. 308-329.