The project focused on identifying and analysing problems that adults most frequently encounter in their everyday lives. The aim was to determine whether and how knowledge acquired during formal education helps them solve these problems and what additional competencies could be developed within the education system. The research responded to the long-standing discussion that schools should prepare pupils not only for academic challenges but also for real-life situations. The study results provided insights for revising educational content to increase its practical applicability.

IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD: 2022

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The main aim of the research was to identify the types of problems people most frequently encounter in their everyday lives and what strategies they use to solve them. The research also focused on the extent to which knowledge and skills acquired in school play a role in solving these problems. Closely linked to this was the aim to understand whether people recognise specific benefits of school education in practical situations, or whether they feel they had to equip themselves to handle everyday problems through other means.

Specific research objectives included primarily identifying the most common types of everyday problems that adults encounter across various professional and social groups. Subsequently, we examined what knowledge and skills people actually use when solving them and whether these included competencies acquired during formal education. An important part of the analysis involved assessing whether school education is perceived as relevant for solving real-life situations, or whether people are forced to rely more on experience gained outside the school environment.

METHODOLOGY: The research was conducted through an online questionnaire survey distributed via social networks, particularly Facebook. Respondents were asked to describe three problems they had solved in the past month and indicate what knowledge and skills they used to solve them. The collected data were subsequently analysed and categorised according to a problem typology.

A total of 124 respondents participated in the research, resulting in 121 valid responses containing a total of 360 different problems included in the final analysis. The questionnaire contained questions on problem-solving strategies, information sources and the role of school education in the decision-making process. The age and professional structure of respondents was diverse, with the most frequently represented groups being students, educators and management professionals.

From an ethical perspective, respondent anonymity was ensured and participation was entirely voluntary. Research limitations included the subjectivity of responses and limited generalisability results to the entire population.

OUTPUTS AND RESULTS: The research showed that the most frequent problems people solve are issues concerning interpersonal communication, caring for loved ones, time management, maintaining relationships and managing health problems. Respondents often mentioned that they had to learn to handle these situations through experience and that school education helped them only minimally.

The knowledge acquired in school that was most frequently used included basic literacy skills (reading, writing, numeracy), followed by critical thinking and the ability to search for information. In the area of specific subject knowledge, biology proved to have the greatest benefit, particularly in the context of health problems.

The research confirmed that whilst schools provide pupils with useful cognitive skills, in practical life situations, graduates often rely more on experience gained outside the formal school environment. These findings can serve as a basis for discussion regarding potential adjustments to the curriculum to foster a stronger connection with real life.

PUBLICATIONS: The research outputs have been compiled into a final research report. The findings may contribute to debate on how to better prepare pupils for solving everyday problems in adulthood and how to align educational content more effectively with real-life needs.

LINKS AND NETWORKS: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13OZs08pYrk6X6_B2tzB1buAdOTg_xCwn/view