Pepka Boyadjieva

Pepka Alexandrova Boyadjieva was born on December 26, 1954, in the then town of Mihailovgrad, now Montana, Bulgaria. She graduated in philosophy with a specialization in sociology in 1976 at Sofia University, defended her PhD dissertation in 1980, and the next one for Doctor Habilis of Sociological Sciences in 1999. Her professional career developed mainly at the Institute of Sociology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, where she has held the Senior Research Fellow I degree since 2000. She has chaired the Scientific Council of the Institute for the Study of Societies and Knowledge(renamed as Institute of Philosophy and Sociology in 2019)[1] since 2011 and previously chaired the Scientific Council of the Institute of Sociology from 2004 to 2008.[2] She was a Permanent Senior Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies, Sofia (2006 – 2018). Professor at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology since 2010, Honorary Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Nottingham since 2011.[3] She was President of the Bulgarian Sociological Association (2003 – 2006).[4] She has been lecturing a course on Sociology of Education since 1994 at Sofia University and delivered courses on University Worlds, Institutions of Knowledge and Sociology of Education at New Bulgarian University.

Prof. Boyadjieva is highly committed to the cause of civic activism and social development policies and has been an expert on governmental and non-governmental reform initiatives. She was a long-time expert at the Open Society Institute, Sofia and is currently chairing its board of trustees.[5] She is one of the authors of the current Strategy for the Development of Higher Education in the Republic of Bulgaria 2021-2030. She is a member of “Education without Barriers” Association.[6]

Personal life: Pepka Boyadjieva is wife of Prof. Tzocho Boyadjiev, the internationally renowned Bulgarian philosopher-medievist, poet, art photographer, translator and culturologist. They have a daughter, Laura (physician), and a son, Hristo (lawyer).

Prof. Boyadjieva took part in more than 30 research projects, being the team-leader in most of them. She is the only representative of social sciences who won a grant for a research project from the National Research Program "Outstanding Studies and People for the Development of European Science" (in Bulgarian - NNP "VIHREN") in 2019.[7] The theme of this 5-year project is "Dynamics of Inequalities in Higher Education and Adult Learning: A Comparative Analysis of Social Justice".[8] Since 2005 she has been acting as evaluator and independent expert for the European Commission. She is a member of the international networks of experts of social dimension of education and learning at the NESET [9] and NESSE.[10]

Prof. Boyadjieva is one of the few internationally renowned Bulgarian sociologists as since 2000 – her citations in Google Scholar by 2021 alone are over 830 for nearly 300 publications since 1997 with H-index 14,[11] and 273 citations and H-index 7 according to SCOPUS.[12] According to the ResearchGate with a personal score of 20.91,[13] she is more highly recognizable than 75% of the authors in this scientific portal.

Editorial Positions

• British Educational Research Journal[14] (since 2021)
• Journal of Social Science Education[15] (since 2009)
• International Journal of Lifelong Education[16] (since 2008)
• Bulgarian Journal of Science and Education Policy[17] (since 2008)
• Sociological Problems (Journal of the Bulgarian Sociological Association and the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)[18] (since 1995)
• ISA's SSIS – Series Sage Studies in International Sociology Books[19] (2010 – 2019)

• 2022 "Cyril O. Houle Award" for Outstanding Literature in Adult Education for the book: Adult Education as Empowerment: Re-imagining Lifelong Learning through the Capability Approach, Recognition Theory and Common Goods Perspective[20]
• 2021 "Marin Drinov" ribbon badge of honour of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
• 2020 Badge of honour of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
• 2007-8 New Century Scholars – Fulbright Program “Higher Education in the 21st Century: Access and Equity”
• 2003 Andrew Mellon Award, American Academy in Rome
• 1999 Andrew Mellon Award, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, University of Edinburgh
• 1990 Voltaire Foundation grant for participation in a Summer school, University of Oxford

Authored and co-autored books

• Boyadjieva, P.; Ilieva-Trichkova, P. (2021). Adult Education as Empowerment: Re-Imagining Lifelong Learning through the Capability Approach, Recognition Theory and Common Goods Perspective. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-3-030-67136-5.
• Boyadjieva, P.; Boyadjiev, Tz. (2021). The Vanished Universities. Towards a Sociology of Failure (in Bulgarian). Sofia: Sofia University Publishing House. ISBN 978-954-07-5364-5.
• Boyadjieva, P.; Kabakchieva, P. (2019). (Un)possible Syndicalism. Builders and Teachers during Communism (in Bulgarian). Sofia: Ciela. ISBN 9789542827962.
• Boyadjieva, P.; KMilenkova, V.; Gornev, G.; Petkova, K.; Nenkova, D. (2019). The LLL Hybrid: Policy, Institutions and Learners in Lifelong Learning in Bulgaria (in Bulgarian). Sofia: Ciela. ISBN 978-6191520152.
• Boyadjieva, P. (2010). Social Engineering: Admission Policies in Higher Education during the Communist Regime in Bulgaria. Sofia: CIELA (in Bulgarian) ISBN 9789542808138
• Boyadjieva, P. (1998). University and Society: Two Sociological Cases. Sofia: LIK (in Bulgarian) ISBN 954-607-180-3
• Boyadjieva, P., Gerganov, E., Paspalanova, E., Petkova, K. (1994). Education outside the School Doors. Sofia: Gal Iko (in Bulgarian) ISBN 954-8010-51-8
• Boyadjieva, P., Petkova, K., Chalakov, I. (1994). Science: Life outside the Laboratory. Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Press (in Bulgarian) ISBN 9544302379
• Boyadjieva, P. (1992). The Birth of the University. Sofia: Kritika i humanism (in Bulgarian).
• Boyadjieva, P. (1985). What Can Education Give Us? Sofia: Nauka i Iskustvo (in Bulgarian).

Edited books

• Koleva, S., Boyadjeiva, P., Kabakchieva, P., Kolarova, R. (Eds.) (2021). Bringing down Barriers. Disciplines, Epochs, Generations. Sofia: University Publishing House “St. Kl. Ohridski” (In Bulgarian) ISBN 978-954-07-5181-8
• Boyadjieva, P., Kanoushev, M., Ivanov, M. (2018) (Eds.). Inequalities and Social (Dis)integration: In Search of Togetherness. Sofia: Iztok-Zapad (In Bulgarian and English) ISBN 978-619-01-0188-8
• Boyadjieva, P., Stoyanova, R. (Eds.) (2017). The Gift and Cultures of Giving for Education: Theories Institutions, Individuals. Sofia: Iztok-Zapad (In Bulgarian and English)
• Burnaski, G., Boyadjieva, P., Kabakchieva, P. (2015). (Eds.). State Security - Unions, Business life and Workers. Documentary collection. Sofia: KRDOPBGDSRSBNA and Research Institute of the Recent Past (In Bulgarian) ISBN 978-954-2986-70-6
• Boyadjieva, P. Koleva, S., Koev, K. (2006). (Eds.) Worlds in Sociology. Sofia: Sofia University Publishing House (in Bulgarian) ISBN 9540724589
• Boyadjieva, P. (1999) (Ed.) University Autonomy and Academic Responsibility. Sofia: LIK (in Bulgarian)
• Boyadjieva, P. (1999) (Ed.) Dimensions of the University Idea. Sofia: Sofia University Publishing House (in Bulgarian) ISBN 954-07-0219-4

Selected Articles and Book Chapters

• Boyadjieva, P.; Ilieva-Trichkova, P. (2022). "Does participation in non-formal adult education matter for individual subjective well-being as a multidimensional functioning?". European Educational Research Journal. doi:10.1177/14749041221116261. S2CID 252812552.
• Boyadjieva, P. (2022). "(Un)avoidable clash: higher education at the altar of its missions and rankings". In Parreira do Amaral, M.; Thompson, Ch. (eds.). Geopolitical Transformations in Higher Education. Imagining, Fabricating and Contesting Innovation. Educational Governance Research. Vol. 17. Springer. pp. 125–142. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-94415-5_8. ISBN 978-3-030-94414-8.
• Boyadjieva, P.; Ilieva-Trichkova, P. (2019). "From conceptualisation to measurement of higher education as a common good: challenges and possibilities" (PDF). Higher Education. 77 (6): 1047–1063. doi:10.1007/s10734-018-0319-1. S2CID 254538895.
• Boyadjieva, P. (2017). Cultures of giving in the sphere of education: theoretical frameworks and research approaches. In: Boyadjieva, P., Stoyanova, R. (Eds.) (2017). The Gift and Cultures of Giving for Education: Theories Institutions, Individuals. Sofia: Iztok-Zapad, 27-62 (In Bulgarian).
• Boyadjieva, P. (2013). Admission Policies as a Mechanism for Social Engineering: The Case of the Bulgarian Communist Regime, Comparative Education Review 57 (3): 503–526. doi:10.1086/670728

• Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
• Bulgarian Sociological Association
• Network of Experts in Social Sciences of Education and training (NESSE) at Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture