Th e main objective of this article is to present the role of a higher education institution
in enhancing auto-educational activities from the perspective of students
of pedagogy at the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. Th e main research
tool that was applied in the research included the method of document analysis.
By means of both classic and modern methods of document analysis, the author
analysed and interpreted documents created intentionally – essays, i.e. respondents’
written opinions on issues of importance from the scientifi c point of view. Th e
research results revealed that students’ auto-educational activity regarding the
development of the intellectual (cognitive) sphere connected with acquiring social
competences, self-discovery, biological sphere (e.g. caring for one’s health, physical
condition, appearance) and spiritual sphere is only to a small degree determined
by a higher education institution
