Our School: Journal for the theory and practice of education

MONOGRAPH ON THE HERZEGOVINA SCHOOL

2025-11-10T12:24:02+00:00

Book Review: Prof. dr Milenko Kundačina, Osnovna škola u Berkovićima (1889–2024), Izdavačka kuća Samo korak, Beograd 2024, 545 str.

CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES OF TEACHING METHODOLOGIES

2025-11-10T10:50:47+00:00

The paper aims at identifying key challenges and possible perspectives of the de velopment of contemporary teaching methodologies. By means of a metatheoret ical-comparative analysis and a synthesis dominant epistemological-constitutive, paradigmatic-conceptional, and core issue challenges have been established and exemplified, as well as possibilities of their overcoming within the framework of effi cient teaching methodologies. The following challenges have been identified: inabil ity to define a dividing line between general subjects teaching methodologies and the rest of tangent pedagogical and other disciplines in terms of terminology and scientific/scholarly nature, methodologies of theoretical and practical vocational secondary school subjects not being established, and limitations and contradictions of scientisation and pedagogization of teaching methodologies and their being pre dominantly founded upon conservative (and partly rationalistic) didactic paradigm, as well as the domination of the system and model of traditional verbal teaching. Possible development perspectives of teaching methodologies are as follows: defin ing a dividing line between general subjects teaching methodologies and the rest of tangent pedagogical and other disciplines in terms of terminology and scientific/ scholarly nature, overcoming of their scientisation and pedagogization by means of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research, competent team realisation of research projects and establishment of exemplary models of initial methodologies of theoretical and practical vocational secondary school subjects based on such projects, founding methodological concepts primarily on the constructive and ho listic didactic paradigm, as well as experimental development, valorization, and dissemination of innovative teaching systems and their implementation as regards their respective themes and proper pedagogical outcomes.

CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES OF METHODOLOGY OF PEDAGOGY

2025-11-10T11:06:01+00:00

The methodology of pedagogy (methodology of pedagogical research), like other pedagogical scholarly disciplines, has been facing numerous challenges over the past several decades. At the general level, globalisation and contemporary IT technologies have determined comprehensive moral education crisis (pedagogical empiricism), as well as the crisis of scholarliness pedagogy (pedagogical theories). Pedagogy as a science of moral education has been immersed for too long in designing and implementing general scholarly paradigms (positivism, post-positivism, critical theory, constructivism) in the sphere of education and moral education. The quantitative and qualitative research paradigm, designated as respective antipodes of the ‘number’ and ‘word’ continuum, express the mutual confrontation deemed as ‘the paradigm war’ in terms of terminology. Possible ways out of that confrontation cannot be found either by means of ‘scientific revolution’ (T.S. Kuhn) or by means of ‘scientific evolution’ (K.R. Popper), but only in pursuit of ‘bridges’ between them or in designing and structuring the ‘third’ paradigm.

OPEN MORAL EDUCATION AND INTUITIVE MIND

2025-11-10T11:27:09+00:00

Open moral education is not a new idea (Ellen Key; Nadezhda Krupskaya), but it is only today, due to permissiveness of consumer society, that it is getting its practical foundation and clearer and clearer theoretical concepts. This permissiveness, pervading moral education as well, is not merely a fruit of the change of socio economic circumstances and a new ideological, neo-liberal establishment of consumer society emanating from it. For genuine changes in society, apart from strengthening production forces and changing production and social relations as a material foundation of any change, individual forces need to develop essentially, whose strengthening enables the change of focus of individual and collective consciousness by means of its redirecting towards permissive reconciliation, thus changing the nature of authority, resulting in the confrontation of individuality and sociality taking place at a higher level. New necessities give birth to new forces, and they emerge not according to someone’s wishes, in a mysterious way, but by means of making the arising reality aware of new forms of its objectivisations due to a novel fashion of virtualisation of reality, which is not based solely on rationality, as it might seem at first sight. In the simplest terms possible, for one to indulge in freedom and to spread it one must be capable of wishing for freedom, but for this wish to gain strength a foundation that is no longer merely rational-material but also spiritual is required. In that sense, strengthening of individual force is but strengthening self-consciousness about the possibility of freedom that is the single supporting strut in the process of founding a personality. For this self-consciousness to emerge, necessary are, as we have pointed out, new ways and new means of virtualisation of reality. In our age, it surfaces in the form of virtual reality and artificial intelligence, which nurture both anxiety and hope. The anxiety, since we fear the humankind might become outdated and, subsequently, redundant. Digitalisation, therefore, deepens the reasonable doubt of even deeper alienation. But the humans are paradoxical beings that find the escape in perilous situations (Heidegger). A new way of virtualisation of reality by means of virtual reality and artificial intelligence not only expands the space of rationality across the borders of human ratio, but it also, at the same time, turns us back to the mind. This turning back to the mind is based upon turning back to intuition, from which we started as a genus. The mind can only function in the capacity of being free, and for it to gain such capacity it must rely on intuition. The hope, therefore, lies in our wish for the mind to reopen the old yet unused potential of the genus in a new manner whose possibilities depend on each of us as a personality.

CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES OF PEDAGOGY IN POSTMODERNISM

2025-11-10T11:35:45+00:00

At the age of intense social, cultural, and political changes, especially in societies undergoing major ideological and economic transition, the system of education and moral education is faced with numerous challenges. Traditional pedagogical paradigms no longer satisfy the needs of contemporary humans, so it becomes necessary to question their relevance in postmodern conditions. Postmodernism, as an epistemological and cultural project, challenges the notions of universality, objectivity, and centralised value systems, thus directly influencing the theory and practice of pedagogical agency. This paper aims at analysing postmodernist challenges in pedagogy, questioning their potential for re-conceptualisation of educational practice, as well as reflecting on possible perspectives of development of the pedagogical practice in postmodernist context.

PEDAGOGY IN THE EUROPEAN QUALIFICATION FRAMEWORK: Croatian context

2025-11-10T11:43:44+00:00

The European Union was founded primarily because of the free movement of capital, labour, goods, and services. The movement of the workforce was facilitated by the European Qualification Framework, a model established in 2008 together with the national qualification frameworks of all EU member states. It is based on summing up the learning outcomes acquired through all forms (formal, informal, and informal) and all levels (from primary to higher) of moral education, education and learning, up to and including the level of a doctorate in science in order to determine the level, scope, and profile of competence of anyone who competes for inclusion in the world of work. In addition to the 27 European Union member states, which have developed national qualification frameworks, another 11 candidate countries, potential candidates, and countries with special status are working on the implementation of the European Qualification Framework. Out of the countries formed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, these include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. This paper critically examines these processes, along with the expansion of economisation, psychologization and computerisation in modern schools, which is why, instead of a comprehensive approach to moral education and education, the focus of attention has been redirected to the development of competencies for the labour market. At the end, the basic features of the professional standards and qualification standards of educators as a profession are given in accordance with the Croatian and European Qualifications Frameworks, which were developed by pedagogues employed at all five pedagogy study programmes at public universities in Croatia. The implications that these documents have on the further development of pedagogy and educators are particularly emphasised.

CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIDACTICS

2025-11-10T11:53:28+00:00

Didactics as a pedagogical discipline that studies general issues of moral education, education, learning, and development within the framework of teaching has changed alongside socio-economic and technical-technological changes. Ever since John Amos Comenius and his Didactica Magna there have been changes related to concepts of education and moral education, to new paradigms formed, and to anchor points as regards to understanding basic premises of education and moral education. Starting from the fact that all these changes have been reflected in positioning of students and teachers within the system of education and moral education as well as thoughts on the place and role of teaching content, the paper focuses on the elements of didactic triangle, with a view to identifying challenges that will have to be ‘endured’ by students, teachers, teaching content, as well as teaching technology as didactic logistics. Through thoughts on the challenges encountering didactics from the point of view of forthcoming global changes, the author attempts at identifying and clarifying the perspective of its future development at the time ahead.

CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES OF DEVELOPMENT OF PEDAGOGY OF LEISURE TIME

2025-11-10T12:02:12+00:00

The pedagogy of leisure time is a pedagogical scholarly discipline of a more recent date. Its establishment is burdened by similar issues accompanying pedagogical science and other pedagogical scholarly disciplines. Theoretical thoughts on leisure time dates back in history, from ancient times to modern age, within the framework of philosophical-sociological and pedagogical paradigm. The paper aims at, based on an analysis of theoretical concepts about leisure time, pointing to challenges and perspectives of development of pedagogy of leisure time. To that end, the author analyses theoretical concepts of free time, notions of freedom in leisure time, definitions of free time, along with the most relevant psychological sociological theories of free time. Based on the analysis of theoretical concepts of leisure time, it is possible to notice the emergence and development of various theoretical approaches to leisure time, as well as the development of specific traditional concepts of leisure time. Historically speaking, theoretical thoughts about leisure time have often been reduced to understanding and interpreting of the phenomenon of freedom. With regard to psychological-sociological theories, the dominant position is reserved for the subjectivist understanding of leisure time. In the contemporary pedagogy of leisure time, the aforementioned concepts belong to the general theory of leisure time. The lack of such theory lies in the fact that it does not contain performing models as an important structural element on the basis of which one could act in the practice of leisure time. The contemporary pedagogy of leisure develops two aspects, moral education for leisure time and moral education in leisure time, which represents a major challenge for its future development. A major challenge is numerous unresolved theoretical-methodological issues as well. The pedagogy of leisure time needs new methodological directions. The level of scientific development achieved implies that the pedagogy of leisure time has its perspectives in the future.

SCIENTIFIC AND TEACHING POSITION OF THE HISTORY OF PEDAGOGY

2025-11-10T12:09:42+00:00

Primary and secondary disciplinary issues, the evolution of the development of the history of pedagogy as a scientific discipline, and the methodology of historical pedagogical research represent aspects that have influenced the scientific and teaching position of the history of pedagogy. For theorists, primary and secondary aspects of disciplinary issues are dialectically connected, considering the fact that pedagogy, along with its narrower scientific disciplines, is grounded in the already existing area of professional activity of other sciences. The significance of studying the history of pedagogy is reflected in the discovery of cause-and-effect relationships that connect past and present pedagogical thought and seek scientifically valid explanations for the emergence of differences in opinions, organisation, and effects of certain pedagogical phenomena. Throughout its developmental evolution, the history of pedagogy has had a heuristic function, which has influenced its subject methodological field of agency (from moral-educational to methodological, theoretical, and prognostic). The scientific and teaching position of the history of pedagogy has contributed to its fundamental role in improving the fields of moral education and education, promoting possible ways to enhance teaching practice. The paper aims to highlight the evolution of the development of the history of pedagogy as a scientific discipline, the academic institutionalisation of the history of pedagogy, and the current issues in the field of the history of pedagogy. The results of theoretical study have indicated current problems in the area of the history of pedagogy related to the lack of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources, as well as different historical and cultural contexts that hinder the proper understanding of pedagogical knowledge in the past. The perspectives and strategies for the development of the history of pedagogy, based on the obtained results of theoretical study, do not depend on the expansion and enrichment of theoretically methodologically grounded knowledge, but rather on the tendency and scope of replacing historical-pedagogical descriptions with scientific analysis of a specific subject-methodological field of action. The motivation for this is the selection of lasting, positive pedagogical heritage, extending to developmental-applicative, theoretical, and empirical historical-pedagogical research significant for the further development of the history of pedagogy as a scientific discipline.

CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES OF COMPARATIVE PEDAGOGY DEVELOPMENT

2025-11-10T12:17:15+00:00

In the contemporary world comparative pedagogy is faced with a series of challenges shaping its development as a scholarly and teaching discipline. Researching into key challenges of comparative pedagogy is focused, in the first place, on methodological obstacles in comparative research, on inadequate integration with other disciplines, on cultural and contextual factors impeding the generalisation of results, as well as political and economic influences such as globalisation and education reforms. On the other hand, technological progress, international collaboration of researchers, and critical approaches to education offer new perspectives for the development of comparative pedagogy, with an emphasis on advancement of education policies, development of interdisciplinary approaches, global collaboration, sustainability, innovations in education, and making connections between research and practice in education and moral education. In conclusion, comparative pedagogy represents an indispensable resource for research into and advancement of educational practices within various contexts. Through understanding of challenges and perspectives that this discipline offers, it is possible to develop innovative approaches that not only improve the quality of education, but also foster children and teachers throughout the world. The role of comparative pedagogy as a scholarly and teaching discipline is key to shaping education policies that respond to dynamic social, economic, and cultural changes, creating, at the same time, the foundations for a sustainable and inclusive system of education and moral education.