Members of the programme group (Dr Jana Kalin, Dr Andreja Hočevar, Dr Sabina Jelenc Krašovec) participated in the national expert group for the preparation of the White paper on Education in the Republic of Slovenia (2011). We took part in preparing and carrying out the empirical analyses of the existing situation in the individual areas of the educational system in Slovenia as well as in developing systemic and content solutions throughout the educational vertical, but especially in the areas of preschool education, primary school education and adult education. We also participated in the expert subgroup for principles, which developed general objectives as well as strategic challenges and directions for the educational system to take. As members of the expert group for the preparation of the White paper we participated actively in presenting the solutions to the wider professional public, we took part in discussions with the representatives of preschools, primary schools and adult education institutions all over Slovenia and in the process of the dissemination of the solutions in the scientific and professional press.
F.23 Development of new system-wide, normative and programme solutions, and methods
Members of the programme group organized the international scientific symposium Days of Pedagogy and Andragogy 2011, which focused on the topic of individualization in educational practice. Members of the programme group participated in the organization, seven of whom presented a paper, and we also edited a printed and electronic version of the collection of papers (Ermenc, K. S. (ed.). (2011). Days of Pedagogy and Andragogy 2011. Realizing the principle of individualization in educational practice: Are we on the right track?). Forty-five authors presented their papers at the symposium, with nine of them coming from abroad. The topic of the symposium was related directly to the areas of research done by the programme group (the change in paradigms in the conception of education in different historical periods, secondary school education in the function of social cohesiveness, human resource development, the models of intercultural and non-formal education of adults for sustainable development), and it added to the findings on individualization in education as a global trend. In the postmodern society the educational system adapts to the needs and interests of the individual, while at the same time it teaches the individual to enter into relationships with others and the environment, therewith strengthening a wider social cohesiveness. Education in the postmodern era encourages the pro-social, moral and intellectual development of the individual in the context of the community. Therefore, it is based on the values of coexistence, respect for others and the participation of everyone, including the underprivileged.
B.01 Organiser of a scientific meeting
Members of the programme group participated in the editorial board of the renowned Journal of Contemporary Educational Studies, which has been indexed by the prominent international bibliographic databases EbscoHOST and ProQuest since 2011. The editor-in-chief during the year was Dr Mojca Kovač Šebart. The first two issues were dedicated to the examination of the contemporary conceptualizations of knowledge. Their thematic editors were members of the programme group Dr Andreja Hočevar, Dr Mojca Kovač Šebart, Dr Jasna Mažgon, Dr Damijan Štefanc and Dr Tadej Vidmar. The issues published sixteen academic articles (six of which were also published in English translation) that emphasized the need for the provision of the mechanisms with the help of which we can guarantee citizens of Slovenia efficient and good-quality general education and knowledge as public goods. A particularly positive international reception was enjoyed by the thematic issues on identities in pedagogical discourse, where five articles by authors from German-speaking countries were published (in Slovenian and German), and on the European qualifications framework (edited by Dr Klara Skubic Ermenc and Dr Damijan Štefanc), including articles by some of the most respected and widely quoted international experts in the field, such as Michael Young (University of London ), Alan Brown (University of Warwick) and David Raffe (University of Edinburgh).
C.05 Editorial board of a national magazine