Equality of opportunity is an ambiguous notion. There are important differences in the understanding of both concepts: equality and opportunity. Despite this, it seems helpful to start with the interpretation of opportunity given by Peter Westen, who argues that an opportunity is a specific relationship between the person to whom the opportunity belongs, some obstacles (race, gender, color, wealth, religion, etc.) between a person and a desired goal, and the goal (an education, a job, etc.) toward which the opportunity is directed. However, an opportunity of someone to attain the goal is neither a guarantee that he or she will achieve it if they so choose nor a mere possibility to achieve it. Therefore, to have an opportunity means that one has something “more than a mere possibility” and “less than a guarantee” (Westen 1997, pp. 159–161). In the same Encyclopedia, the scientific paper entitled Social capital and education (11796809) was published by Veronika Tašner and Slavko Gaber, project team members. The publication of scientific papers in the Encyclopedia, published by well-recognised international publishing house, shows project team members’ high reputation in the international scientific community in the field of the project as well an important scientific achievement of the project.
COBISS.SI-ID: 3106391
Dr. Ana Kozina and dr. Mojca Štraus presented the paper at the National Scientific Conference as part of a symposium in which also other members of the project team and a young researcher presented the intermediate results of the project (11762505, 3093335, 3093847). In addition to presenting project results, the purpose of the symposium was to spread the debate and to initiate new research questions on this topic in the wider scientific community in Slovenia. The principle of equity in education advocates the importance of the integrated development of the individual and the development and implementation of policies and practices that enable all individuals to achieve their potentials and optimal levels of development (both in cognitive and non-cognitive fields). The paper analyses the relationship between cognitive (mathematical learning achievement as measured by the PISA 2015 study) and non-cognitive (welfare and welfare factors) factors of development. In this context, we proceed from the assumption that both areas are positively related and that by developing socio-emotional competences we can promote both areas and thus ensure the implementation of the principle of equity in education. The paper presents the first preliminary results of the research, which was carried out in 2016 on a sample of students included in the PISA survey. Students answered the Wellbeing Questionnaire, which consists of two already existing and established measures of well-being: EPOCH (Kerg et al., 2004) and MDI (Middel Years Inventory) (ShonertReichl et al., 2013) and measures the following areas of well-being: social and emotional development (e.g. optimism, empathy, happiness, self-esteem ...); connection (at home, at school, among peers ...); experience in school (belonging, school climate ...); exposure to aggressive behaviour (e.g. physical, verbal ...); health and physical well-being (e.g. sleeping, healthy diet ...). In the paper, we answered the research question: Are well-being and learning achievement importantly related and which areas of well-being (are the most related with learning achievement.
COBISS.SI-ID: 3093591
Considering contemporary discourses on quality assurance and assessment (QAA) in education one comes across warnings by different authors on how dominant QAA mechanisms frame education policy and practice. Many of the critical insights in QAA come from the agents[1]in the field of education. Biesta (2010) amongst other warns against rationality of excessive measurements in education and invites to rethink the value of education. Trippeestad et all (2017) show how international comparative assessments influenced teacher education. Global policy discourses, on the other hand, for example on part of institutions such as OECD, Word Bank, UNESCO, EC seem to insist on the “old” promises of knowledge society and global economic competitiveness, efficiency etc.. Neoliberal market rationality has a tendency to use QAA for the purposes of “squezzing the most for minimum investment”. These are only a few examples that lead us to reconsider the existing and alterative structuring of QAA. We argue that the ways in which self-evaluation in QAA is conceptualized, operationalized and embedded in the system of QAA offers a possible insight into distinctive types of power relations that need to be addressed in order to understand the challenges and limits of the existing and emerging regulative ideas in self-evaluation – at the level of the system and in subject formation. The paper presented at the International Scientific Conference represents an important contribution to the scientific (re) conceptualization of modern approaches to QAA in education and consequently also a potentially important contribution to its appropriate conceptualization / understanding by influential EU policy makers. At the ECER 2018 conference, the results of the project in the form of papers were also presented by dr. Živa Kos, dr. Veronika Tašner and dr. Slavko Gaber (12130377) and dr. Urška Štremfel (3262807).
COBISS.SI-ID: 12129609
The scientific monograph entitled “About the equity of education policies and practices” presents the key results of the project in three parts: 1) Understanding equity and efficiency in education, in which dr. Zdenko Kodelja deals with neoliberalism and the problem of global justice, dr. Veronika Tašner question the concept of educational meritocracy, dr. Živa Kos puts self-evaluation of teachers into discussions on identification and quality assurance, dr. Urška Štremfel addresses the issue of (non) complementarity of the equity and effectiveness/efficiency of public policies. 2) The equity and/or effectiveness of Slovenian educational policies and practices in which dr. Mojca Štraus presents an in depth study of the socio-economic gradient in education, dr. Ana Kozina studies emotional and social aspects of learning as support of equity and efficiency in education, dr. Valerija Vendramin devotes attention to assessment and assurance of equity in the framework of post-feminist education. 3) Towards a more equal society, in which dr. Slavko Gaber and his colleagues present the possible role of the school in social innovations and the future. The scientific monograph represents an important scientific achievement in terms of a thoughtful and comprehensive presentation of the results of the project to a wider scientific (as well as professional, political and other interested public).