This paper provides an analysis of gender equality at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ljubljana and examines the main results in the broader context of quality in higher education. The ...Faculty of Arts participated in a project that aimed to develop a gender equality plan for the institution. Data from different aspects of institutional life were collected and analysed to gain a better insight into institutional equality and its relationship with the existing notion of quality in academia, especially through academic career advancement. The study reveals that more women than men tend to remain at the same academic rank for an extended period, particularly at the assistant professor level, and that they meet more objective and subjective obstacles on their academic path. Although there is an increasing awareness of academic policies and practices that foster equality in higher education, there is still a prevalent and strong perception that equality measures compromise academic standards.
V Sloveniji se je dolgo ohranjal model organizacije družbe, ki je koreninil v skupnostni formi. V taki družbeni formi je na ravni lokalne skupnosti osnovna šola daleč presegala svojo primarno ...vzgojno-izobraževalno funkcijo. Urbanizacija, ki je danes precej zajela tudi za podeželje bolj značilno skupnostno družbeno formo, je prinesla zanimive spremembe v omenjeni širši funkciji šole. Raziskali smo, kako danes šole razumejo potrebe po povezovanju šole in skupnosti. Ugotovili smo, da se razumevanje tega povezovanja in njegove modalitete močno razlikujejo. Načini, kako šole odgovarjajo na potrebe skupnosti (in obratno), so močno odvisni od obstoječih modelov družbene organizacije. Pričakovanja so večja v okoljih, kjer je šola ena od redkih ali celo edina javna ustanova v kraju. Čeprav si tudi v preostalih okoljih šole prizadevajo za motivacijo in angažma prebivalcev, pa jim pogosto zmanjka časa in energije. Rezultati kvalitativne analize so razkrili, da ima zapiranje lokalnih ali podružničnih šol negativne demografske in socialno-kulturne posledice. Sočasno pa je analiza pokazala na neizrabljen potencial v novih urbanih okoljih, kjer bi šola lahko bila ključen element družbene organizacije v lokalni skupnosti.
In mid-March 2020, Slovenia declared the COVID-19 epidemic, which led to the closure of schools and the transition to remote education. This article presents the findings of a study conducted during ...the lockdown among school heads in primary and secondary schools. The authors identify the challenges and issues the school heads faced in the first weeks of the epidemic and examine the positive experiences that may represent examples of good practice for dealing with similar problems in the future. The study was carried out through an online questionnaire containing 12 single-answer and multiple-choice questions and one Likert-type scale. The school heads were free to write their answers to two open-ended questions. The findings show that schools responded quickly to the changed circumstances and continued to deliver education to their students without interruption, although their approaches differed significantly. A great deal of improvisation was observed, as was to be expected, as the state did not have a pre-prepared plan and was not able to provide a quick and adequate response.
This article discusses the topic of schools as a learning communities from the perspective of the collaboration of two groups of school workers - teachers and school counsellors. The introduction ...defines how the concept of schools as learning communities is understood and how it is related to the concept of learning organizations. It also further elaborates on the key characteristics of learning communities. The first premise of the contribution is that through joint effort and collaboration, counsellors and teachers can more efficiently face the practical challenges of their work, both in providing help and encouragement to students and in ensuring better classroom work on the level of the whole school. The second is that they are important partners to each other in their professional development through joint reflections of their educational principles and expectations. The article further focuses on the quality of cooperation between counsellors and teachers in primary and secondary schools in Slovenia. The results of the empirical research show that both groups of school workers tend to evaluate their cooperation as either very good or good while teachers tend to be more satisfied. The questionnaire responses show that teachers believe collaboration can benefit them, however that they frequently leave decisions about work with specific students or classes to the counsellors. Establishing and maintaining partner collaboration is always a challenge, however, it is also crucial for effectively confronting contemporary challenges and ensuring quality learning for all and the contribution thus concludes with guidelines for establishing such a beneficial collaboration.
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The text questions the assumption of the Bologna reform that student-centered learning will improve the quality of university study. Research conducted on a sample of 429 students from various study ...programs at two faculties of the University of Ljubljana, whom we asked about their reading and study habits, showed that relying on the subjective motivation of students alone is not enough to ensure that they read compulsory reading material and thus acquire the knowledge that only this type of study can bring. We therefore emphasize in the conclusion that calling for motivation that is tied to interest may actually have the effect of putting students off reading material that is not related to their direct interest or does not show directly applicable value. The results of the study also show that students are clearly attentive to the requirements and expectations of individual faculty member and therefore adapt their method of study (and the amount they study) in such a way as to satisfy these (frequently low) expectations.
The article discusses results of a study that evaluated university students’ competencies related to inclusive education. The study aimed to find out how prospective school counselors, who were ...familiar with theories on inclusion as an educational concept and had some relevant field experience, analyzed and reflected upon inclusion-related, real-life situations. The authors also aimed to establish any differences in views and explanations depending on students’ average grades and whether students have experience working in inclusive settings. A questionnaire was developed that consisted of seven questions related to independent variables (e.g., average grade, experience with working in inclusive settings) and six open-ended questions related to a real-life situation. The results indicate that most students understand at least the basic elements of the broader definition of inclusion and can provide some ideas for improvement of practice. Interestingly, students’ grades do not seem to be a decisive factor, but field experience does play a role in students’ competencies related to inclusive education.
The article presents some essential characteristics of collaboration between the school counselling service and individuals or institutions in the community. The role of school counselling in ...Slovenia is not limited merely to counselling and providing direct assistance to students with learning and their personal development. Rather, it includes the encouragement of all participants in the educational process to create adequate learning environments. The role, however, should also be understood in broader terms as organizational and content collaboration with external environments, institutions and individuals in the community. The authors begin by proposing some starting points for collaboration between the school counselling service and the local community and, in the second part of the article, they move on to the findings of their empirical research study, conducted on a representative sample of school counsellors working in Slovenian primary schools. The results prove the need for collaboration between the school counselling service and different institutions or individuals in the community. The authors primarily focus on examining the obstacles and drawbacks to the collaboration, while they simultaneously highlight examples of good practice that enable constructive collaboration, without which schools and school-based counselling would not be able to contribute to educational processes. The described examples demonstrate that collaboration between schools/school counsellors and institutions/individuals in the community is crucial to solving the problems that students and their families face.
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The characteristics of cooperation between head teachers and school counsellors are presented theoretically and empirically. Distributed leadership means that head teachers do not lead schools ...through school-based educators but rather together with them, with school counsellors playing an important role. Numerous research studies demonstrate that a strong head teacher–school counsellor relationship is a crucial component of meeting the vision, goals and well-being of the school. The findings of our research study, conducted among head teachers and school counsellors, show positive attitudes of both groups towards mutual cooperation. Both considered the cooperation to be good or very good, the head teachers rated it even better. It is interesting to observe that the head teachers found more support in school counsellors than vice versa. Also, more of the head teachers said they saw school counsellors as partners than did the school counsellors. It thus remains to be seen how school counsellors’ perception of the school leadership’s support in their work could be strengthened and how head teachers could be encouraged to support the work of the school counselling service even more, so that this relationship becomes reciprocal and that each party’s ability to perform their work will be enhanced by the strong relationship.
V članku se ukvarjamo z razvojem strokovnih kompetenc in načini dela v visokošolskem izobraževanju. V raziskavi smo želeli ugotoviti, kako študenti 1. in 3. letnika študija pedagogike iz Beograda ter ...pedagogike in andragogike iz Ljubljane ocenjujejo kakovost študija in kakšno je njihovo mnenje o njegovih posameznih vidikih. Zanimala so nas mnenja študentov o vsebini in strukturi študija, oblikah izobraževanja in študijskih gradivih ter kako ocenjujejo svojo usposobljenost za opravljanje bodočega poklica. Rezultati raziskave kažejo, da so študenti obeh univerz prepoznali študijsko prakso oziroma vaje kot ključne za razvoj strokovnih kompetenc. Med študijskimi aktivnostmi, ki lahko pripomorejo k razvoju kompetenc, so ljubljanski študenti višje ocenili predavanja, samostojni študij in hospitacije. Srbski študenti pa so statistično pomembno više ocenili pomen raziskovalnega dela.
One of the main factors contributing to students’ optimal development in school settings is the implementation of appropriate differentiating and individualizing measures. While this topic is well ...researched and addressed in the context of primary and lower secondary education, the theoretical and empirical research on differentiated and individualized teaching in vocational education and training (VET) programs is relatively scarce. However, well-applied individualization measures seem equally important in the context of VET programs, as they are frequently attended by students with lower educational aspirations, diverse socio-cultural backgrounds, and complex educational and personal needs. Our research explores what kind of individualization practices exist in Slovenian VET programs and what roles teachers and school management play in implementing individualized teaching. A single case study with one class of 16-year-old students (N = 22) attending the confectioner VET program was conducted. The data were collected by means of interviews, observations, and questionnaires, and were analyzed and interpreted by combining qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches. The results indicate that the school strove to address the diversity of the student population and used a number of different activities at institutional (school) as well as individual (teacher) levels. However, the potential of a more individualized approach seems to be largely unexploited. It is necessary to understand individualization as a principle implemented at the level of direct teaching and at the school level. Students should receive guidance that adapts the education process to their individual characteristics and aspirations as much as possible.
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