U radu se, na temelju podataka prikupljenih u istraživanjima koja je u osam vremenskih točaka u proteklih dvadeset godina na reprezentativnom uzorku hrvatskih građana proveo Fakultet političkih ...znanosti, analizira stanje institucionalnog povjerenja u Hrvatskoj. Oslanjajući se na teorijske koncepte Davida Eastona i Pippe Norris te uvažavajući prethodne studije o institucionalnom povjerenju u Hrvatskoj, rad donosi i neke nove elemente. Dok većina prethodnih radova obuhvaća najviše tri točke mjerenja u kratkom vremenskom rasponu i analizi latentne strukture institucionalnog povjerenja pristupa kroz eksploratorni pristup, ovaj se rad temelji na analizi osam vremenskih točaka i analizira prikladnost postojećih teorijskih modela. Usto, analiza fluktuacija u razinama institucionalnog povjerenja temelji se na utvrđivanju invarijantnosti mjerenja, što je važan metodološki doprinos rada. Osnovni rezultati studije mogu se podijeliti u tri grupe. Prvo, na deskriptivnoj razini utvrdili smo da je povjerenje građana u pojedine institucije najčešće ispod srednje vrijednosti na ljestvici od 1 do 5, osim u slučajevima vojske i policije. Drugo, analiza pokazuje da hrvatski građani razlikuju dva tipa institucionalnog povjerenja – povjerenje u predstavničke institucije i povjerenje u institucije sigurnosti. Treće, analiza je pokazala kako se u razdoblju od 1999. do 2020. povjerenje građana u predstavničke institucije smanjilo, dok je povjerenje u institucije sigurnosti ostalo izrazito stabilno. Na temelju toga moguće je izvesti dva važna zaključka. Ponajprije, korištenje invarijantnosti mjerenja trebalo bi postati standardom za buduća istraživanja povjerenja u kojima se uspoređuju različite vremenske točke. Potom, niska razina povjerenja u predstavničke institucije sugerira otuđenost građana od tih institucija i predstavlja problem funkcioniranju predstavničke demokracije u Hrvatskoj.
This paper analyses the state of institutional trust (IT) in Croatia based on data collected by the Faculty of Political Science on a representative sample of Croatian citizens in eight time points over the past 20 years. Based on Easton's and Norris' concepts and considering previous studies on IT in Croatia, this paper brings some new elements. While most of the previous studies cover a maximum of three measurement points in a relatively short time span and analyse the latent structure of IT through an exploratory approach, this paper is based on an analysis spanning eight time points and analyses the appropriateness of existing theoretical models. In addition, the analysis of fluctuations in the levels of IT is based on determining measurement invariance as the most important methodological contribution of this paper. The main results of the study show that the level of citizens' trust in individual institutions is usually below the midpoint of the scale of 1 to 5, except for the military and police. Second, Croatian citizens distinguish between two types of IT – trust in representative and security institutions. Third, in the 1999–2020 period, IT in representative institutions decreased, while trust in security institutions remained pronouncedly stable. These insights lead to two main conclusions. First, the measurement invariance should become the standard for future IT studies comparing different time points. Second, the low level of trust regarding representative institutions of the Republic of Croatia suggests the alienation of citizens from these institutions and indicates a problem for the functioning of representative democracy.
Cilj rada je doprinijeti razvoju empirijske teorije javnih politika u pitanjima kvalitete dizajna javnih politika. Rad je fokusiran na ciljeve javnih politika koji su središnja sastavnica dizajna ...svakog resora. Analitički okvir utemeljen je na razlikovanju sedam tehničkih tipova ciljeva javnih politika: opći ciljevi, ciljevi usmjereni na način ostvarenja, na odgovornog aktera, na korisnika, konkretno usmjereni ciljevi, polu-strukturirani te strukturirani ciljevi. Prikupljanje i analiza podataka vođeni su pravilima kvalitativne analize sadržaja, a ciljevi se istražuju na temelju 11 strateških dokumenata hrvatske vlasti. U istraživanim politikama dominiraju ciljevi s općenitim svrhama, te manjim brojem strukturnih elemenata što pokazuje nižu razinu operacionalizacije ciljeva, lošiju kvalitetu pripreme za provedbu i povezivanje s instrumentima odnosno manju učinkovitost dizajna hrvatskih javnih politika. Skupine analiziranih politika se razlikuju te su strategije namijenjene ciljanim skupinama bolje operacionalizirane nego one temeljnih područja i specifičnih društvenih problema. Analiza tehničkih tipova ciljeva pokazuje kako su omjeri među učestalosti njihova pojavljivanja dobar indikator ukupne učinkovitosti dizajna javnih politika.
The goal of the paper is to contribute to the development of the empirical theory of public policies in matters of the quality of public policy design. The paper is focused on the goals of public policies which are the central component of the design of each policy area. The analytical framework is based on the distinction of seven technical types of public policy goals: general goals, goals focused on the way of realization, on the responsible actor, on the user, concretely focused goals, semi-structured and structured goals. The collection and analysis of data are guided by the rules of qualitative content analysis, and the objectives are investigated using 11 strategic documents of the Croatian government. In the examined policies, goals with general purposes dominate, as well as those with a smaller number of structural elements, which shows a lower level of operationalization of goals, poorer quality of preparation for implementation and connection with instruments, and a lower effectiveness of the design of Croatian public policies. The groups of analyzed policies differ, and the strategies intended for the target groups are better operationalized than those of the fundamental areas and specific social problems. The analysis of technical types of goals shows that the ratios between the frequency of their occurrence are a good indicator of the overall efficiency of public policy design.
The paper presents the results of a qualitative exploratory study of secondary school principals’ perspectives on the State Matura model, and the issues of equality and equity of access to higher ...education for vocational and grammar school pupils. These questions are analysed in the context of increasing aspirations of young people towards higher education, the massification of higher education, and the strategic positioning of the Republic of Croatia towards increasing the share of highly educated citizens. Equality of access to higher education implies that all pupils who wish to study have the right to access the State Matura, a prerequisite for entering tertiary education, under equal conditions and criteria. The issue of equity means that every pupil has an equal opportunity to access tertiary education. The results point to generally positive attitudes regarding the State Matura as a uniform system of external exams that enables assessment of the acquired knowledge and skills in the same manner and using the same criteria for all pupils. Principals’ critical perspectives include questioning the suitability of the certification function of the State Matura for grammar school pupils and the weakening of the selective function due to additional testing of pupils’ knowledge and skills by tertiary education institutions. The perspectives of grammar school and vocational school principals on equality and equity of access to tertiary education are distinctly different. While grammar school principals view equity through the prism of providing equal conditions and criteria for all, vocational school principals recognise that the lack of equity arises from a different educational experience and the scope of what is taught in vocational programmes. Existing educational policy mechanisms aimed at addressing the less favourable status of vocational school pupils are insufficient to equalise the opportunities of pupils from various secondary school programmes.
The paper is based on the concept of political culture, which is particularly important for the maintenance and functioning of a democratic political system and is closely linked with the politicl ...literacy of young people. In this paper research focus is on the two dimensions of political culture – political values and trust. Specifically, the main research question is: what are the determinants of accepting constitutional values and the trust in political institutions of final year secondary school pupils? The paper use the data provided by research on political literacy of final year secondary school pupils. In order to provide answer to the research question the hierarchical multiple regression is used. In the first step, particular socio-demographic variables (sex, education of mother and education of father) were introduced. In the second step, the type of secondary school education was added. The third group of predictors encompassed the level of religiosity, generalized prejudices and authoritarianism. In the final step political knowledge was included. The introduced model provides certain explanation regarding constitutional values, but fails to explain distrust in political institutions. The phenomenon of low trust in political institutions is discussed in paper.
Autor u radu iz teorijske perspektive historijskog institucionalizma i koncepta promjene politike detektira i analizira pokretače promjene te ključne uvjete koji su omogućili ili spriječili promjenu ...politike osiguravanja kvalitete na javnim sveučilištima u Hrvatskoj u periodu od 2001. do 2013. godine. Radom je obuhvaćeno sedam javnih sveučilišta – Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Sveučilište u Splitu, Sveučilište u Rijeci, Sveučilište Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku, Sveučilište u Zadru, Sveučilište u Dubrovniku, te Sveučilište Jurja Dobrile u Puli. Koristeći se kvalitativnim metodama (usmjerena analiza sadržaja i polustrukturirani intervjui) kojima se prati proces promjene politike utvrđeno je da su glavni pokretači promjene izvanjski. Glavni zaključak je da institucionalna struktura može biti preduvjet koji omogućuje akterima provedbu promjene, ali da su pojedine karakteristike aktera, poput njihovih kapaciteta, nužne da bi se promjena i dogodila.
From the theoretical perspective of historical institutionalism and concept of policy change the author detects and analyzes the initiators of change and key conditions that enabled or prevented the change in quality assurance policy at public universities in Croatia from 2001 to 2013. The analysis includes seven public universities – the University of Zagreb, the University of Split, the University of Rijeka, the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, the University of Zadar, the University of Dubrovnik and the Juraj Dobrila University of Pula. Using qualitative methods (directed content analysis and semi-structured interviews) to follow the process of policy change, it has been established that the main motors of change are external. The main conclusion is that the institutional structure can be a prerequisite that enables actors to implement change, but that certain features of actors, such as their capacities, are necessary for policy change.
From the theoretical perspective of historical institutionalism and concept of policy change the author detects and analyzes the initiators of change and key conditions that enabled or prevented the ...change in quality assurance policy at public universities in Croatia from 2001 to 2013. The analysis includes seven public universities – the University of Zagreb, the University of Split, the University of Rijeka, the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, the University of Zadar, the University of Dubrovnik and the Juraj Dobrila University of Pula. Using qualitative methods (directed content analysis and semi-structured interviews) to follow the process of policy change, it has been established that the main motors of change are external. The main conclusion is that the institutional structure can be a prerequisite that enables actors to implement change, but that certain features of actors, such as their capacities, are necessary for policy change.
This paper analyses the state of institutional trust (IT) in Croatia based on data collected by the Faculty of Political Science on a representative sample of Croatian citizens in eight time points ...over the past 20 years. Based on Easton’s and Norris’ concepts and considering previous studies on IT in Croatia, this paper brings some new elements. While most of the previous studies cover a maximum of three measurement points in a relatively short time span and analyse the latent structure of IT through an exploratory approach, this paper is based on an analysis spanning eight time points and analyses the appropriateness of existing theoretical models. In addition, the analysis of fluctuations in the levels of IT is based on determining measurement invariance as the most important methodological contribution of this paper. The main results of the study show that the level of citizens’ trust in individual institutions is usually below the midpoint of the scale of 1 to 5, except for the military and police. Second, Croatian citizens distinguish between two types of IT – trust in representative and security institutions. Third, in the 1999–2020 period, IT in representative institutions decreased, while trust in security institutions remained pronouncedly stable. These insights lead to two main conclusions. First, the measurement invariance should become the standard for future IT studies comparing different time points. Second, the low level of trust regarding representative institutions of the Republic of Croatia suggests the alienation of citizens from these institutions and indicates a problem for the functioning of representative democracy.
Debate as a method is increasingly being utilised in both school and out-of-school settings, aiming to develop certain cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal skills, while also equipping young ...people with the competencies to actively participate in their social and political communities. Education through debate, as a distinctive form of non-formal education, is thus becoming an integral part of young people's lives. The development of critical thinking, heightened self-esteem, improved rhetoric, organizational prowess, effective presentation, and argumentation abilities, along with the fostering of citizenship, play a pivotal role in aiding underprivileged youth to become more constructive contributors to their communities. These proficiencies and goals, demonstrated within this paper, exemplify the diverse skill set that debate fosters. This paper brings the results of a qualitative study conducted across four countries (Croatia, Slovenia, Poland, and the Netherlands) regarding the advantages of debate. It offers empirical evidence that one of the ways to have responsible, conscious, aware, vigilant, and self-confident citizens is by incorporating debate in their (non)formal education.
The paper analyzes how social and political actors in Croatia understand prostitution by studying legal and policy documents related to the phenomenon. It also analyzes whether gender perspective is ...included in the existing or proposed prostitution policies. By using critical frame analysis, the paper identifies 5 dominant policy frames: public peace and order frame, protection of sexual freedoms frame, public health frame, gender-based violence frame, and sex work frame. The fact that prostitution is rarely discussed, and that only a limited number of actors deal with the issue, suggests that prostitution in Croatia is still understood as a taboo. The lack of discussion on prostitution in policy documents produced by the Government, and continuation of the inherited criminalization model suggests that political elites support the public peace and order frame. Only NGOs and the Ombudswoman for Gender Equality of the Republic of Croatia elaborate the issue of prostitution and advocate for a change in the existing legal and policy framework. However, only NGOs working on harm reduction include the voice of persons involved in prostitution.
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