Projects / Programmes
Pedagogical and andragogical studies - Learning and education for a good-quality life in community
January 1, 2016
- December 31, 2021
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.01.02 |
Social sciences |
Educational studies |
Adult education |
| 5.01.01 |
Social sciences |
Educational studies |
Pedagogy |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| S270 |
Social sciences |
Pedagogy and didactics |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.03 |
Social Sciences |
Educational sciences |
cohesion of the community, quality life, cooperation, social justice, access to education, mentorship, teachers' professional development
Researchers (20)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
The program is focused on the question of teaching for a quality life in various communities. Cooperation, mutual learning, and educational impact on the development of individuals and communities as a whole, and on the possibilities of the pursuing of the goals and potentials of their members. We will be establishing which kind of community activities have current important influences on the cohesion of the community and quality of life of its members. The area of development and education is understood as an important segment of the society, having impact on higher social justice and ensuring full participation and inclusion of everyone in important societal institutions. It also represents a true social opportunity for everyone to develop their own abilities and pursue their choices. Therefore, we will be interested the professional development of teachers and the experts in development and education, and the status of the teacher profession in society. Besides, we will explore the cooperation of the middle schools with their environment, which is important especially from the point of view of professional consulting and decision of young people for continuing education after primary school.
We will analyse concepts of cooperation between pre-school and local environment. We will focus especially on the cooperation with individuals and institutions, through which the pre-school child has an opportunity to get aquainted with different individuals, social groups, and cultures, and in that way gain knowledge, skills, and values which are the bases of creating mutual tolerance in society, social cohesion, and social justice.
The research will be directed on the relationship between the public and private actors, and on the search for new forms of community connections, which will enable the establishment of quality environment for developmental/educational activities in the community.
We will be interested in the increase of the number of older workers and the consequences for the quality of their life and access to education; in parallel we will research the meaning and role of mentoring of older workers to younger ones in the framework of practical learning. We will research the factors of the development of writing and digital skills of adults, which represent important role in forming policies for promoting life-long learing and development of an inclusive society.
In this research we use a combination of qualitative and quantitative research, therefore, the triangulation of research methods, with which we will be able, to a greater extent, achieve the set goals of the research program. The program represents the continuation and deepening of the work so far, therefore we foresee that the results will contribute to the design of models of good practice, and introducing new ways of teaching, education, and cooperation in communities, especially in those environements where these activities are poorly developed.
Significance for science
Based on the outcomes and findings of the research, it will be possible to verify, more coherently and from several points of view, the contemporary paradigms and concepts dealing with the role and significance of community in a broader educational context. The research results will be important for evaluation and development of theories at both the horizontal level (e.g., various target groups, institutions, etc.) and vertical level (educational vertical).
Fundamental pedagogical and andragogical concepts were created on the basis of conceptualization of the public and private space in the Moderna period, and consequently in the following periods this led to numerous theoretical dichotomies, such as individualism against communitarianism. A need arose for new “stable” concepts which would better reflect the situation in the Late Moderna period and later periods. The research will establish criteria for evaluation and possible development of the mentioned concepts in the modern, globalized society.
Based on the results of this research, theoretical and conceptual bases will be prepared to improve cooperation between the kindergarten and the local environment, which will be based on respect for human rights, implementation of tolerance, and establishment of social cohesion and social justice.
The obtained results of the analysis of the role of education in various educational institutions at the secondary level (grammar schools, secondary and vocational professional schools) and their role in the social and cultural life in a specific social environment or context will be used to set up theoretical bases and develop guidelines for further opening and mutual enrichment of educational institutions and communities in which they operate.
The results of our research will contribute to establishing the characteristics of distribution, development, and decline of writing and digital skills of the population (16-64 years of age) and international comparison of these results. Research will also contribute to determining the influences of different skill levels on the social and economic results at an individual level, and determining relations and combined effect of the achievements of literacy and participation of adults in education.
The results of the analysis of achievements in adult learning and education in the context of verbal and mathematical literacy and ability to cope in a technologically rich environment will enable quantitative and qualitative comparison of Slovenia with other European countries. The results obtained will contribute to the development of appropriate strategies at the level of politics and profession. Based on the findings regarding the attainment of the level of literacy and other activities of adults or the elderly in the group of 55-65 years of age, baselines and recommendations for the development of strategies concerning literacy of the elderly (workers), recommendations for educational policy of elderly adults (employed or already retired), recommendations for educators of adults, and various actors who are active at the level of the community.
Significance for the country
The results of this research will mean a contribution to the preparation of groundwork for planning educational policies (e.g., development of educational programmes at the local level, training of educators, and placement of educational policy in sectoral policies) in the field of education and schooling of both young people and adults. As regards incorporation in the life-long learning, the results will provide the basis for increasing the incorporation and show where in the existing educational institutions there are still unexploited opportunities.
In the area of pre-school education, the results will be useful for strengthening the interaction between them and the community in which they work. Recommendations and/or guidelines will be developed for this purpose, and kindergartens can take them into account in the development of educational basis which will include concern for enhancing the quality of cooperation and life among various individuals and social groups in the local community. In the long run this can strengthen the establishment of social relations which will not exclude various individuals and social groups because of their values, religious or philosophical affiliations, faith, gender, ethnic origin, race, sexual orientation, and other personal circumstances.
The area of vocational and professional education is to a large extent already connected with the local economic operators although there are still unexploited possibilities. The results will provide support to teachers who are engaged in mentorship and preparation of pupils and students for practical training, since guidelines for high-quality mentorship will be developed. The significance of mentorship is much greater than mere implementation of the learning process as it enables learning from one another and setting up of new social networks as well as surpassing of individual’s narrow roles. This research represents a point of departure for reconceptualization of existing mentorship networks. This is particularly important with respect to future development of professional counselling and cooperation of primary and secondary schools with organizations in the local environment.
Working with adults with low level literacy skills requires teaching that stimulates learners to think, and activates their capabilities for democratic participation in society. This requires consideration of social relations, an analysis of causes and consequences of various interactions, and the seeking of possibilities for giving power. Research is supposed to look for possibilities for the development of education in the community where teachers who teach adults in the literacy programmes would not be merely observers of social changes or “providers” of culture, but active participants in the creation of culture and space for confrontation of various cultural practices in society.
Special emphasis in the area of adult education will also be placed on the narrow aspect of association with the working environment to establish – as regards the requirements of workplaces – if and where there are any gaps between the measured writing, arithmetic, and general skills and the requirements of workplaces, as these findings will enable a suitable development of general education programmes and development of the missing skills at the local and broader social levels. These findings will be relevant for the application of various models, approaches, and strategies in educational and schooling practice both in the field of formal and more informal education and casual education, since it will be possible to consider potential mistakes, deficiencies, and damaging influences, if any, and avoid them.
The research will also provide a new view of studying the opportunities for interconnection of pedagogical and andragogical institutions with cultural production which has been for a while one of the strategic goals of UNESCA, the OECD, and individual European initiatives which Slovenia
Most important scientific results
Interim report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Interim report
