Diversity and diversification in ECEC practices: Considerations from Serbia

Focusing on diversity represents a step forward towards a complex concept of quality in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) system. The diversification of programmes and services takes shape within this framework, bringing a shift from purely technical issues towards a joint construction of the community's culture. Its complexity is visible in its conceptualisation, which combines theoretical and ideological key points concerning childhood, learning, development, well-being and the role of adults and of public policy. This article presents the process and results of a project that included a study to better understand the perspective of professionals, parents and representatives of local policymakers on the meanings given to the diversification of programmes in the ECEC system in Serbia. The method was participatory, with focus groups supporting participants in expressing their opinions and in co-creating meanings and knowledge, linking research to group reflection. The aim was to identify practices related to these meanings in a coherent way, focusing on the concepts of well-being and respect for diversity. The main conclusion is a strong need for a multilevel network to: (a) support policymakers and professionals in creating socially-mixed contexts, (b) support parents by making them feel that they are partners in the educational system, and (c) invest in continuous professional development (CPD) programmes for professionals to train them and encourage them to co-reflect on practice.     

THE HUMANITIES AND THE SOCIAL SCIENCES IN TRANSITION

The humanities and the social sciences particularly suffered under communism because of the susceptibility of their disciplines to political and ideological manipulation. Nevertheless, in some of them the intellectual climate was more liberal in the Academy than in the universities. With transition, a much reduced research staff has adopted new approaches to research and to the definition of areas of research, one of which is a reevaluation of the recent history of the Czech Republic. A major task of the humanities and the social sciences is permanent reflection on the human condition.     

The effect of dust particles on cellulose degradation

This study focuses on the changes in properties of cellulose-based paper, which can take place as a consequence of its contamination by dust particles. The PM1 (fine) and PM10 (coarse) fractions of the dust particles from archival repositories were collected on cellulose filters Whatman 41, polytetrafluorethylene, and quartz filters. The latter two types of samples were subsequently analyzed gravimetrically, with ion chromatography, PIXE, and the thermal–optical transmission method, giving mass, ionic, elemental carbon, and organic carbon concentrations. After artificial aging, the viscosity-average degree of polymerization of cellulose (DP_v) was measured. It was confirmed that cellulose-based paper can undergo substantial changes when contaminated by dust particles and artificially aged. The decrease of the DP_v of cellulose showed a negative correlation with the deposited mass of sulfate ions in the dust particles. Considering the particle size fraction, the results suggest the decisive importance of the fine (PM1) particles. The results provide better understanding of how particulate matter contributes to the chemical degradation of cellulose-based paper. Such knowledge is of importance when considering appropriate conservation measures in archives, libraries, and galleries.     

Mathematical experiences and parental involvement of parents who are and who are not mathematicians

Previous studies suggest that parental involvement in children’s mathematics education is more established for parents who feel competent in mathematics. This qualitative study aimed to gain an in-depth insight into the experiences of parental involvement of two different groups of parents: those who are mathematicians and those who are not. Data were collected through narrative interviews with parents. A thematic analysis of the data revealed findings within two distinct but interrelated themes: parents’ mathematical experiences and parental involvement in their children’s mathematics education. The findings indicated that the two groups of participating parents differ in their own experiences of mathematics as well as in their parental involvement. The main difference in parental involvement was indicated in the area of children’s school mathematics, since mathematician parents, compared to non-mathematician parents, according to their narratives almost never get involved in their children’s mathematics homework. In addition, the data revealed a large gap in the coverage and content of the mathematical activities that parents in both groups provided to their children.     

Fostering students’ participation in creating educational content through crowdsourcing

This paper proposes and evaluates a model of crowdsourcing in microlearning that includes the balancing of collaborative learning and crowdsourcing mechanisms. The goal of the research is to implement a learner-centered approach through crowdsourced content creation and to improve the process and outcomes of learning. Crowdsourced content creation was accomplished through a collaborative project within a higher education institution. Micro-courses in the form of short video lessons were created by students and published on the Coursmos platform and a certain group of students attended these micro-courses. The evaluation was carried out at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, the University of Belgrade on a sample of 71 students who created micro-courses and 74 students who attended these micro-courses. The results show that the developed model provides simple communication and collaboration among students, high level of their self-organization and satisfaction, efficient management of crowdsourcing network and collaborative knowledge building.     

Bullying among pupils with and without special needs in Slovenian primary schools

Bullying and violence pose widespread problems for contemporary society. In this paper, special attention is given to violence against pupils with SN. The empirical research analyses perceptions of peer violence according to differing roles in relation to violent acts (observer, victim and perpetrator) among pupils with and without SN, regarding gender and age. We used the School Bullying Scales measuring instrument, translated and adapted for Slovenia. The main findings of the research are as follows: there is no statistically significant difference between pupils with and without SN in terms of the different roles of peer violence in regular Slovenian primary schools. Among specific subgroups of children with SN, pupils with long-term illnesses (including pupils with activity deficit and/or hyperactivity disorder) were statistically significantly less often observers of violent acts compared to other groups of pupils with SN.     

STOCHASTIC INTERPOLATION METHODFOR FRACTAL MODELS

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Educational counseling of workers in Czechoslovakia

Conclusion Theoretical work regarding counseling in the enterprise sphere (in contrast to the school sphere) is currently sporadic and still quite specialized.In cooperation with the European Centre for Leisure and Education, Prague