Learning the unknown: The potential of liminal space for adult education

Autori rada nastoje da razmotre potencijal liminalnosti u sferi obrazovanja odraslih tako što je dovode u vezu sa postojećim konceptom "pedagogije događaja". Ovaj koncept preispituje pedagoški imperativ postizanja unapred određenih ishoda učenja kako bi se ostvarila najveća delotvornost nastave i učenja. Za razliku od koncepta obrazovanja koje se zasniva na ishodima, "pedagogija događaja" nastoji da prodre u nepoznato, a sam proces učenja podrazumeva iskorak u novo ili izmenjeno ontološko stanje. U ovom radu smo predstavili filozofsku osnovu za ideju granica procesa učenja, kao i određene implikacije po obrazovanje. U zaključku iznosimo stav da liminalnost u obrazovanju, kada je tumačimo shodno konceptu pedagogije događaja, postavlja izazov pred prakse obrazovanja koje imaju za cilj normalizaciju i disciplinu tako što stvara prostor za radikalnu otvorenost prema nepoznatom.The following paper is an attempt to speculate about the potential of liminality for adult learning by relating it to the existing concept of the "pedagogy of the event" which challenges the imperative for pedagogy to maximize the effects of teaching and learning by achieving predefined learning outcomes. As opposed to outcome-based education, "pedagogy of the event" is concerned with the unknown, and learning involves a move into a new or modified ontological state. Within this paper, a philosophical basis for the idea of threshold for learning process is outlined and some of the implications on education are presented. We conclude with the notion that liminality in education, as understood within the concept of pedagogy of the event, challenges normalizing and disciplining educational practices by creating radical openness towards the unknown

Мали утицај калцијумом допиране фосфат волфрамове бронзе на динамику Бригс−Раушер реакције

The Briggs-Rauscher (BR) oscillatory reaction is the oxidation of malonic acid in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and iodate in the acidic environment, which is catalyzed by ions of manganese. This reaction is very sensitive to the presence of additives. In this paper, the BR reaction has been used to investigate the phosphate tungsten bronze as well as calcium doped tungsten bronze, obtained by thermal treatment. The addition (0.01-0.08 g) of phosphate tungsten bronze and calcium doped phosphate tungsten bronze has a different effect on the dynamics of the Briggs-Rauscher reaction. In the case of the addition of phosphate tungsten bronze in the Briggs-Rauscher reaction, the linear dependence of the length of the oscillatory period on the mass of the added bronze was obtained, while in the case of addition of calcium doped phosphate tungsten bronze, the oscillatory period does not significantly change with an increase of added mass. The mechanism of calcium doped and undoped phosphate tungsten bronze action in BR reaction is probably adsorptive, and it will be the subject of future work.Бригс−Раушер (БР) осцилаторна реакција је реакција оксидације малонске киселине у присуству водоник-пероксида и јодата у киселој средини, која је катализована јонима мангана. Ова реакција је веома осетљива на присуство адитива. У овом раду, БР реакција је коришћена за испитивање фосфат волфрамове бронзе, као и калицијумом допиране фосфат волфрамове бронзе, које су добијене термичким третманом. Додатак (0,01−0,11 g) фосфат волфрамове бронзе и калцијумом допиране фосфат волфрамове бронзе има различит утицај на динамику Бригс−Раушер реакције. У случају додатка фосфат волфрамове бронзе у Бригс−Раушер реакцију, добијена је линеарна зависност дужине осцилаторног периода од масе додате бронзе, док у случају додатка калцијумом допиране фосфат волфрамове бронзе, осцилаторни период се не мења значајно са повећањем масе додате бронзе. Механизам деловања калцијумом допиране и недопиране фосфат волфрамове бронзе на БР реакцију је вероватно адсорпциони процес и биће предмет будућих истраживања

Lifelong learning policy in Europe: EU, Scotland, Denmark and Serbia

Cilj rada je da prikaže sličnosti i razlike ciljeva strategija doživotnog učenja i obrazovanja odraslih Škotske, Danske i Srbije u kontekstu Evropske unije. Nova direkcija komparativnih istraživanja ide u pravcu višeslojnih jedinica analize koje uključuju globalni, internacionalni i mikronivo poređenja te je stoga akcenat stavljen na hronološku analizu Evropske unije kao supranacionalnog kreatora obrazovnih politika. Rezultati analize su pokazali da kada se posmatra politika kao diskurs, a ne kao praksa, ciljevi strategija su prilično ujednačeni i usaglašeni sa dokumentima EU, koji se odnose na doživotno učenje. Značajne razlike u ciljevima uglavnom proizilaze, pored socio-ekonomskih karakteristika država i njihovog odnosa prema EU, iz različitih modela kreiranja obrazovnih politika i upravljanja.The goal of this paper is to point out to similarities and differences between goals in lifelong learning and adult education strategies of Scotland, Denmark and Serbia in the European Union context. The new direction of comparative research is headed towards multilayer units of analysis that include global, international and micro level of comparison and thus place the accent to chronological analysis of European Union as a supranational creator of educational policies. Results of the analysis have shown that when we look at the policy as a discourse and not as a practice, goals in the strategies are quite aligned and compatible with EU documents related to lifelong learning. Significant differences between goals, besides socio-economic characteristic of the states and their relationship towards EU, are mainly derived from different models of creation and management of educational policies

Collective identification among the internally displaced persons in the Bosnian town of Bijeljina: The impact of war on people’s sense of membership and belonging

The study looks into the interrelationship between social identity and forcible displacement. It explores how the war and the experience of forcible displacement influenced internally displaced persons’ (IDP) identification processes or their sense of membership and belonging. One important characteristic of the subjects of this study is that they are re-settlers, meaning that they are former IDPs who did not wish to return to their pre-war places of residence after the war ended but willingly decided to settle down in their place of refuge; thus, the study’s interest also spreads to the question of what have been the reasons behind these group(s)’ decision to resettle. The study intended to challenge the assumption that IDPs’ resettlement decision in Bosnia and Herzegovina could be seen only through the prism of their ethnic identifications and ethnic loyalties. Also, it aimed to show that the shared ethnic identity between locals and newcomers in Bosnia and Herzegovina does not lessen the significance of perceived cultural differences between these two groups. In other words, the thesis intended to challenge the narratives of unconditional unity and cultural homogeneity within one particular ethnic group, which have often been stressed in the post-war rhetoric of the ethno-national political elites in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Finally, the study intended to explore the presumption that ethnically based groups and categories in Bosnia and Herzegovina, although very much present and influential, are not quite as solid, stable and relevant in all aspects of social life as it has usually been stressed and given attention to. Thus, although ethnic identities are impossible to separate from the topics of war and forcible displacement in Bosnia and Herzegovina, this thesis attempts to point out that people in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina possess a variety of different identities that, within particular social settings and under particular social circumstances, can matter more than their sense of ethnic belonging

Epistermological assumptions and power relations in adult education

U andragoškim istraživanjima se nisu u velikoj meri postavljala pitanja koja se tiču odnosa moći, a u praksi obrazovanja odraslih nastavnici često naivno posmatraju obrazovne aktivnosti kao prostore jednakosti čiji je cilj osnaživanje, bez obzira na to da li se ono ostvaruje razvojem kritičke svesti ili usvajanjem znanja i veština. Pojava novih metoda u drugoj polovini XX veka je bila usmerena na oslobađanje odraslog učenika od pasivnog slušanja i njegovim uključivanjem se podrazumevalo i njegovo izbavljenje. Odnose moći su andragoški teoretičari i praktičari često smeštali u školske učionice, a svoju delatnost poistovećivali sa društveno-ekonomskom emancipacijom. Osnovna hipoteza istraživanja je da su odnosi moći sveprisutni u obrazovanju odraslih, a formirani su i očuvani vladajućim epistemološkim pretpostavkama. Oslanjajući se na Fukoovu analitiku moći kao osnovni konceptualni okvir, istraživanje je imalo za cilj da identifikuje mehanizme moći u obrazovanju odraslih koji su zasnovani na epistemološkim pretpostavkama. Kritiku koja je upućena Fukoovoj relativizaciji odnosa moći pokušala sam da prevaziđem oslanjanjem na ideje feminističke epistemologije. Epistemološke pretpostavke koje predstavljaju odgovore na pitanja šta je znanje, kako se proizvodi, koja je osnova legitimiteta znanja, posmatraju se kao realnost u oblasti obrazovanja odraslih. Pretpostavka ovog istraživanja je da su one ugrađene u teorije učenja koje su polazišta andragoške prakse i da sačinjavaju arhitekturu koja definiše socijalne pozicije nastavnika i učenika. Kako bih identifikovala odnose moći zasnovane na epistemološkim pretpostavkama, primenila sam kritičku analizu diskursa na odabrane teorije učenja i na tekstove proizašle iz konverzacije tokom obrazovne aktivnosti i intervjua sa nastavnikom. Zasnovala sam istraživačku metodologiju na Fukoovom razumevanju diskursa (1972, 1980) i Faircloughovom pristupu kritičkoj analizi diskursa. U cilju prevazilaženja mogućih nedostataka ovog metodološkog pristupa, primenila sam i elemente fenomenološki orijentisane metodologije (Husserl, 1970). Kako bih utvrdila odnose moći koji su utemeljeni u epistemološkim pretpostavkama, nakon analiziranja teorija učenja (koncepcija metakognicije i samoregulacije i teorija transformativnog učenja), analizirala sam mehanizme moći u obrazovnim aktivnostima koje su usmerena na lični razvoj pojedinca – trening Asertivna komunikacija. Najrelevantniji rezultati dobijeni su analizom elemenata navedene obrazovne aktivnosti – ciljeva, programa rada, metoda učenja i samog obrazovnog procesa. Istraživanje je pokazalo da su učesnici aktivni u reformulisanje selfa, a diskursi karakteristični za učenje odraslih podržavaju praksu ispovedanja stručnjaku čija je uloga da sluša i analizira iskustvo prema predstavljenim koncepcijama asertivnosti. Učesnici treninga tokom procesa učenja identifikuju ono što se smatra disfunkcionalnim aspektima ličnosti i, imenovanjem tih aspekata, oni su spremni da se tih delova sebe odreknu, nakon čega se svesno proizvodi novi, pozitivan self koji je oblikovan teorijama asertivnosti. Metode obrazovanja odraslih omogućavaju usavršavanje onoga što se podrazumeva pod funkcionalnim aspektima ponašanja. Odricanje od sebe i proizvodnja pozitivnog selfa je ono što Fuko smatra savremenom formom moći – samoregulacijom. Moć u obrazovanju odraslih nema za cilj disciplinovanje odraslih učenika – ona je fragmentirana i rezultat moći je konstituisanje pojedinaca i njihova samoregulacija.Educational science has not sufficiently dealt with the issues of power relations, which is particularly applicable to the field of adult education. The practice of adult education is often based on the ideas of critical theory that rest on the belief that education and knowledge need to develop a critical awareness and liberate the marginalized groups from the oppressor. Adult educators have naively observed educational activities as practices of equal relationships by practicing “new” methods that had to be different from those that were dominant in formal education; consequently, power has been located outside of the classroom. The basic hypothesis of the research is that power relations are omnipresent in adult education and that they are mainly created and preserved through dominant epistemological bias. Drawing on Foucauldian perspective on power/knowledge as the main conceptual framework, the research aims to identify some mechanisms of power in adult education that are based on epistemological assumptions. I have also attempted to incorporate in my theoretical approach issues raised within the feminist epistemology (Haraway, 1988) in order to overcome critiques that were directed to Foucault’s relativism of power relations. Feminist approach is concerned with the questions on nature and construction of knowledge which has been analysed in the context of gender inequality. Epistemological biases (What is knowledge?, How it is produced?, What is the basis of legitimacy of knowledge?) have been largely understood as a reality and common sense in the field of education. Assumption of the study is that they are actually an architecture of the discourses that define social positions in the adult education classroom and that they are embedded in theories of learning that are starting point for adult education practice. I have applied critical discourse analysis on learning theories, conversations recorded during an education activity and interview with the trainer. I based research methodology on Foucauldian discourse theory (1972, 1980) and Fairclough's approach to discourse analysis (1992, 1995), as the principal theoretical and methodological tool. In order to overcome possible shortcomings of critical discourse analysis and to acknowledge authority of researcher's interpretation of the texts, I used the elements of phenomenological oriented methodology to study the lived experience participants (Husserl, 1970). In order to identify power relations that are based on epistemological bias, after analysing theories of learning (conception of metacognition and self-regulation), I approached the transcripts that are recorded conversations of educational activity – training Assertive communication. I investigated power relations in educational situations that are perceived to be the most liberated. My focus is on activities that aim at personal development. The most relevant results are achieved through the investigation of the educational activity. I have analysed aims, programme, methods and the process of the training Assertive communication. Through the engagement in adult education activity learners become active in the process of reinventing themselves and the discourses of active learning support their confession to the expert whose role is to listen and to analyse experience according to existing theories of assertiveness. Participants label dysfunctional aspects of themselves and by labelling them they renounce parts of themselves. The research has showed that learners produce the new and positive self that is shaped by conceptions of assertiveness and troughs practicing what is consider being functional behaviour. Renunciation of self and the production of a new self is what Foucault suggested to be contemporary form of power – self-regulation. Power that operates in adult education context is not stable and unique with the aim to discipline learners; rather, it is diffused and fragmented, with the aim to foster self-regulation and govern individuals

Greece returns to the Balkans’? Assessing Greece’s Western Balkan Policy under SYRIZA-led Government

This paper explores SYRIZA’s foreign policy positions concerning the Western Balkan region — before and after it came to power — and to what extent it has influenced the Greek Balkan policy in general. Also, it looks into the expectations of the SYRIZA-led government among the Western Balkan public and political elites, especially after SYRIZA’s landmark victory in the January 2015 parliamentary elections. The paper argues that the new government coalition in Greece has not demonstrated any major policy shifts compared to the previous Greek governments, trying to continue foreign policy inherited from its predecessors

Temperature pattern measurements in Briggs-Rauscher oscillaotry reaction with state I to state II transition

Thermal monitoring of a Briggs-Rauscher oscillatory reaction with a phase transition or the state I (low concentration of iodide and iodine) to the state II (high concentration of iodide and iodine) transition with formation of new solid iodine phase is presented. This is the very first time that an oscillatory reaction and the state I to state II transition have been monitored using a thermal camera. It should be pointed out, that the BR reaction solution is not homogenized by stirring, and that only oxygen production influence the solution mixing. Therefore, the analysis was done at three sampling points on the cuvette where temperature change over time was observed, and compared with average temperature distribution. The first point is chosen to correspond to the top of the solution in the cuvette, followed by one in the middle of the volume and one at the very bottom of the cuvette. Although the state I to the state II transition itself is not reproducible (investigated transition exhibits crazy clock behavior), the overall temperature pattern has shown a reproducible character

Nova prizorišča učenja v učečih se mestih – javna pedagogika ter državljanska vzgoja in izobraževanje

Although the concept of learning cities and the idea of learning being place-based and focused on a region, city, town or community have existed for a long time, it is UNESCO’s work that gave the impetus to the practice, helping to create and spread the network of Learning Cities worldwide. One of the main characteristics of the current concept is the leading role of the local government and partnership with policy makers. The paper challenges this feature with the example of cities that are “rebelling” against the local or national government, but do have learning at the core of their activities. The example of Belgrade is described in detail, where various civic actions (protests, ‘guerrilla’ actions, active participation in public discussions) are analysed from the point of view of public pedagogy. The theory of Gert Biesta and his conception of the public sphere as a space for civic action as well as Elizabeth Ellsworth’s ideas on the active creation of space are the framework in which civic actions are interpreted as important kinds of learning. Lefebvre’s concept of the “right to the city” is also applied. In this way, the whole concept of learning cities might be broadened to include cities without a harmonious relationship with its policy makers, but with strong civic movements and civic actions as a kind of non-formal learning in public spaces.Čeprav koncept učečih se mest in ideja o učenju, ki je osredinjena na prostor, torej regijo, mesto ali skupnost, obstajata že dolgo časa, je Unesco to prakso spodbudil ter pomagal ustvariti in razširiti mrežo učečih se mest po vsem svetu. Vodilna vloga lokalnih oblasti in partnerski odnos z oblikovalci politik je ena od poglavitnih značilnosti obstoječega koncepta učečih se mest, vendar v članku prek primerov učečih se mest, ki se »upirajo« lokalni ali nacionalni vladi, ob tem pa imajo v središču svojih dejavnosti učenje, spodbijamo nujnost te značilnosti za nastanek učečega se mesta. Podrobno je opisan primer Beograda in različne oblike državljanskega delovanja (protesti, »gverilsko« delovanje, aktivno sodelovanje v javnih razpravah) v tem mestu, ki so analizirane z vidika javne pedagogike. Okvir, v katerem je državljansko delovanje interpretirano kot pomemben način učenja, tvorita teorija Gerta Bieste z njegovim konceptom javne sfere kot prostora državljanskega delovanja in ideja Elizabeth Ellsworth o aktivnem ustvarjanju prostora. Prav tako je uporabljen Lefebvrov koncept »pravice do mesta«. Na ta način je mogoče idejo učečih se mest razširiti tudi na mesta, v katerih odnosi z oblikovalci politik niso harmonični, obstajajo pa močna državljanska gibanja in državljansko delovanje kot oblika neformalnega učenja v javni sferi

The comparison of two methods used to observe a nonlinear system: potentiometry and holography

The transition from state I ( characterized by low iodide and iodine concentration) to state II (high iodide and iodine concentration) occurs in a nonlinear Briggs-Rauscher (BR) oscillatory reaction. This transition was studied by two methods: potentiometric and holographic. The first derivative technique was applied to the obtained electrochemical and holographic curves of the transition state I→state II to obtain the corresponding slopes. Based on these slopes, the results of the two methods are compared. The obtained holographic slope for the transition from state I to state II is higher than the potentiometric one in all selected reaction sections. In the initial phase of the transition from state I to state II, it is clear that the velocity of the holographic method is twice that of the potentiometric method. While this trend shows a twofold increase at the beginning of the phase transition, it deviates in the other phases, where the holographic measurements show a 1.5-fold higher rate in the middle. The obtained results could have a strong impact on the study of nonlinear systems in the future

The influence of pyrocatechol added in pre-oscillatory period on the dynamics of the Bray-Liebhafsky reaction

In the past two decades, chemical oscillators have emerged as a popular tool for the determination of “reactive” analytes due to their great sensitivity toward any kind of external perturbations. They have found application in many fields of applied science enabling relatively easy quantitative and qualitative analyses. In this study influence of pyrocatechol, an important precursor in many organic syntheses, on the pre-oscillatory period of the Bray-Liebhafsky (BL) reaction was examined. The BL reaction was followed by the potentiometric method. In a series of experiments (in a concentration range from 1.5 × 10-5 M to 3 × 10-5 M), pyrocatechol was added 45 minutes after the start of the reaction, causing an immediate appearance of oscillations. For these experimental conditions, the period between the first and second oscillation increases linearly with the added pyrocatechol concentration. The obtained results can be useful for analytical purposes and accordingly, potential determination of unknown pyrocatechol concentration