Displacement and climate change: improving planning policy and increasing community resilience

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present the major gaps in the field of planning policy and its implementation regarding climate change and disaster risk reduction (DRR), with special reference to the displacement of people, together with the knowledge needed to increase community resilience. The researched relations are illustrated by the example of Serbia. The Republic of Serbia has been faced with increasingly visible impacts of climate change in recent years-floods, heat waves, droughts and others. During the floods that hit Serbia in 2014, over 30,000 people experienced displacement. These events have triggered numerous efforts, both to repair the incurred damage and to analyze opportunities for prevention. Design/methodology/approach - This research has used document analysis to investigate contemporary approaches defined by policies, programs and research reports regarding climate change and DRR, with special reference to the displacement of people. An analytical framework has been used to evaluate to what extent the planning policy framework in Serbia addresses these issues in the context of achieving resilient development. Secondary analysis of research data has been used to recognize the gaps and identify needs for increasing community resilience. Findings-Based on the growing trends in projections of climate change as a result of induced natural disasters for the region in the future and international trends in coping with these issues, this paper argues that it is necessary to improve the implementation of the planning policy framework and the capacities of professionals and citizens, to reduce future displacement and increase community resilience to climate change. The key weaknesses found within DRR and the emergency management system in Serbia were the lack of an appropriate information base of the cadastre of risk zones and the lack of information and coordination of actors on the local to the national level. During the "pre-disaster" period, findings stress a weak partnership and capacity development practice at the local level, as well as between local responsible bodies and regional/national entities in charge of emergency management and DRR. The paper singles out the main preconditions for achieving effective resilient planning, so that such a plan can move "people away from marginal areas" and provide living conditions that are resilient. Originality/value - This paper provides a comprehensive insight analysis of the relations between climate change and DRR, with special reference to the planning policy. Using the lessons learned from the recent climate-induced disaster with its implications on displacement, the paper identifies needs for strengthening capacities to establish more resilient communities in Serbia. The gaps and needs identified, as well as the recommendations provided, may be of value for neighboring countries as well, who face similar challenges in climate change adaptation and who need to increase disaster risk resilience

Direktna i onlajn nastava kroz sličnosti i različitosti - perspektiva studenata

Pandemija COVID-19 uticala je na neophodnost brzog prelaska sa direktne na onlajn nastavu. Nakon stečenog iskustva u realizaciji onlajn nastave, pred autore ovog rada iskrsla su brojna pitanja, koja su uticala na odluku da se sprovede istraživanje na uzorku studenata andragogije. Istraživanje je imalo cilj da se uporede osnovne karakteristike onlajn i direktne nastave na osnovu seta izdvojenih elemenata i efekata nastave, uz pitanja o prednostima i nedostacima onlajn nastave i mogućnostima za prevazilaženje nedostataka. Dobijeni nalazi su u skladu sa brojnim drugim istraživanjima. Oni ukazuju na to da se kao osnovne prednosti onlajn nastave navode ušteda i fleksibilnost vremena i komfornost prostora odakle se nastavi pristupa, a kao osnovni nedostaci smanjeni aktivitet studenata, njihovo lično angažovanje i komunikacija između aktera nastavnog procesa. Predlozi za prevazilaženje nedostataka onlajn nastave odnose se na: dizajniranje i organizaciju nastave, usavršavanje nastavnika i studenata za rad u onlajn okruženju i unapređivanje tehničkih uslova

Gradovi koji uče kao prostor za interdisciplinarna istraživanja i saradnju u univerzitetskoj nastavi

Koncept Gradova koji uče („Learning cities“) evoluira od 70-tih godina XX veka i podrške OECD–a inicijativi „Educating cities“, preko aktivnosti podržanih od međunarodnih tela za promociju celoživotnog učenja, ugrađivanja ovog koncepta u strategiju evropske politike, do snažne podrške koju ovom modelu i umrežavanju gradova u njegovoj primeni pruža UNESCO (Nemeth, 2019).XXVI Nаučnа konferencijа „Pedаgoškа istrаživаnjа i školskа prаksа

University teaching staff and sustainable development: an assessment of competences

Teaching about matters related to sustainable development requires not only a personal motivation from educators, but also a variety of competences. This paper reports on a multi-country study, which aimed at identifying the level of importance given to desired competences on sustainable development by teaching staff at a number of higher education institutions. On the basis of the findings, the paper identifies the gaps and outlines some of the needs which should be addressed, via which competence building may help to foster the educational and societal transformation towards sustainability. The implications of this paper are twofold. First, it emphasises the value of and the need for competences on sustainable development. Second, it illustrates some of the needs which should be met to provide a framework among which competences on sustainable development may be further developed

Bridging the Gap: The Affective Dimension of Learning Outcomes in Environmental Primary and Secondary Education

There is growing evidence of the power of the affective dimensions for pro-environmental behavior, as well as of existing gaps between the dimensions of learning outcomes in recent environmental education literature. Based on the need to address that gap, this article explores the integration of the cognitive (ecological knowledge and cognitive skills), the affective and the behavioral domain in the learning outcomes of subjects related to the environment within Serbian elementary and general secondary education. This analysis was performed on the second cycle of the elementary school curricula and the general secondary education curricula for the following compulsory subjects: biology, chemistry and geography. It uses the holistic framework of EE goals, as defined by the Tbilisi Declaration as well as the concept of environmental literacy, as defined by the authors of the National Environmental Literacy Assessment used in the US, which distinguish four components of environmental literacy: ecological knowledge, cognitive skills, environmental affects and pro-environmental behavior. The results clearly show the dominance of the cognitive when compared with the affective and behavioral dimensions in both primary and secondary education. The focus of education on measurable outcomes offers firm structure for planning and evaluation, but underestimates the importance of preferences, values, enjoyment and does not facilitate rewarding the main source of pro-environmental behavior. Starting from the holistic and whole school approach to environmental education, the authors re-emphasize the need to bridge the existing gap and to provide policy support to teachers in developing their own as well as students’ environmental engagement and resilience

Impacts of COVID-19 and social isolation on academic staff and students at universities: a cross-sectional study.

From Europe PMC via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: ppub 2021-06-01, epub 2021-06-24Publication status: PublishedBackground"The impacts of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the shutdown it triggered at universities across the world, led to a great degree of social isolation among university staff and students. The aim of this study was to identify the perceived consequences of this on staff and their work and on students and their studies at universities.MethodThe study used a variety of methods, which involved an on-line survey on the influences of social isolation using a non-probability sampling. More specifically, two techniques were used, namely a convenience sampling (i.e. involving members of the academic community, which are easy to reach by the study team), supported by a snow ball sampling (recruiting respondents among acquaintances of the participants). A total of 711 questionnaires from 41 countries were received. Descriptive statistics were deployed to analyse trends and to identify socio-demographic differences. Inferential statistics were used to assess significant differences among the geographical regions, work areas and other socio-demographic factors related to impacts of social isolation of university staff and students.ResultsThe study reveals that 90% of the respondents have been affected by the shutdown and unable to perform normal work or studies at their institution for between 1 week to 2 months. While 70% of the respondents perceive negative impacts of COVID 19 on their work or studies, more than 60% of them value the additional time that they have had indoors with families and others. .ConclusionsWhile the majority of the respondents agree that they suffered from the lack of social interaction and communication during the social distancing/isolation, there were significant differences in the reactions to the lockdowns between academic staff and students. There are also differences in the degree of influence of some of the problems, when compared across geographical regions. In addition to policy actions that may be deployed, further research on innovative methods of teaching and communication with students is needed in order to allow staff and students to better cope with social isolation in cases of new or recurring pandemics

A framework for the implementation of the sustainable development goals in university programmes

There is a perceived need to develop approaches, methods and tools that may help higher education institutions to systematically introduce the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into research and teaching as an intrinsic part of their programs. However, at present, there is a gap in the literature on the suitable means to do so. This paper addresses this gap by examining the many foci and commitments for and about the SDGs that are currently included in university programs. An overview of the SDGs’ focus at universities was presented using a survey to gather qualitative and quantitative data. . Based on current trends and gaps, this paper identifies the need for a framework which may be of assistance in facilitating the inclusion of the SDGs as a whole, and individually targets in particular in the programs of institutions of higher education. The scientific contribution of this paper value lies in the fact that this is one of the first papers to tackle the need for a framework which caters to a more systematic introduction of the SDGs in university programs. The basis for the framework approach, here introduced, includes institutional, thematic, structural and personal/individual aspects which need to be considered for proper implementation of the SDGs at the university level.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio