Modernisation, Ideology and Transformation of Educational Science - Former Yugoslavia Case (1918 - 1990)

Author(s):

Natasa Vujisic ZivkovicVera Spasenovic

Conference:

ECER 2009

Network:

17. Histories of Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

17 SES 07 B, Science and Knowledge Transfer

Paper Session

Time:

2009-09-29

15:30-17:00

Room:

HG, HS 48

Chair:

Bruno Vanobbergen

Contribution

The main research question in this paper is the influence of modernisation and dominant ideology in former Yugoslavia on transformation of educational science, its major theoretical approaches, research programmes and the development of institutions for pedagogical education and research. Former Yugoslavia was in many ways very specific European country: multicultural (central European, Balkans, Mediterranean), multireligious (Orthodox, Catholic and Islam) and multinational country with agriculture prevailing and with fast industrialisation and urbanisation after the World War Two. There were two “regimes of truth” in the country: nationalism was dominant before World War Two, and after the war special type of communism (independent from Soviet model) became dominant and provided former Yugoslavia special place in bipolar world. Historians evaluate in different ways scopes of social and educational modernisation in two periods of time: time between the wars is marked by period of unsuccessful modernisation, while the period of socialism is marked by many authors (including Eric Hobsvawm) as the example of successful social transformation. This is why the history of former Yugoslavia provides the opportunity for applying theoretical framework that explains the influence of the process of pedagogisation on the research of evolution of educational science, and that was developed in current pedagogical historiography (Marc Depaepe et al.). Development of educational science in Former Yugoslavia was marked both by huge discontinuity due to changes in political and ideological regimes that had effects on “mainstream” pedagogy, and hided continuity between civil and socialist pedagogy. Our analysis of the writings of Yugoslav pedagogues shows the presence of strategy known as “nationalisation of pedagogical knowledge”. This strategy presents the attempt of gaining social, as well as academic legitimisation of educational science. Nationalisation of pedagogical knowledge was present in all dominant pedagogical schools: experimental pedagogy, spiritual–scientific pedagogy (Geisteswissenschaftliche Pädagogik), as well as in New school movements. Paradoxically, nationalisation of pedagogical knowledge presented the main feature of Yugoslav Marxist pedagogy in the period after the World War Two. This strategy was successful in transformation of the leading theoretical schools (“paradigm change”): herbartianismus into experimental pedagogy, experimental pedagogy into spiritual–scientific pedagogy and at the end spiritual–scientific pedagogy into Marxist pedagogy. The success of this strategy was significantly limited by the level of modernisation of educational system and the ideological control over this system.

Method

This paper analyses dominant pedagogical discourses in particular staged of development of Yugoslav society. Pedagogical journals from different national centres (Belgrade, Zagreb, Ljubljana) are used as sources of history of education in former Yugoslavia. This article critically analyse other articles about development of educational science both in Yugoslavia and some former Yugoslav republics (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia). There is also a brief comparative analysis of the development of institutions for educational researches in former Yugoslavia, Western European countries (Gretler, 1999; Hofstetter, Schneuwly, 2001) and Eastern European countries.

Expected Outcomes

We identified six main staged in the development of educational science in former Yugoslavia: 1) strive for academic affirmation and presence of heterogeneous scientific and pedagogical schools (1918-1929), 2) integration of New Education and nationalist educational policy (1930-1941) 3) “sovietization” of Yugoslav pedagogy (1945-1952), 4) academic institutionalisation of pedagogy (1952-1962), 5) formation of Yugoslav Marxists pedagogy (1963-1977), 6) facing the repression toward social sciences as the reaction of the current regime to what happened in 1968 (1978-1990). There is two main conclusions after the research: 1) Strategy of “nationalisation of pedagogical knowledge” was used in every stage by representatives of all theoretical schools in order to gain social legitimisation 2) This strategy provide successful transformation of pedagogical discourse during changes of dominant political and ideological regime, but it was not sufficient to provide the level of institutionalisation of educational researches comparing to the existing levels in West and East Europe.

References

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Author Information

Natasa Vujisic Zivkovic

University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, Serbia, Republic of

Vera Spasenovic

Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade

Department for Education

Belgrade

243

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