Olja Jovanović

Students at risk: perceptions of Serbian teachers and implications for teacher education

While legislation is in place for the promotion of inclusive education in Serbia, the adoption of teaching practices that support diversity in schools is still lacking. This study looks at teacher perceptions of students at risk (SaR), their relationships with peers and the teachers’ own roles as sources of support, using a sample of 94 interviews with teachers analysed using qualitative content analysis. The SaR from Roma population and poor backgrounds are found to be perceived positively by their teachers, but most teachers failed to perceive their influence on the improvement of academic performance and peer relationships. Perceptions of students with disabilities varied in tone across the dimension positive-depending on the type of disability-negative. Teachers who spoke affirmatively about them expressed readiness to cooperate with parents and colleagues, emphasising the importance of socialisation. Recommendations for teacher education are discussed, including diversity awareness and encouraging more flexible understanding of teacher roles.

Methods Section: Quantitative and Qualitative Examination of Social Identities and Their Mutual Relations

The chapter provides an overview of the methods used in the investigation of youth social identities in the Western Balkans. For quantitative part of the study, 767 young people aged 20–30 years from four Western Balkan countries were surveyed. Each country sample includes an ethnic majority and an ethnic minority with a history of tensions or violent conflict. The survey measured their identifications with a wide range of social groups, from local, ethnic, religious, and national to the overarching identities (Balkans, Europe). The chapter further describes the qualitative portion with focus groups and case studies in each city, the guidelines followed in conducting the studies, and the data analysis procedures. The chapter closes with remarks on the importance of integrating quantitative and qualitative data.

Is It Always Us or Them: How Do Young Serbs and Bosniaks Perceive Intergroup Borders?

Serbia has been characterized by ethnic and religious disparities, a major source of low-scale conflicts and an obstacle for development of stronger social cohesion. This chapter reflects on the importance of exploring perspectives of young people who live in a post-conflict region on existing ethnic and religious divisions and ways to overcome it. Authors present data on the process of drawing borders between Us and Them, and discuss it in the light of a social identity approach and research findings. Moreover, the chapter offers youth perspective on redefining invisible but very tangible group borders and building more inclusive societies. Through a case study of relations between Serbs and Bosniaks, the authors provide a glimpse of the complexity of a post-conflict social environment and closely interwoven factors affecting social relations among youth.

Uloga orijentacije ka socijalnoj dominaciji, efekata kolektivne traume i regulatornog fokusa u predikciji izraženosti nacionalnog identiteta

The present study aimed at exploring the relationship between social dominance orientation, collective trauma effects, regulatory focus, and national identity. The sample was comprised of 201 participants selfidentified as Serbs. Participants completed the following questionnaires: the In-group identification scale (Solidarity and Centrality subscales), the Perpetual In-group Victimhood Orientation – PIVO, the Fear of Victimization – FOV, the Social Dominance Orientation Scale – SDO, the Regulatory Focus Questionnaire (Promotion and Prevention subscales) and the Group Regulatory Focus Questionnaire (Promotion and Prevention subscales). Multiple Regression Analysis showed that perpetual in-group orientation, fear of victimization, perception of national group as oriented toward promotion and social dominance orientation explained 24.7% of the variance in national group identification. The findings indicate importance of perceptions of historical context and need for positive distinctiveness of own ingroup for identification with national group.

Achieving World Peace: Views from Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Greece

This chapter deals with perception of ordinary citizens from Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Greece regarding the possibilities or elusiveness of achieving world peace. Despite important differences among these states, there are also many interconnections, mainly among dyads and triads of the four: Slavic group of people, Orthodox Christianity, similar languages, and enough similarities to justify common analysis. The sample consisted of 440 participants, aged from 18–82; 59 % are women. They were asked to signify their level of agreement with the item “I believe world peace can be achieved” and then to explain the answer. They also completed the statement “The best way to achieve peace is….” Bandura’s theory of moral engagement provided the framework for the coding manual. Analyses of coded responses were conducted to determine the relative distribution of responses within the coding categories, and some exploratory statistical tests were run to see if there were differences in frequencies of responses based on demographic groups. Despite differences among the countries in level of development, political culture, and current politics, the great majority of answers in all subsamples showed a clear propensity among the ordinary people of the region to argue in favor of world peace. The hope is that the results will not serve as information for the mighty who will find to which level they can oppress others in order to obtain dominance (euphemistically: “national interest”).Rather, it is hoped that the results will contribute to the optimism of ordinary people, regardless of their social system and geographical meridian, regarding a broad commitment to achieve world peace as an ultimate goal of humankind.