In search of identity of study (of pedagogy) – Croatian context
Siniša Kušić in Sofija Vrcelj

Summary:  Until the 1990s, Croatian pedagogical theory and practice has featured developmental qualities of the so-called ‘Germanic circle pedagogy’. This means that it was a normative and empirical science focused on practical learning about upbringing. However, attempts to constitute pedagogy as a complete science about upbringing were not to be neglected. During the transition following the communist ideology’s collapse and the intensification of globalisation, pedagogy began to ‘Americanise’ terminology. This replaced the terms ‘education’ (Cro. ‘obrazovanje’) and ‘upbringing’ (Cro. ‘odgoj’) with ‘education’ (Cro. ‘edukacija’), while the term ‘educology’ was introduced to represent the science about education. Americanisation is visible through changes to the Croatian pedagogical tradition’s standard terminology, which generated doubts and discrepancies in both content guidelines and application. Regardless of the paradigm war, these and similar theoretical side-tracks do not ensure a sufficiently solid theoretical identity for pedagogy. This status is reflected in today’s study of pedagogy, which was designed according to principles of the Bologna process and the pedagogical profession, which is searching for space for practical action.

Journal of Contemporary Educational Studies is
published with support of Slovenian Research Agency.