The 130th volume of the Journal of Contemporary Educational Studies (Popotnik and Sodobna pedagogika) – position and polemics

dr. Tadej Vidmar

Summary:  This year, we celebrate the 130th volume of Popotnik, which was later renamed Sodobna pedagogika (Journal of Contemporary Educational Studies). Popotnik was first published in 1880, but during World War II, it was not published for about three years. It very soon became the most reputable journal in the field of education in the Slovene territory and the most prominent theorists and practitioners of education wrote articles for it. Popotnik familiarized and educated teachers on new achievements in the field of education. It was also a place to confront different views and understandings of the theory and praxis of education. In 1950, the journal was renamed Sodobna pedagogika, which has continued and enriched the tradition of Popotnik until the present. In this article, the author defines position of the journal in selected periods based on analysis of three significant polemics in the journal and selected texts, which served as the guidelines or directives for the journal in decisive moments of its publication. The author determines that neither Popotnik nor Sodobna pedagogika ever clearly indicated subversive positions or tendencies in relation to the existing authorities and political system; however, neither was the journal just a docile instrument for the implementation of their ideas in the field of education.