ANDRAGOŠKA SPOZNANJA Studies in Adult Education and Learning Vsebina/Contents Uvodnik/Editorial Marko Radovan IZOBRAŽEVANJE IN DIGITALNA PREOBRAZBA: VLOGA IKT V IZOBRAŽEVANJU PRIHODNOSTI EDUCATION IN THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: REFLECTIONS ON THE ROLE OF ICT IN FUTURE EDUCATION 3 11 25 43 57 73 Netematski clanki/ Open Papers Corinne Brion THE IMPACT OF CULTURE ON LEARNING TRANSFER IN BURKINA FASO AND GHANA 95 UCITELJEVO PRIDOBIVANJE ZNANJA V KONTEKSTU POUCEVANJA NADARJENIH UCENCEV 117 Knjižne novosti/ Book Reviews Barbara Samaluk PREMISLEKI O IZOBRAŽEVANJU IN UCENJU ODRASLIH: ANDRAGOŠKA DEDIŠCINA SABINE JELENC KRAŠOVEC 133 Sanja Zgonec DEVELOPMENT OF ADULT THINKING: INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES ON COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT AND ADULT THINKING 135 Andragoška spoznanja/Studies in Adult Education and Learning, 2022, 28(1), 3-10 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4312/as/10791 Uvodnik UVODNIK IZOBRAŽEVANJE IN DIGITALNA PREOBRAZBA: VLOGA IKT V IZOBRAŽEVANJU PRIHODNOSTI Tokratna tematska številka Andragoških spoznanj se posveca digitalizaciji izobraževanja in vkljucevanju sodobnih tehnologij v procese ucenja. To temo smo v reviji že veckrat obravnavali – z razlogom. Uvajanje IKT v izobraževalni proces je namrec podrocje in proces, ki se nenehno razvija – teoretsko, pa tudi v praksi –, spoznanja pa se hitreje kot v razlicne strategije vpeljujejo kar v samo prakso poucevanja. »Digitalna preobrazba« je pojem, s katerim se predvsem na politicni, odlocevalski ravni opisujejo razlicni procesi in priporocila vladam glede vkljucevanja tehnologije v šole. V zadnjem casu te procese usmerja zlasti Akcijski nacrt za digitalno izobraževanje.ja (2021). V tej in podobnih strategijah je treba locevati med procesi »digitizacije« (angl. digitisation.gitizaciji govorimo takrat, ko gre za proces preoblikovanja fizicnih vidikov izobraževanja v digitalne oblike (npr. izvedba delavnic v elektronski obliki, opremljenost razredov z ..lave podatkov, digitalna preobrazba pa ima globlji in trajni vpliv na družbene in poslovne procese ter v našem kontekstu pomeni preoblikovanje sedanjih procesov izobraževanja s .brazbe v izobraževanju torej ni le »prehod na digitalno«, temvec vkljucuje tudi razmislek o tem, kako s pomocjo sodobnih tehnologij izboljšati (spreminjati) procese poucevanja in ucenja, narediti izobraževanje bolj inkluzivno ipd. Lahko recemo, da ima digitalna preobrazba dosti širše cilje od same informatizacije, s tem pa je za stroko na tem podrocju toliko bolj pomembna, saj spreminja makro, mezzo, pa tudi mikro raven izobraževanja. Pandemija covida-19, ki se v teh mesecih (upajmo) izteka, bo pustila sledove na mnogih .stanka iz izobraževanja, hitrega prehoda na digitalno izobraževanje, ob tem pa digitalnega razhajanja ter pomanjkljivih IKT-spretnosti in didakticni znanj za organizacijo ucenja in poucevanja na spletu bomo raziskovali še mnoga leta. Razlicna porocila sicer kažejo, da so se doloceni kazalniki digitalnega razhajanja v zadnjih letih hitro zmanjšali, drugi pa se niso spreminjali v enakem tempu. To je tudi razlog, da se nekatere države, družbene skupine ali .zrocila pandemija covida-19. Zadnje evalvacije, ki so jih opravili na Andragoškem centru Slovenije, kažejo, da je pandemija covida-19 pomenila hud udarec ne samo v mladinskem izobraževanju, temvec tudi za dolocene skupine udeležencev izobraževalnih programov za odrasle in izobraževalce odraslih (Možina, 2021). Podatki kažejo, da je pandemija najbolj vplivala na zmanjšano udeležbo, zlasti med populacijami, ki že veljajo za ranljive in se težje vkljucujejo v izobraževanje. Te skupine so starejši, priseljenci, brezposelni, Romi, odrasli z nižjo stopnjo izobrazbe, mlajši odrasli in tisti, ki nimajo dostopa do racunalniške opreme ali pa jim primanjkuje digitalnih spretnosti (Možina, 2021). Na podobne težave, ki .rostatu in ki ugotavlja, da je dostopnost interneta in racunalnikov v EU sicer zelo visoka (v .majo dostopa do racunalnikov in interneta. Analize, ki jih opravlja Eurostat, kažejo tudi na problematiko digitalnih spretnosti, ki jo bo morala vsaka reforma šolstva najprej reševati. Rezultati namrec kažejo, da ima v EU vec kot petina mladih težave z osnovnimi digitalnim spretnostmi, še vecji pa je ta delež v populaciji starejših (Eurostat, 2021). .ganja lahko trdimo, da se trend v izobraževanju ne bo vec obrnil nazaj ali upocasnil. Na to opozarja tudi porocilo OECD (2020) Digital Economy Outlook 2020, v katerem avtorji poudarjajo narašcajoc pomen digitalnih tehnologij in komunikacijskih infrastruktur ter ugotavljajo, da vlade digitalne strategije vse bolj postavljajo v središce svojih politicnih agend. Kot je bilo omenjeno uvodoma, je Evropska komisija na podrocju digitalizacije šolstva zelo aktivna. Septembra 2020 je po javnem posvetovanju dopolnila svoj akcijski ..bju po pandemiji. Novi akcijski nacrt Evropske komisije (2021) ima dva glavna strateška cilja: (1) spodbujanje razvoja visoko zmogljivega digitalnega izobraževalnega ekosistema – torej informatizacijo ter (2) krepitev digitalnih spretnosti in kompetenc za digitalno preobrazbo. Za izobraževalce je pomemben predvsem ta cilj, saj zadeva razvoj digitalnih .nosti ter razvoj digitalnih spretnosti uciteljev. ..ford, pregledal zgodovino vkljucevanja novih tehnologij v šolski prostor (radia, filma ter ..janja novih tehnologij trdili, da je mogoce vsako tehnologijo uporabiti za ucinkovitejše in uspešnejše poucevanje; drugic, te trditve so bile podprte z dvomljivimi raziskavami (ki so .ma se je zaradi majhnega ali celo negativnega ucinka kmalu prenehala uporabljati. Kot sklene Cuban (1986), je to cikel, ki se v izobraževanju ponovi z vsako novo tehnologijo, ki se uveljavi v družbi – zacetnemu navdušenju nad nekim novim tehnološkim orodjem sledi streznitev in/ali razocaranje. Nekoliko svetlejšo prihodnost uporabi tehnologije v iz­obraževanju so nedavno napovedali Tamim idr. (2011). V svoji obsežni metaanalizi, ki je zaobjela raziskave zadnjih 40 let, so ugotovili, da ima uporaba racunalniške tehnologije v razredu prednosti v primerjavi s poucevanjem v živo, brez tehnologije. Rezultati, ki teme­ljijo na vzorcu 109.700 udeležencev (iz 1.055 študij), kažejo na pozitivne ucinke uporabe tehnologije, vendar s pridržkom: tehnologija ima pozitivne ucinke predvsem takrat, ko se uporablja kot podpora pouku, ne pa takrat, ko je edino sredstvo ucenja. To pomeni, da je uporaba tehnologije najprimernejša kot uciteljev didakticni ali ucni pripomocek, ne pa kot orodje, ki bi lahko nadomestilo ucitelja. Pomembno sporocilo in opozorilo v casu, ko ve­liko strokovnjakov (predvsem s podrocja racunalništva) stavi na moc umetne inteligence, strojnega ucenja, avtomatizacije ter (strojne) individualizacije ucenja. Mogoce lahko delno rešitev oz. odgovor na te dileme ponudi porocilo Svetovne banke, v katerem so analizirali negativne in pozitivne izkušnje iz casa pandemije ter šolanja na da­ljavo v 17 državah (Munoz-Najar idr., 2021). V tem porocilu avtorji predlagajo konceptu­alni okvir, po katerem mora izobraževanja na daljavo nujno vkljucevati tri komplementar­ne elemente, da bi bilo uspešno: usposobljene ucitelje, ustrezno tehnologijo in angažirane (motivirane) udeležence izobraževanja (Munoz-Najar idr., 2021). Ce torej želimo, da bo izobraževanje na daljavo uspešno in sprejeto, moramo upoštevati vse tri elemente in jih skladno razvijati. To ugotovitev lahko posplošimo tudi na podrocje digitalne preobrazbe izobraževanja nasploh. Digitalizacija torej ne sme biti razumljena kot opremljanje izobra­ževalnih institucij z izobraževalno tehnologijo, temvec je to šele prvi korak, ki ga morata spremljati razvijanje ustreznih pedagoških in IKT-kompetenc uciteljev in ucencev (vseh starosti) ter ustrezna uporaba te tehnologije med izobraževanjem. V številki, ki jo berete, objavljamo pet tematskih prispevkov, v katerih avtorice in avtorji pred­stavljajo nekatere izzive ali novosti v tovrstnem izobraževanju. Bernhardt Schmidt-Hertha in Marius Bernhardt v svojem clanku preucujeta odnos med izobraževalcem in udeležencem ter njegov vpliv na uspešno poucevanje in ucenje – tako v analognih kot v digitalnih okolišcinah oz. izobraževanju na daljavo. Anetta Basca-Bán raziskuje izkušnje madžarske visokošolske skupnosti v casu pandemije covida-19. V svoji analizi preucuje nekatere vidike ucenja na daljavo med pandemijo ter težave in ovire, s katerimi so se ucitelji in študenti soocali med iz­obraževanjem na daljavo. Sabina Licen, Igor Karnjuš in Mirko Prosen predstavljajo rezultate raziskave, v kateri so evalvirali izkušnje visokošolskih uciteljev zdravstvene nege v Sloveniji, pridobljene na podlagi devettedenskega modularnega spletnega tecaja o oblikovanju, izvaja­nju in vrednotenju spletnih ucnih enot, ki je bil pripravljen na podlagi standarda kakovosti za digitalno izobraževanje. Tudi naslednji prispevek prihaja s podrocja zdravstva. Metka Skubic in Tita Stanek Zidaric v njem predstavljata izvedbo pilotnega projekta s podrocja babištva na temo virtualne priprave na porod in starševstvo. Velik poudarek je bil namenjen evalvaciji projekta in izvedbi nastopa na nacin kvalitativnega raziskovanja z uporabo fokusnih skupin. Zadnji tematski clanek sta prispevali Lea Bregar in Jasna Dominko Baloh. Avtorici predstav­ljata možnosti uporabe mikroucenja v visokošolskem izobraževanju. Prispevek v ospredje postavlja dva vidika uporabnosti mikroucenja za visokošolsko izobraževanje, in sicer za omogocanje avtenticne ucne izkušnje ter za pridobivanje kompleksnejših znanj in spretnosti. V reviji objavljamo tudi nekaj netematskih prispevkov. Corinne Brion piše o vplivu kul­ture na prenos ucenja v Burkini Faso in Gani, Sabina Ograjšek s sodelavci pa o pomenu uciteljevega ucenja v kontekstu poucevanja nadarjenih ucencev. Številko zakljucujeta dve recenziji nedavno objavljenih znanstvenih monografij. Barbara Samaluk piše o monografiji, posveceni pokojni dr. Sabini Jelenc Krašovec, ki so jo uredili Borut Mikulec, Sonja Kump in Tadej Košmerl (Premisleki o izobraževanju in ucenju od­raslih: Andragoška dedišcina Sabine Jelenc Krašovec, Znanstvena založba Filozofske fa-kultete Univerze v Ljubljani), Sanja Zgonec pa o knjigi, ki jo je leta 2020 uredila Eeva K. Kallio in v kateri so objavljeni multidisciplinarni prispevki na temo kognitivnega razvoja v odraslosti (Development of Adult Thinking: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Cognitive Development and Adult Thinking/Razvoj mišljenja odraslih: Interdisciplinarni pogledi na kognitivni razvoj in mišljenje odraslih, Routledge). Marko Radovan LITERATURA IN VIRI Cuban, L. (1986). Teachers and machines: The classroom use of technology since 1920. Teachers Col­lege Press. Eurostat. (2021). Digital economy and society statistics - households and individuals. https://ec.europa. eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Digital_economy_and_society_statistics_-_house-holds_and_individuals Evropska komisija. (2021). Akcijski nacrt za digitalno izobraževanje (2021–2027). https://education. ec.europa.eu/sl/akcijski-nacrt-za-digitalno-izobrazevanje-2021-2027 Možina, T. (2021). Izobraževanje odraslih in svetovanje na daljavo med pandemijo: Refleksija in usmer­itve za prihodnost. Andragoški center Slovenije. Munoz-Najar, A., Gilberto, A., Hasan, A., Cobo, C., Azevedo, J. P. in Akmal, M. (2021). Remote learn­ing during COVID-19: Lessons from today, principles for tomorrow. World Bank Group. http://doc­ uments.worldbank.org/curated/en/160271637074230077/Remote-Learning-During-COVID-19-Les­ sons-from-Today-Principles-for-Tomorrow OECD. (2020). Digital transformation in the age of COVID-19: Building resilience and bridging di­vides: Digital economy outlook 2020 supplement. OECD Publishing. www.oecd.org/digital/digi­ tal-economy-outlook-covid.pdf Schmidt, J. T. in Tang, M. (2020). Digitalization in education: Challenges, trends and transform-ative potential. V M. Harwardt, P. F.-J. Niermann, A. M. Schmutte in A. Steuernagel (ur.), Führen und Managen in der digitalen Transformation (str. 287–312). Springer Gabler. https://doi. org/10.1007/978-3-658-28670-5_16 Tamim, R. M., Bernard, R. M., Borokhovski, E., Abrami, P. C. in Schmid, R. F. (2011). What forty years of research says about the impact of technology on learning: A second-order meta-analysis and valida­tion study. Review of Educational Research, 81(1), 4–28. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654310393361 Andragoška spoznanja/Studies in Adult Education and Learning, 2022, 28(1), 3-10 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4312/as/10791 Editorial EDITORIAL EDUCATION IN THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: REFLECTIONS ON THE ROLE OF ICT IN FUTURE EDUCATION This issue focuses on the digitalisation of education and on utilising technology in teach­ing and learning. This is not a new topic for the magazine – and with good reason. Both in theory and practice, incorporating ICT into education is a constantly developing field and process; new knowledge and developments are introduced into the practice of teaching more quickly than they are into various official strategies. “Digital transformation” is a term used in politics and at the decision-making level to describe the various processes and recommendations to governments about incorporating technology use in schools. Recently, these processes have been guided by the European Commission’s (2021) Dig­ital Education Action Plan. In this and similar strategies, it is important to distinguish between the processes of “digitisation”, “digitalisation” and “digital transformation” (Schmidt & Tang, 2020). Digitisation refers to the process of transforming the physical aspects of education into digital forms (e.g., delivering a workshop in electronic form, supplying classrooms with ICT equipment, etc.) – in our environment, it is easiest to see it as the computerisation of education. Schmidt & Tang (2020) define digitalisation as the transition to digital transferring and processing of data, while digital transformation has a deeper and more lasting impact on social and business processes and in our context signifies the transformation of our current education processes with the help of digital technology (Schmidt & Tang, 2020). The main goal of digital transformation in education is therefore not only “going digital”, it also means thinking about how modern technology can help us improve (change) the processes of teaching and learning, make education more inclusive, etc. We might say that digital transformation has much broader goals in mind than mere computerisation and is more important for the educational profession as it affects the macro, mezzo and micro levels of education. The Covid-19 pandemic, now hopefully coming to an end, will leave obvious traces in many fields, and has and will continue to have a strong impact on education. The conse­quences of school closures, the rapid transition to digital education, combined with the digital divide and underdeveloped ICT competences and didactic skills to organise teach­ing and learning online will be studied for years to come. Reports suggest that certain indicators of the digital divide have rapidly decreased in the last few years, while others have not been changing at the same pace. This is also why some countries, communities or individuals were unable to adjust to the demands of the digital transformation triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic as quickly as others. The latest evaluation reports by the Slo­venian Institute for Adult Education indicate that the pandemic dealt a severe blow not only to youth education but to participants in adult education and adult educators as well (Možina, 2021). The data indicates that the pandemic impacted participation rates the most, particularly among vulnerable populations that find it more difficult to take part in education. These groups include older people, immigrants, the unemployed, the Roma population, adults with a lower level of education, younger adults and those that do not have access to a computer or lack the necessary digital skills (Možina, 2021). A 2021 Eurostat study found that while access to the Internet and to computers is very high in the EU (between 80 and 90% on average), many low-income households do not have access to either. Eurostat’s analyses also point to the issue of digital competences and these will have to be a priority for education reform. The results show that more than a fifth of young people and an even higher proportion of older people struggle with basic digital competences (Eurostat, 2021). The process of digital transformation began or accelerated during the pandemic. It is safe to say that in education, there is no turning back or even slowing down. The Digital Econ­omy Outlook 2020 report by the OECD (2020) highlights the increased importance of digital technology and communication infrastructure; it also points out that governments are increasingly placing digital strategies at the centre of their political agendas. As pre­viously mentioned, the European Commission has been very active when it comes to the digitalisation of education. In September 2020, after public consultation, it supplemented its action plan for digital education with the view of encouraging the further development of education and training for the digital age and contributing to the recovery of education after the pandemic. The new action plan of the European Commission (2021) has two main strategic goals: (1) fostering the development of a high-performing digital education ecosystem – in other words, computerisation, and (2) enhancing digital skills and compe­tences for the digital transformation. The latter is particularly important for educators as it affects the development of digital competences from early childhood onwards, digital and media literacy, and digital competences education for teachers. All of this also requires that we are mindful of the effect introducing technology into education has had or might have. Research results vary. In 1986, Larry Cuban, professor at Stanford University, researched the history of bringing new technology (radio, film, television) into the classroom and found that they did not – as had been predicted – im­pact the very essence of education. Cuban (1986) discovered, first, that the defenders of new technologies claimed that any form of technology could be used to make teaching more effective and successful; second, that these claims were backed by questionable research (often financially endorsed by companies producing the technology), and third, that because it had little effect or even a negative one, the acquired ICT equipment soon went out of use. Cuban (1986) came to the conclusion that this is a cycle that repeats itself whenever a new form of technology becomes available: initial enthusiasm for a new gadget is followed by realism and/or disappointment. More recently, Tamim et al. (2011) predicted a brighter future for technology in education. In their meta-analysis, which encompassed research from the past forty years, they discovered that using com­puter technology in the classroom had more advantages than teaching without using technology. The results, based on a sample of 109,700 participants (in 1,055 studies) show the positive effects of using technology, however, with the stipulation that technol­ogy has a positive effect when it is used to support a lesson and not when it is the only means of learning. In other words, technology is best used as a didactic supplement or teaching accessory, not as a tool that could replace the teacher. It is a relevant message and warning at a time when many experts (particularly in computer technology) are betting on artificial intelligence, machine learning, automatization and the (machine) individualisation of learning. A partial solution to this dilemma might be found in the World Bank report on the pos­itive and negative experiences of distance learning in 17 countries (Munoz-Najar et al., 2021). The authors recommend a conceptual framework, where distance learning needs to include three complementary elements in order to be successful: trained teachers, the necessary technology and engaged (motivated) learners (Munoz-Najar et al., 2021). If we want distance learning to work, all three elements must be working together and we must develop all three. This finding can be applied to the digital transformation of education in general. Digitalisation must not merely mean equipping educational institutions with technology. It must be seen as the first step only, one that also requires the development of pedagogical and ICT competences of the teachers and learners (of all ages), as well as the proper use of technology during the education process. The current issue includes five thematic contributions that deal with the specific chal­lenges or new developments when it comes to using ICT in education. Bernhardt Schmidt-Hertha and Marius Bernhardt look at the relationship between the educator and the learner and how it affects successful teaching and learning both in an analogue and digital environment, i.e., distance learning. Anetta Basca-Bán focuses on how the higher education community in Hungary was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Her analy­sis centres on certain aspects of distance learning during the pandemic, the difficulties and obstacles distance learning posed to both teachers and students. Sabina Licen, Igor Karnjuš and Mirko Prosen present the research results of a study on the experiences of higher education healthcare teachers in Slovenia taking part in a nine-week modular on-line course on designing, implementing and evaluating online learning units, based on the quality standards required in digital education. The next contribution also concerns healthcare education. Metka Skubic and Tita Stanek Zidaric present a pilot project from the field of midwifery education, a virtual course on childbirth and parenting. Their main focus is the evaluation of the project’s execution using a qualitative research approach (fo­cus groups). The final thematic article comes from Lea Bregar and Jasna Dominko Baloh and concerns the possibility of using microlearning in higher education. It particularly focuses on two aspects: the authentic learning experience and acquiring more complex skills and knowledge. The issue includes two non-thematic contributions. Corinne Brion writes about how culture affects learning transfer in Burkina Faso and Ghana. Sabina Ograjšek and col­leagues examine the importance of teachers as learners when it comes to teaching talent­ed students. Finally, we have two reviews of recently published works. Barbara Samaluk reviews Re­flections on Adult Education and Learning: The Adult Education Legacy of Sabina Jel-enc Krašovec (Ljubljana University Press, Faculty of Arts), edited by Borut Mikulec, Sonja Kump and Tadej Košmerl. Sanja Zgonec brings this issue to a close with her review of Development of Adult Thinking: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Cognitive Develop­ment and Adult Thinking (Routledge), edited by Eeva K. Kallio Marko Radovan REFERENCES Cuban, L. (1986). Teachers and machines: The classroom use of technology since 1920. Teachers Col­lege Press. European Commision. (2021). Digital education action plan (2021-2027). https://education.ec.europa. eu/focus-topics/digital/education-action-plan Eurostat. (2021). Digital economy and society statistics - households and individuals. https://ec.europa. eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Digital_economy_and_society_statistics_-_house-holds_and_individuals Možina, T. (2021). Izobraževanje odraslih in svetovanje na daljavo med pandemijo: Refleksija in usmer­itve za prihodnost. Andragoški center Slovenije. Munoz-Najar, A., Gilberto, A., Hasan, A., Cobo, C., Azevedo, J. P., & Akmal, M. (2021). Remote learn­ing during COVID-19: Lessons from today, principles for tomorrow. World Bank Group. http://doc­ uments.worldbank.org/curated/en/160271637074230077/Remote-Learning-During-COVID-19-Les­ sons-from-Today-Principles-for-Tomorrow OECD. (2020). Digital transformation in the age of COVID-19: Building resilience and bridging di­vides: Digital economy outlook 2020 supplement. OECD Publishing. www.oecd.org/digital/digi­ tal-economy-outlook-covid.pdf Schmidt, J. T., & Tang, M. (2020). Digitalization in education: Challenges, trends and transformative po­tential. In M. Harwardt, P. F.-J. Niermann, A. M. Schmutte, & A. Steuernagel (Eds.), Führen und Ma-nagen in der digitalen Transformation (pp. 287–312). Springer Gabler. https://doi.org/10.1007/978­ 3-658-28670-5_16 Tamim, R. M., Bernard, R. M., Borokhovski, E., Abrami, P. C., & Schmid, R. F. (2011). What forty years of research says about the impact of technology on learning: A second-order meta-analysis and valida­tion study. Review of Educational Research, 81(1), 4–28. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654310393361 Andragoška spoznanja/Studies in Adult Education and Learning, 2022, 28(1), 11-24 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4312/as/10558 Scientific article Bernhard Schmidt-Hertha, Marius Bernhardt PEDAGOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS IN DIGITISED ADULT EDUCATION ABSTRACT With the COVID-19 pandemic the education sector is facing major new challenges and opportunities, e.g., changes in the pedagogical relationships between teachers and learners. Various publications have already inquired into the importance of pedagogical relationships in primary and secondary education, but not in adult education. Therefore, a closer look should now be taken at pedagogical relationships in adult education and their impact on successful teaching – both in the analogue and the digital realm. The person-centred approach as well as the approach of professional proximity and distance are rel­evant concepts in this field. From the perspective of person-centred pedagogy, respectful interaction with one another and the facilitation of an equal dialogue between teachers and learners are of great importance. The relevance of relationships between teachers and learners in adult education should not be underestimated – also with regard to enabling successful relationship building in distance learning. Keywords: distance learning, constructivist didactics, person-centred approach, closeness and dis­tance, digitisation, pandemic PEDAGOŠKI ODNOSI V DIGITALNEM IZOBRAŽEVANJU ODRASLIH – POVZETEK Izobraževanje se zaradi pandemije covida-19 sooca z novimi izzivi in hkrati odpira vrata novim priložno­stim. Eden velikih izzivov tega casa je pedagoški odnos med ucitelji in ucecimi. Številne publikacije so se že posvetile pomenu pedagoških odnosov v osnovnih in srednjih šolah, ne pa tudi v izobraževanju odra­slih. Clanek ponuja bližnji pogled na pedagoške odnose v izobraževanju odraslih in na vpliv, ki ga imajo ti odnosi na (uspešno) poucevanje tako v analognem kot digitalnem okolju. Na posameznika osredotocen pristop, strokovna bližina in distanca so na tem podrocju izredno relevantni pojmi. Spoštljivo sodelo­vanje in spodbujanje enakopravnega dialoga med ucitelji in ucecimi sta izredno pomembna elementa poucevanja, ki se osredotoca na posameznika. Pomena odnosov med ucitelji in ucecimi v izobraževanju odraslih ne gre podcenjevati – tudi ko gre za grajenje dobrih odnosov med izobraževanjem na daljavo. Kljucne besede: izobraževanje na daljavo, konstruktivisticna didaktika, na posameznika osredinjen pri-stop, bližina in distanca, digitalizacija, pandemija Bernhard Schmidt-Hertha, PhD, Prof., General Education and Educational Research, University of Munich, b.schmidt@edu.lmu.de Marius Bernhardt, M.A., General Education and Educational Research, University of Munich, marius.bernhardt@edu.lmu.de INTRODUCTION The COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread changes in the daily lives of all human­ity. Almost out of nowhere, the task of transferring the processes that had previously been largely analogue to the digital realm has arisen. This presents a challenge to adult education, in particular as it changes the relationships between learners and adult educators – relation­ships which have as yet not been dealt with extensively. In this article, we briefly reflect on the situation of adult education during the pandemic. This will be followed by a summary of some central ideas on pedagogical relationships in the particular field of adult education. These ideas are derived from constructivist learning philosophy, from Rogers’ person-cen­tred approach, from adult education theory, as well as from distance education research. Finally, we try to connect and combine these different ideas and approaches by formulating some general principles of successful relationships between adult educators and learners. CURRENT SITUATION AND RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ADULT EDUCATION IN PANDEMIC TIMES With the beginning of the first lockdown in spring 2020, many adult education institu­tions began to convert ongoing or planned events into online offers (Christ & Koscheck, 2021), often without the required infrastructure and with hardly any previous experience with such digital formats (cf. Christ et al., 2020). The focus here was not on the use of new or expanded didactic possibilities offered by digital media, but on the attempt to somehow continue current face-to-face courses as distance learning offers. Following the so-called RAT model (Hughes, 2005), which differentiates between three stages in the use of dig­ital media, it could be said that what happened here was a simple replacement, in the sense of a mere transfer of offer format into the virtual space (possibly accepting a loss of quality) (cf. Scharnberg & Krah, 2020), or a transformation in the sense of a fundamental change in teaching-learning processes, including the roles of teachers and learners, as they are achievable and appropriate in digital learning environments (cf. Reinmann & Mandl, 1998). However, a large proportion of adult education events – at least as is shown by surveys in Germany – were cancelled without replacement or postponed indefinitely (Christ & Koscheck, 2021). The reasons for this are likely to be, on the one hand, a lack of infrastructure and a lack of experience in designing digital educational offers on the part of the teachers (Rohs et al., 2019), and on the other hand, the unwillingness of var­ious target groups to engage with digital distance learning offers. Especially for target groups with little experience in further education and strong dependency on the support of teachers, digital technologies as a medium of delivery represent a considerable addi­tional hurdle (Schmidt-Hertha & Rott, 2021). Also, for learners with low digital literacy, the focus on online offers is tantamount to extensive exclusion from adult education (e.g., Garcia et al., 2021). Furthermore, in some countries, a collapse in educational activities in the area of continuing vocational education and training can be assumed due to the (temporary) closure of companies and the considerable waves of redundancies as a result of the pandemic (Boeren et al., 2020). A decisive aspect in the changeover to digital learning opportunities, which many teach­ers and learners were not able to grasp so quickly, seems to have been the fact that it was not primarily about the didactically well thought-out use of digital media, but about the short-term introduction of distance learning formats that could be implemented relatively efficiently with the help of digital media (in this context, see Schmidt-Hertha, 2021). This was not a question of what opportunities and possibilities digital media offer that traditional face-to-face formats in adult education cannot. Rather, a choice had to be made between online formats, analogue distance learning (e.g., via teaching letters or similar methods), however designed, or the temporary complete discontinuation of educational activities (cf. also Kohl & Denzl, 2020). While analogue distance learning would proba­bly have required a significantly longer preparation time and a discontinuation of teach­ing was not an option for most institutions, neither from an economic nor from a profes­sional point of view, the only option was to resort to digital formats of distance learning (Santos, 2020). This form of learning is particularly demanding for adult learners, as is reflected in the higher dropout rates (Park & Choi, 2009). As useful as they have undoubtedly been, the simulacra of virtual technologies that have helped bring us together while keeping us safely apart, are ersatz; a poor substitute for the embodied human interaction and touch that are a corner­stone of our humanity. (Brennan, 2020, para. 7) The demands on learners associated with online distance learning relate, for example, to the self-organisation of the learning process (especially securing time resources), dealing with technical problems, interacting with teachers, or dealing with learning material (cf. Kara et al., 2019). Against this background, it is not surprising that different forms of distance learning have so far been discussed primarily in the context of university edu­cation and continuing academic education (cf. Zawacki-Richter & Naidu, 2016). How­ever, there are also individual examples of the successful use of internet-based distance learning with rather educationally disadvantaged groups. For example, Kaiper-Marquez et al. (2020) report positive experiences from a family literacy program that had to be converted to purely online teaching during the pandemic. Nevertheless, it is precisely the area of adult basic education that seems to have been affected the most during the pandemic, for example, by numerous course failures and cancellations (Bickert et al., in press). Representative data from the UK, on the other hand, even points to an overall increase in adult learning activities during the pandemic, with informal learning in par­ticular playing a key role (Aldridge et al., 2021). At the same time, this data also suggests an increase in social disparities in educational participation. A Delphi study carried out by Käpplinger and Lichte (2020), who surveyed adult education experts worldwide on the impact of the pandemic, also underscores the greater social inequality that will continue to grow significantly against the backdrop of the pandemic’s consequences. At the same time, the experts interviewed in the study – like many voices from academia and practice – see the pandemic as an accelerator of digital transformation in adult education. Even if face-to-face events are possible again without restrictions, online formats will continue to play an essential role in adult education. Blended learning offers in particular, which combine face-to-face and online teaching in different rhythms, are likely to increase. At the same time, continuing education providers will presumably continue to realise part of their educational offers as online courses – also because many learners appreciate the spatial and temporal independence or even depend on it. No matter whether online or face to face, pedagogical professionalism in adult education – as in other areas of education – cannot be limited to the transmission of knowledge and the determination of learning progress. Professional pedagogical action includes, not least, the personal encounter of teachers and learners, which is elementary for educational processes in the sense of a change in the relationship to oneself and to the social and mate­rial environment (Koller, 2012; see also Schmidt-Hertha & Lindemann, 2021). This raises the question of the importance of personal encounters for the relationship between teach­ers and learners and of how learning opportunities that take place in physical co-presence differ in this respect from purely online teaching formats. CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH AND PEDAGOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS When looking at the effects of pedagogical relationships in education, it becomes ap­parent that a large part of the relevant research focuses mainly on the primary and sec­ondary education sector. Kleine et al. (2013), for example, emphasize the importance of positive social relationships between students (just before completing elementary school) and their social environment (classmates, teachers, and family). It is possible to strongly influence academic performance through competence beliefs not only during the first years of school. Only if students are specifically supported by their learning environment in believing in their own abilities can they build up a positive attitude to learning. In this respect, it is possible to conclude that teachers have the opportunity to influence students’ self-concept and to thus even partly compensate for a lack of family support, for example. Relationships thus seem to have a great influence on learners, and the quality of pedagog­ical relationships is therefore considered a prerequisite for learning that is both sustaina­ble and expedient. Some studies, for example, show that increased quality of relationships in the classroom has a positive impact on school effectiveness (Fischer & Richey, 2021). In this context, it is important to enquire what defines the quality of pedagogical relation­ships in analogue and digital learning environments respectively. It is not assumed that analogue relationships are inherently better or worse than digital ones. In this context, too, it is above all crucial that learners are seen as subjects who need to be treated with dignity, sensitivity, and mindfulness. Viewing them just as a member of a classroom, and not as an individual person leads to a negative learning climate and damages the relationship between teachers and learners (Steinl & Vogelsaenger, 2020). As early as 2005, Kersten Reich described the changing concept of learning in relation to constructivism. The constructivist philosophy of learning aims not merely at producing or mapping knowledge, rather, its objective is to enable an increase in learning. Thus, the focus is no longer merely on subjective competencies, but above all on the development of relational, methodological, and social competencies. Accordingly, learners should be enabled to independently apply methods of learning that allow them to learn in a highly effective manner. The technique of knowledge transfer emphasized by the cognitivist approach forms, according to the constructivist view, part of that list of competences, but loses in significance. Figure 1 Change in the understanding of learning Old perspectives New constructivist perspectives – teacher-centred – learner-centred – chalk-and-talk teaching – multimedia teaching – objectified through experts – objectified through action – given by experts – participatory elaboration – bureaucratised – self-organised – postulate of completeness – postulate of viability – rationalised – relational – text-oriented – multimedia – control-oriented – growth-oriented – linear perspective – systemic perspective – individualised – subjectivised within the team – superficial reproduction – constructive action – low-risk and adapted – willing to take risks and rebellious Underlying this approach is a predominantly Underlying this approach is a situated concept causal notion of learning based on mapping, of learning based on action, growth, constructive stimulus-response, instructive transmission. learning in an appropriate learning environment. Note. Adapted from “Konstruktivistische Didaktik: Beispiele für eine veränderte Unterrichtspraxis,” by K. Reich, 2005, Schulmagazin 5–10, 73(3), p. 6. Looking at the above table depicting the different concepts of learning, it quickly be­comes clear that the constructivist view focuses on the learners. Of particular interest to our study is the emphasis on relationship orientation. In the context of the pandemic and of distance learning, too little attention has been given to pedagogical relationships in particular. From one day to the next, students were faced with the task of deciding for themselves what content to work on, when to do it and, above all, how to do it. If up to the beginning and during the early stages of the pandemic, a cognitivist didactic became dominant in online teaching, it quickly became apparent that, with a purely teacher-centred, illustrative and instructional transmission-based chalk-and-talk form of teaching (Reich, 2005), it is not possible to, even subsequently, establish a functioning relationship between teachers and learners (and their parents). Without this relationship, however, purely content-based didactics and learning in a digital framework is hardly feasible (Bremm & Racherbäumer, 2020). If we now turn our attention to the field of adult education, we can see similar develop­ments with regard to constructivist learning. Siebert, for example, criticised as early as 1980 that relational aspects are often neglected in favour of content-related aspects in ped­agogy for adults, too. It is emphasized here that, at the relational level, the focus is not on establishing friendly relationships with learners, but on incorporating these relationships into an understanding of andragogic professionalism. These ideas are even more relevant today (Siebert, 1980; Wolf, 2006). It is therefore evident that in the field of adult education, too, relational ability ought to be promoted since it is a major factor in enabling educational processes. Wiltrud Gieseke (2002) sees the key to this in distanced proximity as a basic attitude to be practiced pro­fessionally. In this context, it is important to differentiate clearly between learning situa­tions and personal relationships (which the former are not) and to avoid creating distorted experiences for the learners. Nor is it, according to Gieseke, the task of the pedagogue to touch the learners’ privacy either. Attention is drawn to the fact that successful processes (communication, learning, problem solving) can have a strong influence on personal de­velopment. However, this ignores the fact that failed learning processes, in turn, may also be of personal significance, especially if they are related to negative experiences such as social decline or unemployment (Wolf, 2006). Previous learning experiences, including experiences of learner-teacher-relationships, are therefore relevant for current learning attempts. This underlines the importance of pedagog­ical relationships for successful or unsuccessful learning processes. In literacy processes, for example, past learning experiences can have an impact on the learners’ self-image and on their external image, both of which enter into and determine their relational structures. These experiences thus virtually precede the learning process (cf. Crossan et al., 2003). Although there is no indication that this phenomenon can only be related to literacy processes, it seems possible to conclude that – especially in the case of learning deficits – functioning pedagog­ical relationships are of great importance. This, in turn, leads us to assume that successful learning situations usually occur when conspicuously problematic relationships are absent and that this is possibly due to the existing relationship competence of all participants – or to sufficient positive experiences with the way former relationships proceeded. Accordingly, it is important to focus on relationship aspects not only when learning situations fail or be­come problematic (cf. also Katzenbach, 2004; Wolf, 2006). Given these insights, the extent to which a person-centred approach emphasizing values of appreciation, empathy and authentic­ity may have a positive impact on effective (digital) adult education ought to be investigated. THE PERSON-CENTRED APPROACH The person-centred approach, conceived by the American psychologist Carl R. Rogers (1980) in the course of many years of educational and psychological practice, can be summarised as follows: “We think we are listening, but it is very rarely done with real understanding and empathy. Yet this kind of listening is one of the most powerful forces of change I know” (p. 116). Rogers gained notoriety in the professional community more for his approach to psycho­logical counselling and psychotherapy than for his contributions to educational practice and theory. Nevertheless, he was deeply involved with issues of education and learning processes, as is shown by his autobiographical writings (Cornelius-White, 2012; Kunze, 2013; Rogers, 1969). With the concept of person-centred adult education, Rogers shaped a radical paradigm shift in learning and development. Sustained learning as opposed to purely technical in­struction is of great relevance in this new approach to learning. Person-centred educa­tional experiences allow for more comprehensive learning combined with whole-person growth and development. Rogers (1961) also called this “significant learning”. According to Rogers, the teacher is seen as a facilitator who not only imparts pure knowl­edge, but also promotes the learning process. Thus, learners are stimulated and encour­aged to search for solutions independently, to develop their own learning strategies, and to make their own decisions regarding content or methodological approach. The focus is not on the abilities or learning deficits of learners, but on the positive highlighting of existing potentials and experiences and, above all, on the learners themselves (Kunze, 2013). Since the concept of lifelong learning relativises the supposed differences between learning in childhood and learning during adulthood, many personal or even professional experiences can also be integrated into the self-concept of one’s own learning in adult­hood. According to Siebert (2011), although experiences relating to learning awareness are primarily gained in childhood and have a formative impact on lifelong learning, in combination with experiences gained later, adults still develop different preferences, in­terests, and learning styles (see also Arnold et al., 1999; Kunze, 2013). A more detailed look at the person-centred theory makes it possible to subdivide it into a personality theory, a group theory, and a theory of interpersonal relationships. These are in­terdependent and are, in turn, also part of the person-centred learning theory (Rogers, 1959). The theory’s main focus is to create opportunities for learners to grow personally. This can only be achieved in a learning environment free of threat or fear in combination with a con­ducive relationship, both of which need to be provided by the teacher. Likewise, it is of great importance to develop trust with the learners and to let the learning processes unfold within social relationships. Learning processes are intrapsychic and self-initiated and, accordingly, cannot be controlled from the outside (Jarvis, 2006). Another of its foci is on learning in freedom. Only if learners have learned to learn freely will they be able to supplement their own self-concept with sustainable and congruent self-experiences (Rogers, 1959). With the great importance of Rogers’ approach to successful learning in mind, the fol­lowing section looks at similar ideas in adult education theory and in research on distance education. PEDAGOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS IN ADULT EDUCATION As mentioned above, the relationship between learners and teachers in adult education has so far received little attention in adult education research or has been addressed but indirectly. In the classical theories of adult learning put forth by Knowles, Dewey or Tough, for example, there are references to the importance of the emotional level of learn­ing in general, and to its significance for the interaction of teachers and learners with one another in particular (for an overview, see Knowles et al., 2005, p. 75). On the one hand, this involves the acceptance of an affective connection between teachers and learners by the participants themselves, combined with an egalitarian relationship between the two. On this basis, learners and teachers act equally as speakers and listeners and engage in a joint learning process in which the experience of the learners is recognised as being as valuable as the knowledge of the teachers. On the other hand, trust between learners and teachers plays a central role. Not only does the learner need a basic trust in the abilities and positive intentions of the teacher, but the latter also needs to trust in the learner?s abilities of self-direction and self-regulation. The teacher seeks to build relationships of mutual trust and helpfulness among the students by encouraging cooperative activities and refraining from inducing competitiveness and judgementalness. […] The teacher exposes his own feel­ings and contributes his resources as a co-learner in the spirit of mutual inquiry. (Knowles et al., 2005, p. 93) Building on the concept of transformative learning, which can be traced back to Mezirow (1978), Daloz (2012) describes the relationship between teachers and learners in adult education primarily as a mentoring relationship, one characterised by openness and mu­tual respect. The authenticity and presence of the mentor in the learning process plays a crucial role (Misawa & McClain, 2019, p. 55), although physical presence is not explicitly referred to here. Of equal importance is the reflexivity of the actors with regard to their relationship, especially with regard to power relations, which may be rooted not only in the institutionalised roles of teacher or learner, but also in gender relations, sexual orien­tation, ethical origin, or other dimensions of inequality (Misawa & McClain, 2019, p. 58). EXPERIENCES IN THE FIELD OF DISTANCE EDUCATION Formats of distance learning in adult education have been discussed and studied for many decades. For the past two decades, the focus has been on different forms of online distance learning. The various theoretical models and empirical studies deal primarily with diverse forms of delivery, didactic concepts, and the interaction of learners with one another or with the technical environment. The relationship with teachers – who are often referred to as tutors – is rarely addressed or they are reduced to their function as learning guides available on demand. The importance of the relationship between teachers and learners is often rather implicit in the empirical material and is rarely reflected theoretically. An exception to this is a contribution by Miyazoe and Anderson (2010), who, building on a theoretical model by Anderson (2003), assume three central relationship levels in teach­ing-learning contexts: the relationship between learners and content, between the learners themselves, and between learners and teachers. In the synopsis of various studies, the authors conclude that the different levels can be weighted differently, but at least one of the three must be at a high level to enable deep and meaningful learning. Thus, the rela­tionship between teachers and learners seems to be only one of several aspects relevant to successful learning. The thesis that this relationship can be compensated by a positive dynamic between the learners or a high intrinsic interest in the subject matter, however, seems doubtful against the background of other studies. It is not only in online distance learning environments that teachers are seen as playing a central role in developing positive interaction between learners and in mediating between learners and content (e.g., Guilar & Loring, 2008). In this context, some central quality features of tutorial support are repeatedly pointed out as an essential prerequisite for suc­cessful learning (see overview in Kara et al., 2019, p. 15). In particular, this concerns the quality but also the quantity of the interaction between tutors and learners. Tutors should communicate regularly with learners, respond promptly to queries, provide feedback, and use both asynchronous and synchronous communication channels to ensure learner sat­isfaction and motivation (see also Dzakiria, 2012). If this communication is not deemed sufficient or if it is experienced as not being supportive enough, learners feel left alone and isolated and are less able to identify with their role as learners. The interaction be­tween learners and tutors should ensure “a climate of mutual respect, collaboration, mu­tual trust, supportiveness, openness, authenticity and pleasure” (Gravani, 2019, p. 202). In this way, the experiences of distance learning programs are directly linked to fundamental andragogic principles, such as those described by Weiss (2000): “As an instructor, it’s crucial that you set up the learning situation in a manner that arouses learners’ feelings of security, well-being, and self-confidence. It’s equally important to challenge them with­out threats, intimidation, or pressure” (p. 3). Such a learning atmosphere allows for an open approach even to sensitive topics and to one’s own learning difficulties, while the feeling of closeness between learners and teach­ers may still vary (Gravani, 2019, p. 210). A case study by McDougall (2015) reveals how, in a distance learning environment, teachers succeed in creating an open work atmosphere characterised by mutual trust, in which they encourage the participants to share personal perspectives and experiences and at the same time do not place themselves in the fore­ground as experts but, rather, meet the learners at eye level. Nevertheless, especially for learners who have little experience with internet-based learning environments, the lack of a direct encounter with the teacher poses a particular challenge, which is why Dzakiria (2012), for example, recommends enabling face-to-face encounters between teachers and learners, at least at the beginning of a course. It therefore seems sensible to take a closer look at the possibilities that arise in the field of adult education with regard to functioning pedagogical relationships. LESSONS LEARNED WITH REGARD TO RELATIONSHIPS IN ADULT EDU­CATION SETTINGS On the basis of the ideas outlined in the constructivist learning theory, Rogers´ per-son-centred approach, as well as experiences and evidence from the field of distance education, we can assume some key factors for a positive relationship between learners and adult educators, regardless of whether they see themselves as teachers or as tutors. Congruence Following Rogers’ concept of congruence, Boshier (1973) emphasizes the learners’ self-congruence as well as the congruence of learners and teachers in adult education. Congruence, in this context, can be conceived of as a relationship based on acceptance and on a certain level of sympathy for one another. For adult educators, this could imply an open-minded approach to the learners’ views, a willingness to accept their attitudes and opinions and to approach them without ingratiation. Empathy The willingness and ability to see the world through the learners’ eyes can be considered one of the crucial prerequisites for being a successful adult educator. Empathy is relevant not only for knowledge transfer, but also for building a positive relationship between learners and educators. The feeling of being understood is an excellent starting point for learning and should therefore be promoted by adult educators. Trust From a constructivist point of view, adult educators are above all facilitators who enable and support learning. On that basis, adult educators can also be seen as gatekeepers who unlock new knowledge for the learners. For them to be efficient in that role, however, they need their learners to trust in their facilitators and their guidance. Trust can be seen as a key component of a productive learner-teacher relationship, in general, and Rogers’ ideas of congruence and empathy may well be the best means of achieving it. Positive regard Not only unconditional positive regard, but also a general belief in the human organism can be seen as a further prerequisite for the facilitation of learning and for a successful relationship between adult educators and learners. Only if there is a strong belief in the capabilities and potentials of learners as well as a basic sympathy and respect for them will adult educators be able to motivate and support learners in an appropriate manner. However, this includes also the willingness to accept learners’ personal problems or dis­agreements and the ability to cope with conflicts that may arise during the learning pro­cess, including role conflicts (Sipitanou & Foukidou, 2012). CONCLUSION The ways in which relationships are built may well differ between the classroom and an online environment, but the decisive factors remain the same. These are related to con­gruence, empathy, trust, and positive regard. The use of digital media in pandemic times also provides opportunities for the creation of more democratic structures in learning contexts of all kinds (Steinl & Vogelsaenger, 2020). For adult education to be able to meet the challenges of the pandemic, the building of successful pedagogical relationships is required. However, only little is known about how such relationships may be built and deepened in an online learning environment. It seems that the relationship between learn­ers and educators has been largely neglected in research, not only in the field of adult education. Thus, one positive outcome of the pandemic could well be that the awareness for the significance of these relationships has now increased significantly. In order to implement the aspects discussed in the previous chapter in digitalised adult education in the future, the following things should be considered: • The creation of an appreciative learning atmosphere is the basis of all successful learning and a central indicator for high-quality adult education. • Creating a relationship based on the values of acceptance and a certain sympathy between teachers and learners could also be supported by adult education institutions. • An empathetic view of learners in terms of knowledge transfer and building trusting relationships could be seen as a key competence of professional adult educators. • Building learners’ trust in themselves and in the teacher should be seen as a general learning goal and desirable outcome of educational programs. Nevertheless, research on relationships in adult education is poor and many open ques­tions remain, in particular related to the development of learner-tutor relations in an on-line environment. 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PraxisForschungLehrer*innenBildung: Zeitschrift für Schul- und Profes­sionsentwicklung, 2(6), 175–192. https://doi.org/10.4119/pflb-3910 Weiss, R. P. (2000). Emotion and learning. Training & Development, 54(11), 44–48. Wolf, G. (2006). Der Beziehungsaspekt in der Dozent-Teilnehmer-Beziehung als Ressource und Deter-minante lebenslangen Lernens. REPORT – Literatur und Forschungsreport Weiterbildung, 2006(1), 27–36. Zawacki-Richter, O., & Naidu, S. (2016) Mapping research trends from 35 years of publications in Distance Education. Distance Education, 37(3), 245–269. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2016.1 185079 Andragoška spoznanja/Studies in Adult Education and Learning, 2022, 28(1), 25-42 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4312/as/10526 Scientific article Anetta Bacsa-Bán HIGHER EDUCATION IN HUNGARY IN THE TIME OF THE PANDEMIC ABSTRACT In the spring of 2020, the coronavirus pandemic presented the world with new challenges. In the first half of March, parallel to the spread of COVID-19, teaching and lecture halls, colleges and other facil­ities in universities and university campuses were emptied almost simultaneously. Almost overnight, all higher educational institutions switched from face-to-face teaching to online teaching, namely absentee or distance learning. In our study, we surveyed students (both Hungarian and English-speaking stu­dents) and higher education faculty at the end of the second semester of the 2019/2020 academic year to explore their experiences with online education during the pandemic. In our analysis, we explore some aspects of distance learning during the pandemic that we consider important, and we seek to compare the student and teacher views. The results show that the introduction of fully online teaching during the pandemic was relatively smooth, but this period was not without challenges and difficulties that mani­fested themselves in the learning and teaching process, in the availability of learning materials, in the digital skills of students, and in the work overload of teachers. In summary, however, the response of higher education to digitalisation today, besides its inevitability, is to prioritise the incorporation of past experiences in determining the focus of further development. Keywords: higher education, digital education, online education, empirical examination, pandemic VISOKOŠOLSKO IZOBRAŽEVANJE NA MADŽARSKEM MED PANDEMIJO – POVZETEK Spomladi 2020 je pandemija covida-19 svetu prinesla nove izzive. V prvi polovici marca so se izpraznile ucilnice in predavalnice, fakultete, kampusi in drugi univerzitetni prostori. Skoraj cez noc so visokošol­ske ustanove morale narediti prehod na izobraževanje prek spleta, torej na daljavo. Prispevek predstavlja rezultate raziskave, ki je bila ob koncu drugega semestra šolskega leta 2019/20 opravljena med (tako madžarsko kot angleško govorecimi) študenti in visokošolskimi ucitelji o njihovih izkušnjah s spletnim izobraževanjem med pandemijo. V analizi se osredotocamo na nekatere vidike izobraževanja na dalja­vo, ki se nam zdijo še posebej pomembni, primerjamo pa tudi poglede študentov in uciteljev. Rezultati kažejo, da je prehod na povsem spletno obliko poucevanja med epidemijo potekal relativno brez težav, vendar pa to obdobje ni bilo brez izzivov v procesu ucenja in poucevanja, dostopu do ucnih gradiv, pri digitalnih kompetencah študentov in preobremenjenosti uciteljev. Kljub temu je v visokem šolstvu odnos Anetta Bacsa-Bán, PhD, Assoc. Prof. and Director of Institute, Institute of Teacher Training, Univer­sity of Dunaújváros, Hungary, bana@uniduna.hu do digitalizacije danes, poleg tega, da je ta neizogibna, osredotocen na prednostno nalogo ucenja iz preteklih izkušenj pri dolocanju prihodnjih usmeritev. Kljucne besede: visokošolsko izobraževanje, digitalno izobraževanje, spletno izobraževanje, empiricna študija, pandemija INTRODUCTION The coronavirus pandemic posed new challenges for the world in spring 2020. In the first half of March, in parallel with the spread of the pandemic, teaching and lecture halls, col­leges and other university institutions as well as college campuses were emptied almost simultaneously. Almost overnight, all higher education institutions switched from attend­ance education to online, absence or distance education (Gonda, 2020) The pandemic has certainly accelerated the use of online tools in education, but the ex­pansion of digital education has been an important task in education for more than a dec­ade. The education system faced challenges not only in Hungary but all over the world. However, higher education institutions were in the best situation among the actors in the education system, as this was not without precedent for them, and distance learning in higher education could already serve as a precursor and experience for the rapid transition in any form. The aim was given: a smooth return to education as soon as possible, where, considering the preparedness and assistance of the students, the educational technology had to be considered, since the success and professionalism of the previous lecture hall/ classroom education had to be ensured for the students, but neither could the education­al methods, the tools and the technological preparedness of the instructors be ignored (Bacsa-Bán, 2021). LITERATURE REVIEW The digital transformation experienced over the last few years has transformed society and the economy and is having an increasing impact on everyday life. However, before the COVID-19 pandemic, digitalisation had a much more limited impact on education and training (International Association of Universities, 2020). Overall, we found that the pandemic has demonstrated that an education and training system that is appropriate for the digital age is essential today. While pointing out the need for a higher level of digital capacity in education and training, it has also amplified several existing challenges and further increased the existing inequality between those who have access to digital tech­nologies and those who do not (European Union [EU], 2021). The pandemic has posed even more challenges for the education and training systems in relation to the digital capacities of education and training institutions, of teacher training as well as the overall level of digital skills and competences (Benedek, 2020). Accord­ing to a 2019 study of the OECD, on average less than 40% of educators in the EU felt sufficiently proficient in using digital technologies in teaching, but there are differences between EU Member States in this respect. In an International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019), more than a third of 13–14-year-old participants did not have the most basic level of proficiency in digital skills. Furthermore, a pre-pandemic study found that a quarter of low-income households do not have computers and broadband internet. In this respect, there are differences all over the EU depending on household income (Eurostat, 2020). The pandemic has accelerated the direction of development of the education system to­wards online and hybrid learning. And this change has also revealed new and innovative ways for students/learners and educators/trainers to organise their educational and learn­ing activities and to communicate on the internet in a more personal and flexible way (Szuts, 2020). These changes require strong and coordinated efforts at EU level, as recognised and for­mulated by the European Commission in the Digital Education and Action Plan in 2021 (EU, 2021). Digitalisation has become one of the most explored topics of the last two years, not only in education, but also pervading many areas of science and social analysis. Numerous publications, workshops and conferences have been held on the subject and it is right to express concerns about whether it is still possible to say, create or show something new in this field. Yes, it certainly can be possible, because it has affected each sphere in a differ­ent way, and one of the most important topics of our present discourse is how to continue, what is it that can be taken forward from digitalisation, and what makes us, the actors of higher education, predestined by the digital education (Bereczki et al., 2020; Hargitai et al., 2020; Námesztovszki et al, 2020; Sipos et al., 2020). New concepts have also been created or highlighted during the pandemic (Námesztovszki et al., 2020; Sipos et al., 2020). Distance learning or online education was introduced into education; however, the two concepts are somewhat different, and it is also worth separat­ing their foundations if we focus on the role of the educator. Distance learning is a form of education in which teachers and students are not in the same location. Students study alone, independently for most of the training period, and take part in consultations for a shorter period. The courseware for home study is offered by educational institutions to students, while during consultation – where any form of contact can be used, from face-to-face meetings to the internet to telephone, etc. – the student deepens his/her knowledge gained during self-study. So, in this case, education takes place by bridging some distances, so students must learn how to learn independent­ly. Only those students who can adapt to this new role, have the proper motivation, are ready to continue their studies, and can take full advantage of two-way communication will be successful in distance learning. The role of educators must also be reconsidered as students are now at the centre of the learning process, while teachers become guides and helpers (Gonda, 2020). Online education is distance learning too, but in this case simultaneity and synchronicity are the focus. Teachers and students are together in real time using software and IT devic­es (laptop, tablet, mobile phone, etc.). In addition to presentations, there are opportunities for comments, questions, project assignments, discussions, additional films and videos, task solving, group work, and more (Gonda, 2020). Distance education introduced in higher education is somewhere in between: it is a hy­brid form of education. The fact that it attempts to implement e-learning-based distance learning without a physical presence offers many opportunities but of course also has its limitations. As opportunities, we can mention the following: flexibility in time; it is not linked to lo-calisation; allows the development of individual learning paths; cost-effectiveness; owing to the micro-contents, it supports the filling-in of dead times and can be studied and com­pleted even in smaller units; supports the creation of recorded courses that can be retrieved later; supports the planning of transparent and recorded learning processes; supports the breaking of geographic limitations and the creation of virtual learning communities. The following can be considered as limitations: low level of digital proficiency of the in­structor and/or student; lack of equipment; lack of personal, direct contact; skill develop­ment and practical training involves more investment of time by the instructor (Bereczki et al., 2020). All higher education institutions experienced this period differently, they had different starting points and foundations for their educational system and online education, which also meant countless solutions and related routes for digital education (Perényi, 2020; Serfozo et al., 2020). For the rest of our study, we would like to summarize the experienc­es of a Hungarian University of Applied Sciences. THE CASE OF A HUNGARIAN UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES The University of Dunaújváros (UOD), being the one and only higher educational institu­tion in a dynamically developing town in the centre of Hungary, plays a leading role in the higher education of the region. Currently there are about 1500 students studying at UOD. The University of Dunaújváros has seen rapid development during the past few years and has launched foreign language undergraduate and graduate education for students enrolled in different Engineering and Communication programs. Since the 1990s the UOD has been conducting metallurgical and mechanical engineering, technical management, engineer-teacher training, and information technology courses. At the beginning of the 2000s communications and media studies became available as well. Our students can choose from about forty specializations of nine basic majors during full-time and part-time study in the Hungarian language. Some programs are also offered in English, including the Technical Management BSc, Engineering Information Technology BSc, Business Administration BA, Communication and Media BA, Material Engineering BSc, Mechanical Engineering BSc plus MSc, and Engineering Teacher MA programs, for instance (UOD, n.d.). The University of Dunaújváros has been developing the conditions for online and digital education for years to increase the number of distance learning students and to support student success (Szabó et al., 2017). Online education received a lot of attention from both teaching colleagues and students during the university’s trainings. Nearly 10 years ago, the University of Dunaújváros established its own organisational unit called Online Studi-um, which is responsible for the development of online educational content. Owing to this, for more than 100 subjects, fully online courses are available to students. In addition to the fully online courses, the University of Dunaújváros has also been using the Moodle e-learning framework for years to support traditional education (UOD, 2020). In line with these foundations, the transition to absence education took place relatively smoothly and quickly in March 2020, but it also posed a challenge to all actors, not only in terms of teaching methods but also of new educational opportunities and opportuni­ties offered by the technology, as well as the imposed constraints (Rajcsányi-Molnár & Bacsa-Bán, 2021). For nearly a decade, our institution has flagged the promotion of student success, which has meant many steps towards reducing student dropouts, as well as towards student men­toring, the establishment of a specialist mentoring system, the possibilities offered by a monitoring system for teachers and students, and training programs for trainers. In addi­tion to quality online education, we also considered the success of students and wanted to continue to support this, and, as a result, we sought out long-term opportunities for incorporating the experience of digitalisation into our education system. In other words, we have set ourselves the goal of finding the place, role, and weight of digital education within the traditional education system. METHOD Our research, which took place in the second half of the 2019/2020 academic year among students and teachers of our higher education institution, was carried out with the help of a mirror questionnaire, i.e., in countless cases we sought to get an answer to the given question from both teachers and students, looking for a comparison of how the two most important actors of education experienced online education, giving guidance on how to incorporate these experiences in the development of the system. The latter was confirmed also by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNES­CO, 2020) call formulated within the framework of the programme Memory of the World (MoW), in which the organisation called on institutions from countries all over the world to better document and preserve data and documents related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to gathering experiences and addressing problems, it was the contribution to this goal that launched the summarizing of the experiences of online education in our institution. Research questions Our research questions were as follows: R1 – How did/do the lecturers and students at the University of Dunaújváros relate to online education? R2 – How have our students and educators experienced digital education? R3 – What difficulties and problems did they face? R4 – How do they see the future of online education? Sample Student sample The population of the study was 1134 Hungarian and 167 foreign students active in our institution in June 2020, and besides this, the 125-person active teaching base. Based on the returned answers, our sample was as follows: our questionnaire was filled out by 223 of our Hungarian students and 29 of our foreign students, which means a total of 19.3% survey, while 43 of our instructors responded, resulting in a 34% survey. From the com­parison of the population and the sample, we can conclude that the sample represents the entire multitude well in several respects. In terms of the distribution by gender of the population and the sample, women showed a higher willingness to respond among Hun­garian students, so their number is higher in the sample (34.7%) than in the population (25.1%); at the same time, in the case of foreign students, the sample represents the popu­lation well. In terms of the distribution by study section, we can speak of a representative sample since the population and the sample displayed the opinions of full-time and cor­respondence students in almost the same proportions. The sample follows the proportions of the population in the field of majors as well as in terms of training levels. Looking at the age distribution of our participating students, the highest proportion, 46.43%, were 18-25 years old, followed by those aged 26-35 (30.16%) and 36-45 years (17.06%), with the lowest number of people aged 46-55 (6.35%) in our survey. Teacher sample In terms of distribution by gender, 45% of the surveyed teachers are women and 55% are men. In terms of their age distribution, our responding teachers follow the curve of normal distribution, shifting toward higher age groups. Most of them are in the 36-45 and 46-55 age groups. In terms of their position, the same number (29-30%) was answered by teaching assistants and associate professors, while a smaller number (14-15%) was represented by assistant professors and college/university teachers. In terms of their fields of study, the surveyed colleagues represent primarily the fields of social sciences (25%), engineering (19%), and economics (16%) in accordance with our training/specialisations. Our surveyed colleagues taught this semester mainly at the BA/BSc level (54%) and at the MA (19%) and higher vocational education level (21%). Instruments During the study, we compiled an online questionnaire for both students and teachers at the university. When we asked these questions, we aimed to make a full-range question­ing: we contacted both students and teachers with the help of the Neptun information system data register via e-mail, where they received the link to our online questionnaire, which we supported with our personal e-mail. The questionnaire questions had the following structure: • the student/instructor’s prior experience with online education, • the experience of online education during COVID-19, • the future of online education, • background variables. The questionnaire was prepared in Hungarian and English. In the case of the English questionnaire, a correct language adaptation was made. Students/teachers had 2 weeks to complete it during the exam period of the 2nd semester of the 2019/20 academic year, when the experience of online education was still fresh for the respondents. RESULTS We will try to present the results of the investigation based on some of the aspects that are taken out of place but are important for online education, displaying both the student and the teacher side. Only the questions that were examined from the perspective of both groups were included in the analysis of our present study. Level of digital competences of the respondents and their encounter with online education Our surveyed teachers evaluate the level of their own digital competences as follows (Ta­ble 1). In terms of information search, the majority consider themselves master-level us­ers, while in other areas they mostly consider themselves to be independent users. They are most unsure about online problem solving; some of them have no problem with this, while about the same proportion were those who have only basic knowledge here. Table 1 Level of digital competence of teachers Basic level user Independent user Master level user Search/processing of online information 2 18 23 Creation of online content 5 23 14 Online communication and cooperation 2 23 18 Online problem solving (in case of technical problems) 14 15 14 Online safety (e.g., data management, etc.) 13 21 9 In the case of our students the same question developed as follows: a significant majority, 59.92%, consider themselves experienced users, 22.62% of students call their level of digital competences average, and nearly 15% consider themselves professional. A significant majority of students have already used a form of online education, most notably the Moodle interface, which our institution introduced in its trainings very early, already in 2012. But some of our students had not yet engaged in online education, mostly first-year and distance learning students. It was immediately stated here that introduction to online education was essential for first-year students and especially for distance learn­ing students. Many of the online forms of education have long-term traditions in our institution, so when asked what online educational activity they have regularly carried out in the past, a large majority of our teaching colleagues answered that these were their previous on-line teaching experiences, either in the form of contact lessons, exams, or consultation classes. One of the outstanding aims of our study was to examine the effects of the state of emer­gency to our online education and digitalisation at the university. It was therefore im­portant to see the daily burden this activity meant for both our colleagues and students. We found that in both groups, the majority spent more than 8 hours a day working in the digital space, and it was only a very small number for whom this represented only 3-5 hours of online activity. It was also important for us to find out whether the daily duration of their activity spent in the digital space for learning/working has changed compared to the period before. About 50% of students reported an increase, while all the teachers reported an increase in online work. Generational differences are certainly also the cause of the change in students’ online living space over time, but it also indicates that the workload of teachers has increased dramatically. Experience concerning online education In the following, we asked our instructors to evaluate their experiences and impressions of online education in some respects (Figure 1). The availability of their own curricula, the quality and efficiency of their online education obviously have come in first place. Unfortunately, the point of the institutional asset provision and the digital preparedness of staff and students were ranked last. Upon these experiences, we took several measures already during the semester, such as appealing for the help of pattern courses and digital competence training courses at the university. Figure 1 Teaching experiences/impressions connected with online education Availability of the online teaching materials produced by me Quality of my online teaching ac.vity E.ciency of my online teaching ac.vity Quality of the online teaching materials produced by me My own endowment with devices (e.g. laptop, so.wares) My own digital preparedness Ac.ve par.cipa.on/involvement of students in classes My previous knowledge of online teaching methodology Digital preparedness of students Digital preparedness of my close colleagues Ins.tu.onal endowment with devices (e.g. laptop, so.wares) 4,52 4,14 4,05 4,05 3,93 3,88 3,6 3,56 3,55 3,1 2,57 12345 Mean Note. Participants responded to the following statement: “Please evaluate your impressions and experienc­es gained during the semester during the state of emergency on a scale of 1 to 5 in the following areas”; (1=insufficient; 5=excellent). Our students were able to evaluate the experiences of the semester in relation to digital education by giving grades (Table 2), and in this evaluation, of course, their own endow­ment with devices was given the best grade, together with their digital preparedness and the endowment with online learning materials. The average given grade of 4.07 can be considered a very nice result on a scale of 1 to 5. Table 2 Assessment of the student experience of the semester in relation to online education/training M SD Digital preparedness of teachers 3.74 1.049 Digital preparedness of fellow students 3.80 0.902 My own digital preparedness 4.16 0.902 Institutional endowment with devices of the University of Dunaú­jváros (e.g., assurance of interfaces) 4.00 1.016 My own endowment with devices (e.g., laptop, smart phone) 4.56 0.752 Quality of online teaching materials 3.78 1.073 Availability of online teaching materials 4.07 0.999 Efficiency of online teaching materials 3.64 1.256 Quality of online teaching materials 3.67 1.184 Note. 1= insufficient; 5=excellent. While the quality and effectiveness of online education was the worst, together with the digital preparedness of the instructors, they all received a rating above 3.5. These lessons urged the university’s leadership to take steps towards quality and efficiency through trainings and tutorials, looking ahead to the semesters of the next online education. In a subsequent question, we asked our instructors to evaluate the criteria listed below (Figure 2) as factors causing difficulties that were challenging for them during the online semester. The new administrative burdens clearly caused the greatest challenges and problems for all of them, besides the fact that there was no possibility of direct, personal contacts, and slipping together of the world of work and their family life was also a big problem because of working from home. The least difficulties were to maintain contact with the study office or to ensure information security. Figure 2 Difficulties in online education based on the opinions of teachers New administra.ve du.es Lack of personal presence and direct contacts with the students Harmoniza.on of working from home (home o.ce) and private life I had to perform my du.es on several di.erent pla.orms Problems of students with their connec.on to Internet Assurance of suitable .me necessary for teaching in my home Assurance of suitable place necessary for teaching in my home Narrowing of my tradi.onal teaching methodology possibili.es Knowledge and use of online teaching pla.orms Keeping contact with students Elabora.on of a requirement system conforming to the state of emergency Lack of personal presence and direct contacts with fellow teachers Contact with fellow teachers My problems with the connec.on to Internet Crea.on of online teaching materials Availability of necessary educa.onal pla.orms (e.g. subscrip.on) Ins.tu.onal communica.on connected with the management of the state of emergency Assurance of informa.on security (e.g. screen photo, management of the background) Contact with the Study O.ce 3,44 2,95 2,86 2,71 2,63 2,58 2,58 2,51 2,42 2,4 2,4 2,28 2,19 2,12 2,1 2,09 2,07 1,98 1,67 1234 Mean Viewing satisfaction from a different perspective, from the students’ point of view, we also focused on which areas caused them difficulties (Table 3). Thus, the lack of personal contact with educators was the most difficult since keeping contact was not easy, as well as the use of various educational platforms or the harmonisation of their work (learning) and private life, which is a problem for many, even educators. Access to devices or inter-net were rated as least problematic. Table 3 Difficulties in online education (students) N F Availability of study materials 39 4.7 Understanding of the learned items 73 8.8 Contact with the teachers 96 11.6 Contact with fellow students of the same year 50 6 Contact with the institution 63 7.6 Assurance of appropriate time for studies 75 9.1 Assurance of appropriate space for studies 47 5.7 (More) independent preparation 60 7.2 Use of ICT tools (e.g., PC, laptop, mobile applications) 11 1.3 Availability of ICT tools (e.g., PC, laptop, mobile applications) 18 2.2 Access to the internet or limited connection 36 4.3 Finding the way on the different platforms use by the teachers 91 10.9 Harmonisation of studying at home and private life 91 10.9 Online education did not cause any difficulty 57 6.8 Other: ………………………………. 24 2.9 We also wanted to know what the students need in terms of online learning materials, and how we could make their training more effective during the semester in digital-only form (Table 4). It can be concluded that the teacher’s explanation is clearly the primary and necessary factor, followed by a series of practice tasks for the application of the study ma­terial. The existence of written course material only was seen to be the least help in terms of efficient learning. In other words, we have reached a point towards blended learning. Table 4 The easiest way for me to learn online/digital study material is if... the written study material is sufficiently detailed to understand without explanation 130 the teacher explains what is written (I can hear) 152 the teacher can be seen and explains the study material (video, podcast) 142 video helps you understand what you‘ve learned (film, animation) 137 I have to apply the study material during the tasks I receive (I will try it) 146 Others: …………………………………………… 10 We asked our teachers whether in the majority of their online (live) classes they sought to involve students in some form, as they would in classroom education. The answers of our teachers showed that they primarily gave the students an independent task, opportunities to ask questions, discuss topics or use cooperative learning techniques to process the given topic. The future of online education We considered it important to ask how they see online education as part of higher educa­tion (Figure 3). Although students still see traditional education as their priority, more and more people feel that this trend is about to reverse: either online training will take over the leading role in higher education, or this will be done by supplementing it with traditional classroom education. Obviously, the students also felt the importance of the latter, e.g., in the context of exercises or lab lessons. In the case of teachers, too, the rise of online education from their responses was clearly visible. However, it is noticeable that they still expect the supremacy of traditional edu­cation. While students have responded to this question by suggesting that we are moving towards replacing traditional (classroom) education, educators think the role of traditional education is much stronger. Figure 3 Future impact of the pandemic on higher education according to educators and students (%) online replaced online completed tradi.onal completed tradi.onal restored teacher student DISCUSSION In traditional higher education, the primary source of learning is frontal classroom educa­tion, where the teacher is active, the transmitter of information, and the students learn the study material as passive recipients. This is complemented by working independently, in­dividually, in pairs or in groups. In contrast, today’s university students are characterised by an intensive use of the internet, both as a source of communication and entertainment (Bessenyei, 2010). In Anglo-Saxon countries, it is believed that the thinking, percep­tion and with it the learning perception of today’s net generation of digital natives differ significantly from those of previous generations (Hargitai et al., 2020; Prensky, 2001). Meanwhile, Schulmeister (2009) refers to the same generation as the media generation in Germany because the internet only gives them the opportunity to stay connected with oth­ers and be entertained; they do not use it at all for their learning activities. That is, they do not have different ways of thinking or different learning habits but use the internet only as a medium (Hargitai et al., 2020; Schulmeister, 2009). In our study, too, it was considered as a point of view whether the students and teachers at our university belong to the next generation or the media generation, and whether this can determine their relationship to online education, i.e., whether online education has appeared as a defeasible difficulty or opportunity for them. Over the past two decades, the number of online courses and programmes has increased significantly in higher education practice, which has been a natural part of the globali­sation of education due to the gaining ground of the online world. Due to the increased demand for online education and the interest of higher education institutions in creating diversified educational opportunities, this growth is expected to continue in the future (Allen & Seaman, 2008). The question of the future of online education is a legitimate question for all higher education educators/researchers or students. This aspect was also one of the focuses of our questionnaire survey, assuming and experiencing a difference in the opinions of teachers and students. Online education as a form of education includes computer-based educational platforms and methods of sharing educational material, as well as a wide range of forms of ed­ucational material, such as multimedia educational materials, simulations, games, and their application even on mobile platforms. Using all this, the emphasis in online higher education is on collaborative learning (Hargitai et al., 2020). Therefore, these issues, both in terms of platforms and educational material, have been included in the empirical study. Heuer and King (2004) have already found that ICT is transforming students’ ex­pectations; the emphasis was placed on the fact that although online education resembles traditional education in many of its characteristics, it also has its own characteristics: flexibility (available anywhere, anytime); reflexibility (i.e., the possibility of feedback on the study material) and the possibility of anonymity; the latter is mostly not possible in the traditional educational process. This was complemented by further findings by Dab-bagh and Bannan-Ritland (2005), who listed the following as the top four characteristics of traditional education: restriction to location and student presence, real-time quality, teacher-driven/controlled, and employment of exclusively linear educational solutions. And as Keengwe and Kidd (2010) indicate, in the online education and learning environ­ment, asynchronous and real-time communication is possible, which can thus be the basis for informal, dynamic and diverse pedagogical practices, i.e., active learning, to help the pedagogical activities move from an educational paradigm to student-centred learning. In accordance with the Hungarian higher education strategy document Fokozatváltás a felsooktatásban/Change of degree in higher education (Hungarian government, 2016), according to the higher education vision, a unified online digital environment is emerging in Hungarian higher education, offering personalised learning opportunities tailored to age, interest, and individual life situation. An online learning space and learning com­munity are created where members of the community receive support for their lifelong learning and development. In this online space, the higher education institutions display and further develop their training offers in a flexible response to training needs. Along with this, it has become a strategic goal that the digital preparedness of higher education graduates must be of an international standard, with breakthroughs in three main areas. Firstly, a transformation of the current methodology and approach to education and learn­ing, a paradigm shift in higher education is needed, encouraging institutions to implement student-centred learning and exploit the full potential of ICT in education and learning. In addition, it is essential to build a learning space, university life and, beyond it, to build a digital learning community that helps students and educators alike. Finally, the devel­opment, maintenance, and efficiency improvement of the infrastructure necessary for the paradigm shift is also essential (Perényi, 2020). According to the results of a wide-ranging survey, most of the world’s higher education institutions would like to keep the traditional forms and methods of education for conven­ience. But it is also clear to them that there may be new epidemics or other globally un­pleasant events in the world at any time, for which education must be prepared and transit smoothly. Only universities and colleges that can adapt quickly to new circumstances and manage costs flexibly and efficiently can survive, also in the longer term (Gonda, 2020). CONCLUSIONS In our research we examined the problems and difficulties of the first semester of online education resulting from the epidemic, both on the teaching and student side. We tried to summarise which useful experiences can be transferred to further online semesters, what problems we need to solve in terms of online education, both in terms of the need for technology tools and their training, development, methodological requirements and impacts for all actors in education. Our findings to the research questions asked at the beginning of the study are as follows: R1 How did and do the teachers and students of Dunaújváros University relate to online education? R2 How did our students and teachers experience digital education? The students and teachers of the University of Dunaújváros already had a grasp of online teaching and learning, as our institution has a history of nearly a decade in these activ­ities, thus the transition to full online education was handled relatively smoothly. But this period was not without the challenges and difficulties that were manifested in the learning-teaching process; in addition to the availability of learning materials and the digital preparedness of students, the burden on teachers was significant, having to meet the demands of the education methodology and specially digital education, as well as facing issues in the supply of equipment. R3 What difficulties and problems did they face? Although their relationship with digital/online education was positive, the most signifi­cant problem they perceived was the lack of personal contact and excessive administrative burdens (instructors), while the students also mentioned the lack of personal relationships in the first place. Both groups had a significant problem with the overlapping of work and private life, the two areas resulted in significant additional burdens not only in terms of space but time as well, and in the activity of both our students and instructors surveyed at the same time. R4 How do they see the future of online education? Regarding the future of online education, the conception of students points towards re­placing traditional education with online education; while the teachers also see this ex­pansion as real for online education, but, assuming this as a slower process, they feel that the preponderance of traditional education remains a characteristic of higher education as a whole in the longer term. The experience gained through the study confirmed the need for both, and this, as we have experienced since then, can be best embodied in hybrid solutions, in so-called blended learning. Teaching in a non-traditional form facilitates adaptation to different life situations, the student learns the study material at a time that meets his or her own needs, using methods other than traditional ones, which promotes the success of participation in the training. Of course, the information revealed during our study confirms the limited nature of the generalizability of the results due to the local nature of the sampling and without control measurements. However, to also assess the success of putting the findings of the study into practice, further research is planned among students and teachers. During the questionnaire survey and based on our own experience in higher education and other similar institutional studies (Grajczjár et al., 2021; Serfozo et al., 2020; Sipos et al., 2020), we can say that the hybrid approach will be the dominant aspect of the un­certainty caused by the pandemic worldwide in the future. The essence of the solution is that although many students and higher education institutions strongly prefer personal/ attendance education and learning, health and safety concerns force higher education in­stitutions to use personal and online teaching methods together. Previous studies have al­ready shown good results in terms of its effectiveness (Forgó, 2013; Hargitai et al., 2020; Sipos et al., 2020). We found that support for hybrid systems, a similar way of teaching to blended learning to be organised in the future, is significant. For nearly two years, the pandemic has shown that online education (whatever you call it: digital, absence, distance learning) is the basis of future higher education and is also justified in the higher education of the present. 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The 2018 International Computer and Information Literacy Study – cognitive assessment and question­naires. https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/icils/about.asp UNESCO. (2020, April 6). UNESCO calls for greater support to documentary heritage amid COVID-19. https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-calls-greater-support-documentary-heritage-amid-covid-19 University of Dunaújváros. (n.d.). Dunaújvárosi Egyetem. https://www.uniduna.hu/en University of Dunaújváros. (2020). E-DUE concept [Internal teaching development document]. UOD. Andragoška spoznanja/Studies in Adult Education and Learning, 2022, 28(1), 43-55 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4312/as/10547 Sabina Licen, Igor Karnjuš, Mirko Prosen AN EVALUATION STUDY OF NURSE EDUCATORS’ LEARNING EXPERIENCE IN A DIGITAL MODULAR COURSE ABSTRACT The Covid-19 pandemic poses a new challenge in the adoption of ICT in education. The need for ed­ucational institutions to develop standards and implement quality assurance in digital education has suddenly gained new significance. The aim of this study is to evaluate the learning experiences of nurse educators in Slovenia acquired during a nine-week modular online course on the design, delivery and evaluation of online study units, based on a quality standard for digital education developed for this pur­pose. A mixed methods approach was used. The evaluation of the nurse educators’ learning experiences was examined quantitatively (cross-sectional study) and qualitatively (focus group). The Cronbach’s alpha for the entire questionnaire was 0.921, indicating that the internal consistency of the questionnaire developed for evaluation was excellent. The thematic analysis identified three main themes. At the end of the course, the nursing teachers expressed their desire for additional courses in which they could gain and deepen their knowledge of the preparation, implementation, and evaluation of the educational unit with the help of digital technology. Keywords: e-learning, online learning, nursing teachers, quality, higher education EVALVACIJA IZKUŠENJ VISOKOŠOLSKIH UCITELJEV ZDRAVSTVENE NEGE, PRIDOBLJENIH NA DIGITALNEM MODULARNEM TECAJU – POVZETEK Pandemija covida-19 je prinesla nov izziv za uvajanje IKT v izobraževanje. Hkrati se je pokazala tudi potreba izobraževalnih ustanov po razvijanju standardov in na podlagi teh zagotavljanju kakovosti pri nacrtovanju uporabe digitalne tehnologije. Namen raziskave je bil evalvirati izkušnje visokošolskih uciteljev zdravstvene nege v Sloveniji, pridobljene na devettedenskem modularnem spletnem tecaju o oblikovanju, izvajanju in vrednotenju spletnih ucnih enot, ki je bil pripravljen na podlagi standarda Sabina Licen, PhD, Assoc. Prof., Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, sabina.licen@fvz.upr.si Igor Karnjuš, PhD, Asst. Prof., Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, igor.karnjus@fvz.upr.si Mirko Prosen, PhD, Assoc. Prof., Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, mirko.prosen@fvz.upr.si kakovosti za digitalno izobraževanje. Uporabljen je bil pristop mešanih metod dela. Evalvacija izkušenj uciteljev zdravstvene nege je potekala s kvantitativno (presecna raziskava) in kvalitativno (fokusna sku­pina) metodo. Cronbachov koeficient alfa za celoten vprašalnik je bil 0,921, kar nakazuje na odlicno no-tranjo skladnost vprašalnika, razvitega za namen evalvacije. Na podlagi tematske analize smo opredelili tri teme. Ob zakljucku tecaja so ucitelji zdravstvene nege izrazili željo po dodatnih tecajih, na katerih bi pridobili in poglobili znanje o pripravi, izvedbi in evalvaciji izobraževalne enote s pomocjo digitalne tehnologije. Kljucne besede: e-izobraževanje, spletno ucenje, ucitelji zdravstvene nege, kakovost, visokošolsko izobraževanje INTRODUCTION In March 2020, over one billion learners were affected by school or university closures, with Covid-19 cases being confirmed worldwide. Eighty percent of learners were ex­cluded from their educational institutions when physical campuses closed due to social distancing measures (UNESCO, 2020b). Moreover, UNESCO (2020a) reports that higher education closures have affected over 91 percent of students worldwide and that in the 2021 academic year, 23.8 million students were at risk of abandoning their studies or not gaining admission to schools. Digitally mediated teaching and learning have gradually been demanded and implemented, especially in the context of higher education. To alle­viate the education crisis, schools around the world have adopted online teaching methods to preserve educational opportunities and protect the health and lives of students. Background Digital education has allowed educational institutions to continue functioning during the global pandemic (Yeo et al., 2021). Many years of slow progress in digital education have recently experienced a sudden shift. At the outbreak of the pandemic, proponents of on-line learning, who had invested considerable time and energy in convincing stakeholders, quality standards committees, funders, and academic staff of the benefits of digital educa­tion and the need to develop new approaches to teaching and learning in order to meet the needs of 21st century learners, immediately gained global support (Barbour, 2021). On­line designers, developers, teachers, and researchers were sought out, and evidence-based benefits of online education were touted as equal to or better than face-to-face learning (Zalat et al., 2021). Academics with previous digital experience managed to quickly em­brace e-learning and took advantage of its flexibility, accessibility, and adaptability in transferring their course content from face-to-face classes to online platforms (Coman et al., 2020). Today, teachers and academics are well aware of the fact that quality, rigour and high levels of student engagement and satisfaction can be achieved in well-designed online environments (Alqurashi, 2019). Because of Covid-19, online learning abruptly shift­ed from being a convenient option to becoming a necessity. Educators who were less technologically savvy found themselves in a stressful situation, having to convert face-to-face learning sessions into online learning sessions without sufficient knowledge on how to design or deliver digital content. However, despite some initial reservations, online learning came to the rescue of educational institutions overnight with an unprecedented adoption of online educational solutions (Rapanta et al., 2020). In some cases, online learning has been seen as emergency remote teaching rather than effective e-learning due to a certain sense of desperation or lack of appropriate knowledge, skills and training. Emergency remote teaching refers to a teaching modality carried out partially or entirely online due to circumstances of crisis (such as natural disasters, wars, or health emergen­cies) (Slapac et al., 2021). This includes the use of distance-only teaching methods to replace established face-to-face teaching methods, as well as hybrid or combined teach­ing methods for the duration of the emergency situation (Licen, 2021; Misirli & Ergulec, 2021). Either way, since the outbreak of the pandemic, many educational institutions have been forced to review and change their existing policies and procedures in need of clear and comprehensive long-term strategies for implementing digital education. Suddenly, compelled by overwhelming pressure on higher education institutions to provide appro­priate infrastructure which would enable quality digital education experiences through a targeted development of interactive pedagogical tools, effective online student engage­ment tools, and training for their academic staff (Rapanta et al., 2020), a new teaching paradigm began to emerge. The emergence of this new teaching paradigm means that all educational institutions need to develop a focused implementation strategy and revise their quality assurance protocols, extending them to include digital education methods and ensuring that they focus on appropriate inputs, processes and outcomes (European Commission, 2020). One of the possible solutions, which is in line with the reforms in higher education that focus on providing flexible approaches to education and training, could be an interac­tive framework which includes the best practices from existing frameworks and models in the literature from around the world, together with the experiences of digital educa­tion researchers from different countries, namely the Digital Education Quality Standard Framework (MacDonald, Backhaus, et al., 2021). This framework includes definitions of variables and sub-variables to facilitate context and understanding and has been proposed as a quality standard to guide the design and delivery of effective online learning (Mac­Donald, Backhaus, et al., 2021). The aim of the study is to use the Digital Education Quality Standard Framework to as­sess the learning experiences of nurse educators in Slovenia acquired in a digital modular course. METHODS A mixed methods approach was used. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to assess the nurse educators’ learning experiences. We adopted a convergent parallel design as proposed by Creswell and Plano Clark (2017), in which quantitative and qualitative data are collected simultaneously and both approaches are prioritised. The results of both analyses are then compared and/or combined into a unified whole. This type of research design supports triangulation, in which the researcher attempts to balance the weaknesses of the qualitative and quantitative approaches by taking advantage of the strengths of both. Quantitative data were collected using an online survey and qualitative data were collected using the focus group method. Settings Based on the Digital Education Quality Standard Framework (MacDonald, Licen, et al., 2021), a nine-week modular online course was offered to nurse educators in Slovenia. The nine-week training series “Designing, Delivering and Evaluating Online Study-Units” for nurse educators was divided into practical topics: Introduction; Content; Delivery; Support, Structure, Community, and Outcomes. One topic was covered each week except for Delivery, which was covered in two weeks. The purpose of the modular online course was to provide learners with the basic knowledge and skills needed to design, deliver and evaluate an e-learning session. After completing the course, participants completed a questionnaire to evaluate their learning experience. The questionnaire was divided into two parts. The first part consisted of a total of 57 items divided into six sections (content, delivery, support, structure, community, and outcomes) based on the modular course do­mains (MacDonald, Licen, et al., 2021). Participants rated these items using a Likert scale with 5 alternatives for each item, ranging from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5). The final section of the survey included the participants’ demographic data: gender, age, education level, and length of service. Participants The modular online course, which was based on the Digital Education Quality Stand­ard Framework (MacDonald, Licen, et al., 2021), was only offered to a limited number of nurse educators. Therefore, the purposive sample consisted of 24 nurse educators from tertiary educational institutions in Slovenia who had registered for the course. The sample consisted of 2 men (8.3%) and 22 women (91.7%). The age of respondents ranged from 31 to 61 years (xŻ= 43.50, SD = 8.113) and their total years of employment in higher education ranged from 1 to 40 years (xŻ= 14.63, SD = 11.294). They indicated that they had never participated in e-learning courses before, but described their com­puter skills as mostly average, despite having incorporated computer technologies into their teaching/work activities (e.g., they reported that they had used the virtual learning environment or Moodle to share their course readings and organise discussion groups, etc.) (Table 1). Table 1 The level of computer literacy and daily use of computer technologies in the classroom/work setting Which of the following best describes your level of computer literacy: n % Novice - I have attempted to use computer technologies, but I still need help on a regular basis. 1 4.2 Beginner - I am able to perform basic functions in a limited number of computer applications. 2 8.3 Average - I have general skills in a number of computer applications. 9 37.5 Advanced - I have the ability to competently use a wide range of computer technologies. 7 29.2 Expert - I am highly proficient in using a wide range of computer technologies. 5 20.8 How often do you use computer technologies in teaching/work: n % Rarely 3 12.5 Occasionally 5 20.8 Frequently 4 16.7 Almost always 6 25.0 All the time 6 25.0 Quantitative data collection and analysis After completing the digital modular course, the participants received an email invitation to complete an online survey (1ka.si). The questionnaire contained information about the aim of the study and their rights as participants. The study was conducted in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki – Ethical Principles for Medical Research. The partici­pants had the opportunity to complete the questionnaire by the end of May 2021. During data collection, a database of the participants’ responses was created, excluding their surnames, first names and email addresses so as to ensure anonymity. The data were then exported to the IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 26 for macOS for analysis. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and linear regression. A p-value = 0.05 was considered significant. Qualitative data collection and analysis In the second part of the study, prior to the focus group interviews, all 24 participants were emailed an informed consent form detailing the aims of the study, the method of data collection, and the measures taken to ensure anonymity and confidentiality. The participants were given the opportunity to select several possible dates for the focus group session. Based on the dates selected by the participants, two focus groups were formed, which is considered adequate to generate sufficient evidence (Guest et al., 2017). The focus groups, which took place in June 2021, were conducted via Zoom© and audio-recorded. Data were collected in a semi-structured interview. The topic guide used in the focus groups consisted of thematic sections related to the content, delivery, and support provid­ed during the course, the structure of the course and its outcomes, based on the Digital Education Quality Standard Framework (MacDonald, Licen, et al., 2021). Both focus groups lasted approximately one hour and were transcribed verbatim. During the prepa­ration, organisation and reporting phases of the study, several considerations were taken into account regarding credibility and trustworthiness according to the trustworthiness checklist proposed by Elo et al. (2014). The qualitative analysis was conducted separately by two authors who then merged their reflective notes and individual findings to produce the final results. These results were then triangulated with the quantitative results and the results of the literature review. This analysis was conducted using the qualitative data analysis software NVivo ver. 12 (QRS International). Mixed method approach Data analysis and integration in the convergent design consists of merging the qualitative and quantitative results. This is done in three phases: (1) analysis of the qualitative data by coding the data and grouping the codes into general themes; (2) statistical analysis of the quantitative data; (3) a mixed methods data analysis (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). According to Creswell and Creswell (2018), there are several ways to do this. After care­ful consideration and elaboration, we opted for the “side-by-side” comparison where re­searchers make the comparison within the discussion after first reporting the quantitative results and then the qualitative results which either confirm or refute the quantitative results. During the analysis, much attention was devoted to the importance of integrating both perspectives. RESULTS Quantitative findings The ratings of the digital modular course by the 24 participating nurse educators (xŻ= 4.42, SD = 0.419 [95% CI 4.24, 4.60], p = 0.000) indicate that the learning experience was perceived as very good. The Cronbach’s alpha for the entire questionnaire was 0.921, indicating that the internal consistency of the questionnaire developed for evaluation pur­poses was adequate. Table 2 shows the descriptive statistics of respondents based on the questionnaire domains. The results show that the participants rated the Outcomes, Structures, and Community domains highest (xŻ= 4.63, 4.42, and 4.42, respectively) and the Support domain lowest (xŻ= 4.28), but still very high. Moreover, the highest rated items were those stating that as a result of their participation in the modular online course, they were now able to or-ganise the course content for an effective online learning session (xŻ= 4.75; SD = 0.442), establish a discussion forum to facilitate learning and reflection (xŻ= 4.74; SD = 0.449), and create learning activities to effectively deliver online content and engage learners (xŻ= 4.71; SD = 0.464). Even the lowest rated items, such as those stating that the amount Table 2 Digital Education Quality Standard Framework assessment questionnaire (n = 24) - descriptive statistics Domains N of items xŻ 95% CI p Cronbach a Lower Upper Content 13 4.41 4.21 4.61 0.000 0.896 Delivery 9 4.30 4.07 4.52 0.000 0.883 Support 6 4.28 4.01 4.56 0.000 0.867 Structure 11 4.42 4.21 4.63 0.000 0.899 Community 8 4.42 4.21 4.62 0.000 0.861 Outcomes 10 4.63 4.43 4.83 0.000 0.925 Note. Participants rated the questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 5 - Strongly Agree to 1 - Strongly Disagree; xŻ = Mean Value; SD = Standard Deviation. of time allocated for this modular online course was adequate (xŻ= 3.87; SD = 1.191), that the modular online course included (provided) useful and regular feedback from other learners (xŻ= 4.00; SD = 1.103), that the modular online course included (provided) collab­orative learning opportunities (xŻ= 4.08; SD = 0.830) and that learning occurred through discussion, reflection, collaboration and by taking initiative and responsibility to listen, question and think critically within the community of fellow learners (xŻ = 4.08; SD = 0.925), still scored very high. Further, we assumed that participants with longer tenure would perceive the course more favourably and therefore rate it higher. Therefore, a linear regression analysis was con­ducted to estimate the relationships between the participants’ overall length of service and their course ratings. Although the results show that those with low seniority rated the modular course higher, no significant regression equation was found (p > 0.05). Qualitative findings Using a descriptive approach to qualitative analysis (Doyle et al., 2020), the codes were reviewed and grouped into three overarching themes concerning the participants’ experi­ences of attending a nine-week modular online course, namely (1) perceptions of content structure and delivery, (2) perceived support and interaction, and (3) impact on profes­sional development. Perception of the content, structure, and delivery The participants reported that they were pleased with the content of the modular course and found it helpful in learning how to design, deliver and evaluate online lectures. All participants described their experience as very positive and very well organised with relevant resources and examples of best practice guiding them through the course. One of the participants stated: “The course content was very interesting; my experience was very positive, and I think this was a very well-organised course.” The course was perceived by the participants as interactive and engaging, and they felt that it gave them enough autonomy to follow their own learning needs and further polish their teaching style. Furthermore, it was recognised as balanced in terms of learning activities within each module: The number of assignments was reasonable and the tasks were interactive. I do not feel that anything else could have been added to the content or that anything was left out. The course was well-balanced and gave me enough space to follow my own teaching needs. At the beginning I was worried that we would be overwhelmed because of COVID, but in the end it was manageable. It followed a progres­sive approach that I liked and included several tips on how to keep me further motivated. Even though some participants had already been familiar with some of the e-tools used in the modular course, the course provided them with a new perspective and approach to using these tools in online teaching: […] I was familiar with the e-tools I used in preparing my online lecture, how­ever, I had never used them before, because I had only given face-to-face lec­tures. For me, this was an excellent opportunity to explore them to their full extent. I really enjoy learning new things, and am trying to improve my skills and competencies. Perceived support and interaction The participants found the level of support and timely and constructive feedback highly motivational. During the modular course, technical and media support was available. They also received support and feedback on their assignments from the course instruc­tors, which was perceived as timely, focused, constructive and motivating. Some participants commented thus: I think the feedback was very friendly and very supportive and constructive. The course instructors provided us with timely feedback after our tasks. […] [O]verall, the feedback I received was well-balanced and appropriate. […] [T]he instructors encouraged us and kept us motivated throughout the course. I think the instructors did their job perfectly, especially in terms of letting us work on our own assignments based on our practice. […] I felt that this was a highly autonomous way of learning. […] Their support motivated me to finish the assignments. Despite the mostly positive feedback from the participants, some of them missed face-to-face interaction between the participants and the course instructors: “I was very pleased with the recorded voice introduction at the beginning of each module, but I missed human interaction between fellow participants. I think more live interaction would have made a big difference.” The impact on professional development Overall, the participants felt that the course met their needs and expectations and would help them improve their pedagogical work as teachers. For example, one of the partici­pants remarked: I joined the course because I wanted to improve my teaching methods and tech­niques [...]. I felt that I needed to obtain more knowledge about e-learning, especially because we were forced to adopt e-learning due to the COVID situa­tion. I think that my expectations have clearly been met, and I feel confident in using this knowledge and skills in preparing my online lectures. It was also evident that the course contributed to the participants’ critical analysis of their own teaching (style, methods, and practice), as well as empowered them to explore e-learning approaches on their own and share this knowledge with their colleagues who did not attend the course. Furthermore, the course was recognised as an important step in their personal and professional development: The course gave me the opportunity to reflect on my own teaching practice and helped me improve my teaching approach. It opened up a whole new dimension of teaching for me. Learning new pedagogical methods and techniques of e-learning has given me the confidence to prepare my own e-courses and empowered me to share this knowledge with my colleagues as well. The modular course was a trigger for me to transfer my usual face-to-face teaching to online teaching. By the end of the course, I was able to do this independently. For me, this was also an excellent opportunity in terms of my personal and professional development. DISCUSSION Education is often perceived as a sector that resists change while struggling through a productivity and efficiency crisis (OECD, 2016). The transition from mostly traditional or teacher-centred pedagogy to learner-centred pedagogy is a long and slow process that depends on a number of factors. With this in mind, our aim was to evaluate the learning experiences of nurse educators in Slovenia acquired through a digital modular course based on a quality standard for digital education. In addition, we also aimed to fill the gap in the literature, which has focused mainly on the quantitative perspective and included few studies dealing with the evaluation e-learning experiences using other methodologi­cal approaches (Frazer et al., 2017). The data from our questionnaire supports the data from our focus group interviews relat­ed to the course content, structure and delivery. The results show that participants liked the course, that the course was relevant, useful and helpful, and that they improved their learning skills in online teaching. They found the content of the modular course practical and the learning outcomes very clear. They felt that the course included relevant readings and practical tips. The participants were very satisfied with the course content, even those with previous experience in online teaching. However, there are a few things which need to be modified in the future. Some participants found the course very demanding, espe­cially during the COVID crisis, as they were heavily burdened with workload associated with the transition from face-to-face to online teaching. Nevertheless, they rated individ­ual items very positively. Nursing education today is in a constant state of change when it comes to new learning and teaching methods. The number of online nursing education programmes is rapidly increasing and faculty must keep up with the needs, desires, and demands of new genera­tions of students, while also taking into account the standards of professional regulation, as nursing is one of the most regulated professions in the European Union. Therefore, one of the greatest challenges for educational institutions is to integrate innovative e-learning methods which will strengthen and support both teaching and learning (Coman et al., 2020). To date, many studies have investigated online learning. However, few have ex­amined the learning effects before and after online learning (Kim et al., 2021). As nurse educators need to be competent in their professional roles and possess the necessary skills to positively influence student learning outcomes (Frazer et al., 2017), it is necessary to provide them with adequate training to support them in this process. At the same time, effective teaching strategies have been shown to enhance student learning, satisfaction, and achievement of outcomes (Authement & Dormire, 2020; Frazer et al., 2017). Recent studies have identified several variables which may intervene in the process of online education, such as the proper adaptation of teaching to the online format, including the correct delivery of course content (Baltŕ-Salvador et al., 2021). Although participants scored high on the “Community” domain in the quantitative study, the qualitative study revealed that some participants missed face-to-face interaction, es­pecially as this modular course was their first more comprehensive e-learning experi­ence. The learning environment can undoubtedly have an impact on the effectiveness of e-learning, especially in terms of internal factors such as learning motivation, personal preferences, etc. (Wang et al., 2021). However, immersion in e-learning and the acqui­sition of its principles is an ongoing process of connection, adaptation, guidance and feedback that needs to take place between the instructor and the student through an online platform, and this takes time (Frazer et al., 2017), especially if it is one’s first experience with e-learning. Future design of such modular courses should take this into account. Attention should also be paid to the implementation of different e-learning strategies which would support different types of interaction, in particular in the context of nursing (e.g., the patient-nurse relationship) in terms of the necessary competencies to be ac­quired. It is also important to note that other studies (Zalat et al., 2021) conducted among healthcare or medical students have reached similar conclusions regarding the lack of face-to-face interaction. This study confirms that the modular course promoted participant engagement and, in conjunction with ICT, stimulated professional and, in some cases, personal development. The course increased nurse educators’ confidence and enabled them to use the acquired knowledge and skills in their own teaching and adapt it to the learning needs of their students. This also contributes to the development of competencies required for effective online teaching in the future. Key competencies include communication skills, techno­logical literacy, provision of informative feedback, administrative skills, responsiveness, learning monitoring and provision of support (Roddy et al., 2017). Overall, e-learning provides teachers with the opportunity to take control of their teaching and learning pro­cess, deepen their understanding of the content, and improve their pedagogical skills, especially their skills in using technology in teaching and learning (Ahmad et al., 2014). The study has certain limitations which need to be taken into account. The sample of the quantitative study is not representative of all teachers in higher education, but is relevant to nursing teachers in Slovenia and therefore allows for certain conclusions to be drawn that explain teachers’ experiences with e-learning. In addition, the teachers’ prior experi­ence of using ICT varied, which could have had an impact on their perceived experience of the modular course. Similarly, their learning experience might have been influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic and the overnight shift to online teaching, which had forced many to become familiar with e-learning before enrolling in the modular course. Another relat­ed limitation is the socio-cultural context of the study and the level of adoption of e-learn­ing in higher education, which must also be considered when interpreting the results. Two focus groups were used in the qualitative study, which is still considered acceptable (Guest et al., 2017). However, we would suggest forming at least three focus groups in the future to stimulate greater group dynamics and to glean different perspectives. Future studies should therefore include a more representative sample in the quantitative part and explore the perspectives highlighted in the present study (the impact of different types of interaction during e-learning, teachers’ competencies for e-learning, etc.). It is also evident that research in this field must be interdisciplinary. CONCLUSION The Covid-19 pandemic has forced teachers worldwide to shift from physical classrooms to online learning environments, thus drastically changing the way we teach and learn. This study used a systematic and structured modular approach to demonstrate the impor­tance of preparing teachers for e-learning and encouraging them to adopt this “new”’ way of teaching in higher education. 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PLOS ONE, 16(3), e0248758. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248758 Andragoška spoznanja/Studies in Adult Education and Learning, 2022, 28(1), 57-71 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4312/as/10534 Metka Skubic, Tita Stanek Zidaric VIRTUALNA PRIPRAVA NA POROD IN STARŠEVSTVO – PILOTNA ŠTUDIJA POVZETEK Epidemiološke razmere v Sloveniji so vplivale tudi na izobraževalni proces, saj je bilo treba del izobra­ževalnega in svetovalnega procesa prenesti iz predavalnice in simulacijskega kabineta v spletno – vir­tualno okolje. V študijskem letu 2020/2021 je bil tako na Oddelku za babištvo izveden pilotni projekt z naslovom Virtualna priprava na porod in starševstvo. Gre za prvi poskus nacrtovanja, oblikovanja, iz­vedbe in evalvacije virtualnega izobraževalnega programa na podrocju babištva, ki so ga izvedli študenti pod mentorstvom s prisotnostjo udeležencev – bodocih staršev. Poseben izziv je bilo dejstvo, da so bili študenti babištva postavljeni v dve vlogi, in sicer v vlogo študenta in vlogo zdravstvenega strokovnja­ka, ki prvic samostojno (pod mentorstvom) izvaja virtualni izobraževalni program za bodoce starše za pridobitev lastnih strokovnih kompetenc. Velik poudarek je bil namenjen evalvaciji projekta in izvedbe nastopa na nacin kvalitativnega raziskovanja z uporabo fokusnih skupin. Rezultati kažejo, da se študenti zavedajo pomena in zahtevnosti oblikovanja virtualnega ucnega okolja. Želijo si vec casa za pripravo izobraževalnega progama, vec usmeritev in vec možnosti za izvedbo generalke pred nastopom. Posebej izpostavljeno je bilo stresno svetovalno delo pri odgovarjanju na vprašanja bodocih staršev, ki je pote­kalo po koncani izvedbi v živo on-line. Kljucne besede: rojstvo, starševstvo, priprava na porod in starševstvo, izobraževanje, študenti babištva, evalvacija virtualnega ucnega okolja VIRTUAL PREPARATION FOR CHILDBIRTH AND PARENTHOOD – A PILOT STUDY – ABSTRACT The epidemiological situation in Slovenia has led to part of the educational and counselling process taking place online. In the 2020/21 academic year, a pilot project entitled “Virtual Preparation for Birth and Parenthood” was implemented at the Department of Midwifery. This was the department’s first attempt to conceptualise, design and implement a virtual midwifery education programme delivered by midwifery students in the presence of the participants – future parents. A particular challenge was posed by the fact that the midwifery students simultaneously took on two roles, one as students and the Pred. mag. Metka Skubic, dipl. bab., univ. dipl. ped., Oddelek in Katedra za babištvo, Zdravstvena fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani, metka.skubic@zf.uni-lj.si Viš. pred. Tita Stanek Zidaric, dipl. bab., MSc (UK), IBCLC, Oddelek in Katedra za babištvo, Zdrav­stvena fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani, tita.zidaric@zf.uni-lj.si other as healthcare professionals independently (under supervision) conducting a virtual educational programme for expectant parents for the first time. Much emphasis was placed on the evaluation of the project, which was conducted using focus groups. The results indicate that the students are aware of the importance and difficulty of creating a virtual learning environment. They would like more time to prepare for the educational programme, more instruction, and more opportunities to practise before the performance. The stress of counselling and answering the prospective parents’ questions live online was particularly emphasised. Keywords: birth, parenthood, preparation for childbirth and parenthood, education, midwifery stu­dents, evaluation of a virtual learning environment UVOD V Sloveniji obstaja veliko razlicnih oblik preventivnega dela z bodocimi starši. Najbolj razširjena je tako imenovana šola za starše, ki se izvaja tako v javnih zdravstvenovzgojnih ustanovah kot tudi v zasebnih, kjer se ponujajo programi za bodoce starše, najpogosteje v obliki predavanj in delavnic. Tradicionalne izvedbe izobraževalnih programov za pripra­vo na porod in starševstvo se le pocasi prilagajajo naprednim spremembam, ki jih lahko zasledimo v tujini, kjer se vse bolj uveljavljajo modeli, ki poudarjajo individualiziran pristop v obravnavi žensk in družine. Izvajalce šole za starše v Sloveniji so denimo šele epidemiološke razmere prisilile, da so se tovrstne priprave in delavnice premaknile v virtualno okolje. Delovanje šole za starše je opredeljeno v Pravilniku za izvajanje preventivnega zdrav­stvenega varstva na primarni ravni (1998), katerega del je tudi Predporodna zdravstvena vzgoja – šola za starše. Pravilnik doloca vsebine, izvajalce in smernice za delo (tocka 1.3.4), po katerih naj bi šole za starše potekale. Dolocila so dokaj natancna glede vsebin programa, vendar Skubic (2007) v svoji raziskavi ugotavlja pomanjkljivosti glede vsebin, ki obravnavajo odnos med partnerjema, vlogo oceta, odnos v prehodu iz diade v triado in pomen navezovanja stika po porodu. Pravilnik je usmerjen predvsem v zdravstvene vidike oziroma vidike fiziologije poroda, zato dodaja, da bi bilo v prihodnosti priporo-cljivo razmisliti in razširiti predpisane toge okvire ter predlagati bolj fleksibilne možnosti glede vsebin, ki bi jih lahko nacrtovalci in izvajalci programov izbirali glede na potrebe udeležencev. Pripravo na porod in starševstvo izvajamo kot del ucnega procesa v sklopu visokošolskega študijskega programa Babištvo Zdravstvene fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani, in sicer v 3. letniku študija pri predmetu Babištvo in babiška praksa 3; gre za predmetno vsebino Šola za starše II, ki je sestavljana iz 20 ur predavanj in 25 ur klinicne prakse. V izobraževalni program babištva morajo biti poleg splošnih in strokovnih ucnih predmetov vkljucene tudi vsebine priprave na porod in starševstvo, vkljucno s fiziološkimi vidiki. Izobraže­vanje bodocih diplomantov babištva mora namrec zagotoviti pridobitev znanj in vešcin, ki diplomiranim babicam/diplomiranim babicarjem, med drugim, omogocajo izvajanje programov šole za starše in popolne priprave na porod, vkljucno s svetovanjem o higieni in prehrani (Pravilnik o minimalnih pogojih usposobljenosti ..., 2017). Babica ima pomembno vlogo pri zdravstveni vzgoji in izobraževanju ženske, družine in širše družbene skupnosti. Njeno delo vkljucuje perinatalno vzgojo, pripravo na odgovor-no starševstvo, posega pa tudi na podrocje zdravja žensk, spolnega ali reproduktivnega zdravja ter zdravja otrok (International Confederation of Midwives, 2017). Odgovornosti poklicev v zdravstveni in babiški negi jasno dolocajo kompetence. Babice so tako zave­zane, da delujejo v okviru poklicnih kompetenc, ki so opredeljene v dokumentu Kompe­tence in poklicne aktivnosti izvajalcev v dejavnosti babištva (Ažman, 2021). Dokument opredeljuje kompetence babic v prednosecnostnem obdobju in v zvezi z nacrtovanjem družine. V njem je zapisano, da babice izvajajo visokokakovostno in posameznikom pri­lagojeno zdravstveno vzgojo in obravnavo v lokalni skupnosti, kjer delujejo z namenom promocije zdravega družinskega življenja, nacrtovanja nosecnosti in odgovornega starše­vstva. V tem okviru imajo sposobnosti in spretnosti za individualno ali skupinsko izvedbo programov priprave na porod in starševstvo, fiziološke spremembe v casu nosecnosti, poroda in poporodnega obdobja v okviru dispanzerja, šole za starše ali v domacem okolju s poudarkom na zdravem nacinu življenja, jemanju folne kisline in identifikaciji dejav­nikov tveganja v domacem ali delovnem okolju (Ažman, 2021). Tudi 55. clen Zakona o dopolnitvi Zakona o zdravstveni dejavnosti (2020) pravi, da »zdravstveni delavec lahko samostojno opravlja vsako delo, za katero ima ustrezno izobrazbo in je zanj usposobljen ter ima na voljo ustrezno opremo. Za svoje delo prevzema eticno, strokovno, kazensko in materialno odgovornost«. Zatorej je izjemno pomembno, da oseba v okviru posamezne­ga poklica sprejme samo tiste naloge, za katere ima ustrezno izobrazbo in je za njihovo izvajanje kompetentna. V tem primeru nosi tudi polno odgovornost. Z namenom, da bodo bodoci diplomanti babištva ustrezno pripravljeni na prevzem od­govornosti v okviru svojih kompetenc in poklicnih aktivnosti, je v visokošolskem študij­skem programu Babištvo vsebinska in izvedbena struktura predmetov in modulov skrb-no nacrtovana. Izobraževanje diplomantov babištva mora zagotoviti pridobitev številnih znanj, vešcin in spretnosti. Kompetenten posameznik je praviloma tisti, ki ima zadosten obseg znanja in spretnosti ter jih zna uspešno integrirati, tako da ucinkovito opravlja svoje delo. Ni vec pomembna zgolj vsebinska struktura ucnega procesa (kaj, kako, koliko …), temvec rezultat, torej kaj posameznik zna in zmore ter kako to znanje uporabi v praksi. Spremenjene epidemiološke razmere so vplivale tudi na izvedbo formalnega izobraže­vanja na visokošolski ravni in neformalnega izobraževanja, kot so preventivni programi, kamor sodi tudi priprava na porod in starševstvo. Želimo si individualizirane kontinuirane babiške obravnave z osebnim pristopom, vendar smo stopili korak nazaj, saj smo bili pri­morani vse vsebine prenesti v virtualno okolje, kar je pomenilo veliko tehnicnih izzivov in izvedbo preventivnih delavnic brez osebnega stika z udeleženci. V nadaljevanju je predstavljen pilotni projekt nacrtovanja, oblikovanja, izvedbe in evalva­cije virtualnega izobraževalnega programa na podrocju babištva, ki so ga izvedli študenti pod mentorstvom s prisotnostjo udeležencev – bodocih staršev. Velik poudarek je bil namenjen evalvaciji projekta in izvedbi virtualnega nastopa za pridobitev lastnih strokov­nih kompetenc. Z razpravo v fokusnih skupinah smo poskušali ugotoviti, kako so ucno izkušnjo v praksi izobraževanja bodocih staršev v virtualnem okolju doživeli študenti. Pilotni projekt Virtualna priprava na porod in starševstvo V sklopu visokošolskega študijskega programa Babištvo na Zdravstveni fakulteti Univer­ze v Ljubljani se v 3. letniku študija pri predmetu Babištvo in babiška praksa 3 izvaja tudi predmetna vsebina Šola za starše II. Ta obsega 20 ur predavanj, kjer so skupaj vkljuceni vsi študenti, in 25 ur klinicne prakse, kjer študenti, razdeljeni v manjše skupine in pod mentorstvom, glede na izbrano temo nacrtujejo, pripravijo, izvedejo in evalvirajo izobra­ževalni program Priprava na porod in starševstvo, ki ga v obliki predavanja in delavnic predstavijo uporabnikom bodocim staršem. Za pridobitev kompetenc študenti vsako leto pripravijo in izvedejo preventivni program Priprava na porod in starševstvo, zaradi epidemiološke situacije pa je bil ta v študijskem letu 2020/2021 prvic postavljen v virtualno okolje. Priprava na porod in starševstvo je program, ki je sestavljen iz predavanj o teoreticnih vsebinah in prakticne delavnice, ute­meljen pa je na najnovejših domacih in tujih smernicah, ki izhajajo iz preverjenih izhodišc na podrocju babištva, porodništva in andragogike, predvsem pa iz potreb udeležencev po pridobivanju preverjenih informacij in vešcin, krepitvi odnosov in zmanjševanju dejavni­kov tveganja. V nadaljevanju je podrobneje opisan preventivni program in pilotni projekt Virtualna priprava na porod in starševstvo, ki se izvaja s študenti babištva v sklopu študijskega pro-cesa. Gre za program priprave na porod in starševstvo, namenjen bodocim staršem kot del priprave na porod in starševstvo. Zasnovana je na ideji individualne babiške obravnave, ki uporabnikom ponuja predavanja na temo priprave na porod in starševstvo, praktic­ne delavnice in individualno svetovanje posameznim uporabnikom. Najpogostejše ucne metode so predavanje, demonstracija na simulatorjih in diskusija, ki je za študente velik izziv. V preteklosti je program potekal v prostorih Zdravstvene fakultete v simulacijskem kabinetu, kamor smo povabili udeležence. V študijskem letu 2020/2021 smo vsebine za­radi epidemioloških razmer prenesli v virtualno okolje, kar je bil velik vsebinski, or-ganizacijski in logisticni izziv, predvsem pa je pomenil drugacno študijsko izkušnjo za študente babištva. Program pedagoške priprave predmetne vsebine Šola za starše II je razdeljen na teore­ticni in prakticni del. V teoreticnem delu študenti v študijskem procesu poslušajo in ab-solvirajo naslednje vsebine: izobraževanje odraslih, priprava izobraževalnih programov, priprava avdio- in videoprezentacij, javno nastopanje in retorika. Teoreticni del vkljucuje tudi poglobitev teoreticnih znanj, ki jih študent pridobi s pregledom najnovejših raziskav glede na izbrano temo. Prakticni del vkljucuje trening prakticnih vešcin, ki se nato v obliki delavnice glede na izbrano temo prikažejo v drugem delu srecanja s starši. Pomemben del priprave je tudi trening komunikacijskih in socialnih vešcin, javnega nastopanja in retorike. Nazadnje torej študenti pod mentorstvom vsebine prenesejo v prakso, tako da glede na izbrano temo nacrtujejo, pripravijo, izvedejo in evalvirajo izobraževalni program. Gre za kontinuiran proces usvajanja znanja, ko so študenti najprej v pasivni vlogi, nato pa prehajajo v aktivno vlogo in samostojno izvedejo izobraževalni program. Pri tem sledimo andragoškemu ciklu kot enemu izmed možnih modelov za nacrtovanje in izpeljavo izo­braževalnega procesa. Kot navaja Licen (2015), z izrazom andragoški ciklus (vcasih se uporablja tudi širši pojem izobraževalni ciklus) oznacujemo zaporedje faz, ki so znacilne za proces izobraževanja odraslih. Skupaj sestavljajo celoto, pri cemer sprotno spremljanje in zakljucna evalvacija hkrati pomenita podlago za ugotavljanje novih potreb. Faze andra­goškega ciklusa so: raziskovanje in ugotavljanje potreb po izobraževanju, nacrtovanje in programiranje izobraževanja, neposredna priprava in izvedba programa oziroma procesa, spremljanje in evalvacija. V študijskem letu 2020/2021 smo študente razdelili v tri skupne. Dolocili smo vodje sku-pin in pripravili »zemljevid dela«, ki je vseboval analizo stanja, nacrtovanje, izvedbo in evalvacijo izvedbe. Predporodna izobraževanja imajo obicajno podobne cilje. Ti so infor­miranje o obvladovanju bolecine in stresa med porodom, povecanje zaupanja žensk v spo­sobnost rojevanja, priprava žensk in njihovih partnerjev na porod in starševstvo ter razvoj socialne podporne mreže (Jaddoe, 2009). Glede na splošna priporocila in analizo potreb uporabnikov priprave na porod in starševstvo v preteklih letih smo opredelili tri jedrne teme, ki smo jih pripravili in postavili v virtualno okolje. Ta podrocja so bila: • porod in porodna okolja, • novorojencek, • poporodno obdobje. Glede na faze andragoškega cikla smo skupaj s študenti: • raziskali in ugotavljali potrebe po izobraževanju z vidika bodocih staršev (po razlic­nih družbenih omrežjih pošljemo povpraševanje, katere vsebine bi zanimale bodoce starše), • nacrtovali izobraževanje, • neposredno pripravili in izvedli izobraževalni program, • sprotno spremljali in evalvirali vmesne aktivnosti in izvedli koncno evalvacijo. Za sistematicno spremljanje dela študentov in optimalno izvedbo programa smo sledili naslednji organizacijsko-vsebinski strukturi (skupaj 20 ur predavanj in 25 ur prakticnega dela po skupinah): • 5 pedagoških ur smo porabili za uvod, kjer smo predstavili nacrt dela in si zastavili cilje, ki naj bi jih dosegli glede na postavljeno casovnico, • 15 pedagoških ur smo porabili za teoreticno predstavitev izhodišc glede izobraževanja odraslih, priprave izobraževalnih programov, dela s skupinami, retorike in javnega nastopanja, pripravo idejne zasnove glede na izbrano temo, pripravo vabil in anket za udeležence ter scenarijev za avdio- in videogradivo …, • 5 pedagoških ur smo za vsako skupino porabili za konzultacije – pregled zastavljenih ciljev in teoreticnega okvira ter izvedbo prvega srecanja fokusne skupine, • 5 pedagoških ur smo za vsako skupino porabili za generalko 1, • 5 pedagoških ur smo za vsako skupino porabili za generalko 2 pred izvedbo izobraže­valnega programa in izvedbo drugega srecanja fokusne skupine, • 5 pedagoških ur smo za vsako skupino porabili za izvedbo virtualnega izobraževalne­ga programa za bodoce starše, • 5 pedagoških ur smo za vsako skupino porabili za zakljucek in koncno evalvacijo z izvedbo tretjega srecanja s fokusno skupino. Razviti in oblikovani so bili naslednji dokumenti oziroma obrazci: • dokument s pregledom literature in pripravo teoreticnih izhodišc, ki temeljijo na pre­verjenih najnovejših informacijah o doloceni temi, • formular, ki vsebuje ugotavljanje izobraževalnih potreb, nacrt dela s casovnico, fi­nancno konstrukcijo in marketinški nacrt za oglaševanje …, • dokument z natancno razdelanim potekom pedagoške ure, • prezentacija – uporaba drsnic, • avdio- in videogradivo za izvedbo delavnice, • zloženke in gradivo za bodoce starše, • vabilo in potrdilo za udeležence izobraževalnega programa, • ankete za udeležence ob zakljucku izobraževanja. V zadnjem, sklepnem delu izobraževalnega procesa smo uporabili izkustveni model uce­nja, saj so bili študenti postavljeni v vlogo zdravstvenega strokovnjaka, ki izobražuje bo­doce starše ter jim v obliki svetovanja odgovarja na zastavljena vprašanja. Njihovi izku­šnji so sledile refleksija, diskusija, analiza in evalvacija izkustva. Evalvacija Namen evalvacije je spremljanje izvajanja projekta; ugotavljanje, kaj deluje in kaj ne; raz­vijanje dobre prakse z namenom popravljanja napak ter lažjega nacrtovanja tekocega in prihodnjega projekta (Kobal Tomc idr., 2019). Evalvacija projekta kot del ucnega procesa nam lahko pomaga odpravljati ugotovljene težave in nacrtovati nadaljnje korake. Za namen projekta je bila nacrtovana in izvedena tako formativna (sprotna) kot sumativna (koncna) evalvacija. Celoten evalvacijski proces je obsegal nadzorno, informacijsko, pre­ventivno in operativno funkcijo. Sprotna evalvacija je bila izpeljana z namenom pridobi­tve povratne informacije o napredku študentov, ugotavljanju, cesa študenti še ne znajo, in doseganju etapnih ciljev, ki smo si jih zastavili. Pri koncni evalvaciji pa je bil poudarek na ugotavljanju ucne izkušnje študentov, primernosti programa za virtualno izvedbo, ustre­znosti izpeljave programa, na potrebnih izboljšavah in pripravi sprememb nacrtovanega izobraževanja v naslednjem študijskem letu. METODA Raziskava temelji na kvalitativnem raziskovalnem pristopu. Fokusne skupine (angl. fo­cus groups) so zaradi svoje široke uporabnosti pomembna metoda v raziskovanju tudi na podrocju babištva. Fokusne skupine so družbeno oziroma skupinsko usmerjena kvalita­tivna raziskovalna metoda, s katero pridobimo vpogled v posameznikovo razmišljanje in mnenje o raznolikih podrocjih njegovega življenja. Gre za obliko skupinskega intervjuja, ki se za pridobivanje podatkov opira predvsem na interakcijo med udeleženci in ne med udeležencem in moderatorjem oziroma v našem primeru mentorjem. Poleg podatkov o tem, kaj študenti mislijo na primer o virtualni pripravi na porod in starševstvo, lahko s fokusnimi skupinami pridobimo tudi podatke o tem, kako razmišljajo in zakaj tako razmi­šljajo. Metodo fokusnih skupin smo izbrali, ker smo želeli obravnavano tematiko osvetliti z razlicnih zornih kotov ter ugotoviti razlicne poglede in interese. Izkazalo se je, da so razprave v manjših skupinah najprimernejše za evalvacijo in pridobitev poglobljenega uvida v splošno zadovoljstvo študentov z izvedbo pilotnega projekta Virtualna priprava na porod in starševstvo. Opredelitev problema in raziskovalna vprašanja Clanek predstavlja izvedbo in evalvacijo pilotnega projekta Virtualna priprava na po-rod in starševstvo, ki so ga pod mentorstvom visokošolskih predavateljic izvedli štu­dentje 3. letnika visokošolskega študijskega programa Babištvo. Namen raziskave je bil pridobiti poglobljen uvid v doživljanje študentov, ki v procesu formalnega izobra­ževanja v okviru študija nastopajo v vlogi izobraževalca, ki nacrtuje, izvede in evalvira izobraževalni program za uporabnike bodoce starše, in zbrati povratne informacije o izobraževalnem programu, ki bodo lahko v pomoc pri nacrtovanju novih izobraževal­nih programov. Cilj raziskave je bil ugotoviti, kako študenti ocenjujejo izvedbo pilotnega projekta Virtual-na priprava na porod in starševstvo za pridobitev kompetenc za samostojno nacrtovanje, izvedbo in evalvacijo izobraževalnega programa za bodoce starše. V skladu s ciljem so bila razvita naslednja raziskovalna vprašanja: 1. Kako študenti 3. letnika babištva ocenjujejo nacrtovanje, pripravo in izvedbo ter eval­vacijo pilotnega projekta Virtualna priprava na porod in starševstvo? 2. Kako študenti ocenjujejo medsebojno sodelovanje in pomen timskega dela v pilotnem projektu Virtualna priprava na porod in starševstvo? 3. Kako študenti ocenjujejo medsebojno sodelovanje in pomen pridobivanja kompetenc v pilotnem projektu Virtualna priprava na porod in starševstvo? 4. Kako študenti ocenjujejo pridobivanje znanja, vešcin in ucnih izkušenj v virtualnem okolju? Udeleženci V kvalitativni raziskavi je sodelovalo 30 študentov 3. letnika visokošolskega študijskega programa Babištvo Zdravstvene fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani. Udeleženci so bili raz­vršceni v tri skupine po 10 študentov, ki so bile homogene glede na število, izhodišcno znanje in izkušnje, letnik študija, spol, prvo izvedbo virtualnega izobraževanja in druge dejavnike. Vsaka skupina je imela vodjo, sicer pa so skupaj nacrtovali, pripravljali in izvedli virtualno izobraževanje na eno izmed treh tem, ki so bile zajete v pilotnem projek­tu Virtualna priprava na porod in starševstvo. Na uvodnem srecanju so študenti prejeli v seznanitev in izpolnitev pristopno izjavo o prostovoljnem sodelovanju v raziskavi. Prav tako so prejeli pisna navodila, s katerimi so bili ustno seznanjeni že na informativnem srecanju, in v podpis informirano soglasje, ki je vsebovalo podatke v povezavi z varovanjem osebnih podatkov, soglasje za video- in avdiosnemanje ter eticnimi naceli. Raziskavo je zakljucilo vseh 30 študentov, ki so prispevali povratno informacijo o svoji študijski izkušnji, koncno oceno in lastno mnenje ter predloge za izboljšavo virtualne pri­prave na porod in starševstvo ter nadaljnje nacrtovanje pilotnih programov. Merski pripomocki Merski pripomocek, ki smo ga uporabili v raziskavi, je bil fokusni intervju, tehnika zbiranja podatkov, pri katerih raziskovalec zbere manjšo skupino ljudi z namenom, da se pogovarjajo o doloceni temi, ki je clanom fokusne skupine znana že vnaprej (Fraen­kel in Wallen, 2006). V raziskavi so bili vsi udeleženci fokusne skupine tudi izvajalci izobraževalnega programa in seznanjeni z raziskovalnim namenom, zato smo spodbu­jali skupinsko diskusijo ter vsakega posameznika, da se je vkljucil v diskusijo. Ceprav se fokusni intervju vcasih enaci s skupinskim intervjujem, je med njima pomembna razlika: pri fokusnem intervjuju raziskovalec ne postavlja vprašanj vsakemu clanu fo­kusne skupine posebej, ampak spodbuja skupinsko diskusijo, tako da spodbuja vsakega posameznega clana skupine h komuniciranju z drugimi clani (Vogrinc, 2013). Med intervjujem pa raziskovalec prevzame vlogo moderatorja diskusije: postavlja dodatna vprašanja, vzdržuje in spodbuja diskusijo in vsakemu posameznemu clanu omogoca, da sodeluje v diskusiji (Barbour in Schostak, 2005). V naši raziskavi je vlogo moderatorja prevzela mentorica. Uporabili smo fokusni intervju, ki je bil oblikovan za namen raziskave z vnaprej pripra­vljenimi sklopi okvirnih vprašanj, ki smo jih postavili pri izvedbi evalvacije s študenti. Uporabili smo osebni racunalnik in evalvacijo izvedli s pomocjo spletne platforme Zoom, ki omogoca avdio- in videokomunikacijo ter se uporablja za organiziranje sestankov, izo­braževanj, delavnic in drugih oblik sodelovanj. Vsako posamezno srecanje smo z dovolje­njem udeležencev snemali in shranili za nadaljnjo uporabo in analizo. Za kakovost podatkov, ki smo jih pridobili s fokusnim intervjujem, smo poskrbeli tako, da je raziskavo vodil usposobljen mentor in da smo študente vnaprej pripravili na foku­sne intervjuje vsebinsko (vnaprej pripravljene oporne tocke …) in izvedbeno (Barbour in Schostak, 2005). Podatke smo prepisali, jih kategorizirali v tematske sklope glede na raziskovalna vpraša­nja, kategorije in podkategorije ter izlušcili tudi nekaj pomembnejših dobesednih citatov za potrditev in razumevanje dobljenih kategorij in podkategorij, ki so bile oblikovane za doseganje ciljev kvalitativne raziskave, na podlagi katerih je potekala nadaljnja analiza. Analiza je potekala na nacin, ki se uporablja za analizo podatkov v okviru kvalitativnega raziskovanja. Med intervjujem smo si delali tudi zapiske, ki so nam pomagali pri modeli­ranju intervjuja in pozneje pri oblikovanju koncne interpretacije. Rezultate smo predstavili z opisnim modelom, in sicer s kratkim povzetkom komentarjev. Zbiranje podatkov je trajalo tri mesece. Postopek raziskave V nadaljevanju sta opisana raziskovalni del nacrtovanja, priprave in izvedbe pilotnega projekta Virtualna priprava na porod in starševstvo ter postopek raziskave. Glede na epidemiološko situacijo v Sloveniji se je tako študijska kot raziskovalna dejav­nost prenesla v virtualno okolje. Pojavilo se je vec možnosti, ki jih ponujajo informacij­sko-komunikacijske tehnologije, prav tako se je razvil virtualni nacin izvedbe, na primer prek telefona ali spleta. V našem primeru se študenti z udeleženci bodocimi starši niso mogli srecati v živo »fizicno«, kot smo izobraževalni program Priprava na porod in star-ševstvo izvajali v preteklih letih v obliki predavanj in delavnice, temvec so se srecali v virtualnem okolju. Prav tako kot predavanja in delavnice smo tudi fokusne skupine izvedli on-line. Kot navajata Morgan in Hoffman (2018), spletni nacin izvedbe fokusne skupine lahko poteka prek številnih internetnih orodij, ki so na voljo za izvajanje videokonferenc. Ta oblika izvedbe je vse bolj razširjena, saj je možna hitra organizacija izvedbe, obenem pa omogoca, da se udeleženci med seboj vidijo. V naši raziskavi smo uporabili spletno orod­je Zoom, saj je v tem obdobju celoten študijski proces potekal virtualno in so se študenti srecevali v virtualnem okolju, kjer so imeli možnost skupinske diskusije in izmenjave mnenj preko avdio- in videopovezave, podobno kot ce bi se srecali v živo. Za nas so bile fokusne skupine zelo primerne, saj se pogosto uporabljajo v evalvacijskih študijah. Kot navaja Hennink (2014), je fokusna skupina posebna kvalitativna metoda zbiranja podatkov, s katero raziskovalec pridobi podatke tako, da organizira in izvede skupinsko razpravo, v katero je optimalno vkljucenih pet do deset udeležencev. V raziskavi smo fokusne skupine kot tehniko zbiranja podatkov izbrali, ker (Bryman, 2012): • omogoca raziskovalcu, da pride do razumevanja, kako študenti v odnosu do drugih argumentirajo tisto, kar cutijo, mislijo ali izkušajo, • si lahko v okviru fokusne skupine študenti v veliki meri dolocijo zanje pomembne vsebine pogovora glede na tematiko, ki jo je raziskovalec ponudil kot izhodišce njiho­vega pogovora, • v fokusni skupini raziskovalec želi, da je skupina koherentna, da v njej ni prevelikih konfliktov, vendar pa drugi strani želi tudi, da nimajo vsi enakega mnenja in da se med njimi pojavijo razlike v percepciji, dojemanju in argumentih glede dolocene razisko­valne tematike, • je ena od pomembnih prednosti fokusne skupine v primerjavi z individualnim po­globljenim intervjujem tudi, da pri fokusni skupini raziskovalec pridobi kolektivno dimenzijo obravnave problema ali problemov, ki so predmet raziskave, kar pomeni, da je mogoce priti do uvida skupinskih dinamik argumentacij in interakcije. Pri individu­alnem poglobljenem intervjuju pa tega elementa ni. V okviru raziskave smo oblikovali tri fokusne skupine po 10 študentov in izvedli tri fo­kusne intervjuje z vsako skupino študentov posebej. Vsaka skupina se je sestala trikrat: prvic na koncu priprave teoreticnega dela pilotnega projekta Virtualna priprava na porod in starševstvo, kjer so diskutirali o doseganju zastavljenih ciljev pri pripravi teoreticnega dela izobraževalnega programa, krepitvi medsebojnega sodelovanja in ucinkovitosti tim­skega dela v skupini ter doseganju kompetenc; drugic so se srecali po generalki 1 in ge­neralki 2 pred izvedbo nastopa; tretjic pa po izvedbi virtualnega izobraževanja za bodoce starše, kjer so za namen koncne evalvacije odgovarjali na intervju ter dali oceno in ovre­dnotili doseganje kompetenc v okviru nacrtovanju, priprave in izvedbe izobraževalnega programa pilotnega projekta Virtualna priprava na porod in starševstvo. Na vseh srecanjih sta bili poleg študentov navzoci tudi ena moderatorka, ki je bila tudi vodja skupine, in vsaj ena mentorica (raziskovalka). Cilj fokusne skupine ni bil doseganje konsenza, temvec ugotavljanje, kako podobni ozi­roma razlicni so si pogledi in kakšna je skupinska dinamika, ter razprava o problemu. Diskusije so trajale od pol ure do ene ure, izhajale so iz vprašanj, ki so si sledila po sklo­pih od uvodnih do kljucnih vprašanj s podvprašanji. Mentorica je postavljala vprašanja in skrbela, da so sodelovali vsi udeleženci. V našem primeru so bile fokusne skupine uporabljene za namen evalvacije izvedbe pilotnega projekta. Želeli smo pridobiti vpogled v razumevanje nacrtovanja, priprave in izvedbe izobraževalnega programu z vidika štu­dentov babištva. Besedilo s posnetkov smo nato dobesedno prepisali in analizirali z uporabo tehnike kvali­tativnega raziskovanja s fokusno metodo, in sicer s pomocjo vsebinske oziroma tematske analize v zaporedju: identifikacija raziskovalnega vprašanja, dolocitev kategorij, razvoj meril glede na kategorije, razporeditev podatkov v kategorije, pregled besedila in prouce­vanje vzorcev ter oblikovanje ugotovitev, podprtih z literaturo. Rezultate smo predstavili po opisnem modelu (Morgan in Hoffman, 2018). Namen fokusnih skupin je bil vmesna in koncna evalvacija in na tej podlagi sooblikovanje programa za optimizacijo dela s študenti, pridobivanje kompetenc za nacrtovanje, pripra­vo in izvedbo izobraževalnega programa, javno nastopanje, ocenjevanje koncepta progra-ma, pridobiti uvid, kaj je za študenta pomembno in kaj ne, ovrednotenje ter prepoznavanje idej za izboljševanje vodenja in mentoriranja študentov. V fokusnih skupinah smo razpravljali o primernosti koncepta izobraževalnega programa, o oblikovanju vsebinskega dela programa, pridobivanju kompetenc, timskem delu, stro­kovnem znanju, ucnih izkušnjah in pridobljenih vešcinah. Študenti so dobili tudi formativno oceno mentorja, kar je vsebovalo povratno informacijo o njegovem napredovanju med potekom in usmeritve za nadaljnjo delo. Ceprav je izkušnja fokusne skupine za udeležence praviloma prijetna, je za fokusno sku­pino, ki bo zagotovila cim vec uporabnih informacij, potrebna obsežna priprava, kar pre­poznavamo kot omejitev, s katero smo se srecali pri projektu. REZULTATI Z RAZPRAVO V nadaljevanju so predstavljeni rezultati fokusnih skupin: • na prvi fokusni skupini po pripravi teoreticnega dela pilotnega projekta Virtualna pri­prava na porod in starševstvo so bili študenti enotnega mnenja, da so bili doseženi vsi zastavljeni cilji glede pregleda literature, dolocitve nacina prezentacije, teoreticne priprave gradiva oziroma formularja in oblikovanja vabil, anket, pedagoške ure, vi-deosnemanja gradiva in tehnicnih podrobnosti. Potreba po dodatnih konzultacijah in podpori mentorja ni bila prepoznana; • na drugi fokusni skupini po prvi in drugi generalki so bili študenti enotnega mnenja, da bi bilo zelo dobrodošlo, da bi imeli možnost izvesti še dodatno generalko pred na­stopom, ki bi jim pomagala pri samozavestnejšem nastopu in izvedbi izobraževalnega programa za bodoce starše; • na tretji fokusni skupini po izvedbi nastopa so študenti svoje doživljanje predstavili nekoliko bolj poglobljeno. Sledijo rezultati tretje fokusne skupine, ki smo jo izpeljali po nastopu, in sicer po kate­gorijah in podkategorijah glede na vprašanja fokusnega intervjuja in v skladu z že prej opisanimi merskimi pripomocki ter postopkom raziskave. Študenti so odgovarjali na naslednja vprašanja: • Kakšno je vaše mnenje o uvodnem srecanju ter predstavitvi nacrta in casovnice izo­braževalnega programa za pripravo na porod in starševstvo? • Ali so bili nacrti in cilji priprave in izvedbe izobraževalnega programa jasno postavljeni? • Ali je bila vzpostavljena klima medsebojnega zaupanja (med študenti in do mentorja), tako da so lahko študenti svobodno komentirali svoje delo? • Ali je ta izkušnja za vas pomembna v smislu krepitve medsebojnega sodelovanja in ucinkovitosti timskega dela v skupini? • Ali je ta izkušnja za vas pomembna v smislu krepitve medsebojnega sodelovanja in doseganja kompetenc za samostojno delo? • Kaj bi postavili v ospredje kot pozitivno izkušnjo v celotnem projektu Virtualna pri­prava na porod in starševstvo? • Kaj bi postavili v ospredje kot negativno izkušnjo v celotnem projektu Virtualna pri­prava na porod in starševstvo? • Kaj menite, da ste se naucili? • Kaj vam je pomenilo najvecji izziv ali vam povzrocilo najvecji stres? • Kako ste na splošno zadovoljni s projektom in koncnim nastopom? • Ali bi od mentorja potrebovali kakšne dodatne oblike pomoci in svetovanje? • Kako ste zadovoljni z vodenjem in mentoriranjem? • Kako ste na splošno zadovoljni s pridobljenimi vešcinami? • Kako ste na splošno zadovoljni s pridobljenimi izkušnjami? • Kako ste na splošno zadovoljni z ucnimi izkušnjami? Pri nadaljnji analizi besedila smo oblikovali šest kategorij. Nacrtovanje in izvedba izobraževalnega programa Glede uvodnih navodil, nacrtovanja in postavljenih ciljev izobraževalnega programa je splošno mnenje študentov, da je profesorica uvodno srecanje zelo dobro zastavila, da so bili jasno predstavljeni casovnica, cilji in protokol dela ter da je nadaljnje delo poteka-lo brez težav. Poudarili so, da so imeli dovolj casa za pisanje, pripravo in predstavitev. Študenti so posebej pohvalili sistematicnost in kljub naporom na koncu to ocenili kot cudovito izkušnjo, kot je napisala študentka: »najprej je bil velik napor, potem pa so se stvari speljale in je bila ena cudovita izkušnja za ta trenutek in naše nadaljnje izkušnje«, pa tudi: »nacrt je bil na uvodnem srecanju jasno predstavljen (datumi generalk, predsta­vitev), menim, da nam je profesorica zelo dobro predstavila, kaj od nas pricakuje, in nam zelo dobro predstavila, kako naj bi celotno predavanje potekalo«. Nekateri so menili, da je bil projekt stresen in da bi si želeli vec casa za premislek glede izbora teme, ki so jo predstavljali. Zaupanje, sodelovanje in ucinkovitost timskega dela Medsebojno zaupanje med študenti in mentorjem na nacin, da so študenti lahko svobo­dno komentirali svoje delo, je bilo po mnenju vseh udeležencev uspešno vzpostavljeno. Medsebojno sodelovanje in timsko delo sta na vseh podrocjih dela v babištvu bistvenega pomena, prav tako se je to potrdilo pri pripravi našega izobraževalnega programa. Študen­ti so medsebojno sodelovanje in timsko delo opisovali kot pomembno ucno izkušnjo, kot pot do uspeha in dobrega rezultata. Poudarili so: »da, res je bila dobra izkušnja, saj smo poslušale druga drugo in skušale upoštevati predlog od vsake«, »se mi zdi zelo pomemb­na, saj je za dober rezultat pomemben dober tim«, »ja, to nam bo prišlo v prihodnje prav, saj smo se naucile, kako med sabo sodelovat in koliko timsko delo dejansko pripomore k samemu izidu naloge«. Nekateri so omenili tudi, da jih je izkušnja pripeljala so spozna­nja, da je za dobro delo pomembno enakovredno sodelovanje vseh clanov: »je pomemb-no, vendar le, ce si vsi za vse prizadevamo in delo poteka organizirano« in »da smo lahko nekaj ustvarile skupaj na nacin, kot do sedaj še nismo, ker je vsaka morala doprinesti nekaj, da smo na koncu ustvarile takšno pripravo, kot smo jo«. V ospredje so postavili tudi medsebojno zaupanje in spoštovanje, ki sta temelj dobrih medcloveških odnosov in tudi timskega dela: »zelo, se mi pa zdi, da smo se v skupini dobile res same odgovorne in samostojne sošolke, saj nikoli nismo skrbele, da kaj ne bo narejeno, ni bilo treba veckrat opozarjati na naloge, kar se je zelo poznalo pri pripravah in kasneje pri izvedbi izobraže­valnega programa«. Sodelovanje in doseganje kompetenc za samostojno delo Izkazalo se je, da je izkušnja nacrtovanja, priprave in izvedbe izobraževalnega programa za študente babištva pomembna v smislu krepitve medsebojnega sodelovanja in dosega­nja kompetenc za samostojno delo, saj so v razpravi v ospredje postavili naslednje vidike: samostojnost pri delu, strokovnost, eticnost, sposobnost soocanja z radovednimi bodocimi starši, kako poiskati relevantne informacije in strokovne vsebine bodocim staršem pred­staviti na razumljiv nacin. Tako so recimo izjavili: »pomembna je predvsem za zdravstve­novzgojno delovanje in izobraževanje laicne populacije«, poudarili so tudi priložnost, da so lahko preverili lastno znanje pri svetovanju bodocim staršem, kar jim pomaga, da so bolj samozavestni in cutijo manj strahu: »da, manj strahu pred javnim nastopanjem, uvid v to, kaj starši potrebujejo od informacij v tem casu, kaj jim pride prav in kaj ne, preverjanje lastnega znanja in poglabljanje«. Dobili so potrditev lastne sposobnosti, si okrepili samo­zavest pri nacrtovanju in izvedbi izobraževanja za odrasle ter pri javnem nastopanju, se naucili biti kriticen do napak, na primer: »boljša samozavest glede predstavljanja javnosti, kriticno zavedanje glede napak in izboljšav«, »ja, pridobila sem veliko novih uporabnih stvari pri samem nacrtovanju in delu tako velikega projekta, prilagajanja v skupini, tim­skega dela«. Splošno zadovoljstvo Študenti so izrazili splošno zadovoljstvo s projektom in koncnim nastopom. Kot pozitivno izkušnjo so soglasno navedli celotno izkušnjo od zacetka do konca, ki jo je spremljalo odlicno medsebojno sodelovanje in navdušenje nad dogodkom, poudarili so pomemben vidik druženja s sošolci in tudi profesorji, pridobivanje novega znanja: »sam proces in nacin, kako smo med seboj sodelovale, porazdelitev tem in nalog, sodelovanje in tudi sam zakljucek in predstavitev«, »(so)delovanje v skupini, nabiranje novega znanja, obcutek, da smo na koncu naredile kvaliteten in koristen izdelek«, »samo delo, druženje s sošolkami in profesorico, veliko na novo uporabnih informaciji pri sami organizaciji šole za starše«. Nekateri so kot negativen del te izkušnje navedli virtualno izvedbo, saj so menili, da bi se ob izvedbi izobraževalnega programa in delavnice v živo lahko bolj povezali z udeleženci: »negativni del te izkušnje je bila on-line izvedba, saj menim, da bi v živo govorile bolj sprošceno ter se bolj povezale s poslušalci«, v ospredje so postavili tudi predlog za doda­tno generalko in pozornejši pregled teoreticnega dela programa, da bi se izognili zastareli literaturi ter neupoštevanje navodil in zastavljenih ciljev. Najvecji izziv in spoznanja Najvecji izziv in stres so študentom pomenili javno nastopanje, odgovarjanje na vpra­šanja bodocih staršev in timsko delo. Kot najpomembnejše v tej izkušnji pa so navedli še: »strpnost, prilagajanje, javno nastopanje, improvizacija«, potrebno tehnicno znanje za uporabo informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije, sposobnost improvizacije ob pojavu tehnicnih napak in usklajeno delovanje tima. Pomen mentoriranja Študenti so prepoznali pomembno podporo profesorice in poudarili izjemno zadovoljstvo z mentoriranjem: »mislim, da nas je profesorica zelo dobro in celostno pripravila na vse izzive, ki so pri pripravi prišli na pot« ter v ospredje postavili tocke, kjer bi si želeli vec dodatne pomoci in svetovanja profesorja, in sicer na podrocju svetovalnega dela in obliko­vanja odgovorov za udeležence, saj jim je prav to povzrocalo veliko stresa, pa na podrocju priprave teoreticnih vsebin in gradiv ter priprave pedagoške ure. Študenti so tako kljub prestavitvi izobraževalnega programa v virtualno okolje izrazili visoko stopnjo zadovoljstva s pridobljenim znanjem, vešcinami in ucnimi izkušnjami. ZAKLJUCEK Temeljni cilj visokošolskega študijskega programa Babištvo je izobraževanje in usposablja­nje kompetentnih strokovnjakov na podrocju ginekologije in reproduktivnega zdravstvenega varstva na predporodni, obporodni in poporodni ravni. Za bodoce diplomante babištva pa je pomembno tudi poznavanje osnov izobraževanja odraslih. Lastne ucne izkušnje so ucinko-vita podlaga za ucenje in izobraževanje. Epidemiološko stanje nas je pripeljalo do prenosa izvajanja ucnega procesa v virtualno okolje. Glede na zastavljene raziskovalne cilje lahko potrdimo, da je bil pilotni projekt dobro nacrtovan, pripravljen in izveden. Ostaja zavedanje, da je sicer prilagodljiv program priprave na porod in starševstvo možno kakovostno izve­sti virtualno le s poznavanjem informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije, študenti se torej zavedajo pomena in težavnosti oblikovanja virtualnega ucnega okolja. Za nacrtovanje in izvedbo izobraževalnega programa je potrebno timsko delo, ki temelji na medsebojnem za­upanju in sodelovanju vseh udeležencev. Pri tem ima pomembno vlogo kvalitetno in usmer­jeno mentoriranje. Vsako pridobljeno znanje ostaja brez vrednosti, ce ni preverjeno, zato je bil naš evalvacijski proces namenjen tudi ugotavljanju, ali je bil dosežen koncni cilj, in sicer ali je študent pridobil kompetence za svoje prihodnje delovanje na podrocju izobraževanja v babištvu, in sicer z vidika samostojnega nacrtovanja, izvedbe in evalvacije individualnih ali skupinskih izobraževalnih programov, seminarjev in delavnic za bodoce starše in druge ciljne skupine na razlicnih podrocjih babištva. Evalvacija je pokazala, kako pomembno je oblikovanje ustreznega ucnega okolja, da lahko študenti dosežejo predvidene kompetence in s tem tudi kompetence za izvajanje omenjene aktivnosti v dejavnosti babištva. Študenti kot najvecji izziv navajajo javno nastopanje in odgovarjanje na vprašanja bodocih staršev, kjer so se dokazovali tudi kot zdravstveni strokovnjaki, ki ob dobrem poznavanju medicinskih babiških vsebin lahko samostojno odgovarjajo na zastavljena vprašanja upo­rabnikov bodocih staršev brez predhodne priprave. Študenti so kot sklepno oceno izrazili visoko splošno zadovoljstvo s projektom in lastno ucno izkušnjo. Poudariti pa je treba, da virtualno okolje ne sme postati edini nacin izvajanja izobraževalnega programa priprave na porod in starševstvo, saj naravi dela v babištvu bolj ustrezajo prakticne delavnice in stik z udeleženci v živo. Za razvoj novih pristopov pri izobraževanju, kamor lahko štejemo tudi izobraževanje v virtualnem okolju, smo v razpravi v fokusnih skupinah tako želeli pridobiti tudi informacije od študentov, ki bi nam pomagale pri pripravi kompetencnega okvira in nadgradnje projekta Virtualna priprava na porod in starševstvo. Ceprav je bila ucna izkušnja za študente praviloma prijetna, naj omenimo tudi omejitve, s katerimi smo se srecali pri pripravi in izvedbi izobraževalnega programa. Kot najpo­membnejšo omejitev ugotavljamo obsežno predhodno pripravo še pred zacetkom nacrto­vanja izobraževalnega programa, saj je bil izobraževalni program v preteklosti pripravljen za izvedbo v živo, in nemožnost srecanja v živo s študenti pri nacrtovanju in konzultaci­jah. Omeniti je treba tudi veliko tehnicnih izzivov pri nacrtovanju in izvedbi virtualnega izobraževalnega programa. LITERATURA IN VIRI Ažman, M. (ur.). (2021). Kompetence in poklicne aktivnosti izvajalcev v dejavnosti babištva. Zbornica zdravstvene in babiške nege Slovenije – Zveza strokovnih društev medicinskih sester, babic in zdra­vstvenih tehnikov Slovenije. https://www.zbornica-zveza.si/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/KOMPE­ TENCE-in-poklicne-aktivnosti-izvajalcev-v-dejavnosti-babi%C5%A1tva.pdf Barbour, R. S. in Schostak, J. (2005). Interviewing and focus groups. V B. Somekh in C. Lewin (ur.), Research Methods in the Social Sciences (str. 41–48). Sage Publications. Bryman, A. (2012). Social Research Methods (4. izd.). Oxford University Press. Fraenkel, J. R. in Wallen, N. E. (2006). How to design and evaluate research in education. McGraw-Hill. Hennink, M. M. (2014). Focus Group Discussions. Oxford University Press. International Confederation of Midwives. (2017). International Definition of the Midwife. https://www.in­ ternationalmidwives.org/assets/files/definitions-files/2018/06/eng-definition_of_the_midwife-2017.pdf Jaddoe, V. W. V. (2009). Antenatal education programmes: Do they work? Lancet, 374(9693), 863–864. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(09)61610-X Kobal Tomc, B., Nagode, M., Kovac, N., Dremelj, P., Smolej Jež, S. in Žiberna, V. (2019). Prirocnik za nacrtovanje in izvajanje evalvacij. Inštitut RS za socialno varstvo. https://www.irssv.si/Nacrtovanje in izvajanje evalvacij.pdf Licen, N. (2015). Evalvacija za zacetnike: Delovni zvezek za ucni laboratorij. Ljudska univerza Ajdo­všcina. https://www.dlib.si/details/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-U44ASYAY Morgan, D. L. in Hoffman, K. (2018). Focus groups. V U. Flick (ur.), The SAGE Handbook of Qualita­tive Data Collection (str. 250–263). SAGE. Pravilnik o minimalnih pogojih usposobljenosti in pridobljenih pravic za poklice zdravnik, zdravnik spe­cialist, zdravnik splošne medicine, doktor dentalne medicine, doktor dentalne medicine specialist, diplomirana medicinska sestra, diplomirana babica in magister farmacije. (2017). Uradni list RS, št. 04/17. http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=DRUG4302 Pravilnik za izvajanje preventivnega zdravstvenega varstva na primarni ravni. (1998). Uradni list RS, št. 19/98, 47/98, 26/00, 67/01, 33/02, 37/03, 117/04, 31/05, 83/07, 22/09, 17/15, 47/18, 57/18, 57/18, 57/21 in 162/21. http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=NAVO59 Skubic, M. (2007). Izobraževanje kot del priprave na porod [Diplomsko delo]. Univerza v Ljubljani, Filozofska fakulteta. Vogrinc, J. (2013). Kvalitativno raziskovanje na pedagoškem podrocju. Pedagoška fakulteta. Zakon o dopolnitvi Zakona o zdravstveni dejavnosti (ZZDej-M). (2020). Uradni list RS, št. 82/20. http:// www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO8165 Andragoška spoznanja/Studies in Adult Education and Learning, 2022, 28(1), 73-93 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4312/as/10563 Lea Bregar, Jasna Dominko Baloh KAKO UPORABNO JE MIKROUCENJE V VISOKOŠOLSKEM IZOBRAŽEVANJU? POVZETEK V zadnjem desetletju in pol je razmah mobilnih in digitalnih tehnologij omogocil razvoj mikroucenja, ki sega prek prvotnega koncepta ucenja kratkih vsebin zaradi boljšega pomnjenja. Namen prispevka je raziskati potenciale tehnološko podprtega mikroucenja za visokošolsko izobraževanje; v primerjavi z usposabljanjem v podjetjih je namrec mikroucenje v visokošolskem izobraževanju manj raziskovano in manj razširjeno. Naše raziskovanje, ki temelji na pregledu literature ter lastnem raziskovalno-razvojnem in pedagoškem delu, v ospredje postavlja dva vidika potencialne uporabnosti mikroucenja za visokošol­sko izobraževanje. Prvic, mikroucenje omogoca avtenticno ucno izkušnjo, ki je blizu realnim problemom in zdajšnjemu nacinu usposabljanja v podjetjih ter nacinu pridobivanja in uporabe informacij v digitalni družbi. Drugic, z ustreznim pedagoškim pristopom in smiselno integracijo tehnologije lahko uceci se z mikroucenjem pridobivajo poleg osnovnih tudi bolj kompleksne kompetence. Preliminarno raziskovanje avtorjev kaže, da je za razvoj kompleksnih kompetenc in motiviranje študentov posebej obetaven pristop, ki temelji na samostojnem študentskem kreiranju mikroucnih virov. Kljucne besede: mikroucenje, visokošolsko izobraževanje, tehnološko podprto izobraževanje, študent­sko soustvarjanje ucnih virov HOW USEFUL IS MICROLEARNING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION? – ABSTRACT In the last decade and a half, the expansion of mobile and digital technologies has enabled the devel­opment of microlearning that goes beyond the original concept of learning in bites aiming at improved knowledge retention. The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential of technology-enhanced microlearning in higher education. Compared to corporate training, microlearning in higher education has been less explored and is less widespread. Based on the literature review, research and development, and the pedagogical experiences of the authors, the study reveals two benefits of using microlearning in higher education. First, microlearning enables learning experiences that are close to real-world prob­lems and current corporate training practices, as well as to the way information is acquired and pro­cessed in digital society. Second, through appropriate instructional design and technology integration, Izr. prof. dr. Lea Bregar, zunanja sodelavka DOBA Fakultete za uporabne poslovne in družbene študije Maribor, lea.bregar@net.doba.si Viš. pred. Jasna Dominko Baloh, prof. ped. in psih., direktorica DOBA Fakulteta za uporabne poslovne in družbene študije Maribor, jasna.dominko.baloh@doba.si microlearning enables the development of not only basic competencies but also complex ones. The authors’ exploratory research shows that students creating microlearning educational resources is a particularly promising approach in terms of both student motivation and the development of complex competencies. Keywords: microlearning, higher education, technology-enhanced learning, student co-creation of learning materials UVOD Mikroucenje je na podrocju izobraževanja in usposabljanja precej nov pojem. Najbolj ocitna znacilnost mikroucenja je obseg ucnih vsebin, ki se omejuje na eno samo temo ali idejo, ki jo je mogoce predstaviti v kratkem casu (v nekaj minutah). Ucenje po manjših vsebinskih sklopih je v pedagoški teoriji in praksi znano že dalj casa, pojem mikroucenje pa se je zacel pojavljati pred slabima dvema desetletjema (Hug, 2005). Z naglim tehno­loškim razvojem in nenehnimi družbenimi spremembami, ki zahtevajo tudi premike na podrocju izobraževanja odraslih, popularnost mikroucenja v zadnjih letih opazno narašca. Takšen trend potrjuje tudi raziskava Leonga idr. (2021) o obravnavi mikroucenja v litera­turi in prisotnosti na spletu. Ta kaže, da se je v bazi SCOPUS število publikacij s povzetki ali clanki o mikroucenju povecalo z 2 v letu 2006 na 94 v letu 2019. V dvajseta leta tega stoletja vstopa mikroucenje kot eden vodilnih trendov na podrocju neformalnega usposabljanja (Pandey, 2021). K še vecji razširjenosti in popularnosti mi-kroucenja za usposabljanje v podjetjih je v zadnjih dveh letih prispevalo tudi nenadno po­vecanje dela na daljavo kot eden od ukrepov za omejevanje pandemije covida-19 (Sneader in Singhal, 2021). V primerjavi s podjetniškim sektorjem se mikroucenje na podrocju visokošolskega izo­braževanja uveljavlja precej pocasneje in zadržano. Educause, združenje za razvoj tehno­loško podprtega visokošolskega izobraževanja iz ZDA, je v porocilu za leto 2019 uvrstilo mikroucenje v povezavi z mobilnim ucenjem med najpomembnejše tehnološke pristope za visokošolsko izobraževanje, ki jih je mogoce v kratkem casu enega leta vpeljati v prakso (Alexander idr., 2019). Kljub obetavnim napovedim pa je uporaba mikroucenja v visokem šolstvu še vedno precej skromna in omejena na posamezna podrocja izobraževa­nja, predvsem na informatiko, poucevanje tujih jezikov ter zdravstvo in medicino (Leong idr., 2021; Shatte in Teague, 2020). Eden od razlogov za skromno prisotnost mikroucenja v pedagoški praksi je razumevanje mikroucenja kot enostavnega ucnega pristopa, ki te­melji na vedenjski teoriji ucenja, ko uceci se prihaja do površinskega znanja s klikanjem brez posebne angažiranosti in refleksije (Jahnke idr., 2020). Pri tako pojmovanem mi-kroucenju se njegove prednosti omejujejo na boljše pomnjenje ucne snovi, integracija mobilne tehnologije v ucni proces pa prinaša tudi nekatere prakticne prednosti ucecemu se, kot sta vecja fleksibilnost ucnega procesa v casu in prostoru ter možnost sodelovanja, kar prispeva k vecji motiviranosti in aktivnosti ucecih se (Leong idr., 2021). V zadnjih letih najdemo v literaturi opise inovativne uporabe mikroucenja, ki je povezana z doseganjem kompleksnejših ucnih ciljev, kot je pomnjenje (Göschlberger, 2017; Ma­jor in Calandrino, 2018; Wang idr., 2021). Tudi naše preliminarne raziskave na podrocju uporabe mikroucenja v visokošolskem izobraževanju kažejo, da je kakovostno mikroucno gradivo lahko enakovredno uveljavljenim vrstam ucnega gradiva in tudi vzvod za dosega­nje kompleksnih ucnih ciljev, ki segajo prek ravni pomnjenja. Namen prispevka je na podlagi pregleda literature ter lastnega raziskovalno-razvojnega in pedagoškega dela identificirati potenciale sodobnega mikroucenja v visokošolskem izobraževanju. V prvem delu prispevka najprej postavimo konceptualni okvir za razisko­vanje mikroucenja, s katerim smo skušali koherentno povezati dosedanja precej razpršena spoznanja iz literature. Na tej podlagi opredelimo uporabnost mikroucenja glede na dose-ganje ucnih ciljev in vlogo v ucnem procesu, najprej za doseganje primarnega cilja, to je pomnjenja, in nato še za doseganje kompleksnejših ucnih ciljev. V drugem delu prispevka se na temelju pregleda literature in rezultatov evalvacije poskusne vpeljave mikroucenja v visokošolski ustanovi DOBA Fakulteta za uporabne poslovne in družbene študije Ma-ribor (v nadaljevanju Doba Fakulteta) osredotocimo na nekatere posebej zanimive vidike uporabnosti mikroucenja za visokošolsko izobraževanje, to je možnost doseganja zah­tevnejših ucnih ciljev z mikroucenjem. V zadnjem delu prispevku v razpravi postavimo v ospredje nekatere omejitve in izzive mikroucenja, v sklepu pa po povzetku glavnih ugotovitev damo nekaj iztocnic o prihodnosti mikroucenja. KONCEPTUALNI OKVIR MIKROUCENJA Kaj je mikroucenje? Podobno kot velja za nove pojave, ki so rezultat tehnološkega razvoja in se skladno z njim tudi nenehno spreminjajo, tudi za mikroucenje ni enoznacne opredelitve. Avtorji pravi­loma omejujejo definicije mikroucenja na posamezne prvine, ki osvetljujejo doloceno dimenzijo tega koncepta. Nekateri avtorji prikazujejo mikroucenje kot ucno strategijo, ki podaja informacije ucecim se v majhnih kosih (Alqurashi, 2017; CommLab India, b. d.; Learning Seat, 2017); drugi pri mikroucenju poudarjajo kratke ucne aktivnosti, ki potekajo z uporabo mikrovsebin (Lindner, 2006, v Buchem in Hamelmann, 2010; Hug, 2010, v Buchem in Hamelmann, 2010). Precej pogosto se definicija mikroucenja omejuje le na dolžino ucne enote, kot na primer, da je mikroucenje ucna vsebina optimalne dolžine glede na trenutne potrebe ucecega se, ki naj ne presega 10 minut (Torgerson in Ianoone, 2020). Nekateri avtorji k razlagi posamezne prvine mikroucenja dodajo tudi podporo sodobnih tehnologij (Dola­sinski in Reynolds, 2020; Göschlberger, 2017). Kot kaže raziskovanje teoretskih osnov mikroucenja in njegovih pojavnih oblik v praksi, pa tudi naše izkušnje pri vpeljavi mikroucenja na Doba Fakulteti, je to kompleksen, vec­plasten fenomen, ki ga ni mogoce zadovoljivo opredeliti in tudi ne identificirati njegovih potencialov le z naštevanjem ali izpostavljanjem posameznih prvin. V naših obravnavah razumemo mikroucenje kot strategijo samostojnega ucenja kratkih, jasno opredeljenih vsebin z namenom pridobiti specificno znanje in kompetence glede na postavljeni ucni cilj. Bistvena elementa, ki koncept sodobnega mikroucenja razlikujeta od ucenja kratkih vsebin, sta: • osredotocenost na jasno in ozko opredeljeno (specificno) ucno vsebino in z njo pove­ zan ucni cilj, katerega uresnicitev se obicajno spremlja z merljivim ucnim dosežkom ucecega se; • smotrna uporaba tehnologije, podrejena doseganju ucnega cilja. Mikroucenje (kot strategijo ucenja) konkretiziramo z mikroucno enoto, ki zajema speci­fikacijo njenih elementov (opredelitev ucnega cilja, vsebine, ucnih aktivnosti, preverjanje naucenega, izbira formata mikroucenja in podporne tehnologije), ki šele v medsebojnem prepletu omogocajo realizacijo postavljenega ucnega cilja. Mikroucno enoto pa udejanji-mo z mikroucnim gradivom, ki je praviloma v elektronski obliki in dostopno udeležencu na mobilni elektronski napravi (prenosni racunalnik, mobilni telefon, tablica) prek inter-neta ali pa shranjeno v napravi. Znacilnosti mikroucenja Vecplastnost in kompleksnost mikroucenja se kažeta prek vrste znacilnosti, ki usmerjajo zasnovo mikroucnih enot in razvoj mikroucnega gradiva. Literatura s podrocja mikrou-cenja ponuja številne opise znacilnosti mikroucenja, ki so vsebinsko precej enotni (kljub neenotni terminologiji). Med njimi najdemo tudi nekatere specificne znacilnosti, ki so v glavnem posledica posebnih okolišcin uporabe in vidikov raziskovanja mikroucenja (Allela, 2021; Buchem in Hamelmann, 2010; Commlab India, 2021; Major in Calan­drino, 2018; Mattia, 2018; Peters, b. d.). Iz teh opisov smo izlušcili tiste znacilnosti, ki jih ocenjujemo kot bistvene za realizacijo potencialov sodobnega, tehnološko podprtega mikroucenja. Udejanjanje koncepta mikroucenja se tako kaže z naslednjimi znacilnostmi: • Osredotocenost. Mikroucenje je kar se da kratko in vsebinsko fokusirano. Dolžina mikroucne enote ni predpisana, naceloma pa naj bo cim krajša in cim bolj zgošcena, tako da je zadošceno kriteriju, da glede na ucni cilj ni mogoce nicesar odvzeti in tudi ni treba nicesar dodati. Dolžine mikroucnih enot so najpogosteje v razponu od 5 do 7 minut, 10 minut je že skrajna zgornja meja, 2 minuti pa spodnja meja. • Fleksibilnost. Mikroucno gradivo je ob pogoju uporabe lastne mobilne naprave uce­cemu se na voljo vsak trenutek, na zahtevo (on demand), neodvisno od prostora in casa. Na ta nacin se mikroucenje naravno povezuje z mobilnim ucenjem. Danes si mobilnega ucenja skoraj ne moremo zamisliti drugace kot v obliki mikroucenja, zato se vse bolj uporablja izraz mobilno mikroucenje (Jahnke idr., 2020; Lee, 2021). Fle­ksibilnost ucenja v casu in prostoru je ena pomembnih predpostavk za samostojno in samousmerjeno ucenje (self-regulated learning), ki je eden vodilnih konceptov izo­braževanja odraslih. • Relevantnost. Vsebina mikroucne enote se nanaša na specificno temo in zajema praviloma le eno vsebinsko vprašanje, ki je relevantno za ucecega se in povezano z ucnim ciljem. Izbira relevantnih ucnih vsebin za ucecega se je pomemben vidik personalizacije ucenja. Relevantnost ucnih vsebin vodi k manjši kognitivni obreme­nitvi udeleženca, hkrati pa prispeva k reševanju problema selektivnosti in ucinkovite izbire pravih informacij. To je pomembno v zdajšnjih razmerah informacijskega preo­bilja, obremenjenega z nekakovostnimi informacijami ali celo njihovo zlorabo. • Avtenticnost. Z mikroucenjem pogosto obravnavamo posamicna pragmaticna vpra­šanja, povezana s stvarnimi problemi, kot na primer kako cim hitreje osvojiti nov po­stopek v proizvodnji ali pri ponujanju storitev, kako v kratkem casu priti do prave in natancne informacije, ki jo potrebujemo pri delu ali študiju, kako se ažurno seznanjati s posamicnimi strokovnimi novostmi, povezanimi z opravljanjem dela ali študija (na primer s podrocja zakonodaje, tehnicne in družbene inovacije). Avtenticnost ucenja spodbuja motiviranost in zanimanje za ucenje ter prispeva tudi k boljši pripravljeno­sti za reševanje problemov na delovnem mestu, pri študiju in v drugih življenjskih situacijah. • Merljivost. Uporaba mikroucenja v digitaliziranem okolju generira raznovrstne podat­ke, ki z metodami ucne analitike omogocajo v realnem casu spremljanje in merjenje napredka in dosežkov udeležencev ucnega procesa. K merljivosti uspešnosti mikrou-cenja pripomore tudi povezanost ucnega cilja s pricakovanimi ucnimi dosežki. Slika 1 Glavne znacilnosti sodobnega mikroucenja (T-OFRAM) Osredotocenost, fleksibilnost, relevantnost, avtenticnost in merljivost (na kratko: OFRAM) so znacilnosti, ki oznacujejo koncept sodobnega mikroucenja in ki kvalificirajo mikroucenje kot strategijo ucenja, primerno za izobraževanje in usposabljanje v digitalni družbi. Uporabnost sodobnega mikroucenja pa dobi še nove razsežnosti, ce upoštevamo možnosti, ki jih mikroucenju daje sodobna tehnološka podpora z izjemno raznovrstnostjo aplikacij in orodij, ki so razpoložljivi ali pa dosegljivi na mobilnih napravah. Uporaba tehnologije je imanentna znacilnost sodobnega mikroucenja; glede na to bistvene zna-cilnosti konceptualnega modela mikroucenja skupaj s tehnološko podporo oznacimo s kratico T-OFRAM (Slika 1). Tehnološka podpora mikroucenja Konceptualni model T-OFRAM se v praksi kaže v številnih izvedbenih razlicicah glede na to, kako in v kolikšni meri nam je v fazah zasnove in izpeljave mikroucenja uspelo konkretizirati znacilnosti OFRAM. K izjemni raznovrstnosti pojavnih oblik mikroucenja pomembno prispeva tudi pestrost v izbiri tehnološke podpore (ki se kaže z izbiro digital-nih orodij, medijev in njihove kombinacije, s stopnjo interaktivnosti), torej z raznolikostjo formatov mikroucenja. Po cenovno ugodnih pogojih ali celo brezplacno lahko izbiramo med tehnološko enostavnejšimi ali naprednejšimi digitalnimi orodji, z znacilnostmi po­sameznih avtorskih orodij (kot so MS PowerPoint, ActivePresenter, OBS Studio, Scre­encast-O-Matic, Edpuzzle, H5P, TedEd za pripravo mikroucenja v videoformatu) ali pa sistemov LMS (learning management systems) za upravljanje ucenja (EdX, TalentLMS, Skillshare, WizIQ, EdApp). Razvrstitve formatov mikroucenja v literaturi so precej neenotne. To ilustrira Pregledni-ca 1, v kateri prikazujemo razvrstitev formatov mikroucenja treh uglednih združenj, ki se ukvarjajo z izobraževanjem odraslih (Association for Talent Development – ATD, Com­monwealth of Learning – COL in LinkedIn Learning). Osnovna kriterija razvršcanja formatov mikroucenja sta vrsta medija (tekst, slika, zvok, animacija) in možnost (vkljucenost) interakcije. V teh okvirih je mogoce razvršcati naj­razlicnejše tehnološko podprte razlicice mikroucenja. Vse bolj prodira tudi mikroucenje, nadgrajeno z naprednimi tehnološkimi rešitvami, kot so navidezna in nadgrajena resnic­nost, tehnike gamifikacije (igrifikacije) in simulacije (Chakraborty, 2021). Pestrost izvedbenih variant konceptualnega modela mikroucenja daje možnost široke upo­rabe mikroucenja. Uporabljamo ga lahko v formalnem, neformalnem in priložnostnem izobraževanju, v razlicnih fazah procesa ucenja in na razlicnih ravneh zahtevnosti. Pri odlocanju o konkretni obliki mikroucenja je bistveno, da postavimo v ospredje udeleženca ucnega procesa, njegove znacilnosti in ucne cilje, ki jih želimo doseci, in tem pedagoškim okvirom prilagodimo izbiro formata mikroucenja in ne obratno. V nadaljevanju bomo tako najprej osvetlili splošne vidike uporabnosti mikroucenja glede na doseganje ucnih ciljev in po fazah ucnega procesa ter nato predstavili še bistvene zna-cilnosti uporabe mikroucenja v visokošolskem izobraževanju. Preglednica 1 Formati mikroucenja Razvrstitev formatov mikroucenja Association for Talent Deve­lopment (ATD) Torgerson in Iannone (2020) Commonwealth of Learning Allela (2021) LinkedIn Learning Mattia (2018) tekstualno mikroucenje videoposnetki slikovni formati (infografike, pro-cesni diagrami, opomniki (memi), GIF-slike z animacijami) e-ucenje interaktivni videoposnetki zvocni formati (zvocni posnetki s podnaslovi, kratke zgodbe, podkasti) videoposnetki interaktivne prezentacije videoformati (video ucne kartice, posnetki ekrana, vlogi, demon-stracijski videoposnetki, videopo­snetki z zamikom) infografika interaktivni PDF-formati podkasti animacije infografike gamifikacije družbeni mediji navidezna in nadgrajena resnic­nost mikroucna gradiva na podlagi tiskanih virov Prirejeno po Allela (2021); Mattia (2018); Torgerson in Iannone (2020). SPLOŠNI VIDIKI UPORABNOSTI MIKROUCENJA Domet mikroucenja pri doseganju ucnih ciljev Pri identifikaciji potencialov sodobnega mikroucenja izhajamo iz izvornega ucnega ci­lja mikroucenja, to je boljše pomnjenje naucenega s ponavljanjem kratkih ucnih vsebin.1 Ustrezno pedagoško nacrtovanje (instructional design), ki se potrjuje z znacilnostmi OFRAM skupaj s smotrno izbrano in integrirano tehnologijo, omogoca, prvic, da je do-seganje izvornega ucnega cilja lahko bolj ucinkovito in uspešno, in drugic, da se tako dosegajo tudi ucni cilji višjih kognitivnih ravni. Mikroucenje je teoretsko utemeljeno skonceptom kratkih ucnih vsebin, ki ga je konec 19. stoletja s krivuljo pozabljanja utemeljil nemški psiholog Ebbinghaus in je usmerjeno k izboljšanju pomnjenja (Areh, 2004; Shail, 2019). Za realizacijo potenciala mikroucenja, da je doseganje izvornega cilja mikroucenja (boljše pomnjenje naucenega) ucinkovitejše in uspešnejše kot s tradicionalnim pristopom ponavlja­nja vsebin, je s tehnološkega vidika kljucna uporaba mobilnih naprav in interneta. Uporaba mobilnih naprav omogoca, da poteka ucni proces bolj prilagojeno posamezniku in po njego-vi meri, saj se lahko ta v miru loti ponavljanja in utrjevanja ucne snovi, ki je zanj zanimiva, kadarkoli in kjerkoli ter kolikokrat želi (fleksibilnost, osredotocenost); tudi ni obremenjen z odvecnimi vsebinami (relevantnost), mobilnost daje možnosti za vecjo avtenticnost uc­nih vsebin. V tem primeru gre pravzaprav za simbiozo mobilnega in mikroucenja. Zagota­vljanje potrebne tehnološke podpore mikroucenja vecini ne povzroca težav, saj so mobilne naprave, predvsem pametni telefoni, postali nepogrešljivo orodje našega vsakdanjika. Po podatkih Eurostata (2020) je leta 2019 kar 73 % prebivalstva v starosti od 16 do 74 let v Evropski uniji in v Sloveniji 76 % uporabljalo mobilne naprave za dostop do interneta zunaj doma ali delovnega mesta, v mlajših starostnih skupinah pa je ta delež še vecji. Potencial mikroucenja, da se pomnjenje realizira uspešneje in ucinkoviteje, je nedvomno relevanten za vse vidike uporabe v procesu ucenja in usposabljanja ter tudi za vse izobra­ževalne segmente. A z razvojem tehnologije in dostopnostjo informacij kadarkoli in kjer­koli cilj boljšega pomnjenja (predvsem faktografije) izgublja pomen. Danes pravzaprav ni vec težava priklicati nekoc že znano dejstvo ali podatke, saj je rešitev dobesedno na dosegu roke, v elektronskih napravah, ki hranijo neizmerne kolicine informacij. Problem ucenja in usposabljanja je danes drugje: kako izbrati kakovostne in zanesljive vire znanja, kako te informacije povezovati in obravnavati, da bodo prispevale k novemu znanju in omogocale sprejemanje kakovostnih in družbeno primernih odlocitev. To so izzivi in cilji ucenja v sodobnih izobraževalnih sistemih, ki zahtevajo kompetence višjih kognitivnih ravni transverzalne narave, ki omogocajo kriticno in analiticno razmišljanje, odprtost za nove ideje in sposobnost njihove diseminacije, ustvarjalno sodelovanje v timih, pripravlje­nost za drugacnost in eticnost. Pri vrednotenju potencialov sodobnega mikroucenja je zato bistveno, da pogledamo prek ravni pomnjenja in upoštevamo, da je mikroucenje danes lahko še marsikaj drugega kot kratko besedilo ali pa zvocni posnetek, shranjen v mobilnem telefonu. Orodja in aplikaci­je, ki so vgrajeni, naloženi ali dodani v (pametne) mobilne naprave, namrec ob premišlje­nem pedagoškem pristopu bistveno širijo potenciale mikroucenja prek doseganja primar­nega cilja pomnjenja ter omogocajo ucinkovito in uspešno realizacijo ucnih ciljev, ki so na lestvici kognitivnih zmožnosti uvršceni višje od elementarne ravni pomnjenja. To so predvsem cilji, ki se povezujejo z uporabo naucenega, evalvacijo razlicnih možnih rešitev in tudi spodbujanjem ustvarjalnosti ucecih se v izobraževalni ustanovi ali na delovnem mestu. Za realizacijo teh potencialov mikroucenja pa je ob ustrezni pedagoški zasnovi s tehnološkega vidika kljucnega pomena izbira primernega formata mikroucenja. V Sliki 2 na enostaven nacin prikazujemo, kateri formati mikroucenja so primerni za doseganje posameznih ravni ucnih ciljev in z njimi povezanih kognitivnih kompetenc. Pri opredelitvi teh ravni izhajamo iz revidirane Bloomove taksonomije izobraževalnih ciljev (Anderson in Krathwohl, 2001). Slika 2 Soustvarjanje mikroucenja z razlicnimi formati, interaktivni video, navidezna resnicnost Družbeni mediji, blogi Soustvarjanje mikroucenja z razlicnimi formati, interaktivni video, navidezna resnicnost Interaktivni video, simulacije, interaktivne table Interaktivni video, simulacije, gamifikacije, nadgrajena resnicnost Kvizi z enostavnimi vprašanji, podkast, enostavni video posnetek, ucne kartice Izhodišce za izbiro formata je ucni cilj, ki ga želimo s pomocjo mikroucenja uresniciti. Pri izbiri formata za mikroucenje je treba zato najprej razmisliti, kateri format je glede na svoje prednosti in omejitve najprimernejši za doseganje postavljenega ucnega cilja. Poleg temeljnega smernika, to je ucnega cilja, je treba seveda pretehtati še vrsto drugih okoli-šcin: znacilnosti ciljne skupine ali posameznika, njegov ucni stil, naravo ucne vsebine, razpoložljive vire, tehnološke omejitve in podobno. Z enim formatom je mogoce dosegati razlicne ucne cilje, odvisno od nabora in kombi­nacije posameznih elementov v mikroucni enoti in od konteksta. Tako smo na primer v Sliki 2 navedli videoposnetek, ki je nasploh najpogosteje uporabljen format mikroucenja, kot primerno rešitev za vecino od šestih ravni Bloomove lestvice kognitivnih zmožnosti; seveda pa je nacin in kontekst uporabe videoposnetka razlicen in prilagojen zahtevam posameznih ravni. Danes so na voljo že dokaj kakovostna orodja, ki nam pomagajo oblikovati mikroucne enote skladno s postavljenimi ucnimi cilji razlicnih stopenj zahtevnosti. Na spletni strani prosto dostopnega ucnega sistema za mikroucenje EdApp najdemo denimo enostaven primer, kako je mogoce z mikroucenjem postopoma napredovati po Bloomovi lestvici od enostavnega poznavanja in razumevanja pojma »pogajanje« do ravni, ko uceci se sa­mostojno evalvira pogajalske spretnosti v konkretni situaciji in razvije lastne pogajalske strategije (Nettleton, 2020). Podrocja uporabe mikroucenja Zamisel o uporabi mikroucenja za doseganje ucnih ciljev na razlicnih ravneh kompetent­nosti je mogoce uresniciti v razlicnih izobraževalnih okolišcinah. Ce izhajamo iz osnovne opredelitve mikroucenja, gre pri mikroucenju za uporabo posa­micne kratke, vsebinsko zakrožene ucne enote, ki omogoca samostojno (brez drugega ucnega gradiva) doseganje jasno opredeljenega, konkretnega ucnega cilja. Vendar se mi-kroucenje ne omejuje le na takšne pragmaticne, vsebinsko ozko zacrtane okvire uporabe. Ob dolocenih pogojih in prilagoditvah je mikroucenje mogoce uporabiti tudi pri obrav­navi bolj kompleksnih tem ucnega programa, in to v razlicnih fazah procesa ucenja in v povezavi z drugimi deli ucnih vsebin obsežnejših ucnih programov. Torgerson in Iannone (2020) razvršcata uporabo mikroucenja v štiri sklope: • samostojno mikroucenje (standalone), • mikroucenje kot priprava na usposabljanje (preparation), • mikroucenje kot podpora pri usposabljanju (support), • mikroucenje za nadgradnjo usposabljanja (follow-up). Mikroucne enote kot samostojne, samozadostne ucne enote pridejo v poštev predvsem pri obravnavi prakticnih vprašanj, ki so obicajno v ospredju pri neformalnem izobraževanju, kot del ucnih vsebin obsežnejših ucnih programov pa so bolj zanimive pri formalnem izobraževanju. Ta razmejitev seveda ne pomeni, da ni mogoce in tudi smiselno pri uspo­sabljanju v neformalnem izobraževanju zasnovati mikroucne enote kot del obsežnejšega programa in obratno, tudi v formalnem izobraževanju lahko uporabimo mikroucenje kot samostojne ucne enote. Ce je tema, obravnavana v mikroucni enoti, del širše ucne problematike, potem je treba poskrbeti, da bo imel uceci se dostop do drugih z obravnavano tematiko povezanih ucnih vsebin. To lahko dosežemo tako, da razvijemo mikroucna gradiva za vse obravnavane vsebine izobraževalnega programa ali predmeta, ki jih lahko nato vkljucujemo v ucni proces z razlicnim naborom (modularni pristop). Tako so oblikovani online programi, objavljeni na platformi LinkedIn Learning. Program za kreiranje in uporabo mikroucenja (Creating and Deploying Microlearning) je na primer sestavljen iz pregledno strukturira­nega niza 32 mikroucnih enot (Slika 3). Drug nacin vkljucevanja mikroucenja je, da ga uporabimo kot dodatno ucno gradivo pri posameznih, med seboj povezanih vsebinskih sklopih obsežnejšega programa. Tak nacin uporabe smo med drugim preizkusili na Doba Fakulteti pri poskusni vpeljavi mikroucenja v ucni proces.2 Glavne rezultate tega poskusa predstavljamo v nadaljevanju prispevka. Poskusna vpeljava mikroucenja na Doba fakulteti je bila ena od aktivnosti prve faze projekta nadgradnje online študija na Doba Fakulteti (Bregar idr., 2021). Slika 3 Mikroucne enote v programu Creating and Deploying Microlearning3 transkripti mikroucnih enot ucne skupine, pogosta vprašanja,ucne skupine,kvizi,certifikat Prirejeno po Mattia, C. (2018). Creating and deploying microlearning. LinkedIn Learning. https://www. linkedin.com/learning/creating-and-deploying-microlearning/next-steps?autoAdvance=true&autoSkip=false &autoplay=true&resume=true MIKROUCENJE V VISOKOŠOLSKEM IZOBRAŽEVANJU Empiricne raziskave o mikroucenju v visokošolskem izobraževanju V nasprotju z razmahom mikroucenja v podjetniškem sektorju se ta strategija ucenja v izobraževalni praksi visokega šolstva pocasneje uveljavlja. Cetudi se zanimanje razisko­valcev za mikroucenje v zadnjih letih povecuje, pa je na voljo le malo celovitih empiricnih raziskav o uspešnosti in ucinkovitosti mikroucenja v visokem šolstvu. Alqurashi (2017) povzema rezultate nekaterih zgodnejših raziskav (do leta 2016) in navaja ugotovitve o nekaterih posamicnih vidikih ucinkovitosti in uspešnosti mikroucenja v visokem šolstvu: Dostop do vira je mogoc z registracijo. V sliki je v oklepajih navedeno število mikroucnih enot v posameznem vsebinskem sklopu. Mikroucne enote so pripravljene kot zvocni posnetki z dodanim besedilom in nekaj grafike na ekranu. Vendar niso edini element izobraževalnega programa o mikroucenju. Za vsako zvocno mikroucno enoto je na voljo pisni transkript. Uporabniki imajo na voljo tudi informacije v rubriki »Pogosta vprašanja«, lahko pa se tudi pridružijo ucnim skupinam, rešujejo kvize in pridobijo certifikat za opravljeni program. • mikroucenje pripomore k boljši in raznovrstnejši interakciji med študenti ter k poglo­bljenemu sodelovanju in razumevanju. Mikroucenje prispeva tudi k boljšemu ucnemu okolju in vecjemu zanimanju študentov za ucenje (Liu idr., 2016, v Alqurashi, 2017); • študentje so v splošnem zelo zadovoljni z mikroucenjem; mikroucna gradiva so re-lativno pogosteje uporabljali kot druga ucna gradiva (Bruck idr., 2012, v Alqurashi, 2017; Zhamanov in Zhamapor, 2013, v Alqurashi, 2017); • mikroucenje je prispevalo k vecji fleksibilnosti pri izbiri ucnih vsebin in ucinkovitej­šemu zapolnjevanju vrzeli v znanju (Kovachev idr., 2011, v Alqurashi, 2017). Pregled teh raziskav kaže, da ostaja mikroucenje v visokem šolstvu na ravni osnovnih ciljev mikroucenja in nekaterih njegovih prakticnih prednosti, saj poudarjajo predvsem prispevek mikroucenja k boljšemu razumevanju in hitrejšemu pridobivanju manjkajocega znanja ter k vecji motiviranosti, sodelovanju in bolj fleksibilnemu ucenju. V zadnjih letih se raziskovalna agenda na podrocju vloge mikroucenja v visokošolskem izobraževanju pocasi širi k bolj kompleksnim ucnim ciljem. Göschlberger (2017) je razi­skoval, kako na uspešnost mikroucenja pri doseganju ucnih ciljev višjih ravni vpliva upo­raba družbenih omrežij. Mikroucenje se je pokazalo kot uporaben ucni pristop v casu zaprtja šol med pandemijo covida-19, posebej za tehniške študije pri razvoju prakticnih kompetenc; evalvacija je odkrila vrsto možnosti za izboljšave in smiselnost uporabe tega pristopa v postkoronskem obdobju (Wang idr., 2021). Major in Calandrino (2018) sta raziskovala možnost poglabljanja ucne izkušnje tako, da študentje z mobilnimi naprava-mi in mikroucenjem povezujejo ucno snov s svojim vsakdanjikom in lastnim okoljem, ter ugotovila, da sodobno zasnovano mikroucenje lahko seže prek drobljenja (chunking) ucnih vsebin. METODOLOGIJA Na Doba Fakulteti smo uspešnost mikroucenja pri doseganju ucnih ciljev empiricno pre­verili prek rezultatov poskusne vpeljave mikroucenja v podiplomski predmet Trendi v inovativnem izobraževanju na magistrskem programu Menedžment v sociali in izobraže­vanju v študijskem letu 2020/2021. Študijski program, v katerega je vkljucen ta predmet, je organiziran kot izredni študij in je v celoti izpeljan online. Udeleženci raziskave Pri vpeljavi je sodelovalo vseh 24 študentov, vpisanih na ta predmet (velika vecina zapo­sleni, pretežno v javnem sektorju in ženskega spola, starost okrog 40 let). Mikroucenje smo vpeljali v predmet po dveh poteh: • prvic tako, da so bili študentje (pasivni) uporabniki mikroucnih gradiv, s katerimi smo dopolnili osnovno študijsko gradivo; • in drugic z aktivno vlogo študentov kot ustvarjalcev mikroucnih gradiv za ucne vse­bine, ki so vkljucene v magistrski program Menedžment v sociali in izobraževanju. Instrumentarij Za spremljanje zadovoljstva študentov z mikroucenjem smo pripravili dve vrsti anket: • sprotne ankete, • koncno anketo. S sprotnimi anketami smo tedensko zbirali ocene študentov o njihovem zadovoljstvu z mi­kroucnim gradivom kot dopolnilom ucnemu gradivu pri predmetu Trendi v inovativnem izobraževanju. Ta predmet se izvaja, tako kot vsi drugi predmeti magistrskega študija na Doba Fakulteti, v celoti online in modularno. Izvedba s poskusno vpeljavo mikroucenja je potekala spomladi 2021 v petih tednih s petimi vsebinskimi sklopi. K ucnemu gradivu vsakega sklopa smo dodali še enoto mikroucnega gradiva. Vseh 5 enot je bilo v angle-škem jeziku in v videoformatu. Njihova vsebina je na kratko opisana v Preglednici 2 in v opombah. Študente smo zaprosili, da takoj po ogledu posamezne mikroucne enote oceni­jo stopnjo strinjanja z naslednjimi trditvami: • Mikroucna enota mi je koristila pri utrjevanju ucne snovi. • Vsebina mikroucne enote je bila dobro razložena. • Mikroucna enota mi je bila v pomoc pri razumevanju konkretnih ucnih vsebin. • S pomocjo mikroucne enote sem našel/našla ideje za izboljšave ucenja in poucevanja v svojem okolju. • Mikroucna enota me je spodbudila k nadaljnjemu razmišljanju in raziskovanju tehno­loško podprtega ucenja in poucevanja. S koncno anketo smo po izvedbi predmeta pridobili podatke o stališcih študentov, pove­zanih z njihovim ustvarjanjem mikroucnih gradiv z naslednjih vidikov: • ustreznost soustvarjanja mikroucnih gradiv s strani študentov kot pedagoškega pristo-pa v visokošolskem študiju nasploh; • koristnost soustvarjanja mikroucnih gradiv za razvoj predmetnih kompetenc; • koristnost soustvarjanja mikroucnih gradiv za razvoj digitalnih kompetenc; • koristnost soustvarjanja mikroucnih gradiv za razvoj kompetenc 21. stoletja.4 Pri obeh vrstah anket smo uporabili petstopenjsko Likertovo lestvico ocenjevanja stališc študentov (Sploh se ne strinjam. V glavnem se ne strinjam. Niti se ne strinjam niti se stri­njam. V glavnem se strinjam. Popolnoma se strinjam). Pri vsaki trditvi smo dodali tudi možnost: Ne morem ali ni mogoce odgovoriti. Za izracun srednje vrednosti strinjanja (M) smo Likertovo lestvico pretvorili v numericno (1 – Sploh se ne strinjam … 5 – Popolnoma se strinjam). Postopek Uspešnost mikroucenja smo preucili z analizo kvantitativnih in kvalitativnih podatkov, ki smo jih zbrali z vec evalvacijskimi metodami: s spletnimi anketami zadovoljstva in V literaturi se kot kompetence 21. stoletja najpogosteje navajajo kriticno razmišljanje, komunikacija, so-delovanje in ustvarjalnost (Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity) in so na kratko poimenovane kot kompetence 4C (Joynes idr., 2019). refleksijami študentov, objavljenimi v blogih, ter z ucno analitiko digitalnih podatkov o dosežkih študentov pri samostojnem razvoju mikroucnih gradiv. V tem prispevku pov­zemamo le glavne ugotovitve na podlagi analize spletnih anket zadovoljstva študentov z mikroucenjem. Prikazani rezultati so glede na znacilnosti uporabljene metodologije na stopnji eksploratorne raziskave.5 Zaradi metodoloških omejitev (poskusna vpeljava, omejena na številcno majhno skupino študentov pri posameznem predmetu, nizke stopnje anketnih odgovorov, predvsem pri sprotnih anketah) so empiricni rezultati eksploratorne narave in analiticno omejeni na deskriptivne statistike. REZULTATI IN INTERPRETACIJA V Preglednici 2 prikazujemo najprej, kako zadovoljni so bili študentje z mikroucnim gra­divom kot dopolnilom ucnemu gradivu glede na rezultate anket. Rezultati so prikazani po enotah mikroucnega gradiva zbirno, z izracunom srednje (povprecne vrednosti) stopnje zadovoljstva za vseh pet trditev o tem, kako uporabno je bilo to gradivo za študente. Preglednica 2 Ocena študentov o uporabnosti mikroucnega gradiva kot dopolnila ucnemu gradivu Število aktivnih študentov (24) Mikroucno gradivo Trajanje v minutah Izpolnjene ankete Stopnja odgo­vora (%) Srednja vrednost strinjanja (M) SAMR6 v 120 sekundah 2,00 7 29,2 3,7 Kratek pregled 4 teorij ucenja 5,47 10 41,7 4,4 Umetna inteligenca v Gartnerjevem ciklu7 navdušenja 3,06 5 20,8 3,8 Kako najti OER:8 video in slike 5,33 7 29,2 4,6 Nadgrajena in virtualna resnicnost za ucenje 2,31 9 37,5 4,4 5 Evalvacija vpeljave mikroucenja na podlagi vseh zbranih podatkov bo vkljucena v znanstveno monografijo o posodobitvi modela online študija na Doba Fakulteti. Objava je nacrtovana za sredino leta 2022. 6 SAMR je kratica za 4-stopenjski model uporabe tehnologije v izobraževanju: substitucija (substitution), nadgradnja (augmentation), spreminjanje (modification), redefiniranje (redefinition) (Puentedura, 2014). 7 Skupina Gartner od leta 2000 objavlja graficni prikaz stopenj pri uvajanju tehnoloških inovacij, ki je uporaben na razlicnih podrocjih diseminacije inovacij. Popularno je ta prikaz imenovan Gartnerjeva krivulja navdušenja ali Gartnerjev krog navdušenja (Gartner's Hype Cycle) (Blosch in Fenn, 2018). 8 OER je kratica za odprte izobraževalne vire (Open Educational Resources – OER). Gradivo dobi status OER, kadar ga je dovoljeno brezplacno za lastne potrebe veckrat uporabiti, spreminjati, predelati, deliti z dru­gimi – vse to ob navajanju izvirnega avtorstva. Vec o OER v Bregar idr. (2020). Pri vrednotenju rezultatov stališc študentov do koristnosti mikroucnih enot ne smemo spregledati nizkih stopenj odgovora in dejstva, da je bilo v pilotni projekt vpeljave mikro-ucenja vkljucenih razmeroma malo študentov (24). Ne glede na te omejitve pa rezultati kažejo, da sta se pri študentih slabše »odrezali« tisti dve mikroucni enoti, ki nista bili neposredno povezani z izdelavo katere od nalog pri pred­metu, pa tudi anketni stopnji odgovora sta nižji. Tematiki SAMR s povprecno oceno 3,7 in Gartnerjeva krivulja navdušenja (povprecna ocena 3,8) nista bili eksplicitno vkljuceni v ucne vsebine predmeta. S tema dvema mikroucnima enotama smo želeli študentom po­nuditi priložnost za bolj poglobljeno razumevanje in refleksijo o potencialih tehnologije za inoviranje izobraževanja. Rezultati na ravni preliminarne raziskave opozarjajo, da mikroucna gradiva lahko pri­spevajo k doseganju kompleksnejših kompetenc, a le ob pogoju, da je vloga mikroucnega gradiva glede na ucne cilje in z njimi povezane ucne aktivnosti v ucnem procesu jasno opredeljena in za študenta smiselna. Biti mora povezana z doloceno ucno aktivnostjo, ki jo podpira takšna ali drugacna oblika interakcije (na primer reševanje kratkega kviza s povratnimi pravilnimi odgovori, kratek blog in objava v ucilnici, vir informacij za izdela­vo raziskovalne naloge). Vsekakor pa je poskusna vpeljava mikroucenja kot dopolnilnega ucnega gradiva odprla vrsto drugih raziskovalnih vprašanj (na primer kako se študentje odzivajo na razlicne formate mikroucenja, kako se mikroucenje kaže v ucnih dosežkih in ne zgolj v zadovoljstvu), ki vodijo v bolj poglobljeno in razširjeno raziskovanje v vsebin­skem in metodološkem smislu. Bolj neposredne in prepoznavne ucinke za doseganje višjih in najvišjih ravni ucnih ciljev in z njimi povezanih kompleksnih kompetenc kažejo evalvacijski rezultati drugega pristo-pa, ko so bili študenti v vlogi aktivnih ustvarjalcev ucnih virov. Zamisel, da preucimo potencial mikroucenja za razvoj kompleksnih kompetenc, kadar študentje sami ustvarjajo mikroucno gradivo, izvira iz koncepta odprte pedagogike in z njo povezane odprte izobraževalne prakse (Bates, 2019). Študentje so v odprti izobra­ževalni praksi lahko v vlogi predstavnikov, svetovalcev, soraziskovalcev ali pa soustvar­jalcev ucnega procesa (students cocreating teaching and learning). Porocilo Innovating Pedagogy Odprte univerze iz Združenega kraljestva je za leto 2021 uvrstilo sodelovanje študentov v ucnem procesu (pri ustvarjanju ucnih gradiv in nacrtovanju programov) med 10 najbolj inovativnih pedagoških pristopov s potencialno zelo do srednje mocnim vpli­vom na prihodnjo izobraževalno prakso (Kukulska-Hulme idr., 2021). Zamisel o doseganju kompleksnejših ucnih ciljev s samostojnim ustvarjanjem mikroucnih gradiv študentov smo preverili s timskim delom študentov v okviru pilotnega projekta vpeljave mikroucenja. Študentje so se razvrstili v 6 timov. Koncni cilj vsakega od 6 timov s po 4 clani je bil izdelati multimedijsko odprto mikroucno gradivo z naslednjimi zahtevami: gradivo mora izpolnjevati pogoje OER in biti vsebin­sko uporabno za enega od predmetov iz študijskega programa, na katerega so vpisani študentje. Izpolnjevanje te zahteve kvalificira študente kot soustvarjalce ucnih gradiv v okviru študijskega programa. Vse znacilnosti in vsi koraki izdelave mikroucnega gradiva morajo biti strokovno utemeljeni in opisani. Mikroucno gradivo naj bo izdelano kot vi-deoposnetek (vsaj s sliko in zvokom). Ocena9 timske naloge, ki je zajemala opis zasnove in priprave ter izdelavo mikroucnega gradiva, je prispevala 30 % h koncni izpitni oceni predmeta. Po koncani nalogi so študentje s spletno anketo ocenili smotrnost soustvarjanja mikrouc­nih gradiv kot ucnega pristopa nasploh in koristnost tega pristopa za razvoj posameznih kompetenc. V Preglednici 3 prikazujemo zbirne rezultate ankete o koristnosti soustvarjanja mikrouc­nih enot za študente s srednjo vrednostjo ocene strinjanja na lestvici od 1 do 5. Koristnost soustvarjanja mikroucnih enot so študentje ocenjevali po naslednjih 4 sklopih: kot peda­goški pristop v visokošolskem študiju, glede na razvoj predmetnih kompetenc, digitalnih kompetenc in kompetenc 21. stoletja. V anketi je sodelovalo 12 od 24 študentov. Stopnja odgovora (50 %) je pri tej anketi torej precej višja kot pri sprotnih anketah (Preglednica 2). Analiza rezultatov koncne pilotne ankete kaže, da so študentje vlogo soustvarjalcev mi­kroucnih gradiv zelo dobro sprejeli. Povprecna stopnja strinjanja je samo pri eni od afir­mativnih trditev o pomenu soustvarjanja ucnih virov enaka 4 (od 5 možnih tock), vse ostale so višje. Študentje so ta pristop ocenili kot zelo koristen nasploh in tudi glede na to, koliko pomaga pri razvoju kljucnih kompetenc, kakršne bodo zelo verjetno potrebovali na delovnem mestu (poleg predmetnih kompetenc še digitalne kompetence in kompetence 21. stoletja). Pri tem velja poudariti, da gre za razvoj kompetenc na višjih ravneh zahtev­nosti: pri predmetnih in digitalnih kompetencah gre vecinoma za sposobnost uporabe znanja, kompetence 21. stoletja pa se uvršcajo v vrh Bloomove taksonomije (analiza, evalvacija in ustvarjanje). Zasnova kompleksne ucne aktivnosti, ki temelji na aktivnem, samostojnem in hkrati sodelovalnem ustvarjanju mikroucnega gradiva ter zahteva povezovanje razlicnih ucnih vsebin (na primer povezovanje koncepta mikroucenja z OER, uporabo medijev, nacrto­vanjem programov) in prenos teh znanj v prakso, omogoca doseganje višje kompeten­tnosti socasno na vec podrocjih. Mikroucenje se je v poskusni vpeljavi na Doba Fakul­teti pokazalo kot zelo prikladna oblika za uresnicevanje koncepta odprte pedagogike s študentskim soustvarjanjem ucnih virov. Uporabljeni pristop je tudi ucinkovit vzvod za doseganje kompleksnih kompetenc, ki bistveno presegajo domet mikroucenja na ravni boljšega pomnjenja. Pri ocenjevanju smo uprabili vec kriterijev, razclenjenih po metodologiji Rubrics. Osnovni kriteriji, ki smo jih v shemi Rubrics konkretizirali, dodatno razclenili in tockovno ovrednotili, so bili: kakovost ucne vsebine, sposobnost implementacije teoretskih konceptov v praksi, izraba tehnoloških potencialov, sodelovanje v timu, upoštevanje tehnicnih navodil za strokovna dela. Preglednica 3 Ocena študentov o koristnosti soustvarjanja mikroucnih gradiv Koristnost soustvarjanja mikroucnih gradiv za študente Srednja vrednost strinjanja (M) Koristnost soustvarjanja mikroucnih gradiv za študente Srednja vrednost strinjanja (M) Pedagoški pristop na visokošolski ravni Kompetence 21. stoletja ni naloga študentov 2,3 spodbuja kriticno razmišljanje študentov 4,1 je izguba casa za študente 1,8 omogoca vecjo ustvarjalnost študentov 4,4 je odlicno motivacijsko sredstvo 4,3 razvija komunikacijske in sodelovalne vešcine študentov 4,0 spodbuja plagiatorstvo 1,8 odvraca od študija 1,9 Predmetne kompetence Digitalne kompetence poglablja razumevanje koncepta odprtih licenc (Creative Commons) 4,3 izboljšuje poznavanje in usposobljenost za uporabo digitalnih orodij 4,3 poglablja razumevanje koncepta odprtih izobraževalnih virov (OER) 4,3 prispeva k vecji digitalni pismenosti študentov 4,3 prispeva k ucinkovitejšemu prenosu znanja in predmetnih kompetenc 4,3 spodbuja razvoj kompetenc za samostojno oblikovanje programov e-izobraževanja 4,4 RAZPRAVA: OMEJITVE IN IZZIVI MIKROUCENJA Potencialne prednosti, ki jih je posameznik deležen z mikroucenjem, se seveda ne re-alizirajo v polnem obsegu pri vsakem primeru mikroucenja. To je odvisno od formata mikroucenja, njegove umestitve v ucni proces, ucne vsebine, znacilnosti ucecega se in drugih dejavnikov. Prvi pogoj za realizacijo prednosti je kakovost mikroucenja. Za kako­vostno zasnovo mikroucne enote in izdelavo mikroucnih gradiv sta potrebni vsaj temeljno poznavanje problematike nacrtovanja in razvoja programov e-izobraževanja in osnovno obvladovanje digitalnih orodij za kreiranje digitalnih mikroucnih gradiv (Allela, 2021; Bregar idr., 2021, str. 65–166). Mikroucna enota je ob dolocenih specificnostih pac pro­gram e-izobraževanja v malem. Mikroucenje je v praksi pogosto »žrtev« napacnega razumevanja in zmotnih predstav. V praksi se pogosto srecamo s primeri, ko se kratke ucne vsebine v obsegu okrog 5 minut enacijo z mikroucenjem, ko se kratek videoposnetek opiše kot mikroucenje, ko se mobil-no ucenje obravnava kot sopomenka za mikroucenje. Mikroucenje se pogosto zaznava kot zelo privlacna oblika izobraževanja, ker naj bi ji bil kos vsakdo, ki zna razdrobiti ucno vsebino in te drobce (košcke) spraviti v elektronski format, dostopen z mobilnimi napra­vami. Mikroucenje naj bi bilo zato tudi poceni. Morda so te poenostavitve, vsaj deloma, tudi posledica poimenovanja tega pristopa, kajti predpona »mikro« implicira preprostost, enostavnost. V resnici sta razvoj mikroucnih enot in izdelava kakovostnih mikroucnih gradiv strokovno delo, ki zahteva specificno znanje in kompetence. Tudi za ustrezno umešcanje mikroucenja v obsežnejše izobraževalne programe potrebuje-mo kompetence s podrocja nacrtovanja izobraževalnih programov. Uporaba mikroucenja namrec prinaša precejšnje zagate, kadar je del vsebine iztrgan iz celote in obstaja nevar­nost, da uceci se ne prepozna medsebojne povezanosti in soodvisnosti posameznih delov ucne vsebine. Vsekakor pa mikroucenje ni primerno za kompleksne in bolj zapletene ucne vsebine, ki jih ni mogoce kakovostno in celovito (v enem kosu) predstaviti v nekaj minutah. Mikro-ucenje tudi ni dobra strategija ucenja za obravnavo novih tematik, pri katerih je veliko odprtih vprašanj in nejasnosti ter pri katerih se pojavljajo novi koncepti, ki zahtevajo vec razlage in celovito osvetlitev z razlicnih vidikov. ZAKLJUCEK Naše raziskovanje mikroucenja na podlagi literature in lastne pedagoške prakse potrjuje, da je prodor tehnologije prek vse bolj zmogljivih in funkcionalnih mobilnih naprav in apli­kacij omogocil razvoj mikroucenja, ki sega prek prvotnega koncepta ucenja kratkih vsebin zaradi boljšega pomnjenja. Potenciali mikroucenja se danes kažejo na dveh ravneh: prvic, omogocajo avtenticno ucno izkušnjo tudi v formalnem visokošolskem izobraževanju, ki je blizu realnim problemom in nacinu dela v neformalnem izobraževanja in usposabljanju ter tudi blizu nacinu pridobivanja in uporabe informacij v digitalni družbi. Drugic, z ustreznim pedagoškim pristopom in smiselno izrabo tehnoloških možnosti lahko z mikroucenjem pridobivamo tudi bolj kompleksne kompetence. Eksploratorno raziskovanje, ki temelji na poskusni vpeljavi mikroucenja na ravni enega predmeta na Doba Fakulteti, kaže, da dose-gamo z mikroucenjem pri razvoju kompleksnih kompetenc in motiviranju študentov še po­sebej spodbudne rezultate, kadar uporabimo aktivni pristop, ko študentje s timskim delom samostojno kreirajo mikroucna gradiva, namenjena odprti uporabi (OER). Ocenjujemo, da sama zamisel in izvedba poskusne vpeljave mikroucenja na Doba Fakulteti ter s tem povezani rezultati kljub eksploratorni naravi raziskovanja spodbujajo širše preverjanje upo­rabnosti prikazanega pristopa v pedagoški praksi in bolj poglobljeno raziskovanje. V kakšni smeri se bo mikroucenje v prihodnje razvijalo, je težko napovedati. Kljub prednostim mikroucenje ni univerzalna rešitev, ki bi lahko izpodrinila druge oblike in strategije izobraževanja in usposabljanja zaposlenih in še v manjši meri v formalnem iz­obraževanju. Vsekakor lahko pricakujemo, da se bo moral visokošolski sektor, ce se želi približati izobraževalnim potrebam v podjetjih, v dolocenem obsegu oddaljiti od enovitih in obsežnih študijskih programov, razstaviti (unbundling) ucne nacrte in ponuditi izobra­ževalne programe na osnovi modulov in mikroucenja (Gallagher, 2017). Pricakujemo, da bosta prodor umetne inteligence in možnost vkljucevanja virtualnih inteli­gentnih tutorskih sistemov nadgradila dosedanji koncept mikroucenja, ki predpostavlja sa­mostojno in samousmerjeno ucenje ter usposabljanje brez pedagoške podpore. Zelo verjetno bo k širjenju mikroucenja v prihodnjih letih prispevalo tudi to, da na trg dela vstopa genera-cija milenijcev, ki je že od malega navajena sprejemati informacije po košckih, nenehno, na zahtevo, kadarkoli in kjerkoli, s svojega »mobilca«. Mladim je treba ponuditi možnosti, da se bodo na podoben, a strokovno utemeljen nacin lahko ucili in usposabljali ne le na delov­nem mestu in priložnostno, temvec tudi v okviru formalnega izobraževanja ne glede na to, ali je to izpeljano tradicionalno, znotraj šolskih zidov, kombinirano ali pa na daljavo. Prvi korak v tej smeri je nedvomno ozavešcanje in ustrezno usposabljanje nosilcev izobraževanja. LITERATURA IN VIRI Alexander, B., Rowe K. 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(4. 1. 2021). The next normal arrives: Trends that will define 2021— and beyond. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/leadership/ the-next-normal-arrives-trends-that-will-define-2021-and-beyond Torgerson, C. in Iannone, S. (2020). What works in talent development: Designing microlearning. Asso­ciation for Talent Development (ATD). Wang, T., Towey, D., Yuk-Kwan Ng, R. in Singh Gill, A. (2021). Towards post-pandemic transforma­tive teaching and learning: Case studies of microlearning implementations in two post-secondary educational institutions. SN Computer Science, 2(271). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42979-021-00663-z Andragoška spoznanja/Studies in Adult Education and Learning, 2022, 28(1), 95-115 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4312/as/9990 Scientific article Corinne Brion THE IMPACT OF CULTURE ON LEARNING TRANSFER IN BURKINA FASO AND GHANA ABSTRACT Culture is a predominant force in people’s lives that impacts learning and thus culture influences learn­ing transfer. Because working across nations has become the norm and every year billions of dollars are spent on professional learning around the world, it is crucial for organisations to understand the role culture plays in the learning transfer process. Using a multidimensional model of learning transfer and the six dimensions of national culture model as conceptual frameworks, this qualitative study used a case study approach to examine the impact of culture on learning transfer in Burkina Faso and Ghana, West Africa. Interviews were conducted with 20 principals who attended leadership professional learning in Ghana and Burkina Faso. Data collection also included observations and document analysis. Findings indicated that several cultural factors influenced learning transfer in these two nations in the areas of pretraining and follow-up. Based on these findings, the author offers recommendations. Keywords: six dimensions of national culture, training, learning transfer, professional development, professional learning VPLIV KULTURE NA PRENOS ZNANJA V BURKINI FASO IN GANI – POVZETEK Kultura je prevladujoca sila v življenju ljudi, ki vpliva na ucenje in tako na prenos znanja. Ker je delo v mednarodnem okolju postalo ustaljena norma in se po svetu vsako leto milijarde dolarjev porabijo za strokovno ucenje, je kljucnega pomena, da organizacije razumejo vlogo kulture pri prenosu znanja. V clanku je predstavljena kvalitativna študija, ki znotraj pojmovnega okvira vecdimenzionalnega modela prenosa znanja in modela šestih dimenzij nacionalne kulture v obliki študije primera raziskuje vpliv kulture na prenos znanja v Burkini Faso in Gani v Zahodni Afriki. Opravljeni so bili intervjuji z 20 ravnatelji, ki so se udeležili vodstvenega strokovnega izpopolnjevanja v Gani in Burkini Faso, zbiranje podatkov pa je vkljucevalo tudi opazovanje in analizo dokumentov. Rezultati so pokazali, da pri teh dveh narodih na prenos znanja vpliva vec kulturnih dejavnikov, in sicer v zacetni in naknadni fazi. Na podlagi rezultatov so bila pripravljena tudi priporocila. Kljucne besede: šest dimenzij nacionalne kulture, usposabljanje, prenos znanja, strokovno izpopolnje­vanje, strokovno ucenje Corinne Brion, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Education and Health Sciences, University of Dayton, cbrion1@udayton.edu INTRODUCTION In 2020, American organisations alone spent $82.5 billion on professional learning (PL) to develop their employees’ skills and knowledge base (Statista, 2020). Yet and despite the money invested, seminal scholars such as Ford et al. (2011) and Saks and Belcourt (2006) maintained that these investments yield low to moderate results because employ­ees do not often transfer the newly acquired knowledge to their workplaces. Saks and Belcourt (2006) affirmed that in Canada the rate of transferring learning to the workplace is low, with estimates of 38% of trainees failing to transfer immediately after PL events and almost 70% faltering after a year. Culture is a predominant force in people’s lives that impacts learning and the implemen­tation of that learning (Rahyuda et al., 2014; Yang et al., 2009). Because working across nations has become the norm and cultures are not homogeneous among nations, it is cru­cial for organisations to understand the role culture plays on the learning transfer process in order for organisations to get a return on their financial, time, and human investments (Raver & Van Dyne, 2017). Being able to transfer newly acquired knowledge and skills is the ultimate goal of PL, yet it is the most challenging to achieve (Baldwin et al., 2017; Grossman & Salas, 2011). Despite the large amount of research on learning transfer, there are a limited number of empirical field studies (Choi & Roulston, 2015; Rahyuda et al., 2014). There are also few learning transfer models that account for cultural differences in the transfer of learn­ing process (Rahyuda et al., 2014; Yang et al., 2009). To date, learning transfer models have outlined the importance of organisational culture (Ford, 2020; Gil et al., 2021) and specifically the role transfer climate plays in enhancing or hindering learning transfer (Blume et al., 2019; Grossman & Salas, 2011; Hughes et al., 2018) but none have taken into consideration the central influence of culture on the transfer process. The purpose of this qualitative study was to fill this knowledge gap by examining how, if at all, cultural factors influence learning transfer. To illustrate the importance that culture has on PL and because there is a lack of studies that offer a practical perspective from developing coun­tries (Rahyuda et al., 2014), this study took place among educational leaders in two West African countries: Burkina Faso and Ghana. If practitioners and PL organisers understood how culture affects learning transfer, organisations around the world would get a better return on their investments because the implementation of new knowledge would take place. In addition, employees would feel more empowered which would have a positive impact on the organisation’s climate and culture. This research adds to the learning transfer literature while also providing some coun­try-specific and practical recommendations that will benefit training organisers and facil­itators in Burkina Faso and Ghana. These recommendations will also provide a blueprint that other facilitators, leaders, and human resource officers in global organisations and multinational corporations can use to reflect on their learning transfer practices within the culture in which they operate. LITERATURE REVIEW Learning transfer, also referred to as training transfer, is defined as “the effective and con­tinuing application by learners—to their performance of jobs or other individual, organ­izational, or community responsibilities—of knowledge and skills gained in the learning activities” (Broad, 1997, p. 2). Learning transfer has been studied for over 30 years theo­retically and quantitatively in the organisational psychology, business and human resource development fields. In their seminal meta-analysis paper, Baldwin and Ford (1988) were first to categorise the enhancers and inhibitors to learning transfer. The authors organised them into three input factors: (1) the factors related to learners’ characteristics; (2) the factors pertaining to the intervention design and delivery; and (3) the factors affected by the work environment. The influence of cultural factors as described by Hofstede (2011) on learning transfer was absent from any of the training inputs. Broad and Newstrom (1992) identified six key factors that either hinder or promote learn­ing transfer: (a) program participants, their motivation and dispositions and previous knowledge; (b) program design and execution including the strategies for learning trans­fer; (c) program content which is adapted to the needs of the learners; (d) changes re­quired to apply learning within the organisation, complexity of change; (e) organisational context such as people, structure, and cultural milieu that can support or prevent transfer of learning. Following Broad and Newstrom’s work, Holton et al. (2000) created, pilot­ed, and validated in 24 countries a 16-factor Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI) based on 16 constructs (Table 1). The LTSI was designed as a pulse-taking diagnostic tool for training organisers. As with previous models, each of these constructs can hinder or promote learning transfer. As Table 1 indicates, there is no mention of culture. Table 1 Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI) Capability Motivation Work Environment Content validity Transfer effort: Performance expectations Supervisor support Transfer design Transfer performance: Outcome expectations Supervisor sanctions Opportunity to use Learner readiness Peer support Personal capacity Motivation to transfer Performance, self-efficacy Performance coaching Personal outcomes: Positive Personal outcomes: Negative Resistance to change Adapted from “Development of a generalized learning transfer system inventory,” by E. F. Holton III, R. A. Bates and W. E. Ruona, 2000, Human Resource Development Quarterly, 11(4), pp. 338–340. In their meta-analysis, Burke and Hutchins (2007) reviewed 170 articles and posited that anxiety and negative affectivity, openness to experience, and organisational commitment were the factors that influenced the transfer of learning most. Additionally, the climate, support, and being given the opportunity to transfer the new knowledge also influenced the transfer process. In this meta-analysis, there was no consideration of the impact of culture on learning transfer. More recently, Blume et al. (2010) reviewed 89 quantitative studies in the United States and Canada and explored the impact of predictive factors such as trainee characteristics, work environment, and training interventions on the transfer of training to different tasks and contexts. The authors also examined moderator effects of the relationships between these predictors and transfer. The results confirmed positive relationships between trans­fer and predictors such as cognitive ability, conscientiousness, motivation, and a support­ive work environment. Several moderators had significant effects on transfer relation­ships, including the nature of the training objectives but none of the studies considered the influence of cultural factors on the transfer process in a national context. “Culture is the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from others” (Hofstede, 2011, p. 3). Because learning is a social endeavour and knowledge is contextual, people’s cultures impact the way they learn, interact, communicate, and resolve conflicts (Lindsey et al., 2018). Culture also impacts learning transfer because if people do not learn due to a language barrier or be­cause respect is not shown for traditions and preferred learning styles (collectivistic ver­sus individualistic, for example), they will not be able to implement the new knowledge in their jobs. There are currently a limited number of research studies that examine the influence of culture on learning transfer (Caffarella & Daffron, 2013; Closson, 2013; Sarkar-Barney, 2004; Silver, 2000; Yang et al., 2009). These scholars are among the few authors affirm­ing a relationship between cultural factors such as collectivism versus individualism and learning transfer. Yang et al. (2009) asserted that the fundamental reason why cultural factors impact PL is that learning is a social process that takes place in certain cultural contexts. These authors posited that cultural factors affect PL events via the content, the selection of facilitators, and the preferred methods of delivery. For example, for nations that tend to be collectivistic on Hofstede’s (2011) six dimensions of national culture, group work would most likely promote learning and enhance learning transfer. Scholars posited that cultural differences do not only impact learning (Raver & Van Dyne, 2017) and the training process (Yang et al., 2009), but that cultural differences also influence learning transfer (Closson, 2013) because if learners cannot learn, they cannot transfer new knowledge and skills. Beyond an awareness of who is represented in the room socially and ethnically, Caffarella and Daffron (2013) asserted that learning transfer should be discussed within contexts because context affects the way we teach, what we teach, and how we teach. Moreover, these authors affirmed the necessity for facilitators to be culturally sensitive and understand norms, traditions, and culture to facilitate the transfer of learning. According to Caffarella and Daffron (2013), the planning phase of PL is when facilitators can deliberately include culturally responsive approaches that are informed by the nation’s scores on Hofstede’s (2011) dimensions of national culture. Sarkar-Barney (2004) proposed a framework for global organisations that develop train­ing in one context and deploy them internationally. The author used Baldwin and Ford’s (1988) three input factors and posited that there were two levels of cultural values that im­pact learning transfer: individual level values such as openness to change and culture-lev­el values such as conservatism versus autonomy. The author concluded her theoretical paper by asserting that cultural differences in training practices are not well understood. Rahyuda et al. (2014) supported the importance of culture in the learning transfer pro­cess and affirmed that there was a lack of studies examining the impact of culture and post-training interventions, particularly in developing countries. They also affirmed the need to conduct empirical rather than laboratory and simulation-based studies. This study sought to understand the influence of cultural factors on the learning trans­fer process in the areas of pretraining and follow-up. To better comprehend the impact of culture on learning transfer, I used the Multidimensional Model of Learning Trans­fer (MMLT) (Brion, 2021) and Hofstede’s (2011) model of national culture to analyse the data. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK On the basis of the literature on the role of culture in the learning transfer process, some authors argue that there is a need for a comprehensive, multidimensional, and unifying model of learning transfer that considers culture as a key factor (Raver & Van Dyne, 2017). Therefore, I merged and extended existing models of learning transfer to construct the MMLT (Brion, 2021). Multidimensional Model of Learning Transfer (MMLT) The MMLT (Brion, 2021) is a culturally grounded and evidence-based model that devel­oped from data collected, analysed, and synthetised over six years in educational institu­tions in five African nations (Brion, 2021). Even though the data were collected in Africa, the findings could be informative to nations with similar scores on Hofstede’s (2011) six dimensions of national culture. In the MMLT, I assert that culture is the predominant enhancer and inhibitor to transfer and that culture affects the entire learning transfer pro­cess (Brion, 2021). Considering culture as the main enhancer or inhibitor to transfer is useful because organisations spend large amounts of money and resources on PL that do not often yield improved outcomes. MMLT is composed of six dimensions: Pretraining, Learner, Facilitator, Material and Content, Context and Environment, and Post-Training (Figure 1). In the MMLT, culture is the overarching factor that affects all other dimen­sions of learning transfer. A description of the MMLT elements is provided below. Pretraining As Figure 1 indicates, pretraining includes the orientation of facilitators and other key stakeholders so that they can support the PL once it has begun. Pretraining also includes communicating expectations to facilitators and learners, explaining who will benefit from the PL event, stating that participants are accountable to implement new knowl­edge and sharing the schedule, goals, and information that is perceived as mandatory (Yang et al., 2009). Learner Learners are the participants in the PL program. This dimension refers to understanding the learners’ motivation and their background. The learner category also includes un­derstanding differences in learning styles (Lindsey et al., 2018) as well as language and writing differences. It is also comprised of the participants’ beliefs and attitudes toward their job (Yelon et al., 2013), whether or not they have the freedom to act, and the positive consequences of that application. Finally, it involves the participants’ belief of the effica­cy of the knowledge and skills learned (Yelon et al., 2013). Facilitator Effective facilitators must understand the adult participants’ background as well as their own and how their beliefs may affect learning and the learning transfer (Caffarella & Daffron, 2013). Facilitator also refers to the understanding of language and writing dif­ferences, setting goals, and the selection of participants (Yang et al., 2009). Leaders and facilitators should examine the biases they may have towards certain groups of people before teaching and gathering materials for the PL event. Content and Materials Content and Materials involves using evidence based, culturally relevant, and contextual-ised materials (Caffarella & Daffron, 2013). It also involves using a pedagogical approach based on andragogy or how adults learn best (Knowles, 1980; Mezirow, 2000). In this dimension, PL organisers and leaders would ensure that the content reflects the partici­pants’ needs and backgrounds. Context and Environment This dimension comprises the training and work environment and the sociocultural con­text. It also refers to having enough time to transfer knowledge, the support for action, the resources, the freedom to act, and peer support (Burke & Hutchins, 2008). Finally, Context and Environment refers to the training incentives: intrinsic incentives such as providing educators with growth opportunities, and extrinsic incentives, such as reward or promotion (Facteau et al., 1995). Follow-up Follow-up is often overlooked and is necessary to avoid skill decay and training relapse. Examples include tutor-facilitated networks via mobile technology (Brion, 2018), mi-cro-learning using mobile technology, coaching, testimonials, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) or Community of Practice (COPs), apprenticeships, coaching, and e-coaching (Speck & Knipe, 2005; Wang & Wentling, 2001). Understanding how culture practically impacts learning transfer in Burkina Faso and Ghana would help PL attendees implement new knowledge, improve organisations’ out­comes while also increasing their company’s return on investments in these two nations. Figure 1 The Multidimensional Model of Learning Transfer The Hofstede Model This paper illustrates the impact of culture on learning transfer in two different contexts, Burkina Faso and Ghana. To do so, I used Hofstede’s model (2011) to learn more about each country’s culture and frame my data collection and analysis. The model consists of six dimensions (6D) that emerged from a comprehensive study of how values in the workplace are influenced by culture. The countries’ positions on the six dimensions are expressed in a score on a 100-point-scale with zero being the lowest possible score. The cultural dimensions represent independent preferences for one state of affairs over anoth­er that distinguish countries (rather than individuals) from each other. The dimensions of the model are explained below and Table 2 outlines how Burkina Faso and Ghana scored in each of the dimensions. Power Distance Index (PDI) This dimension expresses the degree to which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. Both Burkina Faso and Ghana score high in this dimension. Individualism Versus Collectivism (IDV) Individualist societies refer to societies in which the propensity is for individuals to take care of themselves and their immediate family only. In collectivistic cultures, people think of the needs of the group over individual needs. Both nations are collectivistic. Masculinity Versus Femininity (MAS) In this dimension, masculinity represents a preference in society for achievement, com­petitiveness, heroism, assertiveness, and material rewards for success. On the other hand, femininity embodies an inclination for cooperation, modesty, caring, and quality of life. Burkina Faso and Ghana lean towards femininity. Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) This dimension speaks to the degree to which individuals are uncomfortable with uncer­tainty. Both countries scored high indicating a preference to avoid uncertainties. Long-Term Orientation Versus Short-Term Normative Orientation (LTO) Long-term orientation denotes a society that is focused on the future. Short-term orientation societies focus on the present or past and value traditions. Both countries value traditions. Indulgence Versus Restraint (IND) Indulgence refers to a society that accepts having fun and enjoying life. Restraint is for a society that eliminates the gratification of needs and controls it with strict social norms. This research project focused on the power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and long­term orientation dimensions. Table 2 Cultural Profiles: Burkina Faso and Ghana Cultural Dimension Burkina Faso Ghana Power Distance 70 80 Individualism/Collectivism 15 15 Masculinity/Femininity 50 40 Uncertainty Avoidance 55 65 Long-Term Orientation 27 4 Indulgence 18 72 METHODS This qualitative study used a case study design to better understand the impact of culture on learning transfer. I opted for a case study approach because it provides the ability to examine in detail a phenomenon as it manifests in everyday contexts (Yin, 2014). The unit of analysis was school principals across two countries, framing the case study to explore the impact culture has on learning transfer. In this paper, I report the findings related to the following research question: What elements of Hofstede’s (2011) six dimensions of national culture and what dimensions of the MMLT influenced learning transfer? Prior to conducting the study, I sought and received approval from my institution’s Insti­tutional Review Board (IRB). The purpose of this process is to ensure that the research design does not violate the ethical institutional and federal guidelines. Selection of Sites The sites selected for this research study were seven leadership PL events in Burkina Faso and 18 in Ghana over the course of six years. Each PL program lasted for two or three days. The participants were school leaders and proprietors of Low-Fee Private Schools. These sites were selected because I had been working in these countries and had access to these schools and training sessions. Selection of Participants This research relied on a purposive criterion sampling of 20 men and women principals, 10 in each country, working in Low-Fee Private Schools in urban and rural areas. Their age ranged from 36 to 62 years old. Purposive sampling allowed me to select participants from whom I could learn the most to answer the research question of the study (Creswell, 2013; Patton, 2002). Criterion sampling was also used to select participants. Criterion sampling involves selecting participants that meet a predetermined criterion (Patton, 2002). Participants were chosen according to their willingness to participate in the study, their ability to attend the three-day school leadership training, and their aptitude to speak and understand the national languages, French for Burkina Faso and English for Ghana. Data Collection Data collection included interviews with 20 school leaders in 2018, field notes pertaining to how the six dimensions of national culture (Hofstede, 2011) influenced learning trans­fer from 70 days of training observation, as well as document analysis. Interviews In 2018, I conducted one-on-one interviews with 10 principals from Burkina Faso and 10 principals from Ghana during the fifth year of my work in West Africa, which al­lowed me to more deeply understand the cultural differences and commonalities between the nations. The interviews were semi-structured, open-ended and lasted 45 minutes. An interview guide was developed. I asked open-ended questions such as “Tell me what helped you to implement the new knowledge after the PL” and “What prevented you from implementing that knowledge?” Interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim in French and English. The French transcriptions were not translated into English but rather coded in French, my native language. These interviews occurred approximately three months after the principals attended the three-day school leadership PL to allow for reflection and transfer time. Training Observation I observed the 20 principals during the PL events. I observed a total of 70 days of train­ing over six years: 25 in Burkina Faso and 45 in Ghana. Per Wolcott’s advice (1994), the observations were structured. I used a check list to help me identify instances of when culture influenced the training and learning transfer. The check list was inspired by Hof­stede’s (2011) six dimensions of national culture and included items related to power distance, long-term orientation, and uncertainty avoidance. These notes and check list were later coded and added to the data analysis to understand the influence of culture on learning transfer. Document Analysis I analysed group text messages from WhatsApp. The PL facilitator used the WhatsApp application to follow-up with the participants after the PL. This follow-up method was used in Ghana only as Ghana is more technologically advanced than Burkina Faso and most participants in Burkina Faso did not have a smartphone at the time of the study. I analysed text entries from the WhatsApp platform as a form of document analysis. Data Analysis Coding is the base of the analysis (Saldaa, 2009). Due to the large amount of data to code, the data were pre-coded by highlighting significant participants’ quotes or passages that related to the research questions (Miles & Huberman, 1994). The pre-coding allowed me to place relevant quotes under the MMLT’s pretraining and follow-up categories. Following the pre-coding, the analysis of qualitative data took place over two cycles of coding. In round one, I used in vivo coding to develop codes for each key point emerging from the interviews, documents, field notes, and journal. Examples of codes that emerged from the data during this coding phase included titles, gender issues, age differences affect interactions. In round two, using axial coding, I grouped the preliminary codes into overlapping categories to create themes. Examples of codes were power dynamics, formalities, group. Trustworthiness To enhance the present study’s internal validity, I included four strategies into the de­sign of the present study. First, I triangulated the data using several different sources of data such as the interviews, numerous observations, and document analysis. The different sources of data contributed to achieving saturation and the quality of the data collected (Creswell, 2013). Second, I went back to the participants to ask them to check the accu­racy of the findings (Mero-Jaffe, 2011). Third, I created a data trail (Rodgers, 2008). This is a qualitative research practice where I copied the participants’ quotes from the present study’s transcript data and pasted them under each theme that emerged from the data analysis. This strategy helped ensure that sufficient transcript data supported the results that I reported in this study. Following this process also ensured that I was not sharing my viewpoint but, rather, the perspectives of the participants. FINDINGS To preserve the integrity of the findings, I used the participants’ comments verbatim. I also used pseudonyms to protect the anonymity of the participants. The findings are cate­gorised using the MMLT and Hofstede’s (2011) 6D when applicable. In this paper, I share the findings pertaining to the MMLT’s pretraining and follow-up categories because these are the dimensions that are often overlooked in the learning transfer process. In Hofst­ede’s (2011) model, the data indicated that culture affected the dimensions of uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and power distance. Other cultural factors that were important to foster learning transfer were the notion of time and the use of technology to communicate and be reminded of the learning that took place in the PL. Pretraining During the six years that I worked in Burkina Faso and Ghana, I saw in all the princi­pals the following cultural factors affecting the pretraining phase and appeared to hinder learning transfer: the notion of time, the importance of avoiding uncertainty, respecting traditions and understanding how power is viewed and enacted. The Notion of Time In both nations, the notion of time was lived differently. In Burkina Faso, the participants arrived one hour early to the PL and the event started on time, whereas in Ghana, it was common for the PL to start two to three hours after the scheduled time as the team of facilitators would wait for most of the attendees to arrive. In my journal, I wrote the fol­lowing comment regarding the notion of time: “Coming from the West, I often wondered if the tardiness was due to the heavy traffic or the fact that participants were school lead­ers who may have gone to their schools prior to the start of the PL.” Curious about the reasons for such dissimilarities between Burkina Faso and Ghana, I sought some explana­tions from the participants and their Ghanaian local colleagues who explained that “it was cultural.” My local colleagues advised the facilitating team to start the PL on time. Agnes explained: “As participants see the value in the PL, they will come on time, they come late first because they do not know what they can gain from training events, it happens all the time.” A Ghanaian principal named Godwin used a joke to make fun of himself: “You Americans have nice watches, but we have the time.” Although this joke may be seen as a stereotyped notion of culture, it denoted the unperturbed attitude that the Ghanaians had towards time and was important to facilitators so they could plan their PL accordingly and learning transfer was not inhibited. Understanding the notion of time has important repercussions for the pretraining phase. During this phase PL organisers should orient facilitators on cultural differences, com­municate expectations and norms to facilitators and learners, explain who will bene­fit from the training, state that the participants are accountable for implementing new knowledge, and share the schedule. If participants come late, they miss some training content and thus they will not be able to transfer knowledge they may have missed due to the different understandings of the notion of time. It was also important to know that Burkinabe come early to PL events as facilitators could use this time to bond with their audience, re-explain concepts, and ask participants about their schools. Josephine ex­plained: “I do not have many opportunities for education, so if it is there, I must embrace all of it and do not want to miss one minute of it because I want to improve my school.” Caleb shared this sentiment: “We generally come on time or early because we want to learn and pick up new ideas and meet other colleagues.” Eli similarly stated: “We were invited and told that important information will be shared, so we have to come on time to learn, and anyway we expect our students to come on time so why shouldn’t we?” Eli stated that the attendees were “invited” to the PL programming. These invitations were given to participants during the pretraining phase and appeared to be important cultur­ally to avoid uncertainty. Uncertainty Avoidance In Hofstede’s (2011) 6D, both countries showed a preference for avoiding uncertainty. This was key in understanding how to organise the training because participants did not feel comfortable not knowing about the PL event ahead of time. Participants requested clear descriptions of the training and why they should attend, how the training would ben­efit their schools, who the facilitators were, the PL goals, and a detailed schedule for each day that outlined breaks and lunch times. When I asked local colleagues in both nations about the need to create an hour per hour schedule, they replied: It is part of our culture, you just have to do it, or they will not come. I think it is because it takes a lot of effort to come to a training, transportation in the dust, time, gas, so they want to know if it will be worthwhile. Martha from Burkina Faso added: I like to know what is going to happen in advance, so I can get prepared, get there on time, and get coverage at school and at home. I also like to know where the training is and if there are breaks and food, so I know if it is going to cost me money. Adwoa in Ghana shared the sentiment of the group when she said: “I think it is nicer when we know all the details and expectations in advance so we can decide to come or not.” Reuben noted: We also do not often go to hotels for a training, so when we know the location in advance, the detailed content and if we are expected to do something post training, who will be there because we do not want to waste our time with train­ing that is not well put together and do not force us to improve. As the participants mentioned, providing detailed information ahead of time was not only a cultural expectation, but it also increased motivation, attendance, and punctuality. Avoiding uncertainty by preparing a detailed description of the PL allowed participants to decide to attend the PL or not. During the pretraining period, PL organisers have an opportunity to communicate the value of the PL and the importance of its application, which leads to the participants’ belief of the efficacy of the knowledge and skills learned, an important enhancer of learning transfer. Long-Term Orientation: Formalities Matter Short-term orientation societies focus on the present or past, and value traditions (Hofst­ede, 2011). Both countries scored very low in long-term orientation, indicating that peo­ple value and honour traditions. Burkina Faso, however, is more formal than Ghana when it comes to PL. For example, is not unusual for Burkinabe to have an opening and closing ceremony with media, speeches, and special addresses at PL sessions. Being French, I could hear the formality of the French language during these ceremonies. In an excerpt of my journal, I wrote: I could see the conventionalism and importance of these events in the for­mal traditional attires people wore. During the pre- and post-PL ceremonies, organisers or authority figures gave formal speeches outlining their roles and titles, the importance of the training, and welcoming participants and facilitators. This custom was essential to understand when planning for PL in order to include more time for speeches and closing remarks. It was also important for facilitators to prepare a speech. Finally, understanding this tradition helped build trust and rapport among the participants, local dignitaries, and officials. Additionally, this cultural practice was sig­nificant for PL because time and resources had to be allocated for the ceremonies. When asked about these ceremonies, participants stated that they were sort of markers and that they created memories. In particular, Joshua shared: “You know status is important, so when you go to a training and there is a ceremony with important people coming to value the training and tell us to use it in our schools, it tells us that we should go too.” Momo explained: “If local dignitaries tell us that the training has value and that the content needs to be implemented, we believe it, so we are more likely to also see value in the training.” Joshua and Momo indicated that mentioning these ceremonies and guests when sending a formal invitation during the pretraining phase was a contributing factor to attending and implementing the new knowledge. Knowing the importance and potential impact of these ceremonies on learning transfer, PL organisers could schedule accordingly, prepare the room adequately for the festivities, and include them in the invitation sent to the partici­pants prior to the PL. Power Distance: Titles, Gender, and Age Power distance refers to the degree to which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally (Hofstede, 2011). Both countries scored high in this dimension. Power distance was demonstrated among titles, gender, and age; it was particularly apparent in the Burkinabe PL context. Titles were extremely important. If participants were reverends or had any kind of affiliation with the Church, they were automatically respected and trusted by the rest of the group. People tended to let reverends speak first. Moreover, academic titles and formal educational levels appeared to matter to trainees. For example, Eli described the local facilitators holding a PhD as “important people.” Emile expanded on this idea when he said: “You know here, it makes you look like someone if you have a title and you get respect and recognition, so we are more likely to attend a training and use the knowledge learned if people are known and or have titles.” Ama seconded this perspective when she said: “If there is a famous or semi-known pastor in the room, I will come because if that person sees value in the training, I better see it too.” In their own words, Emile and Ama shared that who is in the PL room matters at first and has an influence on transfer. Consequently, during the pretraining, organisers could share the participants’ names and affiliations if and when culturally and legally appropriate. Power distance was also expressed in relation to gender and age. Martine, who is in her late thirties, expressed the following: “It is culturally inappropriate when a younger per­son brings new ideas so if the session leaders and facilitators do not create the conditions for sharing safely and equitably, women and particularly younger women will not share.” Lizette explained: “I need new blood in the school. In Africa, we tend to respect the old brother, the elder, but we cannot ask him to do what you want him/her to do.” She felt that being a young leader, it is culturally easier to work with young people due to the power distance that exists with elders. What Martine and Lizette said has the potential to impact transfer because learning is a social and a cognitive activity and if women and younger participants feel stifled, unable to fully participate and be involved in the PL, they will not learn as much as they might have and hence will not be able to transfer as much either. The follow-up dimension of the MMLT was also impacted by culture. Follow-up Using WhatsApp as a post PL intervention was “brilliant” according to Reuben and Ama as “it reminded us of the training, encouraged us to continue to learn more from peers and encouraged us to do something.” Adwoa agreed with her colleagues and said: “We saw our colleagues post things they had done at their schools, so it motivated us to implement too.” Asantewaa wrote about WhatsApp as a reminder of content learned during the PL: “Comments from my colleagues always draw my attention back to what was learned at the PL. We got ideas and copied some ideas.” Most participants shared that they were happy to hear from colleagues after the PL, keeping “the good atmosphere beyond the training.” Edy, who did not share much on the group text, added: “Despite the fact that I never wrote anything on the platform I was reading all the messages and learned a lot from the others that way.” In addition, all Ghanaian participants suggested that WhatsApp was motivating due to the peer pressure it created. When the leaders saw photographs on the phone of what their colleagues improved in their schools, they were more inclined to do the same and share their progress on the platform. Helen affirmed this by saying: When I see other schools making so many changes, I must make some too! I liked what some of my colleagues did and I must now try to do the same at my school. If they can do it, why can’t I? I must at least try and show them. Michel agreed with Helen and wrote: “I do not go to the others’ schools, but I see pictures they send, and it helps me to change too.” Godwin made a similar statement: “Usually af­ter training, people feel reluctant to use what was learned but WhatsApp gave us pressure and motivation and it always reminded us to do what we set out to do.” DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS, AND CONCLUSION Pretraining and Follow-up Matter in Learning Transfer The findings from this study suggested that several cultural factors influenced learning transfer in the areas of pretraining and follow-up, dimensions that are currently not found together in learning transfer models. Specifically, using the 6D (Hofstede, 2011), uncer­tainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and power distance had the potential to affect learning transfer in Burkina Faso and Ghana. Two other cultural factors could impact learning transfer: the notion of time and the reliance on a form of communication such as WhatsApp. WhatsApp is readily accessible and used in Ghana in the training context; in fact, it is the most common way of communicating in Ghana. In terms of pretraining, the study findings are in agreement with Yang et al. (2009) and Ford et al. (2018) who asserted that pretraining was a key component of organising PL since it sets the tone of the event. Similarly to the findings in this study, these authors maintained that PL organ-isers should orient supervisors so that they can support the training once it has begun and should communicate the expectations to the trainers and the trainees. As a result, this study adds empirical data to the conceptual work of Yang et al. (2009) which posited that pretraining is key and should outline who will benefit from the PL, the schedule, the session goals, and other information perceived as mandatory. When working in Burkina Faso and Ghana, pretraining is particularly important because local and foreign facilitators may not be familiar with the relation between cultural factors and learning transfer. For example, findings from this research outlined that the Burkina-be culture valued opening and closing ceremonies with dignitaries. Without knowing this and respecting this cultural norm, facilitators may unknowingly disrespect participants and their culture. As a result of this cultural faux pas, participants may not attend the PL or may not be willing to transfer knowledge. In the same way, the participants highlighted the importance of having logistical details ahead of time, which is particularly important when working in countries or with people from cultures that score high in Hofstede’s (2011) uncertainty avoidance dimension. Within the pretraining phase, this study pro­vided specific examples of cultural values that can influence learning transfer and hence provided a road map for organisations and practitioners working in these countries or with countries with similar cultural values. For the follow-up category of the MMLT, the findings suggested that using the group text function of WhatsApp to enhance the chances of learning transfer was an effective and culturally responsive approach that used the collectivistic inclination of Ghanaian society (Brion, 2018). As Ama said, “it reminded us of the training, encouraged us to continue to learn more from peers and encouraged us to sit up and do something too.” The findings indicated that the WhatsApp group text allowed trainees to engage with each other in transformative discourse, allowing them to question their assumptions and gain new knowledge. The participants also stated that they were learning from their peers not just during the PL but also during the follow-up, whether they overtly participated in the WhatsApp dialogues or not. Thus, even without active participation in the WhatsApp group, there is the potential for vicarious learning and increased chances of transfer (Brion, 2018). In the adult learning transfer literature, authors such as Caffarella and Daf­fron (2013) discuss learning as being a social process and hence learning communities, collaboration, and interactions among participants are crucial to learning and its transfer. The findings demonstrated that WhatsApp is an affordable, sustainable, and culturally appropriate follow-up tool that fosters interactions among PL attendees. This study in­dicates that the use of culturally responsive mobile technology such as WhatsApp in the follow-up stage could prevent training relapse, in which trainees lose their motivation and/or knowledge, hindering the transfer of learning. These findings are significant as the use of mobile technology as a culturally responsive follow-up approach after a PL event is largely absent from the current learning transfer literature. As a result, this study adds to the current learning transfer literature and provides a culturally responsive solution to effectively and sustainably follow-up post PL. Based on these findings pertaining to cultural factors in the pretraining and follow-up phases, there is a need for a comprehensive, multidimensional, and unifying model of learning transfer that considers culture as a key factor (Raver & Van Dyne, 2017). The MMLT was designed to promote cultural awareness by respecting participants’ cultures when planning, organising, conducting, following-up, and evaluating PL events. This model is relevant for all institutions and should be of particular interest to organisations that work with a diverse staff population and/or work across countries. Rahyuda et al. (2014) stated the importance of national contexts in the learning transfer and affirmed that there was a lack of empirical studies examining the impact of culture and post-training interventions, particularly in developing countries. In this way, this study adds empirical data to other laboratory and simulation-based studies (Rahyuda et al., 2014). Implications for Practitioners and Scholars What recommendations can be drawn from the acquired data? First, to enhance learning transfer post-PL and get a return on investment that would in turn positively affect organi­sation outcomes, PL events should account for culture before, during, and after PL events. PL organisers and facilitators should consider using the MMLT (Brion, 2021) to organise, prepare, deliver, and evaluate their PL offerings. Since learning is a social endeavour, the MMLT enables PL organisers to take culture into consideration for each of the MMLT dimensions for maximum learning transfer. Second, it is necessary that PL stakeholders remain flexible and open to learning about different cultures and adjust their organising, teaching and learning transfer strategies accordingly without judgment. Additionally, to enhance learning transfer post-PL, a mobile platform that is already readily used in the country in which they work could be implemented as an affordable and culturally responsive way to follow-up with partic­ipants. 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S tem v zvezi smo želeli ugotoviti, kako ucitelji razredne­ga pouka pridobivajo znanja o nadarjenih ucencih, ali cutijo potrebo po (dodatnih) izobraževanjih na podrocju poucevanja nadarjenih ter kakšna je vloga šole pri zagotavljanju tovrstnih izobraževanj. Raz­iskava je bila izvedena v šolskem letu 2020/21. Sodelovalo je 107 uciteljev razrednega pouka. Rezultati kažejo, da ucitelji najvec znanja o nadarjenih ucencih pridobijo s poklicnim udejstvovanjem in branjem strokovne literature. Najmanj znanja o nadarjenih so ucitelji pridobili v casu študija. Odgovori uciteljev nakazujejo, da so najvec znanja o nadarjenih ucencih z razlicnimi nacini poklicnega razvoja pridobili starejši ucitelji in ucitelji z višjimi strokovnimi nazivi. Ugotavljamo še, da vecina uciteljev razrednega pouka cuti potrebo po dodatnih izobraževanjih na podrocju poucevanja nadarjenih ucencev, sploh ker po njihovem mnenju šole v celoti ne izkorišcajo vseh možnosti, ki se jim ponujajo pri zagotavljanju to-vrstnih izobraževanj. Kljucne besede: ucitelj, nadarjeni ucenci, poucevanje nadarjenih, usposobljenost uciteljev TEACHERS AND KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION IN THE CONTEXT OF TEACHING GIFTED STUDENTS – ABSTRACT Teachers are considered competent experts in their subject area, so it is important that they keep up­grading and updating their knowledge. To this end, we wanted to find out how primary school teachers acquire knowledge about working with gifted students, whether they feel the need for (additional) educa­tion in this field, and the role schools have in providing relevant professional development opportunities. The survey was conducted in the 2020/21 school year. One hundred and seven primary school teachers participated. The results show that they gained the most knowledge about gifted students through profes­sional pursuits and by reading professional literature. They gained the least amount of knowledge about Asist. Sabina Ograjšek, Pedagoška fakulteta UM, sabina.ograjsek@um.si Nuša Balažic, mag. prof. razrednega pouka, Center Gustava Šiliha Maribor, nusa.balazic@gmail.com Doc. dr. Monika Mithans, Pedagoška fakulteta UM, monika.mithans1@um.si gifted students during their university studies. The responses indicate that older teachers and teachers with higher professional titles gained the most knowledge about gifted students through different types of professional development. We also found that most primary school teachers feel the need for additional education in teaching gifted students, in their opinion mainly because schools do not take full advantage of all the opportunities offered to them to provide such education. Keywords: teacher, gifted students, teaching gifted students, teacher qualifications UVOD Hitro spreminjajoci se svet pred ucitelje, od katerih je v veliki meri odvisna kakovost vzgojno-izobraževalnega procesa, postavlja vse vecje zahteve in izzive. Uciteljeve stro­kovne naloge so namrec vse bolj raznolike, pricakovanja javnosti glede rezultatov njego­vega dela pa vse višja. Posledicno je nujno, da ucitelj nenehno pridobiva – tudi v okviru nadaljnjih izobraževanj – dodatno znanje in kompetence (Buchberger idr., 2001; Valencic Zuljan, 2012), saj s tem opravlja eno izmed svojih temeljnih nalog, ki se kaže v skrbi za nenehno poglabljanje kakovosti izobraževanja in ucenja (Javrh, 2011; Pevec, 2012). Nenehno nadgrajevanje znanja in pridobivanje novih kompetenc uciteljem omogoca uspešno soocanje z vse vecjo raznolikostjo ucencev. Med ucence, ki potrebujejo posebno skrb in specificno znanje uciteljev, sodijo zagotovo tudi nadarjeni ucenci, ki po prepri-canju Kukanja Gabrijelciceve (2014) zaradi svojih specificnih potreb ob sebi potrebujejo »neodvisnega, odgovornega in vsestransko kompetentnega strokovnjaka« (str. 83). Izhajajoc iz zapisanega, se bomo v prispevku najprej posvetili pomembnosti uciteljevega poklicnega razvoja z vidika poucevanja nadarjenih ucencev. Poklicni razvoj osnovnošolskih uciteljev Pri spoprijemanju s številnimi družbenimi, kulturnimi, gospodarskimi in tehnološkimi spremembami naj bi odlocilno vlogo prevzela vzgoja in izobraževanje (Buchberger idr., 2001). Mnoge razvite države se ubadajo z vprašanjem, kako zagotoviti dovolj uciteljev, ki se bodo sposobni spopadati z izzivi hitrih družbenih in gospodarskih sprememb ter z vse bolj raznolikimi skupinami ucencev (Lindstone, 2006). Valencic Zuljanova (2001b) ugotavlja, da je ustrezen odgovor posameznika na stalne spremembe »pripravljenost na vseživljenjsko ucenje« (str. 16). Tudi Day (1999) je preprican, da lahko ucitelji svoje delo opravljajo kakovostno le, ce so usposobljeni za opravljanje svojega poklica in hkrati pri­pravljeni/sposobni svoje delo nadgrajevati do konca svoje poklicne poti. Za kakovosten vzgojno-izobraževalni proces je torej pomemben uciteljev poklicni razvoj – stalen proces razvoja, ki poteka skozi vsa obdobja uciteljeve poklicne poti (Buchberger idr., 2001; Cepic in Kalin, 2019a; Javornik Krecic, 2006; Mezgec, 2020; Obran in Ivanuš Grmek, 2010). Cepiceva in Kalinova (2019b) poklicni razvoj uciteljev razumeta kot »pro­ces, v katerem ucitelj doseže in vzdržuje najvišjo raven poklicne usposobljenosti, ki jo je sposoben doseci« (str. 11). V okviru svojega poklicnega razvoja, ki obsega družbeno, poklicno in osebnostno dimenzijo, ucitelj torej spreminja oziroma nadgrajuje svojo po­ucevalno prakso (Valencic Zuljan, 2001a) ter osebnostno in poklicno raste in se razvija (Horvatic, 2018, v Blanuša Trošelj idr., 2020). Poklicni razvoj se zacne že pred nastopom službe in se nadaljuje vse od vstopa v delo do upokojitve (Javrh, 2011). Permanentni poklicni razvoj sestavljajo med seboj tesno pove­zane komponente (Buchberger idr., 2001): • »zacetno izobraževanje uciteljev, • uvajanje v delo, • stalno strokovno spopolnjevanje uciteljev in • nadaljnje izobraževanje« (str. 15). Javornik Kreciceva (2008) poudarja, da mora biti zacetno izobraževanje kakovostno, saj le tako daje dobre temelje za nadaljnjo rast. Slediti pa mu mora ustrezno stalno izobraže­vanje, ki zadovoljuje razlicne potrebe uciteljevega poklicnega razvoja. Pri svojem poklicnem razvoju se ucitelji ne smejo omejiti zgolj na razvoj spretnosti in pri­dobivanje novega znanja. Zavedati se morajo, da njihova poklicna rast ni omejena zgolj na vedenjske spremembe, saj gre predvsem za »dozorevanje znotraj osebnostnega razvoja, ko ucitelj postaja reflektivni praktik in ga oznacujejo fleksibilnost, razlocevanje custev, spoštovanje individualnosti, toleranca do nejasnosti in konfliktov, negovanje medosebnih vezi ter širša družbena perspektiva« (Javornik Krecic, 2008, str. 63). Vzgoja in izobraževanje nadarjenih ucencev od ucitelja zahtevata najvišjo stopnjo stro­kovne usposobljenosti. Dodatne kompetence za delo z nadarjenimi lahko ucitelji prido­bijo v okviru razlicnih programov stalnega strokovnega izobraževanja in/ali na razlicnih ravneh univerzitetnega študija (Juriševic, 2011). In prav šibka strokovna usposobljenost in ozavešcenost strokovnih delavcev ter nespodbudno ozracje so najvecje ovire za hitrejši razvoj nadarjenih (Strmcnik, 1995). Poucevanje nadarjenih ucencev Koncept odkrivanja in dela z nadarjenimi ucenci v osnovni šoli nadarjene ucence opre­deljuje kot posameznike, ki so »bodisi na predšolski stopnji, v osnovni ali srednji šoli pokazali visoke dosežke ali potenciale na intelektualnem, ustvarjalnem, specificno akademskem, vodstvenem ali umetniškem podrocju in kateri poleg rednega šolskega programa potrebujejo posebej prilagojene programe in aktivnosti« (Žagar idr., 1999, str. 4). Za izvajanje teh je odgovoren ucitelj – kljucen akter pri izvajanju vzgojno-izo­braževalnega procesa (Erculj, 2002), ki ucencem prilagaja ucne cilje, vsebino in ucno tehnologijo ter neposredno odloca o ucnem procesu in zato zanj tudi odgovarja (Blažic idr., 2003). Nadarjeni ucenci imajo posebne ucne potrebe na kognitivnem, socialnem, emocional­nem in estetskem podrocju. Ucitelj mora vzgojno-izobraževalno delo prilagoditi njihovim potrebam, saj lahko le tako doseže maksimalne ucinke, ki bodo ucencem prinesli zado­voljstvo in izboljšali njihovo samopodobo (Praprotnik, 2017). Kakovosten pouk je namrec »temeljni in nenadomestljiv dejavnik optimalnega razvoja nadarjenega ucenca« (Blažic, 2003, str. 32). Prav zato si morajo ucitelji v mnogih državah v okviru daljšega strokovnega izpopolnje­vanja pridobiti ustrezne certifikate, s katerimi dokazujejo kompetentnost na podrocju dela z nadarjenimi ucenci (Kukanja Gabrijelcic, 2014). Kajti prav ucitelj odigra kljucno vlogo pri delu z nadarjenimi, saj jih ima možnost dobro opazovati in spoznati (Kocar, 2003). Navedeno prica o tem, da je optimalen razvoj nadarjenih ucencev v veliki meri odvisen od ucitelja, ki naj bi v današnjih šolskih sistemih poosebljal socialno inteligentnega in pe­dagoško-psihološko kompetentnega strokovnjaka svojega predmetnega podrocja (Šteh in Kalin, 2006). Kukanja Gabrijelciceva (2014) poudarja, da se od ucitelja pricakuje uresni-cevanje raznolikih novih vlog, med katere sodi tudi vloga strokovnjaka, usposobljenega za delo z razlicnimi ucenci, tudi z nadarjenimi. Spodbujanje in razvijanje nadarjenosti je nacrten proces. Od uciteljev se pricakuje, da ucen­cem zagotovijo dovolj samostojnosti in svobode ter jim ponudijo podporo (Penca, 2003). Ucitelji naj bi pri delu z nadarjenimi ucenci upoštevali naslednja temeljna nacela (Kuka­nja Gabrijelcic, 2011): • Ucitelj mora ucencem zagotoviti varno in spodbudno ucno okolje, v katerem so bodo pocutili sprejete, ljubljene in razumljene. Na podlagi njihovih osebnostnih lastnosti, interesov in potencialov mora pripraviti individualiziran program dela ter graditi na njihovi samostojnosti in pozitivni samopodobi. • Nadarjenim ucencem mora ucitelj z dodatnimi zaposlitvami in motiviranjem omogo-citi napredovanje in svobodno izražanje idej. • Z uporabo razlicnih strategij in pristopov (delo z avdio-vizualnimi sredstvi, reševanje problemov, raziskovalna dejavnost itd.) mora ucitelj prispevati k optimalnemu razvoju ucencevih sposobnosti ter uresnicevanju njegovih interesov in želja. • Poleg strokovne usposobljenosti mora biti ucitelj tudi ustrezno psihološko-pedagoško usposobljen ter imeti organizacijske spretnosti. Iz zapisanega lahko razberemo, da mora biti ucitelj ustrezno usposobljen strokovnjak, ki je pripravljen prevzeti tudi vlogo mentorja, poslušalca, prijatelja, vodnika, motivatorja in druge. Prav zaradi zahtevnosti dela z nadarjenimi se v skladu s Konceptom odkrivanja in dela z nadarjenimi ucenci v osnovni šoli (Žagar idr., 1999) pri delu z nadarjenimi predlaga timsko sodelovanje uciteljev in šolske svetovalne službe oziroma koordinatorja. Praprotnikova (2017) opozarja, da se nadarjenim ucencem ne posveca dovolj pozornosti ali pa je njihova nadarjenost celo spregledana. Delo z nadarjenimi pred ucitelje postav­lja posebne izzive, saj se morajo polega upoštevanja vrste zakonov zavestno in pozorno posvetiti dejavnostim v procesu odkrivanja teh ucencev in dela z njimi. Za ucinkovito delo s to skupino ucencev je pomembno, da so jim ucitelji »naklonjeni, da so obcutljivi, sprejemljivi in razumevajoci za njihove posebne vzgojno-izobraževalne potrebe, dovolj izobraženi in usposobljeni, da tem potrebam zadostijo, ter tudi dovolj ustvarjalni in prožni pri delu s temi ucenci« (Praprotnik, 2017, str. 45). Pogosto se zgodi, da se ucitelji za delo z nadarjenimi ne pocutijo dovolj kompetentne in prav zato je nujno potrebno, da se vsi ucitelji zavedajo pomena nenehnega ucenja, saj jim to omogoca, da sledijo modernim smernicam pedagoške stroke (Praprotnik, 2017). Kukanja Gabrijelciceva (2015) je v svojem prispevku opozorila na skrb zbujajoce rezul­tate raziskav, ki porocajo o tem, da so ucitelji za odkrivanje in (pre)poznavanje znacilno­sti nadarjenih ucencev ter delo z njimi slabše usposobljeni ali celo neusposobljeni. Tudi sama je v raziskavi, v katero je vkljucila 277 uciteljev, ugotovila, da so slabo seznanjeni s postopki odkrivanja nadarjenih in dela z njimi. Svojo strokovno usposobljenost za delo z nadarjenimi so ucitelji najpogosteje ocenili kot zadovoljivo, kot zelo dobro usposobljene se je ocenila manj kot desetina uciteljev. Opredelitev raziskovalnega problema Izhajajoc iz predhodno navedenih spoznanj (gl. Kukanja Gabrijelcic, 2015) smo želeli tudi v okviru naše raziskave preveriti usposobljenost uciteljev razrednega pouka za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci. Strokovna usposobljenost ucitelja namrec pomembno prispeva k op-timalnemu razvoju (nadarjenih) ucencev. V naši raziskavi smo zato oblikovali naslednja raziskovalna vprašanja: • Na kakšne nacine ucitelji razrednega pouka pridobivajo znanje za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci? • Ali ucitelji razrednega pouka cutijo potrebo po dodatnih izobraževanjih za delo z na­darjenimi ucenci? • Ali uciteljem razrednega pouka šola zagotavlja izobraževanja s podrocja poucevanja nadarjenih ucencev? METODOLOGIJA Raziskovalni vzorec Raziskava je bila izvedena v šolskem letu 2020/21. Temeljila je na neslucajnostnem priložnostnem vzorcu 107 uciteljev razrednega pouka. Tabela 1 Starostne skupine uciteljev razrednega pouka Starostne skupine f f % Do 30 let 19 17,8 Od 31 do 40 let 20 18,7 Od 41 do 50 let 32 29,9 Od 51 do 60 let 30 28,0 Od 61 let 6 5,6 Skupaj 107 100,0 Raziskovalni vzorec se razlikuje glede na starost uciteljev, najvec uciteljev je iz starostne skupine od 41 do 50 let, sledijo starostne skupine od 51 do 60 let, od 31 do 40 let ter do 30 let. Najmanj sodelujocih v raziskavi je starejših od 61 let. Tabela 2 Strokovni nazivi uciteljev razrednega pouka Strokovni naziv f f % Brez naziva 24 22,4 Mentor 17 15,9 Svetovalec 39 36,4 Svetnik 27 25,2 Skupaj 107 100,0 Med ucitelji, vkljucenimi v raziskavo, obstajajo tudi razlike v strokovnem nazivu. Najvec sodelujocih je imelo naziv svetovalec, sledijo ucitelji z nazivom svetnik, nekaj manj je bilo uciteljev brez naziva oziroma uciteljev zacetnikov, najmanj pa uciteljev z nazivom mentor. Merski instrumentarij Za potrebe raziskave smo pripravili anketni vprašalnik, s katerim smo želeli ugotoviti, na kakšne nacine ucitelji razrednega pouka pridobivajo znanje za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci, njihove potrebe po (dodatnem) izobraževanju na podrocju poucevanja nadarjenih ucencev ter vlogo šole pri zagotavljanju tovrstnih izobraževanj. V vprašalnik smo vkljucili vpra­šanja zaprtega tipa, dihotomna in vprašanja z vecstransko izbiro. Ucitelji so odgovore izbirali na petstopenjski ocenjevalni lestvici (1 – pridobil/a sem zelo malo znanja, 5 – pridobil/a sem zelo veliko znanja in 1 – sploh ne drži, 5 – popolnoma drži). Vprašalnik je vkljuceval še vprašanja o uciteljevem poznavanju znacilnosti nadarjenih ucencev in usposobljenosti za delo z njimi ter o oblikovanju spodbudnega ucnega okolja, ki jih v tem clanku ne obravnavamo. Postopek zbiranja in obdelave podatkov Podatke za raziskavo smo pridobili s pomocjo anketnega vprašalnika, ki je bil na spletni strani 1.ka dostopen približno tri mesece (od marca do konca maja 2021). K sodelovanju v raziskavi smo ucitelje razrednega pouka povabili prek družbenih omrežij. Zaradi slabega odziva smo na spletnih straneh osnovnih šol poiskali elektronske naslove in povezavo do anketnega vprašalnika po elektronski pošti posredovali še osnovnim šolam v okolici Ko­pra, Ljubljane in Maribora – šolam, ki se nahajajo v okolici slovenskih javnih univerz. Na anketni vprašalnik je zacelo odgovarjati 171 uciteljev, a jih je vprašalnik delno oziroma v celoti rešilo le 107. Pomanjkljivo izpolnjene anketne vprašalnike, pri katerih so ucitelji oznacili le demografske podatke, smo izlocili iz nadaljnje obdelave in analize. Pridobljene podatke smo obdelali in analizirali s programom IBM SPSS, razlicico 27. Ob-delava podatkov je potekala na nivoju deskriptivne in inferencne statistike. Pri obdelavi podatkov smo najprej uporabili opisne statisticne metode. Za primerjavo vec neodvisnih vzorcev smo uporabili neparametricni preizkus – Kruskal-Wallisov preizkus. Omejitve raziskave Raziskava ima nekaj omejitev, ki jih lahko pripišemo raziskovalnemu vzorcu in postopku zbiranja podatkov. Ugotovitev ne moremo posplošiti na celotno slovensko populacijo uci­teljev razrednega pouka, saj nam ni uspelo zadostiti pogoju nakljucnega vzorcenja. Ome­jitev je tudi velikost vzorca. V raziskavi nismo preverjali leta delovnih izkušenj uciteljev razrednega pouka, ampak le njihovo starost, kar pomeni dodatno omejitev naše raziskave, saj starost in delovne izkušnje ne sovpadajo nujno. Prav tako je pri posploševanju ugotovitev treba upoštevati, da te temeljijo na subjektivnih ocenah uciteljev, ki niso nujno odsev realnega stanja. V raziskavo so bili vkljuceni ucitelji, ki so sami pokazali pripravljenost in bili za to motivirani. REZULTATI Nacini pridobivanja znanja za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci Tabela 3 Samoocena uciteljev o kolicini usvojenega znanja za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci Nacini pridobivanja znanja za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci N Kolicina* pridobljenega znanja M SD 1 2 3 4 5 % % % % % S prakso, delovnimi izkušnjami 107 0,9 0,9 17,8 31,8 48,6 4,26 0,850 Z branjem strokovne literature 107 1,9 4,7 29,0 46,7 17,8 3,74 0,872 Z neformalnim izobraževanjem 105 3,8 16,2 26,7 42,9 10,5 3,40 1,006 Z drugimi izobraževanji, organiziranimi s strani strokovnih delavcev šole 107 11,2 18,7 29,0 33,6 7,5 3,07 1,130 S programi nadaljnjega izobraževanja in usposabljanja strokovnih delavcev v vzgoji in izobraževanju 107 13,1 16,8 38,3 24,3 7,5 2,96 1,115 V casu študija 104 42,3 18,3 20,2 16,3 2,9 2,19 1,231 * 1 pomeni »pridobil/a sem zelo malo znanja« in 5 »pridobil/a sem zelo veliko znanja«. Ucitelji razrednega pouka so porocali, da so najvec znanja za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci pridobili s prakso oziroma prek izkušenj (M = 4,26; SD = 0,850) ter z branjem strokov­ne literature (M = 3,74; SD = 0,872). Tako za prakso in delovne izkušnje (80,4 %) kot tudi za branje strokovne literature (64,5 %) je namrec vecina uciteljev ocenila, da so jim omogocili veliko oziroma zelo veliko znanja. Najmanj znanja za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci so ucitelji, presenetljivo, pridobili v casu študija (M = 2,19; SD = 1,231) – skoraj polovica (42,3 %) uciteljev je porocala, da so med študijem pridobili zelo malo znanja za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci. Izid Kruskal-Wallisovega preizkusa razlik v odgovorih uciteljev o kolicini usvojenega znanja za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci tako glede na njihovo starost kot tudi glede na stro­kovni naziv ni pokazal statisticno znacilnih razlik za naslednja nacina pridobivanja znanja: Tabela 4 Samoocena uciteljev o kolicini usvojenega znanja za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci glede na njihovo starost Nacini Starost N M SD — R Kruskal-Wallisov preizkus .˛ p S prakso, delovnimi izkušnjami do 30 let 19 3,63 0,955 33,95 17,632 0,001 od 31 do 40 let 20 3,95 1,050 45,05 od 41 let do 50 let 32 4,47 0,621 59,69 od 51 do 60 let 30 4,60 0,621 65,40 nad 61 let 6 4,50 0,548 60,00 Skupaj 107 4,26 0,850 Z neformalnim izobraževanjem do 30 let 19 3,00 0,745 39,18 12,265 0,015 od 31 do 40 let 19 3,11 1,100 45,32 od 41 let do 50 let 32 3,34 1,035 52,27 od 51 do 60 let 29 3,79 0,940 64,55 nad 61 let 6 4,00 0,894 69,17 Skupaj 105 3,40 1,006 Z drugimi izobraževanji, organiziranimi s strani strokovnih delavcev šole do 30 let 19 2,58 0,769 38,68 17,123 0,002 od 31 do 40 let 20 2,50 1,277 39,93 od 41 let do 50 let 32 3,16 1,081 56,77 od 51 do 60 let 30 3,63 0,928 68,37 nad 61 let 6 3,33 1,506 62,83 Skupaj 107 3,07 1,130 V casu študija do 30 let 19 3,11 1,100 73,95 14,872 0,005 od 31 do 40 let 20 2,15 1,348 51,08 od 41 let do 50 let 32 1,88 1,008 46,02 od 51 do 60 let 28 2,11 1,257 49,89 nad 61 let 5 1,40 0,894 32,80 Skupaj 104 2,19 1,231 branje strokovne literature (.˛ = 6,880; p = 0,142 in .˛ = 5,377; p = 0,146) ter programe nadaljnjega izobraževanja in usposabljanja strokovnih delavcev v vzgoji in izobraževanju (.˛ = 5,898; p = 0,207 in .˛ = 5,592; p = 0,133). Za kolicino znanja za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci, pridobljenega na podlagi prakse oziroma delovnih izkušenj (.˛ = 17,632; p = 0,001), z neformalnimi izobraževanji (.˛ = 12,265; p = 0,015), z drugimi izobraževanji, organiziranimi s strani strokovnih delavcev šole (.˛ = 17,123; p = 0,002), in za znanje, pridobljeno v casu študija (.˛ = 14,872; p = 0,005), je Kruskal-Wallisov preizkus pokazal statisticno znacilne razlike glede na starost uciteljev razrednega pouka. S prakso in delovnimi izkušnjami so najvec znanja za delo z nadarjenimi ucencih pridobili ucitelji, stari od 51 do 60 let (M = 4,60; SD = 0,621), sledijo ucitelji, stari vec kot 61 let (M = 4,50; SD = 0,548), najmanj znanja pa so po tej poti pridobili ucitelji, stari do 30 let (M = 3,63; SD = 0,955). Pri tem je treba opozoriti, da so ucitelji, stari manj kot 30 let, sicer po tej poti pridobili najmanj znanja, a so še vedno porocali, da so v povprecju s pomocjo svojega poklicnega udejstvovanja pridobili veliko znanja za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci. Z neformalnimi izobraževanji so najvec znanja pridobili ucitelji, ki pripadajo starostni skupini 61 let in vec (M = 4,00; SD = 0,894), najmanj znanja pa so pridobili ucitelji iz staroste skupine do 30 let (M = 3,00; SD = 0,745). Ucitelji, starejši od 61 let, so porocali, da so v povprecju pridobili veliko znanja z vkljucevanjem v neformalna izobraževanja, medtem ko so ucitelji, mlajši od 30 let, ocenili, da z neformalnimi izobraževanji niso pri­dobili niti veliko niti malo znanja. Ugotavljamo še, da se ocena uciteljev o kolicini znanja, pridobljenega z vkljucevanjem v neformalna izobraževanja, viša s starostjo uciteljev. Najvec znanja v okviru drugih izobraževanj, organiziranih s strani strokovnih delavcev šole, so pridobili ucitelji razrednega pouka, stari od 51 do 60 let (M = 3,63; SD = 0,928), sledijo ucitelji, stari 61 let in vec (M = 3,33; SD = 1,506), najmanj pa ucitelji, ki so stari do 30 (M = 2,58; SD = 0,769). Najvec znanja so v casu študija pridobili ucitelji razrednega pouka, stari do 30 let (M = 3,11; SD = 1,100), najmanj pa ucitelji, stari 61 let in vec (M = 1,40; SD = 0,894). Ucitelji, stari 30 let ali manj, so porocali, da med študijem niso dobili niti veliko niti malo znanja, ucitelji, stari med 31 in 60 let, so porocali, da so med študijem pridobili malo znanja, medtem ko so ucitelji, starejši od 61 let, ocenili, da so med študijem pridobili zelo malo znanja za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci. S Kruskal-Wallisovim preizkusom smo preverili, ali so razlike v kolicini pridobljenega znanja med ucitelji razrednega pouka povezane z njihovim strokovnim nazivom. Statistic­no znacilne razlike smo odkrili pri pridobivanju znanja na podlagi prakse oziroma delov­nih izkušenj (.˛ = 13,164; p = 0,004), v okviru neformalnega izobraževanja (.˛ = 10,606; p = 0,014), v okviru drugih izobraževanj, organiziranih s strani strokovnih delavcev šole (.˛ = 22,887; p = 0,000), in v casu študija (.˛ = 24,565; p = 0,000), zato omenjenim naci­nom pridobivanja znanja v nadaljevanju namenjamo dodatno pozornost. Tabela 5 Samoocena uciteljev o kolicini usvojenega znanja za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci glede na njihov strokovni naziv Nacini Strokovni naziv N M SD — R Kruskal- Wallisov preizkus .˛ p S prakso, delovnimi izkušnjami Brez naziva 24 3,71 0,908 35,58 13,164 0,004 Mentor 17 4,24 1,091 55,94 Svetovalec 39 4,46 0,720 60,46 Svetnik 27 4,48 0,580 59,81 Skupaj 107 4,26 0,850 Z neformalnim izobraževanjem Brez naziva 24 3,00 0,933 40,31 10,606 0,014 Mentor 16 3,13 0,957 45,19 Svetovalec 39 3,49 1,097 56,18 Svetnik 26 3,81 0,801 64,75 Skupaj 105 3,40 1,006 Z drugimi izobraževanji, organiziranimi s strani strokovnih delavcev šole Brez naziva 24 2,71 0,955 42,60 22,887 0,000 Mentor 17 2,41 1,064 36,65 Svetovalec 39 3,05 1,146 53,83 Svetnik 27 3,85 0,864 75,30 Skupaj 107 3,07 1,130 V casu študija Brez naziva 24 3,13 1,191 73,77 24,565 0,000 Mentor 17 1,53 0,624 38,50 Svetovalec 38 1,74 1,131 41,04 Svetnik 25 2,44 1,158 59,02 Skupaj 104 2,19 1,231 Osredotocimo se najprej na pridobivanje znanja na podlagi prakse oziroma delovnih iz­kušenj. S poklicnim udejstvovanjem so najvec znanja o nadarjenih ucencih pridobili uci­telji z nazivom svetnik (M = 4,48; SD = 0,580), najmanj pa ucitelji brez naziva oziroma ucitelji zacetniki (M = 3,71; SD = 0,908). Iz odgovorov uciteljev ugotavljamo, da ucitelji z višjimi nazivi ocenjujejo, da so v povprecju pridobili vec znanja kot ucitelji z nižjimi nazivi. Odgovori uciteljev nakazujejo, da ucitelji razrednega pouka s poklicnim udejstvo­vanjem v povprecju pridobijo od veliko do zelo veliko znanja. Podobna povezava kot za poklicno udejstvovanje se je pokazala tudi pri neformalnih izobraževanjih. Z vkljucevanjem v neformalna izobraževanja so najvec znanja pridobi­li ucitelji z nazivom svetnik (M = 3,81; SD = 0,801), najmanj pa ucitelji brez naziva (M = 3,00; SD = 0,933). Ucitelji z nazivom svetnik so s pomocjo neformalnih izobraže­vanj v povprecju pridobili veliko znanja, medtem ko ucitelji brez naziva niso pridobili niti veliko niti malo znanja – ucitelji z višjimi nazivi ocenjujejo, da so v povprecju pridobili vec znanja kot ucitelji z nižjimi nazivi. Nadalje smo ugotovili, da so od izobraževanj, organiziranih s strani strokovnih delavcev šole, najvec znanja o nadarjenih ucencih odnesli ucitelji z nazivom svetnik (M = 3,85; SD = 0,864), saj so na teh izobraževanjih po lastnih ocenah pridobili veliko znanja. Naj­manj znanja so pridobili ucitelji z nazivom mentor (M = 2,41; SD = 1,064), ki so s pomoc­jo drugih izobraževanj pridobili le malo znanja. Med študijem so ucitelji v povprecju pridobili malo znanja za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci (M = 2,19; SD = 1,231). Ko smo preverili razlike glede na naziv, se je pokazalo, da ucitelji brez naziva oziroma ucitelji zacetniki niso pridobili niti veliko niti malo znanja (M = 3,13; SD = 1,191). Najmanj znanja pa so pridobili ucitelji z nazivom mentor (M = 1,53: SD = 0,624), ki so po svojih ocenah med študijem v povprecju pridobili malo znanja. Želja uciteljev po dodatnih izobraževanjih za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci in vloga šole pri zagotavljanju teh izobraževanj Tabela 6 Želja uciteljev razrednega pouka po dodatnem izobraževanju za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci Želja uciteljev po dodatnem izobraževanju f f % Imam željo 85 79,4 Nimam želje 22 20,6 Skupaj 107 100,0 Ugotavljamo, kot je tudi razvidno iz Tabele 6, da pri vecini uciteljev razrednega pouka (79,4 %) obstaja želja po dodatnih izobraževanjih na podrocju dela z nadarjenimi ucenci. Nadalje nas je zanimala še vloga šole pri zagotavljanju teh izobraževanj. Predvsem nas je zanimalo, ali ucitelji menijo, da jim šola omogoca dovolj izobraževanj na podrocju dela z nadarjenimi. Tabela 7 Trditvi o vlogi šole pri zagotavljanju izobraževanj na podrocju dela z nadarjenimi ucenci Vloga šole pri zagotavljanju izobraževanj N Lestvica strinjanja* M SD 1 2 3 4 5 % % % % % T: Šola zagotavlja dovolj izobraževanj 1za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci. 107 11,2 18,7 25,2 35,5 9,3 3,13 1,166 T: Šola omogoca izobraževanje za 2 delo z nadarjenimi ucenci v drugih 106 8,5 16,0 27,4 33,0 15,1 3,30 1,164 strokovnih institucijah. * 1 pomeni »sploh ne drži« in 5 »popolnoma drži«. Ucitelji razrednega pouka so v povprecju izražali podobno stopnjo strinjanja tako s tr-ditvijo »Šola zagotavlja dovolj izobraževanj za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci.« (M = 3,13; SD = 1,166) kot tudi s trditvijo »Šola omogoca izobraževanje za delo z nadarjenimi ucen­ci v drugih strokovnih institucijah.« (M = 3,30; SD = 1,164). Za prvo trditev je skoraj polovica (44,8 %) uciteljev razrednega pouka navedla, da drži oziroma popolnoma drži. To pomeni, da skoraj polovici uciteljev njihove šole zagotavljajo dovolj izobraževanja na podrocju dela z nadarjenimi ucenci. Še vedno pa je slaba tretjina (29,9 %) uciteljev porocala o tem, da za njih omenjena trditev sploh ne drži oziroma ne drži. Tudi za drugo trditev se je pokazalo podobno. Slabi polovici (48,1 %) uciteljev šola omogoca izobra­ževanja v drugih strokovnih institucijah, slabi cetrtini (24,5 %) pa tovrstnih izobraževanj šola ne omogoca. RAZPRAVA Vsi otroci si zaslužijo kakovostno izobraževanje, tega pa je mogoce doseci le z ustre­zno usposobljenim kadrom (Kukanja Gabrijelcic, 2014). Da bo ucitelj sposoben odkrivati nadarjene ucence in delati z njimi, mora imeti veliko znanja in bogate izkušnje (Kocar, 2003) – biti mora dobro teoreticno podkovan (Kukanja Gabrijelcic, 2006). Le ucitelj s takšnimi temelji bo lahko v celoti uresnicil glavni vzgojno-izobraževalni cilj, vezan na na­darjene ucence, in sicer prepoznavanje in negovanje njihovih sposobnosti (Kocar, 2003). V predstavljeni raziskavi smo želeli preveriti, na kakšne nacine ucitelji razrednega pouka pridobivajo znanje za delo z nadarjenimi, ali se želijo na tem podrocju dodatno izobraže­vati in kakšna je vloga šole pri zagotavljanju tovrstnih izobraževanj. Ucitelji, vkljuceni v raziskavo, porocajo, da so najvec znanja za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci pridobili prek delovnih izkušenj in z branjem strokovne literature. Branje strokovne litera­ture lahko ucitelju omogoci razumevanje lastne izkušnje (Rupnik Vec, 2006). S pomocjo branja razlicnega gradiva ucitelj sledi novim spoznanjem in izsledkom pedagoške prakse, s cimer lahko neposredno vpliva na ucni proces in ucne dosežke ucencev (Broemmel idr., 2019). Navedeno prispeva tudi k strokovnemu usposabljanju ucitelja, tudi na podrocju nadarjenih ucencev. Najmanj znanja za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci so ucitelji, presenetljivo, pridobili v casu študija – dobra polovica uciteljev je namrec porocala, da je med študijem pridobila (zelo) malo znanja za delo z nadarjenimi. Ugotovitev je skrb zbujajoca, saj je študij cas, ki ga mnogi avtorji (Acedo, 2008; Florian, 2012; Pecek idr., 2015) opredeljujejo kot najpo­membnejšega za pridobivanje kompetenc inkluzivnega poucevanja, poucevanja, ki upo­števa potrebe vseh ucencev (UNESCO, 2005). Beziceva (2012) je zapisala, da je treba zagotoviti, da bo podrocje odkrivanja nadarje­nih in vzgojno-izobraževalnega dela z nadarjenimi postalo del dodiplomskega in podi­plomskega izobraževanja uciteljev ter stalna vsebina njihovega nadaljnjega izobraževanja. Vzroke za to, da so v okviru študija najvec znanja pridobili prav najmlajši ucitelji, lahko zagotovo išcemo v tem, da so pedagoške fakultete prepoznale pomen dela z nadarjenimi in so v svoje študijske programe zacele vkljucevati tudi vsebine oziroma predmete s tega podrocja. Pri pregledu ucnih nacrtov študijskih programov Razredni pouk vseh treh jav­nih univerz v Sloveniji, ki so dostopni na spletnih straneh fakultet, smo tako ugotovili, da so vsebine, povezane z nadarjenimi ucenci, v študijske programe Razrednega pouka vkljucene v razlicnih oblikah (obvezni predmeti, izbirni predmeti). V povezavi z našimi ugotovitvami bi bilo smiselno razmišljati o tem, da bi vsebine, povezane z nadarjenimi ucenci, postale del obveznih predmetov, saj bi se tako že med študijem vsi študentje se­znanili z najpomembnejšimi ugotovitvami tega podrocja in pridobili temeljno znanje, ki bi služilo kot dobra podlaga za vsa nadaljnja izobraževanja, s cimer se strinja tudi Javornik Kreciceva (2008), ko poudarja, da mora biti zacetno izobraževanje kakovostno, saj le tako omogoca dobre temelje za nadaljnjo rast. Skrb zbuja tudi dejstvo, da je le slaba tretjina uciteljev pridobila (zelo) veliko dodatne­ga znanja o delu z nadarjenimi v okviru programov nadaljnjega izobraževanja in uspo­sabljanja strokovnih delavcev v vzgoji in izobraževanju. Kukanja Gabrijelciceva (2014) je opravila analizo katalogov nadaljnjega izobraževanja in ugotovila, da ti katalogi od leta 2010 do 2014 ne vsebujejo konkretnih in predmetnospecificnih tematskih izhodišc za delo z nadarjenimi. Po njenem prepricanju je to dokaz, da slovenski izobraževalni prostor nadarjenim ucencem ne namenja potrebne pozornosti. Ce njene ugotovitve povežemo z rezultati naše raziskave, bi bilo v kakšni prihodnji raziskavi smiselno preveriti ponudbo izobraževanj v obdobju po letu 2014, saj vecina uciteljev še vedno poroca, da v okviru programov nadaljnjega izobraževanja in usposabljanja strokovnih delavcev v vzgoji in izobraževanju ne pridobi dovolj znanja. Nadalje odgovori uciteljev nakazujejo, da so najvec znanja za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci z razlicnimi nacini poklicnega razvoja pridobili starejši ucitelji in ucitelji z višjimi stro­kovnimi nazivi. Rezultati so pricakovani, saj ucitelji skozi svoje poklicno udejstvovanje pridobivajo vse vec izkušenj in znanja, kar jim služi tudi kot podlaga za napredovanje v strokovnih nazivih. Spodbudna je ugotovitev, da si vecina uciteljev razrednega pouka (79,4 %) želi dodatnih izobraževanj na podrocju dela z nadarjenimi ucenci. To ne preseneca, saj je že Kukanja Gabrijelciceva (2015) v svoji raziskavi ugotovila, da se ucitelji za delo z nadarjenimi ucenci ocenjujejo kot zmerno usposobljene, poleg tega so rezultati njene raziskave poka­zali, da je informiranost pedagoških delavcev na podrocju odkrivanja nadarjenih ucencev in dela z njimi zelo slaba. Poudarila je, da je prav permanentno izobraževanje uciteljev pot do kakovostnega izobraževanja nadarjenih in drugih ucencev. Organizacija izobraževanj je v rokah krovnih vzgojno-izobraževalnih institucij in šol sa­mih, zato smo preverili, ali ucitelji menijo, da jim šola omogoca dovolj izobraževanj na podrocju dela z nadarjenimi. V raziskavo vkljuceni ucitelji so bili glede zagotavljanja zadostnega števila izobraževanj o delu z nadarjenimi s strani šole in omogocanja tovrstnih izobraževanj v drugih strokovnih institucijah neopredeljeni. V povprecju namrec njihovi odgovori na trditvi o tem, da jim šola zagotavlja dovolj izobraževanj za delo z nadarjenimi in da jim omogoca izobraževanje za delo z nadarjenimi tudi v drugih strokovnih institu­cijah, kažejo, da trditvi niti ne držita niti držita. Delež uciteljev, ki menijo, da omenjeni trditvi držita, je sicer vecji kot delež tistih, ki se s trditvama ne strinjajo, a kljub vsemu je rezultat skrb zbujajoc. Šole bi namrec po našem mnenju morale poskrbeti za nenehno izobraževanje uciteljev tudi na tem podrocju, saj lahko svoje strokovne delavce le tako ucinkovito pripravijo na strokovno, pedagoško in psihološko zahtevno delo z nadarjenimi. Šola mora zagotoviti tak pouk, ki vsem ucencem omogoca, da se razvijejo do meje svojih sposobnosti (Breceljnik, 2003). In prav šole so tiste, ki »morajo pri opredeljevanju in zahtevah dela z nadarjenimi ucenci sprva poskrbeti za razvoj lastnega kadra, ga ustrezno motivirati in spodbuditi, zagotoviti varno ucno okolje in šele nato pricakovati želeno rea­lizacijo ciljev« (Kukanja Gabrijelcic, 2015, str. 188). Upoštevaje ugotovitve, da imajo starejši ucitelji bogate izkušnje dela z nadarjenimi in da porocajo o tem, da so prek izobraževanj pridobili dodatno znanje, bi bilo smiselno v šolah razmisliti tudi o vecjem spodbujanju medgeneracijskega sodelovanja in prenosa znanja med kolegi. ZAKLJUCEK »Ce bo uciteljem uspelo pri nadarjenem ucencu razvijati njegove dragocene in prirojene zmožnosti v karseda najvecji meri, bomo s tem pripomogli k vsesplošnemu napredku v vzgoji in izobraževanju ter življenju nasploh« (Kukanja Gabrijelcic, 2006, str. 57). Nave-deno dejstvo postavlja pred vse odgovorne institucije in ucitelje same pomembno nalogo – nenehno skrbeti za strokovni razvoj tudi na podrocju odkrivanja nadarjenih in dela z njimi. Zavedati se namrec moramo, da nadarjenost za vse ucence ni privilegij. Nadarjeni se raz­likujejo od svojih vrstnikov in tudi med seboj. Nekaterim je njihova nadarjenost lahko v veliko breme, drugim prinaša priložnost. Prav zato ima pri vzgojno-izobraževalnem delu z nadarjenimi pomembno vlogo ucitelj. Ravno ucitelj je tisti, ki mora oblikovati ucno okolje, ki bo spodbujalo celovit razvoj nadarjenega ucenca. Izhajajoc iz zapisanega, pridobljene ugotovitve naše raziskave pomenijo velik prispevek k boljšemu razumevanju uciteljeve usposobljenosti za delo z nadarjenimi, služijo pa tudi kot izhodišca za pripravo izobraževanj in kot podlaga za uciteljevo samoevalvacijo lastnega pedagoškega dela z nadarjenimi ucenci. 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Andragoška spoznanja/Studies in adult education and learning, 7(2), 16–23. https:// doi.org/10.4312/as.7.2.16-23 Valencic Zuljan, M. (2012). Profesionalne poti pedagoških delavcev. Visoka škola strukovnih studija za obrazovanje vaspitaca »Mihailo Palov«. Žagar, D., Artac, J., Bezic, T., Nagy, M. in Purgaj, S. (1999). Koncept: Odkrivanje in delo z nadarjenimi ucenci v devetletni osnovni šoli. https://www.zrss.si/zrss/wp-content/uploads/koncept-dela-z-nadar­ jenimi-ucenci.pdf Andragoška spoznanja/Studies in Adult Education and Learning, 2022, 28(1), 133-134 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4312/as/10626 Knjižne novosti Borut Mikulec, Sonja Kump, Tadej Košmerl (ur.) PREMISLEKI O IZOBRAŽEVANJU IN UCENJU ODRASLIH: ANDRAGOŠKA DEDIŠCINA SABINE JELENC KRAŠOVEC Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete 2021 Monografija osvetljuje andragoško dedišcino izr. prof. dr. Sabine Jelenc Krašovec skozi dialog z njenimi konceptualnimi idejami in spoznanji, ki jih njeni kolegi in sodelavci v Sloveniji in tujini kriticno reflektirajo znotraj posamicnih poglavij. Nastala je kot odziv na prezgodnjo smrt izredne profesorice, ki je s svojim aktivnim (med)narodnim udejstvo­vanjem, raziskovanjem in poucevanjem pustila ogromen pecat v mednarodni andragoški skupnosti. Zato se delo pricne z nekrologom v spomin na sodelavko in prijateljico ter nadaljuje z uvodnikom v njeno andragoško dedišcino ter tremi tematskimi sklopi, ki to de­dišcino predstavljajo. Prvi, najobsežnejši sklop vsebuje šest poglavij, ki obravnavajo vpra­šanja, povezana z ucenjem in izobraževanjem starejših v skupnosti. Drugi sklop obsega štiri poglavja, povezana s priložnostnim ucenjem v javnem prostoru in dejavno demokra-ticno državljanskostjo. Zadnji sklop je osredinjen na profesionalni razvoj izobraževalcev odraslih in svetovanje v izobraževanju odraslih ter vsebuje dve poglavji. Poglavja znotraj teh tematskih sklopov so prispevali njeni bivši študenti in sodelavci, uveljavljeni andrago­gi, iz Slovenije, Srbije, Malte, Portugalske, Avstralije, Švedske in Nemcije. Temeljna odlika besedila je, da avtorji v monografiji v dialoški nameri komunicirajo in reflektirajo teoretske koncepte, raziskovalno metodologijo, empiricne ugotovitve ter širše družbeno udejstvovanje Sabine Jelenc Krašovec, povezano z ucenjem in izobraževanjem starejših v skupnosti, s priložnostnim ucenjem v javnem prostoru ter dejavno demokratic­no državljanskostjo, s profesionalnim razvojem izobraževalcev odraslih in svetovanjem v izobraževanju odraslih. Na ta nacin monografija ponuja dober vpogled v razvoj kriticne teorije in radikalnega izobraževanja odraslih, katerih namen je dandanes po eni strani kritika neoliberalizacije in s tem povezanih neenakosti, ki se odražajo tudi v potrženju iz­obraževanja odraslih, in po drugi iskanje nacinov za ozavešcanje, emancipacijo in opolno­mocanje razlicnih marginaliziranih skupin ter s tem spodbujanje demokraticnih procesov v družbi, vkljucno z vzpostavljanjem participatorne demokracije in samoorganiziranih skupnosti. Ob tem se izpostavljata tudi družbena in profesionalna vloga (kriticnih) izo­braževalcev odraslih ter pomen zgoraj omenjene teoretske tradicije pri njihovem izobra­ževanju, usposabljanju in delovanju. Vsebinsko in didakticno je besedilo zelo bogato, saj se empiricno osredotoca na razlicne nacionalne kontekste ter javne in skupnostne prostore. Izražena je tudi teoretska in me-todološka obcutljivost za intersekcionalnost, kjer se preletata predvsem spol in starost oziroma razlicna starostna obdobja. Ker je bila Sabina Jelec Krašovec kriticna do institu­cionaliziranega izobraževanja odraslih, je v monografiji velik poudarek na priložnostnem ucenju in kriticni javni vzgoji ter njunem demokraticnem in emancipatornem potencialu. Ob tem se tudi andragoško svetovalno delo ne obravnava zgolj kot vezni clen med odra-slim in izobraževanjem, temvec kot dejavnik spodbujanja družbene vkljucenosti odraslih ter povecevanja družbene enakosti in kohezivnosti. Delo je zanimivo, ker ponuja vpogled v razlicne kvalitativne metodološke pristope, ki vkljucujejo tudi samorefleksijo in izpra­šujejo družbeno pozicijo raziskovalca v dolocenem raziskovalnem kontekstu. Na ta nacin so paradigme, koncepti in spoznanja, ki jih je vzpostavljala Sabina Jelenc Krašovec skozi svojo kariero, ustrezno reflektirani tako v slovenskem kot širšem mednarodnem prostoru. Monografija torej v skladu s Sabinino andragoško dedišcino ponuja kriticno refleksijo ter sodobne teoretske in empiricne ugotovitve, ki bodo zanimive tako za visokošolske ucite­lje, raziskovalce in študente na podrocju andragogike, pedagogike in sociologije kot tudi za andragoško-pedagoške delavce ter snovalce izobraževalnih politik. Barbara Samaluk Andragoška spoznanja/Studies in Adult Education and Learning, 2022, 28(1), 135-136 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4312/as/10648 Knjižne novosti Eeva K. Kallio (ur.) DEVELOPMENT OF ADULT THINKING: INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES ON COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT AND ADULT THINKING Routledge, 2020 Urednica in soavtorica knjige Eeva K. Kallio tematsko podrocje kognitivnega razvoja odraslih spremlja že od samega zacetka svojega znanstvenega dela. Njegove pojme prika­zuje kot kompleksne in vecdimenzionalne ter jih skuša razložiti s pomocjo razlicnih ved, kot so psihologija, filozofija in izobraževalne znanosti. V svojem delu se posveca tako zgodovinski podlagi, kjer sistematicno primerja ugotovitve razlicnih avtorjev in jih nato združi v smiselno celoto, kot tudi sedanjim trendom raziskovanja. Podaja tudi primere za lažje razumevanje, priporocila glede izrazoslovja ter spodbuja diskusijo in odpira vpraša­nja za nove raziskave. Knjiga Development of adult thinking prikazuje holisticen pogled na razvoj odraslih, ki zajema razvojni, moralni, izobraževalni, filozofski in socialno-psihološki vidik, teme v njej pa so razdeljene na tri dele, in sicer: Kognitivni in moralni razvoj odraslega, Perspek­tive ucenja odraslih ter Odprta vprašanja in novi pristopi. Namen avtorjev je bil opisati nekaj osnovnih modelov in teorij v povezavi s paralelnimi pristopi, ob tem pa razširiti po­gled in spodbuditi nadaljnja vprašanja o razvoju razmišljanja in procesov ucenja odraslih. Knjiga tako prikazuje razlicne vidike in raziskovalne dileme z namenom zagotavljanja integrativnega pogleda na kompleksne fenomene, ki jih obravnava. Teme in poglavja se med seboj povezujejo in nadgrajujejo, v ospredju pa ves cas ostaja kognitivni razvoj od­raslega. Tako urednici in avtorjem uspe obdržati rdeco nit skozi celotno besedilo, kljub razgibanosti in raznolikosti obravnavanih (pod)tematik. Prvi del knjige se osredotoca na tematiko razvoja mišljenja. V ospredju so teorije avtorjev, kot so Piaget, Perry, Kohlberg in Gilligan. V uvodu avtorica Kallio predlaga, da se za opis kognitivnega razvoja odraslih namesto izrazov »postformalno« in »relativisticno-dialek-ticno mišljenje« uporablja izraz »integrativno mišljenje«. Ta izraz ne zajema le predpo­stavk o znanju, ampak tudi okolišcine, kot so volja, custva, procesi, eksistencialni pomeni itd. Besedilo je odlicen uvod v nadaljnja poglavja, saj prinaša temeljne razlage obravna­vanih pojmov skozi bistvene teorije pomembnih raziskovalcev. V nadaljevanju knjiga od­govarja na zanimivo vprašanje, kako sta kognitivni podrocji mišljenja in znanja povezani ter ali obstaja medsebojna odvisnost med logicno-vzorcnim mišljenjem in prepricanji o znanju. Razprava se razširi na možnosti integracije posameznikovih perspektiv osebnih epistemologij in družbenih predstavitev v nadaljnjih raziskavah. Prvo tematsko podrocje se smiselno zakljuci s širšim pogledom na polje moralnega mišljenja in razvoja, predvsem z vidika nadgradnje Kohlbergove in Gilliganove teorije. Drugi del se dotika nekaterih modelov, povezanih z ucenjem odraslih, konceptualnimi spremembami, tihim znanjem in strokovnim znanjem. Najprej avtorja Murtonen in Lehti­nen predstavita zgodovinski pogled na ucenje predvsem s filozofskega vidika, temu pa se pridružijo naravoslovni pogled, vedenjske teorije in sociokulturni pogled. Loceno opišeta kognitivne teorije ucenja odraslih na nivoju posameznika ter tudi v širšem, socialnem in kulturnem kontekstu, kar služi kot podlaga za razumevanje nadaljnjih poglavij. V tem delu je predstavljen integrativni model modrosti v strokovni praksi, tudi s slikovnim pri­kazom. V njem avtorji integrativno mišljenje in reševanje problemov prikažejo kot osre­dnja procesa v modrosti v povezavi s strokovnim znanjem, kot tretji temeljni proces pa postavijo družbeno odgovorno delovanje in sodelovanje za skupno dobro. S tem modrosti ne vidijo zgolj kot individualni fenomen, temvec kot družbeni pojav. Tretji del zajema kriticno evalvacijo in predstavlja epilog celotnega dela. V njem se tako odpira razprava o epistemološkem razvoju, uvajanju in vrednotenju empiricnih metod ter razprava o metodoloških in teoreticnih izzivih. Predstavljene so alternativne metode za prihodnje raziskave in poudarjena je nujnost povezovanja med teoreticnimi, metodološki-mi in empiricnimi pogledi pri raziskavah epistemskih konceptov. Tako kot skozi celotno knjigo avtorji tudi v tem delu najbolj zagovarjajo vecperspektivni pristop, saj trdijo, da obstaja nujna potreba po razvoju in izdelavi avtenticnih in kombiniranih metod. Glede na vecdimenzionalnost obravnavanih tematik tudi sama vidim najboljši pristop k raziskova­nju podrocja skozi kombinacijo razlicnih metod in povezovanje razlicnih disciplin (psi­hologija, sociologija, filozofija, pedagogika). Ce tega ne upoštevamo, pomembni vidiki (denimo ucenja) ostajajo spregledani. Nadalje avtorji razpravljajo o sistemskih teorijah in hkrati pod vprašaj postavljajo na posameznika usmerjen pristop, ki mu sledijo številni kognitivni modeli (odraslih), ter s tem pozivajo k vecji pozornosti pri nadaljnjih raziska­vah na nivoju sistemov, družbe, situacije in sodelovanja. V zadnjem, sklepnem poglavju pa avtorja Tuominrn in Kallio v ospredje postavljata nujnost teoreticne natancnosti, pre­dlagata analizo zrelega razmišljanja odraslih skozi integracijo namesto s perspektive epi­stemološkega relativizma in dialekticnega mišljenja ter pozivata k odprtju razprave glede pojmovanja relativizma in relativisticno-dialekticnega mišljenja. Knjiga predstavlja težave vsakdanjega in znanstvenega razmišljanja, razlicne miselne vzor­ce, koncepte, vrednote, socialne relacije in eksistencna vprašanja. Opisane so nekatere naj­pomembnejše kognitivne psihološke teorije in teorije ucenja odraslih. Delo je zato velikega pomena za študente in raziskovalce na podrocju kognitivnega razvoja odraslih in je lahko podlaga za mnoga nadaljnja raziskovanja, saj spodbuja diskusijo in odpira nova vprašanja. Sanja Zgonec