c e p s Journal | V ol.13 | N
o
2 | Y ear 2023 5
Editorial
The second issue in volume thirteen of the CEPS Journal is devoted to 
thematically diverse papers and is not a focus issue. It includes contributions by 
fifteen authors from six different countries: Bangladesh, Germany, Indonesia, 
Jordan, Portugal and Slovenia. The papers discuss a range of areas in educa -
tion, including the context of anti-racism and anti-discrimination at five major 
universities in Canada, the level of self-reported peer victimisation at Slove -
nian universities, the issue of literacy policy in Southeast Asia, how Project-
Based Learning is integrated into pre-service teacher education programmes in 
Portugal, and how geometry should be taught in primary school mathematics 
classes. The issue also features three papers dealing with problems in education 
caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which were accepted for publication some 
time ago and, as recently accepted papers, were available online while waiting 
for an issue number. Although Covid-19 does not seem to be an important is -
sue in education anymore, the papers have been included in this varia issue and 
represent a significant contribution to our understanding of the management 
of various crises in education, including those in the future. The issue concludes 
with a book review.
The paper by Muhammed Muazzam Hussain entitled The Policy Efforts 
to Address Racism and Discrimination in Higher Education Institutions: The 
Case of Canada reviews existing policies related to anti-racism and anti-dis -
crimination at five major universities in Canada and assesses the equity initia -
tives undertaken by university authorities to promote greater access and inclu -
sion of different ethnic minority groups. The findings reveal that, although the 
universities have some sort of anti-racism and anti-discrimination policies to 
combat racism and discrimination in their educational setting, they face chal -
lenges or limitations in adopting holistic and inclusive measures for the differ -
ent ethnic and diverse minority groups studying there. The study argues for 
promoting discussion and responses to specific policies, programmes and prac -
tices, including behaviours and attitudes for combating racism and discrimina -
tion in institutional and professional contexts. The findings may be helpful for 
academics, policymakers and administrators to develop their understanding of 
institutional racism, identify challenges and adopt policy measures to address 
the issue.
The next paper, Science Teachers’ Practices During the Pandemic in Por -
tugal by Mónica Baptista, Estela Costa and Iva Martins, examines how science 
teachers adapted their practices to the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and 
what they learned during the period of confinement. The authors conclude that 
Doi: 10.26529/cepsj.1678

6 editorial
adjustments were made in the design and management of classes. Synchronous 
classes were held using digital platforms and other communication infrastruc -
ture, experimental distance activities were implemented and online courses 
based on a television programme were taught. In addition, in order to enable 
distance learning during the period of confinement, teachers developed peda -
gogical skills using technological skills.
The third paper, Project-Based Learning in Initial Teacher Education: The 
Practice of Three Higher Education Institutions in Portugal by Tiago Tempera 
and Luís Tinoca, examines how Project-Based Learning is introduced into pre-
service teachers’ education programmes. The participants were three higher 
education institutions located in different regions of Portugal, all of which offer 
initial teacher education programmes for primary school teachers that include 
Project-Based Learning at some point. The data were collected through docu -
ment analysis of the programmes’ curricula, as well as through semi-structured 
interviews with the programme coordinators in each institution. The results 
show that the institutions value Project-Based Learning and try to include it in 
their programmes, whether in theoretical, didactical or practical terms. How -
ever, they encounter some difficulties in promoting more significant experi -
ences that would enable students to feel confident enough to use this strategy in 
their Supervised Teaching Practice internships.
The next paper is from the field of mathematics education. Geometry 
T eaching in Transition: An Investigation on the Importance of School Geometry in 
Primary Education by Ana Kuzle investigates how geometry lessons have been 
re-evaluated due to a paradigm change and have consequently been attributed 
new meaning within the mathematics curriculum worldwide. The paper fo -
cuses on this paradigm shift in the sense of an evaluation of the extent to which 
both the didactical potential and the practical value of geometry instruction 
in primary education are currently recognised and utilised by primary grade 
teachers. A total of 120 primary grade teachers participated in the study. The 
author concludes that there has been positive recognition of the didactical po -
tential of school geometry by teachers over the previous two decades, but, for 
various reasons, there has nonetheless been a lack of actual implementation in 
school practice. As well as being discussed with regard to the latter, the results 
are also interpreted in terms of their theoretical and practical implications.
The purpose of the fifth paper of this varia issue, Retrospective and 
Concurrent Victimisation as Predictors of Social Self-Concept and Loneliness in 
First-Year University Students by Katja Košir and Urška Žugelj, is to investigate 
students’ current level of self-reported peer victimisation and perceived peer 
support, as well as their retrospectively reported victimisation, as predictors of 

c e p s Journal | V ol.13 | N
o
2 | Y ear 2023 7
their social self-concept and loneliness in their first year of university. A total 
of 200 first-year university students (26% male) participated in the study. The 
results indicate that retrospectively reported victimisation experiences during 
their years of schooling explain additional variance in social self-concept and 
loneliness beyond the students’ concurrent peer experiences. According to the 
authors, these findings indicate that experiencing victimisation during school 
years could have consequences for students’ wellbeing that are not limited to 
the period of primary and secondary schooling, but can persist after their tran -
sition to university. 
The sixth paper, Literacy Policy in Southeast Asia: A Comparative Study 
between Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia by Evi Fatimatur Rusydiyah, Zaini 
Tamin AR and Moh Rifqi Rahman, examines the literacy policies in Singapore, 
Malaysia and Indonesia and discusses the strategic policies to improve literacy 
in each country. The qualitative comparative research method was employed to 
acquire a comprehensive understanding of the literacy policies in these three 
countries. According to the findings, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia each 
have distinct literacy policy trends. The context of each country’s education 
system and language affects the government’s literacy policies: Singapore em -
phasises industrialisation, Malaysia refers to its multi-ethnic life and Indonesia 
reflects the 2013 curriculum. 
In the seventh paper, entitled Teachers’ Attitudes towards the Rights of 
Students with Special Education Needs During the Covid-19 Pandemic , the author 
Mohammad Sakarneh deals with educational problems related to the Covid-19 
pandemic and aims to assess teachers’ attitudes toward the rights of students 
with special needs during the pandemic. The study focuses on the attitudes of 
special education teachers regarding their self-efficacy and beliefs about using 
e-learning with their students during the Covid-19 lockdowns. It was under -
taken using a quantitative research approach in which teachers working with 
children with special needs in Amman were interviewed virtually. The findings 
indicate that the teachers have positive attitudes and perceptions regarding the 
rights of children with disabilities, although they report having low self-esteem. 
The teachers emphasise the need to find ways of integrating e-learning for spe -
cial needs children during the lockdowns and report that teachers in Jordan 
have relatively negative perceptions of using e-learning platforms for teaching 
children with disabilities. The author concludes that there is a need for policies 
to train and support teachers in these settings in order to equip them with the 
skills required to work with students with special needs using e-learning tools.
The last paper is by Slovenian authors Melita Puklek Levpušček and Mo -
jca Poredoš. Difficulties in the Close Social Relationships of Slovenian Students 

8
during the Covid-19 Pandemic also deals with the difficulties experienced by 
Slovenian upper-secondary school and university students aged 18 to 25 in their 
close social relationships during the Covid-19 pandemic. The authors examine 
the extent of social difficulties in six domains (relationships with friends, es -
tablishing a new relationship with an intimate partner, sexuality, relationship 
with a current intimate partner, parental control and living with parents, and 
family conflict) in the pre-pandemic period and in the first two waves of the 
pandemic. They were also interested in whether demographic variables were 
related to the students’ perceived social difficulties. The results show that the 
severity of the reported difficulties increased in all six domains during the gov -
ernment-imposed quarantine periods, with relationships with friends and the 
opportunity to establish new intimate relationships being the most affected. 
This edition concludes with a book review prepared by Žan Koro -
šec, who evaluates a textbook on statistical methods entitled Še ena knjiga o 
statistiki: Univariatne in bivariatne statistične metode v edukaciji [Another Book 
on Statistics: Univariate and Bivariate Statistical Methods in Education] pub-
lished by Založba Univerze na Primorskem in 2021 (ISBN 978-961-293-101-8).
Iztok Devetak