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The impact of the pandemic on higher education has left its mark on all actors in the educational process. In the case of Croatia, pandemics combined with natural disasters i.e. strong earthquakes posed additional challenges to the educational process. The transition to a full e-learning environment created fewer problems for the ones that were already using blended learning in their line of teaching but was more challenging to the ones that were accustomed to traditional face-to-face learning. On the other hand, this new environment, now called crisis e-learning, pointed to series of other problems and unpreparedness of other facilities supporting and enhancing the educational process. The migration of teaching to the virtual world also meant a virtual way of working, which required access to quality equipment and digital resources. Purpose: This paper explores how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the higher education sector exploring students’ perception of the e-learning environment. Special emphasis is put on the problems and challenges that were experienced during the pandemic and natural disaster period to prevent a similar future crisis. Methodology: The research was conducted using qualitative and quantitative methods with a group of students from the field of social sciences and humanities which originally was not so much emerged into e-learning. Outcomes: Teachers and librarians primarily report the lack of continuing professional education and development in the field of e-learning. Students have experienced problems that arose from lack of a face-to-face meeting with their teachers and peers, the problem of access to reading materials and literature, the costs of e-learning, and their financial sustainability. Based on the research results different scenarios and recommendations regarding faster changes in study programs and necessary changes in the University will be offered.

The COVID-19 pandemic challenges all segments of society and calls for rapid and effective interventions in health-care system, business, the economy and the education system. In the context of higher education, the doctoral level is specific due primarily to its organizational and program characteristics. The goal of this paper is to assess the success of the implementation of consultation segment and teaching process at University North Postgraduate Doctoral Study in Media and Communication, which continued with the Program despite the situation in which the entire education system in Croatia migrated to distance learning practically in a day. The goal is also to show that digital competencies and skills of professors and students are key to the successful implementation of distance learning. Investing in mastering these skills and raising them to a higher level is the key to a successful education of the future. Such conclusion is confirmed by two key documents crucial for our research – UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers (2018) and especially Bologna Digital 2020 White Paper on Digitalisation in the European Higher Education Area (2019). The later emphasizes that Europe needs new directions and visions for a contemporary higher education in digital age. Digitalisation is therefore not just an extra challenge, but also an efficient tool capable of detecting the key challenges of 21st century higher education. The research utilizes an interview technique conducted by way of synchronous communication, via videoconference and telephone. Through videoconferencing, a semi-structured group interview method was implemented on a sample of 43 doctoral students divided into two groups. In the first group, which represents the first year of study, 23 doctoral students have participated in the interview. In the second group, which represents the second year of study, 20 doctoral students have participated. The semistructured individual interview method was conducted by telephone on a sample of five professors teaching at doctoral Program. Research results show that the situation caused by COVID-19 pandemic sped up certain processes in the areas of higher education that anyway desperately call for a change and are especially highlighted in the above mentioned documents. Research also points to the need for reorganization of doctoral study programmes, particularly in the context of methods and approaches to the research segment. Additional interventions are needed in transfer skills workshops planning, all aiming at the increase of scientific and technical information literacy of doctoral candidates. Furthermore, results show that certain ECTS generating obligations included in doctoral study programme (such as working visit to some foreign University) are made much easier precisely by to modern ICT technologies. Although the doctoral level of studying substantially differs from other two education cycles, it cannot be the justification for the fact that doctoral- level specific research of necessary digital adaptations is scarce. This work aims at filling the research void and offers guidelines for adjusting the doctoral level of studying to challenges and demands of digital age. We will also show that digital transformation changes not only the educational system, but also economic, cultural and social surrounding, which makes new/digital skills 'conditio sine qua non' for an active and fulfilling participation in this new reality.

In this article we want to present two experiences related to different kind of cultural heritage and its fruition. In these cases, a set of concrete proposals was used, combined with the utilize of new technologies, with the intention of enhancing both possibilities. First of all, we intend to clarify the concept of education in the field of the fruition of cultural heritage (tangible and intangible), as the activation of a different participation and involvement in which the voice of the participants is taken into account and shared. In the first case, we want to retrace the path of knowledge of the landscape heritage in which the University of Milan Bicocca is located. In this case has been the subject of a series of discovering walks dedicated to students and citizens. After many experiences over the years, with the use of many tools (photographic, visual, literary ...) we wanted to research a different way of conceiving this project by experiencing personally the experimentation carried out in Parma by the artist Ettore Favini, who has chosen in his artistic proposal to include a technological mapping. This kind of proposal has made it possible to enhance both the collective contribution and the individual experiences and has opened subsequent reflections and proposals for new actions. The second project is dedicated to a research related to the UNESCO site of Mantua and Sabbioneta. Here, real and virtual materials have been designed and created, with the same aim: the activation of a different form of participation by citizens and tourists. The proposals for these tools were born through a path made with students of a high school and with some privileged witnesses related to the history of the city. The aim was to create a kit to improve the fruition of the two cities and to perceive their unitary spirit. The small actions realized in the two projects allowed to initiate a more in-depth reflection on what, within informal education paths, can also be produced in terms of new technologies, perceiving the potentiality and limits of each proposal, experimenting it with different users.

Alternative educational concepts have evolved in response to classical educational methods in which children are placed in a passive position and the transfer of knowledge is cultivated as a form of teaching. Models of alternative pedagogy (Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio, Agazzi) advocate developmentally appropriate practices which Bredekamp [1] describes as a presence of different strategies, i.e., child-oriented behaviours of teachers and responding to the child's individual needs. In order to help each child to grow into a universal and competent individual from preschool age, it is necessary to encourage their imagination and creativity, as well as to acquire habits of cooperation and coexistence with other children. One of the activities which promote these desirable characteristics in children is handicraft. Many studies and findings in the area of neuroscience, multiple intelligences theories, and the aforementioned alternative pedagogical concepts emphasize the importance of handicraft and point out its benefits not only for children but for the entire community. However, such an approach to children's learning and activity is poorly represented in educational institutions. Therefore, the aim of the study was to examine the views of preschool teachers and parents on handicraft activities and its more frequent use in regular preschool programs. The survey was conducted by an anonymous questionnaire on a sample of 316 respondents, preschool teachers (N=141) and parents (N=175). The results of the study show that both preschool teachers and parents agree that certain elements of alternative concepts such as handicraft have a positive impact on the overall development of the child and that they are useful and practical life skills. They also agree that handicraft activities should be used in educational institutions to a greater extent.

In the context of Education and Development for Sustainable Development (ESD), there’s a numerous research that suggests that fostering biophilia is one of the ways to encourage eco- awareness, positive values and environmental behaviors toward environment, but also the formation of an ecologically responsible person, a sustainable citizen, and the successful implementation of ESD in educational Institutions and the community. Our attitude goes beyond the biophilia itself, as a sense of love for nature, plants and animals. We emphasize that the contact of children with nature is not only the area of creating eco- consciousness and more sustainable ways of living but also the foundation for the development of positive forms of emotions and behaviors that welfare of children during transition and their success. All transition periods in human lives are defines as rather challenging processes that are appear during movement from one environment to another, or from one identity to another. Shortly, they present the periods of intense change which are determined by very different factors: intra-personal and inter-personal factors and their mutual interactions. Contemporary ecological-dynamic model of transition emphasizes the importance of all these factors same as their interrelations over time as crucial determinants of children’s well-being. Final children’s successful adaptation directly depends on the complexity of the interactions between those factors. One of the contextual factors in the transition period from a family home to kindergarten and from it to school consists of relationships between home-school- peers-neighborhood. In this paper, we particularly want to highlight the importance and impact of environment, i.e. indirect and direct contact of children with the places/grounds and the environment. Studies show that early and direct children’s contact with/in nature, significantly affects their academic success and positive school-based stress management, which is often manifested only at later age. They also emphasize the importance and contribution of the design of educational institutions that possess the natural elements of biophilic design and biophilia on cognitive and emotional development of children. Based on this new theoretical approach, a number of research questions could be highlighted: whether children who are exposed and stimulated early in the creation of biophilia, better adapt during different transitions, especially when transitioning from home to kindergarten and from it to school? Is it possible to objectively measure the impact of contextual factors such as biophilia/biofobia experiences, the places/settings and the design for the transition processes of children? Since the influence of the family is a direct factor in children’s adaptation during transition over time, and influences the relations of the child to the places/setting and the environment, it is of utmost important to identify the feelings/attitudes of bilophilia/biophobia of parents and teachers, as well as factors which significantly more positively facilitate these transition processes, successful adaptation and the overall well-being of children.

The learning experience in engineering education which adopts a new learning approach is lately shifted from traditional teacher-centered to learner-centered educational process based on real-life problems which encourage problem- and project-based learning which promotes students’ higher-order competencies such as creative thinking and critical reasoning, meeting the schedule, communication, problem-solving and teamwork skills. To meet these experiences, it is very common to include a senior capstone course in undergraduate STEM degrees. In these courses, a new learning model is deployed through the project that aims to challenge the education process of future engineers - students are typically given a major project to work on in an effort to demonstrate their mastery of the entire range of skills they have been taught during the preceding years. The authors have developed a course, in consultation with industry representatives (sponsors of the project), that better prepares students for employment. Each year students work on different projects and over the last four years we offered multiple projects randomly divided on teams – each team works on a single project, but about four teams on average work on any particular project, competing with each other. The projects are vaguely defined, teams are made up of students from multiple degree programs, teams are international with the representation of three different countries, and four international campuses and teams are responsible for retiring existing systems and deploying the new system. Further, students experience several realistic “curve balls” during the year-long project. These include changing team members, changing due dates or requirements, and even changing sponsor representatives. In the end, the best projects are implemented on the sponsor side providing a real reference for the students in their further work. This paper discusses the experience details of working in teams, meeting the schedule, plans, and documentation about the project as a learning experience in the capstone project.

During their educational practice preschool teachers encounter children, both with and without disabilities, who suppress their emotions, carry certain scars, and sometimes traumas of everyday life that they are not able to express verbally. Art- expressive therapies are one of the ways and means by which a child can express his emotions, thoughts, vision, fantasy, perception etc. Thus, it contributes to reducing anxiety and generally having a more comfortable stay in a preschool institution. Such a spontaneous, creative and syncretic expression involving different art media (music, art, dance, drama, poetry) with the possibility of reflecting the child's inner world and experience, also provides many other benefits and contributes to the child’s well-being and development. The aim of the study was to examine preschool teachers familiarity with the concept of art-expressive therapies and their awareness of therapeutic and transformative strength of different arts media for the child’s development. The online questionnaire with two subscales formed for the purpose of this research was conducted by preschool teachers from Zagreb, Croatia. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data processing. The results obtained indicate that most of the respondents are familiar with the concept and benefits of art-expressive therapies in the individual child’s development and they expressed their interest in further enhancing of their competences in this area as well. It was also revealed that there is no significant correlation between the respondent’s age and their work experience with these variables. The results of the conducted research indicate the need for further enrichment of preschool educational programs. It could be achieved by applying art-expressive therapies as an integrative, syncretic and multimodal form of communication and creative expression for continuous improvement of contemporary educational practice.

In the context of contemporary pedagogical science, hermeneutic as a frame presents itself a theoretical and practical discourse through various theoretical starting points such as spiritual science pedagogy, critical theory, critical science, symbolic interactionism, ethnomethodology and qualitative research. Since hermeneutics means understanding, in the context of curriculum planning and programming in work with gifted students, it is important to consider the role and significance of identifying key assumptions for successful work with gifted ones as a key precondition for effectiveness. The aim is to put the emphasizes also on the role of key participants in the process of working with gifted students because of the clear division of everyone role both in the process of identifying the gifted as well as in the process of learning and teaching. Since work with gifted students is part of the process of inclusive education, whose successful implementation implies a clear definition of key assumptions, hermeneutical approach in this paper appears as a need for cyclical reflection in the curriculum planning and programming process. Since the hermeneutic circle places emphasis on a posteriori knowledge, the need for defining a clear theoretical frame in the process of planning and programming practical educational activities in working with gifted students is a purpose. The aim of this paper is to define hermeneutic method through the pedagogical prism of working with gifted students with an emphasis on the need for a clearly defined curriculum framework for effective educational practice in inclusive education. The used method in this paper is analyzing theoretical literature and documents. Through the theoretical analysis the paper presents how pedagogical hermeneutic discipline is focused in immediate educational practice, and in which way the key participants in the work of gifted ones attach importance to the application of the hermeneutic circle.

Having in mind the importance of the relationship between children and their preschool teachers, the research about the quality of its measurement should present one of the main research focuses in overall early and preschool care and education studies. Previous studies clearly demonstrated that positive and close relationships between children and teachers resulted with higher level of socio-emotional and cognitive development of children in a long run. On the other side, the child-teacher relationship that is full of conflicts and bad feelings very negatively influence on children learning outcomes and developed behavioural patterns. Generally, children mental health is significantly determined by these early relationships with significant others in the educational context. Therefore, it is very important to develop and validate the measures that could contribute to understanding and measurement of children-preschool teachers’ relationship. One of that measure is Student- Teacher Relationship Scale, short form (STRS ; Pianta, 2002). It is created with the purposes of measuring overall quality of the relationship between students (aged from 3 to 8) and their teachers. The relationship patterns that are originally should measure within the long form (28 items) are closeness, conflict and dependency. The short form is consisting of 15 items, which are measuring closeness (positive relationship) and conflict (negative relationship). In this study, after expert translation, STRS- short form has been applied in the sample of 161 preschool teachers who rated their relationship with the vulnerable preschool children, i.e. with the preschool children living in risk life conditions: children who are members of discriminated groups (i.e. Roma minority), children from the social care, children from the violent families, children from low stimulating families, children with developmental disabilities and special needs, and children from families with chronically ill member(s). The sample of preschool teachers was from different kindergartens in Primorsko- Goranska County in Croatia. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis with extraction method Principal Components and Varimax rotation with Kaiser Normalization were run. EFA resulted with four factors, which explained 59.555% of total variance. However, when two factors were specified, CFA results were psychometrically satisfactory. So, CFA confirmed hypothesized two-factor structure of STRS and explained 44.487% of total variance (the first factor Conflict explained after rotation 22.315% and the second factor Closeness explained after rotation 22.172% of the total variance). Rotated component matrix showed the lowest loading of the items four (“This child is uncomfortable with physical affection or touch from me”) what should be taken into account in future studies. Determined reliability levels Cronbach alpha were satisfying: for Conflict subscale α = .766 and for Closeness subscale α = .804. The determined findings have discussed within the suggested guidelines for future research studies: applying adjustments in translation ; running focus groups with preschool teachers with the aim of creating culturally original STRS-items ; and the application of the long form of STRS scale.

The aim of this study was to explore the role of the social sciences and the humanities in the modern (‘Humboldtian’) idea of the university. The rationale behind the study is that, only by examining an ideal model, as proposed by Humboldt and the German philosophers whose writings inspired him, can one assess the current state of affairs with contemporary universities. In other words, a criterion is needed in order to establish whether or not the idea of the university is indeed in crisis, as many authors claim. This presentation shall compare several aspects of the Humboldtian idea of the university: the concept of academic freedom, the demand for state-funded universities, and the belief in the dominant role of the humanities at the level of higher education. The goal of our theoretical research, based on comparative readings of mainly philosophical texts, is to contribute to the current debate on the role of the humanities in the modern university.

The development of technology influences changes in how we live, work, communicate and learn. Market and technology development forces all companies or organisation to re-evaluate their position, role, organisation and application of information and communication technology. Since people and their knowledge are the key elements of every successful business and information system, the adoption and application of new knowledge and continuous education becomes the key elements of a company’s success. Consequently in this dynamic and technology rich environment the teaching and learning process falls under a strong pressure to change and adopt new technologies and business trends. E-learning has a numerous benefits in comparison with the classic classroom teaching. Introducing e-learning is complex process and involves different groups of participating students, teachers, faculties, universities, and firms. It requires not only the participants’ motivation, time and willingness but suitable infrastructure and strong coordination off all parties involved. The acceptance of e-learning in Croatia is at lower level in comparison with other developed countries in spite of the significant efforts made at several universities and faculties. Therefore it was imperative to collect more facts about teachers’ perception, attitudes, opportunities and obstacles towards e-learning, and compare them with students’ attitudes and perception towards e-learning at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, Croatia. The main goal of the paper was to explore: teachers’/professors’ and students attitudes towards (1) e-learning usage and (2) implementing an e-learning program. In June 2015 questionnaire was conducted in order to discover whether the professors are familiar with e-learning, its usage and possibilities. The questionnaire was emailed to 127 professors (assistant professors, associate professors and full professors) of the Faculty of Economics and Business Zagreb. Another questionnaire was sent to 1169 students of the same school. The results of these questionnaires have confirmed that majority of teachers and students have shown a positive attitude towards e-learning despite the lack of information about the benefits of e-learning with a large portion of students. Almost all of teachers and students agreed that e-learning is future of education. The results lead to the conclusion that significant efforts are necessary in order to make the students aware of possibilities and the benefits by which e-learning can improve their learning experience and existing curricula as well as develop new ones. Significant efforts must also be made at the institutional levels to support e- learning curriculum development and establishing proper technology and organisational infrastructures. The comparison of our results with those from similar research carried out in some other countries has given us additional motivation to strive more in fostering e-learning development.

Video has been recognized as an important mean for delivery of speech-language therapies, particularly when used in telepractice settings. It can be used in video conferencing setup for synchronous communication of the speech-language therapist and the patients, or employed as educational video artefacts which contain speech therapies that can be remotely accessed by patients at their convenient time. This paper discusses the design of educational videos for telerehabilitation of pediatric speech disorder (dyslalia) and presents results of a qualitative part of the pilot study. First, it presents how principles of multimedia learning were applied in the design of instructional videos aimed at the treatment of dyslalia. Second, it describes research results from empirical pilot study conducted with five children with dyslalia and their parents who used the videos. Quantitative data about the quality of the video design were collected from the parents by means of the post-use questionnaire and in this paper are briefly reported. The main emphasis of the paper is on presenting qualitative data about parents’ experiences, impressions and observation of interactions while employing videos with their children. Feedback gained from the interviews provides important insights into the interactions of children with video artefacts and suggests additional guidelines for designing online instructional videos aimed at preschool children who need speech-language treatments.

The notion that education and learning can be linked with lucid, playful and pleasurable experiences is not new. Gros (2003) defines edutainment as education that has been placed within the framework of entertainment. The introduction of computers and the Internet has affected traditional educational environments, enabled implementation of a large variety of edutainment types in the learning process thus radically transforming educational paradigm by strengthening the relationship between learning, new media and play. Although, elements of edutainment were already implemented in the educational process sporadically with the advancement of ICT it has become immensely popular and commercially successful with students, teachers, parents and children. In the past, however, edutainment existed but it was not highly utilized as today while today we are facing a growing number of adults that have grown up with technology, entertainment and computer games. We could say that digital natives (Prensky 2001) who recently were a discussed as students and learners are now grownups entering educational process as teachers. Paper examines how ICT through new media and game-based learning has enhanced educational process. Edutainment is an ever expanding arena for new products and new ways of incorporating technology and fun into the learning process. Author gives an overview of the edutainment field presenting its strengths and weaknesses. The theoretical background is used to classify types of edutainment and discus the new phenomenon of academia and business collaborating in developing high quality multimedia and game-based content. The main purpose of edutainment is to promote student learning through usage of entertainment which has become more accessible and easier to incorporate into the educational process. In the end results of the pilot project of implementing edutainment at the higher education are presented.

One of the eight competencies for lifelong learning defined by the EU Reference Framework is communication in foreign languages. Based on the assumption that formal education should prepare students for lifelong learning, foreign language learning (and teaching) at the graduate level of professional studies at the Baltazar Adam Krčelić College of Business and Management form Zaprešić, Croatia has moved into the area of LSP (Language for Specific Purposes) because of the demands of the students and the labour market. This paper will give an overview of this process. The problem encountered was the lack of adequate teaching materials that would fit into the integrated model of teaching foreign languages and core courses. The solution was preparing our own materials that would be tailored according to the needs of our students and the specificities of our teaching reality, such as large multi- level groups and the dynamics of short intense courses. The current result is one published LSP textbook (English for Project Management) and two textbooks in preparation. The emphasis in foreign languages teaching, and consequently in the preparation of teaching materials, is placed on combining foreign language competencies with the core subject competencies, while developing thinking skills and another EU Reference Framework competency – learning to learn.

Paper presents results of the research of the University of Zagreb study programs and the occurrence of information literacy competences in them. Authors state that there is an overlap between generic and information literacy competences students are expected to acquire upon completing a particular study program and upon completing particular courses which should be stated in the study programs. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in analysis and mapping of the data gathered in analysis of the: European framework, generic competences, employability competences and information competences and generic information competences in the study programs. The results of have shown that there is no general approach to the issue but a partial incorporation of information competences in the study programs. Content oriented towards development of information competences is offered partially, usually based upon enthusiasm and individual effort of the teaching staff or information specialists. Even more, these efforts are not based upon clearly defined measurable and comparable learning outcomes. Based on the gathered results authors propose a systematic approach via building the taxonomy of the relevant and measureable learning outcomes, primarily from the employability viewpoint, which will be able to integrate in the study program

In the last thirty years, Italy has experienced an intense flow of immigration from different areas. The regional data (VI° Regional Conference on Immigration) show that Campania is no more a transit region. An interesting feature of contemporary migration is the large percentage of highly educated and qualified people: immigrants with high level of education and training came mostly from Eastern Europe. Italy, moreover, is characterized by a high percentage of women among immigrants, which has increased in recent years, particularly for people from some countries (in 2006, for example, a percentage between 65% and 82% of the foreign workforce from countries of east such as Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, are women); among the immigrant there is a high percentage of women working both as housekeeper and as caregivers. This paper aims to offer a reflection on the training and orientation training of those migrants in Campania who carry out the tasks of caregivers. The figure of the maid or nanny makes up for the lack of an often disorganized welfare system, to meet the needs of a population, as the Italian, where the negative trend of birth adds up to a constant aging of the population and the progressive increase in longevity which makes constant assistance of the elderly necessary and irreplaceable in a situation of unsustainable spending at the individual level, weighing in fact entirely on public sector budgets of social assistance. Women are institutionally recognized as a determinant factor in maintaining the balance of socioeconomic impacts, exactly referring to their key role in the world of production, for their subjectivity, their history, their biographical experience, their desires and legitimate expectations. The researcher Schlosseberg (Schlosseberg, 2005) designed and implemented specific programs and interventions of training in which she alternates individual intervention to work in teams. Often to face transition phases lived by immigrant women, it needs to adopt a real formative advisory, able to implement the skills of self-determination of adult in training (Biasin, 2012). In a formative perspective, the moments of transition propose the revival of a type of subjectivity, which is able to reflect an active and creative inner (Paul, 2002). Innovative changes are, therefore, required in orientation and training in work fields: it needs to introduce structural changes to allow the professionals involved in relationships of care and assistance to take a proactive approach that will enable them to govern the biographical processes. The activities of training and advisory, aimed to adults, are based on dimensions of lived experience in order to individualize the transition, coupled with social and relational context of reference.

Over the recent years, educators have increasingly become aware of the necessity to make e-learning accessible to students with disabilities. This fact is also endorsed by legal prerequisites and adoption of acts and/or guidelines to provide equal opportunities for all in some countries. However, despite the flexibility and adaptability of e-learning environments, implementing those guidelines presents a challenge. In this paper we describe an approach to designing a multimedia rich e-learning course adapted for students with dyslexia and reveal interaction issues with that course implemented in a widely used learning management system Moodle. The design of the course is based on several sets of guidelines aimed at enhancing the learning experience of students with dyslexia. In our research the interaction with the course was validated in a usability case study with a dyslexic student by using a think-aloud and an interview as research methods. The findings of the qualitative research suggest that our efforts in creating accessible e-learning materials were worthwhile. On the other hand some weak points concerning technical aspects of the used e-learning platform are also indicated.

E-learning environments offer different possibilities to enhance educational process. Many learning (content) management systems are designed to support modern pedagogical approaches such as socio-constructivism and connectivism. Those approaches facilitate active and collaborative learning through interaction, both student-student and student-teacher, and knowledge construction, especially through group activities. In such e-learning environment the teacher can choose among many activities that are fully online or support blended learning organization of the course. The aim of this research was to determine the level of participation, satisfaction and usefulness of different activities that support active and collaborative learning of students enrolled into one university blended learning course. Thirty four students expressed their opinions by filling-in an online survey after they received a course grade. The research results provided valuable insight into students' collaborative learning engagement and usefulness of such activities. The findings also suggested few directions for further improvements of the course pedagogic practice.