Vanja Petrovic | University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Science (original) (raw)
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Academic Papers by Vanja Petrovic
Godišnjak Fakulteta političkih nauka, 2024
In the Republic of Serbia, nearly half a million people live in absolute poverty. Solidarity kitc... more In the Republic of Serbia, nearly half a million people live in absolute poverty. Solidarity kitchens in Serbia, which this paper situates as instances of vernacular and reactive humanitarianism, have been established in response to multiple crises at once, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the ”crisis” of people on the move, and the withdrawal of social welfare amid neoliberal pressures. The goal of this paper is to showcase the work and challenges faced by local solidarity kitchens whilst focusing on their genesis from a political, social, and economic perspective. Solidarity kitchens can be understood as the embodiment of the fundamental pillars of social work and position themselves within the framework of its values. They are characterized by a non-hierarchical approach to organizing and a rejection of the concept of charity. Unfortunately, they face several challenges, including fluctuating sources of funding, constant changes in staff, and limitations in service delivery.
Mental health care reform is a long-term process and a key aspect of the development and progress... more Mental health care reform is a long-term process and a key aspect of the development and progress of society as a whole. This paper aims to present an overview and analysis of mental health care services intended for adults within the public and civil sectors in the Republic of Serbia. The main method applied in this study is content analysis. The results show that certain services and measures to improve mental health care have been created and implemented, but many goals have not yet been achieved. The biggest challenges facing the provision of mental health care servicesalongside a lack of financial resourcesare discrepancies in regulations, the dominance of tertiary health services in providing treatment to people with mental health, a lack of services in the community, insufficient involvement of the civil sector, and weak intersectoral cooperation between different systems. Due to the lack of data transparency and comprehensive service registries, this paper presents a largealthough not comprehensivenumber of public, civil, and private sector mental health care services. Mental health care in the Republic of Serbia should in the future aim to overcome the gap between mental health policy and practice, promote deinstitutionalization, establish health and social services and support systems in the community, and search for protection models that will enable better social inclusion for people with mental health problems and the fulfillment of their social, economic, and all other human rights.
Knowledge International Journal, 2022
Throughout history, the way education has been organized has changed as has its content and chara... more Throughout history, the way education has been organized has changed as has its content and character. As an expression of collective needs, education has served as a vehicle for accomplishing societal tasks and goals. Often – amid discrepancies between societal goals and existing school practices – reforms have been planned and implemented, meeting with rigorous criticism. The traditional approach to education faced its sharpest criticism at the end of the 19th and in the first half of the 20th century. Europe was at that time the epicenter of new pedagogic trends founded on the critique of tradition and a struggle for a contemporary classroom. A significant approach was critical pedagogy, put forward by Paulo Reglus Neves Freire (1921-1997). Freire developed this creative thesis in the field of adult education by linking the language of criticism to that of possibility. His revolutionary ideas in literacy and educational practice became the trademark of pedagogy all over the world and the great Pierre Furter described him as “the myth of his own time”. The goal of this paper is to present – through an analysis of Freire’s major works – his philosophy and radical approach to education and the pedagogy of the oppressed. The authors ask the following questions: Is the democratization and revolution of the classroom possible? How can education transform the individual and society? Which lessons have we learned from Freire?
The first part of the paper presents an overview of the material, functional, and educational tasks of the school, the traditional approach, and the concept of the active school. The paper includes an illustrative analysis of the didactic triangle, the general model of teaching by Daniel Pratt, and a model developed by Freire – including his banking concept of education, what Freire describes as the oppressive culture of silence, and his centering of dialogue as a key aspect of learning inseparable from practice.
Freire’s pedagogy of literacy entails, above all, the development of critical consciousness, the formation of which enables the questioning of historical and social circumstances to create a democratic society. Critical consciousness enables the teacher to understand social reality and develop a list of words and topics that can stimulate discussion. On the other hand, it enables students to learn to understand and then transform reality. Dialogue between the student and the teacher furthers social change, as Freire states, because “human beings are not built in silence, but in word, in work, in action-reflection”.
Although he ranks amongst the most famous representatives of radical education reform, Freire is unfairly neglected in the Balkans. This paper is an attempt to incentivize a more studious investigation into his work and contribution to the social sciences, action research, reform processes, and the educational system in general. With this paper, the authors also wish to mark 25 years since the death of this Brazilian educator, activist, philosopher, and one of the most influential theoreticians of education in the 20th century.
Кeywords: education, pedagogy of the oppressed, critical pedagogy, radical education reform, Paulo Freire
Papers by Vanja Petrovic
Book Reviews by Vanja Petrovic
Godišnjak Fakulteta političkih nauka, 2024
In the Republic of Serbia, nearly half a million people live in absolute poverty. Solidarity kitc... more In the Republic of Serbia, nearly half a million people live in absolute poverty. Solidarity kitchens in Serbia, which this paper situates as instances of vernacular and reactive humanitarianism, have been established in response to multiple crises at once, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the ”crisis” of people on the move, and the withdrawal of social welfare amid neoliberal pressures. The goal of this paper is to showcase the work and challenges faced by local solidarity kitchens whilst focusing on their genesis from a political, social, and economic perspective. Solidarity kitchens can be understood as the embodiment of the fundamental pillars of social work and position themselves within the framework of its values. They are characterized by a non-hierarchical approach to organizing and a rejection of the concept of charity. Unfortunately, they face several challenges, including fluctuating sources of funding, constant changes in staff, and limitations in service delivery.
Mental health care reform is a long-term process and a key aspect of the development and progress... more Mental health care reform is a long-term process and a key aspect of the development and progress of society as a whole. This paper aims to present an overview and analysis of mental health care services intended for adults within the public and civil sectors in the Republic of Serbia. The main method applied in this study is content analysis. The results show that certain services and measures to improve mental health care have been created and implemented, but many goals have not yet been achieved. The biggest challenges facing the provision of mental health care servicesalongside a lack of financial resourcesare discrepancies in regulations, the dominance of tertiary health services in providing treatment to people with mental health, a lack of services in the community, insufficient involvement of the civil sector, and weak intersectoral cooperation between different systems. Due to the lack of data transparency and comprehensive service registries, this paper presents a largealthough not comprehensivenumber of public, civil, and private sector mental health care services. Mental health care in the Republic of Serbia should in the future aim to overcome the gap between mental health policy and practice, promote deinstitutionalization, establish health and social services and support systems in the community, and search for protection models that will enable better social inclusion for people with mental health problems and the fulfillment of their social, economic, and all other human rights.
Knowledge International Journal, 2022
Throughout history, the way education has been organized has changed as has its content and chara... more Throughout history, the way education has been organized has changed as has its content and character. As an expression of collective needs, education has served as a vehicle for accomplishing societal tasks and goals. Often – amid discrepancies between societal goals and existing school practices – reforms have been planned and implemented, meeting with rigorous criticism. The traditional approach to education faced its sharpest criticism at the end of the 19th and in the first half of the 20th century. Europe was at that time the epicenter of new pedagogic trends founded on the critique of tradition and a struggle for a contemporary classroom. A significant approach was critical pedagogy, put forward by Paulo Reglus Neves Freire (1921-1997). Freire developed this creative thesis in the field of adult education by linking the language of criticism to that of possibility. His revolutionary ideas in literacy and educational practice became the trademark of pedagogy all over the world and the great Pierre Furter described him as “the myth of his own time”. The goal of this paper is to present – through an analysis of Freire’s major works – his philosophy and radical approach to education and the pedagogy of the oppressed. The authors ask the following questions: Is the democratization and revolution of the classroom possible? How can education transform the individual and society? Which lessons have we learned from Freire?
The first part of the paper presents an overview of the material, functional, and educational tasks of the school, the traditional approach, and the concept of the active school. The paper includes an illustrative analysis of the didactic triangle, the general model of teaching by Daniel Pratt, and a model developed by Freire – including his banking concept of education, what Freire describes as the oppressive culture of silence, and his centering of dialogue as a key aspect of learning inseparable from practice.
Freire’s pedagogy of literacy entails, above all, the development of critical consciousness, the formation of which enables the questioning of historical and social circumstances to create a democratic society. Critical consciousness enables the teacher to understand social reality and develop a list of words and topics that can stimulate discussion. On the other hand, it enables students to learn to understand and then transform reality. Dialogue between the student and the teacher furthers social change, as Freire states, because “human beings are not built in silence, but in word, in work, in action-reflection”.
Although he ranks amongst the most famous representatives of radical education reform, Freire is unfairly neglected in the Balkans. This paper is an attempt to incentivize a more studious investigation into his work and contribution to the social sciences, action research, reform processes, and the educational system in general. With this paper, the authors also wish to mark 25 years since the death of this Brazilian educator, activist, philosopher, and one of the most influential theoreticians of education in the 20th century.
Кeywords: education, pedagogy of the oppressed, critical pedagogy, radical education reform, Paulo Freire