Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal

Editorial: The Role of Social Pedagogy in Addressing Contemporary and Emerging Challenges of Youth Transitions

Špela Razpotnik, Darja Zorc Maver — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 11:55:50 +0200

Reconfiguring Youth Transitions: Digital Spaces, Social Connections and the Role of Social Pedagogy

Ana Bešter Zupančič — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 18:09:49 +0200

Youth transitions, once understood as linear progressions from education to work, independence and family life, are increasingly fragmented, prolonged and uncertain. Globalisation, individualisation, precarious labour markets and digitalisation have transformed the conditions of growing up, embedding transitions within hybrid social worlds in which online and offline experiences are deeply entangled. Digital spaces are not neutral tools but socio-technical environments that mediate identity, belonging and opportunity, while introducing new risks and inequalities. This theoretical article reconceptualises youth transitions through the combined lens of digital sociality and social pedagogy. It traces the shift from structured pathways to non-linear trajectories that may, in some contexts, take rhizomatic forms. It also examines the embodied, affective and networked nature of digital participation and considers how social pedagogy’s relational, participatory and justice-oriented ethos can address the complexities of hybrid transitions. The proposed Multidimensional Rhizomatic Transitions Framework integrates four analytically distinct but dynamically connected dimensions: (1) rhizomatic pathways, (2) hybrid spatiality and sociomaterial entanglement, (3) relational-ethical orientation and (4) critical digital agency, including digi-grasping. Rather than simply placing these dimensions alongside one another, the framework explains how structural and platform conditions shape lived opportunities and constraints, how relational support influences their interpretation, and how digital agency may redirect subsequent pathways. The framework offers conceptual propositions for research, practice and policy. By situating social pedagogy within digitally mediated life courses, the article offers a future-facing approach to fostering agency, equity and belonging in contemporary youth transitions.

Manifestations and Effects of Everyday Resistance in Student Dormitories

Nataša Mojškerc, Darja Zorc Maver — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 18:10:23 +0200

Student dormitories in Slovenia are educational residential institutions, primarily intended for upper secondary school students whose place of study is geographically distant from their family home. Their aim is to support students’ academic success and personal development through structured living, educational guidance, and psychosocial support. However, the institutional social control and disciplinary acts incite resistance that can function to reproduce or shift dormitory norms and structures, with ambiguous effect for the empowerment of the students. Leaning on the ideas of critical-emancipatory social pedagogy, the article explores dormitory counsellors’ perceptions of everyday resistance and asks two research questions. Firstly, how does everyday resistance manifest itself in shifting student dormitory norms and structures and with what effects? Secondly, how does everyday resistance manifest itself in reproducing dormitory norms and structures and with what effects? Five semi-structured interviews with dormitory counsellors were conducted, focusing on examples of everyday resistance. The analysis is grounded in theoretical conceptualisations of power, resistance and critical-emancipatory social pedagogy. Findings suggest that everyday resistance in student dormitories is a pedagogical opportunity for reflexive negotiation of institutional life and regulation of oppressive and productive practices related to intersectional inequalities.

The Participatory Development of the Styrian Youth Strategy With an Action Plan

Martin Auferbauer, Arno Heimgartner, Thomas Lederer-Hutsteiner — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 18:14:05 +0200

The Styrian Youth Strategy was developed through a participatory and evidence-based process to provide a strategic framework for improving the living conditions of young people in Styria, Austria. Recognising youth as a cross-cutting policy area, and in alignment with the Austrian Youth Strategy and the European Youth Goals, the project combined qualitative and quantitative methods between 2022 and 2023. These methods included semi-structured interviews with adolescents (n = 15) and youth sector professionals (n = 16), an online survey of professionals (n = 60) and five workshops involving professionals, young people and administrative leaders. Aims for ten thematic fields were formulated, accompanied by an action plan. Of the ten areas identified, seven are described briefly while three are explored in depth: participation and political education (embedding youth voice, co-decision, and civic engagement); health promotion and prevention (integrating behavioural and structural determinants, with a focus on mental health, risk-informed behaviour, and coordinated services); and diverse education and information (promoting equity across formal, non-formal, and informal learning; encouraging multi- professional cooperation; and providing guidance for educational and career pathways). The strategy was accepted by the Styrian Provincial Parliament and incorporated into the Styrian Youth Act, influencing funding cultures and administrative practice. Limitations include the challenge of adequately representing a heterogeneous youth population within finite resources. Ongoing evaluation, inclusive participation formats and international exchange are recommended. This process shows how participatory governance, intersectoral coordination and data-informed planning can transform criticism into constructive institutional development and consensus-based implementation.

Teachers’ and Counsellors’ Views on School Protective Factors for Children With Complex Needs

Nina Amon Podobnikar, Jana Rapuš Pavel — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 18:23:42 +0200

Primary school is an important environment that can serve as a protective factor in children’s lives, which is especially important for those facing complex and vulnerable circumstances. International and domestic studies highlight the importance of strengthening protective factors in schools, creating a supportive environment, and providing timely and diverse support mechanisms. The objective of the present study was to examine the protective factors identified by teachers and school counsellors to address the complex needs of children in school, as well as the limitations and obstacles to their implementation. A proposal for necessary changes to ensure timely support and reduce risks is also highlighted. Ten semistructured interviews with teachers and counsellors were conducted, followed by thematic analysis to gather the perspectives of the respondents on supporting children with complex needs. The analysis revealed the important role of establishing trusting relationships with children in complex life situations. At the relational level, the importance of collaborative relationships with parents and external institutions was identified. The necessity of systematically integrated preventive activities within schools to strengthen protective factors was recognised. The question of formal disciplinary warnings and existing support of assistants for children with emotional and behavioural disorders in schools were critically discussed. The analysis revealed recommendations to overcome these obstacles, including appropriate education programmes for teachers and school counsellors, supervision, developing a culture of cooperation with parents, and establishing coordinated and harmonised support networks.

Psychosocial Distress and Community Support: Students’ Perspectives and Social Pedagogy Reflections

Kristina Debenjak — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 18:24:43 +0200

Psychosocial distress is a significant challenge for students transitioning to adulthood. The present study explores students’ perspectives on psychosocial distress and the community’s response to it. Using an arts-based research methodology (photovoice), social pedagogy students visually documented representations of distress in their daily lives and community responses to it. The collected images and narratives were qualitatively analysed through thematic analysis to identify generative themes. The findings highlight the diverse ways in which students experience and interpret distress, revealing the emotional, social and structural factors that influence their wellbeing. A critical aspect of the research is recognising both the importance and challenges of non-formal support systems in mitigating distress. In order to foster meaningful dialogue with youth, social pedagogy should integrate concepts from the pedagogy of the oppressed and the pedagogy of liberation, addressing the individualisation of psychosocial distress and advocating for collective, community-based solutions. This approach is particularly relevant in the context of societal crises and growing uncertainty during the transition to adulthood. The study highlights the potential of arts-based participatory research methods to facilitate dialogue, co-create knowledge and foster intersubjectivity, including within higher education. By amplifying students’ voices, the research contributes to a deeper understanding of students’ perceptions of distress and advocates for community responses that go beyond individualised solutions.

Pedagogical Renewal and the Role of Teachers in Secondary Schools: Insights From Five Case Studies in Spain

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 18:25:27 +0200

This article presents the results of a research project funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Government of Spain, which aims to analyse secondary schools whose teaching practices are transformative because they go beyond temporary innovations, generating changes and improvements that impact the school, students and the local community and promote inclusion and meaningful learning. This article examines the role that teachers play in secondary education in relation to teaching practices and methodologies in the current context of demands for constant transformation, through the study of five secondary schools in different regions of Spain. Observations, focus groups, analysis of school documents and in-depth interviews were carried out, and the data were analysed using Atlas.ti software. The results show how pedagogical renewal in secondary education is based on teaching aspects such as educational leadership, strategies to promote personalised learning that place students at the centre of educational action, the establishment of relationships with the community to share educational and social projects that promote a sense of belonging to the local context, and the need to modify resources, spaces and times to accommodate more global and transversal teaching and learning processes.

Primary School Teachers’ Attitudes, Perceptions and Self-Efficacy Regarding Students With Special Educational Needs: A Comparative Study of the Education Systems in Slovenia and Kosovo

Arben Keka — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0200

The purpose of this paper is to explore teachers’ attitudes, perceptions and self-efficacy regarding students with special educational needs in Slovenia and Kosovo, as well as to identify the similarities and differences between the two education systems in terms of inclusive practices. Quantitative data were collected from a sample of teachers working in grades 1–5 of primary schools in Slovenia (n = 258) and Kosovo (n = 255). The data were gathered using the Sentiments, Attitudes and Concerns about Inclusive Education scale and the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practice scale and analysed using SPSS version 21.0. The findings indicate higher means of samples in both Slovenia and Kosovo in negative sentiments, attitudes and perceptions regarding inclusive education, while statistically significant differences were identified in attitudes and other factors, such as age, gender or teaching experience with students with special educational needs. Teachers in Slovenia and Kosovo scored higher in self-efficacy, which is negatively correlated at a significant level with sentiments, attitudes and perceptions regarding inclusive education.

School Improvement Framework for Indonesia

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Indonesia is determined to improve the quality of education. Many topdown policies have been issued to direct the necessary improvement, from making education compulsory from grade 1 to grade 9 in 1977, to the withdrawal of the high-stakes exam policy in 2021. However, none of these policies encourages schools to conduct school improvement plans tailored to their needs. Instead, they tend to be directed towards school effectiveness or quality assurance. The present research aims to formulate a school improvement framework of domains and indicators culturally and institutionally suitable for Indonesian settings. The study implements a systematic literature review methodology to extract and synthesise the most pertinent and prevalent domains from a corpus of relevant literature on school improvement frameworks. Four overarching domains of recommended focal points for school improvement efforts are determined: (1) Teaching and Learning, (2) Leadership and Management, (3) Assessment, and (4) Community and Culture. The research underscores the foundational role of pertinent data collection in these domains. Furthermore, the study discusses the implications of these emerging domains for the academic community and policymakers, highlighting how the proposed framework can significantly contribute to refining school improvement practices and policies in Indonesia. Detailed subdomains and domain indicators serve as theoretical implications to be elaborated in further research.

Incidental Learning From Science Journalism: The Effects of a Narrative Writing Style on the Comprehension and Situational Interest of Austrian Non-Experts in Health Sciences

Christian Ameseder, Iztok Devetak, Darija Skubic — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0200

Austrian non-experts in health sciences often lack the scientific knowledge to make informed decisions that affect their daily lives and society as a whole. In general, their interest in current scientific knowledge is low, so it is unlikely that they will actively seek out information. Adult non-experts therefore need to acquire relevant scientific information incidentally, e.g., by reading journalistic articles. Journalistic articles traditionally follow an inverted pyramid structure, presenting the most important information first, while narratives unfold events chronologically with intentionally acting characters. Journalistic science narratives provide information that is usually missing in inverted pyramids. This additional information may increase situational interest in journalistic science narratives. Most people are confronted with narratives more often than with explanatory texts in everyday life and can therefore process them better. Due to the linear structure, relevant information elements are automatically activated at the same time, which further facilitates processing. An online study in the context of online science journalism on nutrition topics was conducted in Austria with 461 adult nonexperts in health sciences recruited via online platforms. The dependent variables comprehension, cognitive load and situational interest were investigated using a multiple-tier test and self-reports. The results indicate significantly higher comprehension and general situational interest and significantly lower cognitive load after reading journalistic science narratives compared to inverted pyramids. However, situational interest in journalistic science narratives was significantly lower after participants had read the first paragraph. It then increased and was significantly higher than that for inverted pyramids for the rest of the article. Therefore, journalistic science narratives with a strictly chronological structure should be used with caution. When initial situational interest is low, individuals may stop reading before they have enough information to fully comprehend the content. In addition, higher situational interest is correlated with a lower perception of cognitive load.

Croatian Teachers’ Perceptions of Available Support and Barriers to Preschool Inclusion of SEN Children

Sanja Skočić Mihić, Matea Butković, Snježana Sekušak-Galešev — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0200

In line with inclusive legislation, quality in inclusive early childhood education and care institutions refers to the available support and resources in order to provide a suitable environment for diverse children. The aims of this study are to determine (1) differences in teachers’ perceptions of the level of available and necessary support for preschool inclusion, and (2) the correlation between the perceptions of support and teachers’ sociodemographic data, attitude towards inclusive education and perceived competencies for inclusive teaching. A representative sample of 476 Croatian preschool teachers employed in 28 early childhood education and care institutions in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County participated in the research. The Supports Scale for Preschool Inclusion was used to establish teachers’ perceptions of the necessary factors and available support for successful inclusion. Teachers indicated a lower level of available support for successful inclusion than required, while their perceptions of available support depended on their higher level of positive attitudes and perceived competencies for inclusive teaching. The perception of a higher level of perceived competencies for inclusive teaching and a more positive attitude resulted in a higher level of perceived available support, which supports previous findings underscoring teachers’ professional development for inclusive teaching as a baseline for ensuring high-quality inclusive early childhood education and care that supports the development of all children.

Sami Timimi, V iskanju normalnosti: Nov pristop k razumevanju duševnega zdravja, stiske in nevroraznolikosti [Searching for Normal: A New Approach to Understanding Mental Health, Distress and Neurodiversity], Chiara, 2025; 408 pp.: ISBN: 978-961-720-558-9

Bojan Dekleva — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 10:26:05 +0200