The national interest in Serbian education

Abstract

The paper explores the issues relevant for defining the national interest in education in Serbia. Nowadays, in the European context, Serbia is a small country that is stagnating and lagging behind, torn between the desire to preserve its national identity and to take part in European integrations. Priority national interest in the second decade of the 21st century is raising the quality and accessibility of education in the country. The responsible institutions send the message that Serbian educational policy should define education as the key factor of preservation and development of national and cultural identity of the majority nation and ethnic minorities. The plan is to educate the young in the spirit of knowing the language, history and heritage of the Serbian and all other nations living on the territory of Serbia. The answer to the question whether there is something distinctive for a Serbian citizen cannot be provided explicitly - there is no supra-identity, or it cannot be seen in the existing normative. One of the ways towards finding a common denominator in values of all nations living in Serbia can be promotion of universal values ensuring sustainable development of the community and the individual. In that perspective, the main goal of education becomes the development of the long-term personal perspective of the learner: attitude that life is a value in and of itself, consciousness that each individual has a crucial role in preserving the environment, and dedication to solidarity while facing disasters.

U radu se razmatraju pitanja koja su značajna za određivanje nacionalnog interesa u obrazovanju u Srbiji. Danas je Srbija, u evropskim okvirima, mala zemlja koja stagnira i zaostaje, razapeta između želje da sačuva nacionalni identitet i da se uključi u evropske integracije. Prioritetan nacionalni interes u drugoj deceniji XXI veka je rad na kvalitetu i dostupnosti obrazovanja i vaspitanja u zemlji. Nadležne ustanove poručuju da obrazovna politika Srbije treba da definiše obrazovanje kao ključni faktor očuvanja i razvoja nacionalnog i kulturnog identiteta većinskog naroda i nacionalnih manjina. Planirano je vaspitanje mladih u duhu poznavanja jezika, istorije i drugih tekovina srpskog i svih drugih naroda koji žive na prostorima Srbije. Odgovor na pitanje da li postoji nešto što bi bilo specifično za građanina Srbije ne može se eksplicitno dati - nadidentiteta nema, ili se on u postojećim normativima ne vidi. Jedan od puteva ka nalaženju zajedničkog imenitelja u vrednostima svih naroda koji žive u Srbiji može biti promovisanje univerzalnih vrednosti koje obećavaju održivi razvoj zajednice i pojedinca. Glavni cilj obrazovanja postaje razvijanje dugoročne lične perspektive učenika: stava da je život vrednost po sebi, svesti o tome da svaki pojedinac ima krucijalnu ulogu u očuvanju životne sredine, i spremnosti na solidarnost pred katastrofama.