The tenth jubilee edition of the Day of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian-American Academy of Arts and Sciences (BHAAAS), which ends today, gathered in Sarajevo more than a thousand participants, among them 30 lecturers from 24 countries of the world, involved in 27 symposia from almost all scientific fields: medicine and technical, natural, social, and humanistic sciences. The president of BHAAAS, Nirvana Pištoljević, points out that this year's meeting is the largest so far; it includes the largest number of scientific disciplines, and what makes it special is that it insists on an inter- and transdisciplinary approach and the applicability of theoretical knowledge in "real life.".
OUR FACULTIES AND UNIVERSITIES HAVE COMPLETELY LOST CONTACT WITH REALITY CONCERNING CURRICULUM AND PROGRAMS. Education means the application of theoretical knowledge, working with children. PHOTO: AMER KAJMOVIĆ - On our interdisciplinary panels we had the opportunity to listen to a theoretical mathematician and a physicist who spoke about the application of mathematics through cryptography and the protection of personal data. We had a lecture on complex systems, including human society, and also on artificial intelligence, which is rapidly developing and far surpassing human evolution, which is why it is increasingly urgent to engage in science to be able to control, says Pištoljević in an interview with Oslobođenje. The basic mission of BHAAAS is certainly to connect Bosnia and Herzegovina with the professional, scientific, and artistic diaspora, and when you flip through the eighty-page program, it seems as if that task is fulfilled with extreme seriousness. - The members of the academy come from all over, but we are united by the desire to preserve the connection with the homeland. In addition, when we come here, we also bring our friends, and lecturers from very important universities, and our role, apart from the scientific one, is to be ambassadors of Bosnia and Herzegovina in our other homelands in a certain way, explains Pištoljević. What is missing, as always, is politics, says the Oslobođenja interlocutor, that is, the will of political representatives to become familiar with scientific trends in the world and implement them. Pištoljević is particularly proud of this year's cultural program, which includes an exhibition of prints by BiH by the painter Safet Zec, a concert by the Sarajevo Philharmonic, guest performances by Juventafest and Chamber Theater 55, and other events. The second day of the conference was marked by the topics of computer modeling, robotics and biometric engineering, construction, energy, oncology, pathology and pediatrics, development, and early learning and education. Pištoljević particularly emphasized the symposium in the field of oncology, and as an expert in the field of inclusion and special education, she preferred to talk about the papers presented on the panel dedicated to education and early learning and development. "That topic hurts me the most," he says, emphasizing that education in BiH is trapped in a long-standing, "multi-layered" problem and that there are no simple solutions. Nevertheless: - The first item on our agenda must be inclusion. A professor at the Italian University of Reggio Emilia, Fabiola Casarini, spoke to us here about how the inclusive education system in Italy is falling apart and unable to meet the challenges posed by newly arrived migrant children. The Italian model of inclusion cannot now respond to the needs of those children, and we have only copied their law here; we are not able to implement it nearly as well. Unfortunately, inclusion in BiH has been reduced to a dead letter, Pištoljević is honest.
The issue of inclusive education in a certain way reflects all other difficulties in the functioning of the education system in our country. Pištoljević presents the worrying fact that 23 percent of children in BiH are not developing in a typical way, which is a huge number compared to the world trend of 15 percent, which puts us in the category of risky countries. We are also the country where children with special needs spend the least number of hours in education, only 10 to 13 hours during the week, while in countries like Italy, that number is nine hours a day. She spoke particularly harshly about the education of teachers who have been struggling with the demands of inclusive education in our country (albeit unsuccessfully) for almost a decade and a half. - Our faculties and universities have completely lost touch with reality in terms of curriculum and programs. Pedagogy is an applied science; education means applying theoretical knowledge and working with children. Here, we deal with theory with very little practice, and we constantly produce personnel who do not know what to do with children, let alone with children with difficulties, says Pištoljević. She also cited the example of teacher education in the USA, where, first of all, it is necessary to complete a postgraduate study to enter the classroom, and during the postgraduate study, one acquires practice. One learns how to adapt the content to the different abilities of children, including children with special needs, how to develop instruction and testing, how to assess the knowledge of such a child, etc. On the other hand, numerous non-governmental organizations spend huge amounts of money trying to provide additional education to an already educated staff. Pištoljević notes that shortcomings are also visible at the highest level—the level of legislation and pedagogical standards and norms.
Early intervention
THE DAYS OF BHAAAS RUN UNTIL SUNDAY, AND THE FOCUS WILL BE ON THE TOPICS OF ONCOLOGY, SURGERY, FAMILY MEDICINE, PSYCHIATRY AND PSYCHOLOGY, THEN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, ECONOMICS, ANTHROPOLOGY, AND LIBRARY ARTS. PHOTO: AMER KAJMOVIĆ - Ministries of education must find a way to improve pedagogical standards and norms, legislation that is directed not only against science but also against children. Here's an example: Every professional knows that according to the recommendation of the American Pediatric Association, children under the age of two should not be exposed to multimedia content. According to Pištoljević, the document that regulates pedagogical standards in BiH states that every kindergarten must have a television, and even the inspection checks this. Finally, it is extremely important to educate parents as well, to show them that children with special needs must stay with other children, which is extremely important for them at an early developmental age. Pištoljević believes that the state must start early intervention systems for children aged 18 months who show developmental disabilities because it is really necessary to start working systematically. Kindergartens, too, must improve their quality, accept a larger number of children, and accept a larger number of children with difficulties. - In this kind of system, it is not good for anyone: not even the teacher who has to devote herself to a child with, for example, autism, while neglecting the other twenty children in the class, nor the parent who is going through terrible things, nor, most importantly, neither the child. Parents are dissatisfied, teachers are exhausted, and no child gets what he needs, concludes the interviewee of Oslobođenja. The panel on early growth and development and education included a certain number of domestic educational experts, but that number, says Pištoljević, is still insufficient. He also notes that BHAAAS is always open to cooperation and joint research in this and other scientific fields. The days of BHAAAS last until Sunday, and the focus will be on the topics of oncology, surgery, family medicine, psychiatry, and psychology, then mechanical engineering, economics, anthropology, and librarianship. (https://www.oslobodjenje.ba)
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