Aleksandar Baucal

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Professor Aleksandar Baucal

Professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology

University of Belgrade, Serbia & University of Tartu, Estonia

Bio and Research Interests

Professor Aleksandar Baucal holds the position of a full professor at the University of Belgrade in Serbia and serves as a visiting researcher at the University of Tartu in Estonia. His research focuses on the studying of learning and development as sociocultural and contextual processes. Specifically, his work delves into how individuals collaboratively construct new knowledge, competencies, attitudes, values, and identities through interpersonal relationships and interactions. Additionally, he studies how the socio-cultural context plays a constitutive role in human learning and development. Professor Baucal adopts a comprehensive approach, utilizing a blend of quantitative and qualitative methodologies to illuminate the structural and dynamic dimensions of co-construction among individual, institutional, and socio-cultural processes.

Professor Baucal expertise has been recognized internationally, leading him to be invited as a guest lecturer by distinguished universities such as the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), University of Lausanne (Switzerland), University of Salerno (Italy), University of Bologna (Italy), University of Toulouse (France), University of Gothenburg (Sweden), and Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada (Portugal).

Beyond academia, Professor Baucal has engaged as an international expert dedicated to the improvement of quality and equity of education across diverse countries. His advocacy for human and child rights, as well as his commitment to social justice in education, have driven his involvement as an activist in the education sector. He has collaborated with prominent organizations such as UNICEF, the European Union, OECD, Foundation for Open Society, Save the Children, and the World Bank. His role has encompassed offering guidance and support to policymakers and practitioners at the levels of individual schools, national policies, and international initiatives.

He is an author of more than 20 books or major reports, more than 20 chapters in edited books and more than 70 journal articles (https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=95RyBmMAAAAJ)

In recognition of his significant contributions to the comprehensive education reform in Serbia, Professor Baucal was honored with one of the most prestigious awards in the country, the Award of the City of Belgrade. Additionally, he was bestowed the Award of the Serbian Psychologists Association for his outstanding efforts in the public promotion of psychology.

Furthermore, he assumed the role of the founding Director of the National Examination and Assessment Center of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia from 2002 to 2004. His leadership extended to serving as the Editor in Chief of the European Journal of Psychology of Education (2015 to 2022). Moreover, he holds the position of founding Co-Editor for the Springer book series titled "Social Interaction in Learning and Development" since 2019.

From 2011 to 2013, Professor Baucal was elected President of the Serbian Psychologists Association. He also held the role of Coordinator for EARLI SIG 10 from 2013 to 2017. Currently, he holds the position of President of the European Foundation for Psychology of Education, having assumed this role in 2023. Additionally, he serves as a Board member of the Jean Piaget Society, a position he has held since 2021.

Selected Publications

Pedaste, M., Kallas, K., & Baucal, A. (2023). Digital competence test for learning in schools: Development of items and scales. Computers & Education, 203

Peixoto, F., Radišić, J., Krstić, K., Hansen, K. Y., Laine, A., Baucal, A., Sõrmus, M., & Mata, L. (2023). Contribution to the Validation of the Expectancy-Value Scale for Primary School Students. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 41, 343–350

Leijen, A., Arcidiacono, F. & Baucal, A. (2021). The dilemma of inclusive education: ‘inclusion for some’ or ‘inclusion for all’".Frontiers in Psychology, 12

Radišić, J., Selleri, P., Carugati, F. & Baucal, A. (2021). Are students in Italy really disinterested in science? A person‐centered approach using the PISA 2015 data. Science Education, 105, 438-468

Baucal, A., Pavlović Babić, D., & Jošić, S. (2018). Dialogical PISA: correct answers are all alike, every incorrect answer is incorrect in its own way. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 33, 467–487

Radišić, J., Videnović, M., & Baucal, A. (2015). Math Anxiety – Contributing School and Individual Level Factors. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 30, 1-20

Pavlović Babić, D., & Baucal, A. (2011): The Big Improvement in PISA 2009 Reading Achievements in Serbia: Improvement of the Quality of Education or Something Else? CEPS Journal, 1, str. 31-52

Baucal, A., Pavlović Babić, D., & Willms, D. (2006). Differential Selection into Secondary Schools in Serbia. Prospects, 36, 539-546

Arcidiacono, F., Baucal, A. (2019). Le interazioni sociali nell'apprendimento. Rome: Carocci editore

Baucal, A. & Arcidiacono, F. (2021). Toward a Dialogical and Sociocultural Method of Inquiry: Three Steps Participative Generalization and Reflection (3PGR). In N. Mirza Muller & M. Dos Santos Mamed (Eds), Dialogical Approaches and Tensions in Learning and Development: At the Frontiers of the Mind. Springer

Baucal, A. (2013). Two instead of one ZPD: Individual and joint construction in the ZPD. In S. Phillipson, K. Ku, & S. Phillipson (Eds.), Constructing educational achievement: A sociocultural perspective (pp. 161-173). Routledge, London.

Tartas, V., Baucal, A., & Perret-Clermont, A.N. (2010). Can You Think With Me? The Social and Cognitive Conditions and the Fruits of Learning. U: K. Littleton, C. Howe (Eds.), Educational Dialogues: Understanding and Promoting Productive interaction (pp.. 64-82). Routledge, London.

Grossen, M., Zittoun, T. & Baucal, A. (2021). Learning and developing over the life-course: A sociocultural approach. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 37

Zittoun, T. & Baucal, A. (2021). The relevance of a sociocultural perspective for understanding learning and development in older age. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 28

Guthrie, C., Perico E Santos, A.V., Henderson, K., Norfolk-Beadle, A., Fordham, E., Baucal, A. (2022). OECD Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education: Bosnia and Herzegovina. OECD: Paris

Baucal, A., Jeffery, D., Lebedinski, L. & Vujić, S. (2021). Study on the feasibility of using public-private partnerships to expand access to preschool in Serbia. UNICEF, Serbia