Since 2021, the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, has presented the “Zagorka Golubović” Award, intended for young researchers engaged in innovative and socially significant research. The award recognizes the best work published in a scientific journal or edited volume that addresses regional (Southeastern Europe) or broader societal problems in an engaged and impactful way.
For the 2024 award, twelve candidates submitted their applications. The committee reviewed all submissions and unanimously proposed that Milijana Lazarević, teaching assistant at the Higher School for Vocational Studies for Educators and Business Informatics “Sirmium” in Sremska Mitrovica, be the laureate of the annual “Zagorka Golubović” Award for 2024. She was recognized for her paper, “The Kindergarten as a Space of Heterotopia,” published in the journal Teaching and Education, issue 72(3).
The committee concluded that Milijana Lazarević’s paper explores power relations in kindergartens, reflected in their spatial manifestations, as well as how kindergarten spaces shape the dynamics of power between children and adults. The theoretical framework of the research draws on Foucault’s concept of heterotopia. The paper meets the competition’s criteria by addressing one of the pressing issues of contemporary social reality: the ways in which power is materialized within preschool education institutions and how kindergarten spaces have the potential to transform power relations.
By raising these critical questions, the paper encourages professionals at all levels of the preschool education system to reflect on and work toward transforming established patterns of interaction between children and adults. It also provides significant insights to those working within the preschool education system and beyond, illustrating how complex societal processes can be understood through their materialized forms. Although focused on the specific context of kindergartens, the paper serves as an inspiration for future research to examine and transform power relations in various contexts through their spatial manifestations.
Congratulations to the laureate of the Zagorka Golubović award for the year 2024!