New Conversation: Education in a Time of War
Just after a week of research activities at Department of education, University of Borås, in Sweden, during which visiting Associate Professor Marko Turk was actively engaged, JPHE’s EiC, Petra Angervall, decided to follow up on a few questions that were raised during these days, for JPHE’s “New Conversations.”
The purpose of the conversation was thus to highlight some of the questions that Marko Turk had brought up in lectures and workshops during his stay. Additionally, it aimed to delve a little deeper into some of Marko's interesting and challenging experiences of working in Russia.
In context, Marko currently works as Vice Dean of Research and International Cooperation and Professor at PAR University of Applied Sciences in Rijeka, Croatia. His research primarily focuses on teaching in higher education, support for early career researchers, and pedagogical resources offered throughout their careers. He also investigates the concept of the European dimension in education - how education in Europe is evolving, along with the policies and practices that drive these changes.
Marko describes his career as constantly evolving, driven by his desire to be understood as a global citizen, his interest in educational philosophy and pedagogy, and his role as a researcher and teacher in higher education. Although Marko completed his research education and post-doc in Croatia, he has also worked in Spain and Russia and had scholarships in Germany and the UK. In Russia, he spent two and a half years working in the city and university of Tyumen, located in the western part of Siberia. When the war with Ukraine began, he continued his work for six months, providing him with unique insights into what it means to speak and act as a researcher and teacher in a country that is actively pursuing war.
Petra:
In light of your interests in pedagogy and diversity, I would like to begin by asking you how you perceive diversity and why it is an important concept for you.
Marko:
As a researcher in education and a teacher in higher education pedagogy, I believe that "diversity" raises questions about the very foundation of social relationships and how they contribute to social change. Throughout my career, my primary goal has always been to embody diversity through my own actions, thinking, and teaching. My ultimate goal is to become a global academic scholar. While this is not easily achieved in a world full of ignorance, exclusion, and otherness, I believe that striving towards this goal should be a general aim for higher education institutions and universities today. By becoming a more global academia, we can fight ignorance and otherness and welcome curiosity about what we cannot understand or recognize.
Petra:
Is that goal the reason why you have worked in so many countries already? You are not yet 40 years old, and yet you have professional experiences from Spain, Germany, the UK, Russia, and Croatia, of course.
Marko:
Yes, exploring how to teach students from different cultures or systems, as well as understanding community and social change in new environments, has been one of my primary interests as a researcher and teacher. I believe that these experiences provide important insights to learn from and create a more pluralistic world.
Petra:
Yes, but coping with differences is not always easy, is it?
Marko:
Absolutely not, but it is necessary. For instance, while I was in Russia, I found my own coping strategies, which helped me distinguish between the political establishment - those actively involved in war activities and those I worked with – my students and international faculty. You cannot understand social relationships unless you move, change, and challenge your surroundings, right?
Petra:
You are right, and many of us in academia are not really keen on trying, I agree. You went to Russia before the war, is that correct?
Marko:
Yes, I was very curious to go somewhere new, to a place that was professionally undiscovered and challenging. Tyumen University in Russia also includes a highly international Liberal Arts and Sciences institution – School of Advanced Studies, which I felt could offer me a good position and good experiences. Additionally, I was able to speak English in my teaching and among staff, which of course, made things easier. Furthermore, I worked with and met scholars from all over the world, which helped me to spread my horizons and views as a global academic.
Petra:
So, when you look back now, what was the difference there from your previous experiences?
Marko:
The students. To work with the Russian students at this university was just such a good experience for me. These students were so engaged, hardworking, and capable. They had a very different understanding of their education and were really taking it seriously. I have never had that kind of student before.
Petra:
Why is that, do you think? Are they “trained” to act like that, or what was your thinking?
Marko:
I think that I was able to give them something they hadn’t experienced before, and we went into a kind of process of learning that was just so illuminating. They were also really wanting to learn new things that I haven’t seen before. One reason is, of course, that the demands for excellence are higher there than they are in many other places and countries. There is a kind of scholarly agenda with very high expectations involved that also involve the students.
Petra:
So, Russia would be an option for researchers if they want to experience really high standards of academic work?
Marko:
Not only, because the downside of things is that there is absolutely no work-life balance, and the demands are also very stressful. They are very focused on rankings, which also negatively affect people. And there were no staff policies about social care or human resources to lean on either. This made me leave research work almost entirely and instead only work in teaching.
Petra:
Did you continue to work in Russia when the war came, or what happened?
Marko:
When the war started, I decided to physically leave but kept on working for another 8 months through online activities. Last autumn, I went back for one month, and it was just so sad to see how things had changed. The city of Tyumen was now a silent city, just like the university. It was a very bad feeling about the whole place, and there and then I decided also to fully hand in my notice. Many of my former colleagues also left at that point, and we all talked about how we cannot take responsibility for something we are not responsible for.
Petra:
Was it not difficult to leave your students behind, or how did you deal with them and their feelings about the war?
Marko:
When Russia invaded Ukraine, I was, just like many others, shocked. I was sitting at home worrying about what to say and do during work hours. I also started to reflect on my own life and how to act as a former member of a peace action group. It was just dreadful. But, you see, my students were not responsible for this, and they were also afraid to or unable to speak about it. We all need to cope and support each other in coping as well. So, I decided to stay for a few more months due to them. They were afraid we were going to leave them. I also feel so sorry for my students because they were the best I have ever had and I will always say, “We must not blame them for the sins of their political establishment.”
Petra:
Were there not protests or discussions about the war?
Marko:
The cancel culture was highly supported, and students were, of course, not agreeing but were not able to openly disagree either. However, we all decided to have a very caring approach and talked about guilt, and that they are not guilty for the decisions made here. That, I think, was very important. During my last months there, it was also officially declared that Russian Rector’s Council stands behind the government and the government divisions about invading Ukraine. This created such a sad image of the academia. Should the university not act on basis of knowledge or critical thinking? Obviously not in Russia.
Petra:
Do you regret something today – would you have done something differently?
Marko:
Of course. If I discuss it from my life perspective, I made wrong decisions and actions. I would have liked to talk more to people, for example, or learn more about the system. I have learned much from the experiences I made and become more mature and wiser. I also saw new things and became socially richer. Also, I met such wonderful young people, my students. For some reason, the students I meet in other countries are just not that eager to learn. Is that also your experience?
Petra:
Yes, I have seen similar patterns, and I also wonder why that is. We would have to talk some more about differences between student groups and their interest in learning another time. It would be an interesting topic write about, wouldn’t it? Thank you so much for sharing your valuable experiences and insights with JPHE. Hope to talk to you soon again.
