Einladung zur Keynote Lecture von Olja Jovanović

Beyond Method: Participatory Research as an Epistemological and Ethical Practice von Olja Jovanović

Wann: 14.30 - 15.30 am 16.04.2026
Wo: Emil-Schüller-Straße 12-14 (Ed-School)

Im Rahmen der Spring School Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Equity and Community in Inclusive Education findet am 16.04.2026 in der Emil-Schüller-Straße 12-14 (Ed-School) eine öffentliche Keynote Lecture statt. Die Keynote Lecture mit dem Titel "Beyond Method: Participatory Research as an Epistemological and Ethical Practice" wird durch die serbische Inklusionspädagogin Olja Jovanović vorgetragen:

Olja Jovanović is an assistant professor of educational psychology at the University of Belgrade. Her scholarship spans multiple disciplines, including diversity studies, educational theory, parenthood studies, Romani studies, and music education. What unites this wide‑ranging work is her sustained commitment to exploring the social phenomena of difference and identity—how they emerge, how they are lived, and how they shape educational experience.
In her Keynote, Jovanović will focus on Participatory research, which is often presented as an empowering approach to knowledge production, oriented toward social change. But what happens when it does not work as expected?

In this lecture, Olja Jovanović engages with participatory research both critically and constructively, questioning its assumptions while, at the same time, trusting in its potential. Drawing on her own research experience, she will explore questions that arise in practice: What do we do when participants’ perspectives come into tension with ethical commitments? How do institutional procedures shape relationships within the research process? And what does it mean when participatory research produces knowledge, but not social change?

The lecture invites a critical and grounded reflection on participatory research as it is practiced—its challenges, its possibilities, and the responsibilities it entails for all involved—not as a reason to abandon it, but as a way to engage with it more realistically and responsibly.

Die Veranstaltung ist hochschulöffentlich, eine vorherige Anmeldung ist nicht nötig.

Für alle Rückfragen oder weitere Informationen kontaktieren Sie gerne Prof. Dr. Thorsten Merl (tmerl@uni-koblenz.de).