KONCEPT SOCIJALNE KOHEZIJE I OBRAZOVANJE
THE CONCEPT OF SOCIAL COHESION AND EDUCATION

Summary/Abstract: Social cohesion is a term that has been increasingly used in recent years and implies the integration of free individuals and social groups into society as a whole. A cohesive society is a society made up of individuals/members who achieve common goals in a fair and democratic way. Social cohesion is not a "natural" state of society, but results from interrelations between individuals and public and private institutions, exposed to diverse, and sometimes contradictory, understandings, views and interests. Social cohesion is the ultimate outcome of all individuals and social groups whose common goal is to create an environment that is in line with the development of free citizens, the fair sharing of resources and the recognition of dignity and capacity of every member of society (Concerted development of social cohesion indicators, 2005). The relation between social cohesion and education, i.e. their mutual influence, indicators of social cohesion in education, the contribution of education to the advancement of social cohesion in society, and vice versa, are issues that have recently attracted the attention of many prominent scholars and researchers. Putnam (2004) states that researches show that education affects social cohesion, just as social cohesion affects education, and that today's educational policy makers have a lot to learn from each other about what, when and how it works in the vital relationship between education and social cohesion. In the process of analysing the work of primary and secondary schools, one should always bear in mind not only the educational achievements of pupils, but also the other basic educational functions of schools, as well as the necessary principles and values that schools should nurture and promote. Each school represents a specific social environment in which pupils, teachers and school staff go through different social experiences, which greatly affect the functioning and work of the school, that is, school life and social cohesion as a whole. The focus of this paper is to point out the relevance and importance of understanding the interdependence of the concept of social cohesion and education.

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