Challenges of initial teacher education in the context of higher education reform in Serbia

Abstract

© 2019, Kazan Federal University. All right reserved. In the last few decades, many European countries have introduced changes in the regulation of education and higher education systems, accepting the provisions of the Bologna Declaration. The purpose of this declaration is to create a single European Higher Education Area with comparable and compatible academic standards and quality assurance standards across Europe. Serbia subscribed to these changes in 2003 reforming its higher education system in accordance with the declarations. Study modules have been reformed with the aim of achieving higher quality and more applied knowledge of students. The changes that have taken place have been reflected in the fundamental goal of an initial teacher education to create quality graduate teachers who are able to ensure high quality learning outcomes for all the children and young people with whom they work. The aim of this paper is to examine the effects and the challengies of initial teacher education in the context of higher education reform in Serbia. The changes that have occurred need to be seen from three angles: The initial education being implemented in several faculties within the six state universities; professional teacher training and self-evaluation and quality management of the teaching process. In the Republic of Serbia initial teacher education is realized in several forms. The primary form of initial teacher education is carried out at teaching faculties while the secondary form of initial teacher education is through the training of teachers, which is regulated by law. Some of the difficulties faced by initial teacher education programs are: The competitiveness of teaching careers with other careers that are better paid. The results in a lower student response, but also affects the funding of the teaching faculty itself. Taking into account the importance of education and its impact on society, it is necessary to monitor changes in the field of teacher education continuously and systematically in order to find ways to overcome various challenges and difficulties.