SECOND PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING FOR DEANS AND DIRECTORS OF FACULTIES AND UNIVERSITIES THAT EDUCATE TEACHERS TO WORK IN PRESCHOOL INSTITUTIONS

The second Professional Consultation of deans and directors of faculties and colleges that educate teachers to work in preschool institutions was opened by the Minister of Education, Ph.D. Slavica DJukic Dejanovic, on November 2, 2023. The goal of this conference is to present activities and results on improving the initial education of educators for work in preschool units and to consider further directions of development.

At the second professional consultation of the deans and directors of faculties and colleges that educate teachers in Vrnjacka Banja, the Minister reminded that the new program concept “Godine Uzleta” has been implemented in all preschool institutions in Serbia since the last school year. The Ministry aims to improve the initial education of teachers through the Project “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care ” and has initiated activities to enhance study programs.

“We carry out these activities in cooperation with representatives of higher education institutions that educate teachers and preschool institutions where teachers fulfill and further develop their complex professional roles. The Ministry’s intention is, through the project “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care”, to provide technical assistance to higher education institutions for the evaluation, reform, and harmonization of teacher education programs. This is done with the aim of aligning the study programs with the competency standards for the teaching profession and the new concept of preschool education and care,” said the minister.

Professional counseling of faculty deans and directors of colleges that train educators to work in preschool is organized by the “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care” Project. This project provides support to the Ministry of Education in implementing the program concepts of “Godine Uzleta” and improving the fairness, availability, and quality of preschool education.

The gathering was attended by directors, deans, and professors of higher education institutions that implement study programs for initial teacher education, representatives of the National Accreditation Body and the Accreditation Commission, representatives of the National Education Council, trade unions, professional associations, as well as students and teachers from preschool institutions.

During the two-day consultation, Ph.D. Zivka Krnjaja from the Department of Preschool Pedagogy, Department of Pedagogy, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, spoke about the change in the relationship between theory and practice in the initial education of educators and presented final recommendations. These recommendations aim to adapt the study program/course in accordance with the Competency Standards for the profession of educators and their professional development, and the Basics of the preschool education program. They also emphasize the realization of professional practice in the training room in cooperation between the higher education institution and the preschool institution.

Ph.D. Lidija Vujicic from the Center for Childhood Research at the Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Rijeka, spoke about the integration of theory and practice in the initial education of teachers at their faculty and the activities of the Center for Childhood Research. The participants had the opportunity to learn about the process of transforming practice at the University of Rijeka, which focused on a competent educator.

Zorica Kovacevic, Ph.D., from the Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Belgrade, and Assistant Ivana Dimitrijevic from the College of Vocational Studies for Educators and Business Informatics – Sirmium in Sremska Mitrovica, spoke about their experiences in piloting the “PROTOTIP” model for the realization of student practice in the training room in cooperation with a preschool institution. Practitioners from Kindergarten “Zvezdica,” PU Sremska Mitrovica, and Kindergarten “Mali princ,” PS “Bosko Buha,” Palilula, shared their experiences in piloting the “PROTOTIP” model, and students also provided insights into piloting this model.

The pilot model “PROTOTIP” aims to develop an approach to learning through the unity of theory and practice in the initial education of teachers. It also seeks to connect the quality of initial education of teachers with the development of the quality of practice in kindergarten. The goal can be achieved through restructuring the existing way of realizing student practice in the study program and through the joint action of higher education teachers, students, and practitioners on the initiated changes in the practice of the kindergarten in accordance with the current concept of the Foundations of the “Godine Uzleta” program.

In the continuation of the consultation, Ph.D. Aleksandar Stojanovic from the Faculty of Teacher Education of the University of Belgrade led a panel discussion on the possibilities, challenges, and solutions for the implementation of recommendations at universities and colleges. Panel participants, in addition to experts from the project, included Ph.D. Irena Ilic Golubovic from the Faculty of Pedagogy in Jagodina, Slobodanka Radosavljevic, president of the Association of Serbian Educators, Svetlana Radovic from the College of Vocational Studies for Teacher Education in Novi Sad, Branko Boskovic from the National Body for Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education, and student Andjela Milic from the Faculty of Teacher Education at the University of Belgrade. During the panel discussion, it was noticeable that all higher education institutions are motivated to continue working on improving the quality of the initial education of teachers. Activities to enhance and modernize the initial education of teachers, initiated by both the Ministry and higher education institutions, are synchronized and in synergy. They are guided by a common goal, which is to create a competent educator for the 21st century.

Ph.D. Vesna Colic, a professor of vocational studies at the Vocational College of Teacher Education in Novi Sad, provided an overview of the Standards for Accreditation of study programs in the light of a content analysis of the alignment of content and outcomes in key subjects of study programs that educate teachers with the Standards of Teacher Competence. She announced consultations with members of the Accreditation Commission through which proposals for the revision of Accreditation Standards would be reached.

The impression of the participants in the consultation is that through discussions, they contributed to charting a further path of change that strengthens the community of 16 colleges and universities that educate educators as a strong training ground for further joint reflection and change management.

The Ministry of Education, as part of the project “Inclusive Preschool Education and Care,” with the financial support of the World Bank, provides support for the improvement of the initial education

You can see the photos here.