Bridging the Gap between Teachers’ Initial Education and Induction: Case Study of Serbia / Premošćivanje jaza između početnog obrazovanja nastavnika i uvođenja u profesiju pomoću stručno-pedagoške prakse: studija slučaja u Srbiji Stručno-pedagoška praksa

Abstract Student teachers’ school practice is an important part of initial teacher education (ITE) as it bridges the gap between ITE and subsequent induction and professional development. Since recently, school practice has been obligatory in Serbia as part of ITE. However, this development faces many challenges. We examine the results of a survey carried out to find out how school practice is organized at 44 faculty departments that educate future teachers at the four biggest state universities in Serbia. The results show that the requirements and organization of student teachers’ school practice vary across different faculties and that the outcomes and the content of the student teachers’ school practices are not aligned with the new demands of the teaching profession. Differences are found between departments educating class teachers and subject teachers, yet intra-group differences are high, indicating overall fragmentation of ITE in this respect. All surveyed departments report on a lack of essential cooperation between the faculty and practice schools, insufficient duration of student practice and a lack of human resources. As a response to the state of affairs in ITE in Serbia, we discuss a “practice school” model, aiming to overcome the gap between the academic part of ITE and student practice, as well as the initial challenges of this model. Key words: faculty-school cooperation; initial teacher education; practice schools; student teachers’ school practice. --- Sažetak Strucno-pedagoska praksa koju pohađaju buduci nastavnici važan je dio njihova pocetnog obrazovanja (PON) jer premoscuje jaz između PON-a i njihova kasnijeg uvođenja u profesiju, kao i profesionalnog razvoja. Donedavno je strucno-pedagoska praksa bila obvezna u Srbiji te je cinila neizostavan dio PON-a. Međutim, taj je razvoj suocen s mnogim izazovima. Istražujemo rezultate studije provedene kako bi se utvrdilo na koji je nacin strucno-pedagoska praksa organizirana u 44 fakultetska odsjeka koji obrazuju buduce nastavnike na cetiri najveca državna sveucilista u Srbiji. Rezultati pokazuju da se uvjeti i organizacija strucno-pedagoske prakse razlikuju od fakulteta do fakulteta i da ishodi i sadržaj strucno-pedagoske prakse nisu usklađeni s novim zahtjevima nastavnicke profesije. Nailazimo na razlike između odsjeka na kojima se obrazuju ucitelji razredne nastave i predmetni nastavnici, no i razlike unutar skupina su velike te ukazuju na opcu fragmentaciju PON-a. Svi proucavani odsjeci izvjestavaju o nedostatku osnovne suradnje između fakulteta I skola vježbaonica, nedovoljnom trajanju prakse i nedostatku ljudskih resursa. Kao odgovor na to razmatramo model „skole vježbaonice“ s ciljem nadilaženja jaza između akademskog dijela PON-a i strucno-pedagoske prakse te istražujemo pocetne izazove tog modela. Kljucne rijeci: pocetno obrazovanje nastavnika; strucno-pedagoska praksa; suradnja između fakulteta i skole; skole vježbaonice.