Serbia

Pedagogical institutes and in-service teacher training centers in Serbia were closed in 1991. For the next 10 years, the Ministry of Education provided no systematic in-service education. However, the Ministry offered one or two seminars and workshops per year to teachers as refresher courses in specific subject areas. Initial teacher preparation has been provided by a variety of institutions. Preschool teachers receive two years of post secondary training either in specialized teacher preparation schools or in university faculties. Primary teachers of the first four grades attend teacher training colleges for four years and primary teachers of grades 5-8 also complete four years of tertiary education, covering the relevant disciplines in which they will teach. Primary teachers of music and the arts receive training in post secondary art schools (for both music and the arts) that offer specialized training. Secondary level teachers receive four years of higher education in arts and science faculties with special courses in education and teaching methodology integrated with their studies plus a semester of practice teaching during the year before they graduate. Educators at the tertiary level—assistants, docents, faculty professors, regular professors, and extraordinary professors—obtain their higher education (and research training, depending on the level of education and area of expertise) in university undergraduate and post-graduate programs. Those interested in promotion to the highest positions must obtain the Doktor Nauka (Doctor of Science) degree in the appropriate fields of higher education and research. All teachers at the tertiary level must receive some form of specialized training.

New efforts in the late 1990s to increase the skills of teachers through in-service training were provided mainly by nongovernmental organizations and international agencies in Serbia, offering basic education teachers training in active learning methods, democratic and multicultural education, psychosocial rehabilitation, and children's rights. UNICEF programs run cooperatively with the Ministry of Education trained about 5,000 teachers in active teaching and learning, about 15,000 teachers in nonviolent conflict resolution skills, and about 10,000 in methods of providing psychosocial support and assistance in difficult circumstances; about 1,000 preschool teachers received training from UNICEF in more flexible, innovative, child-centered teaching methodologies.