Pedagogical-Psychological Subjects in Teacher Education Faculties in Serbia: A Proposal of the Core Curriculum

• Published in: International Journal of Instruction Vol. 14; no. 3; pp. 929 - 944
• Main Authors: Černak, Ruženka Šimonji, Beljanski, Mila
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Gate Association for Teaching and Education 01.07.2021
• Subjects: Content Analysis; Core Curriculum; Developmental Psychology; Foreign Countries; Psychological Studies; Teacher Competencies; Teacher Education Curriculum; Teacher Education Programs; Teaching Methods; Serbia
• ISSN: 1694-609X; 1308-1470
• DOI: 10.29333/iji.2021.14354a

This paper deals with teacher education at pedagogical faculties in Serbia. An analysis of the content of pedagogical and psychological subjects was carried out. Subjects in the current curricula for initial teacher education in seven pedagogical faculties were analyzed. The first objective is to determine whether compulsory pedagogical and psychological subjects enable students to acquire the prescribed competence standards required of teachers. The second objective is to determine if there is a basis for creating a core curriculum in the field of pedagogical and psychological sciences in the existing curricula in terms of compulsory content in all the pedagogical faculties. This content should ensure the achievement of all the competence standards of all future teachers, equally throughout Serbia. For the realization of the set goal and research questions, a method of content analysis was used, with which we analyzed the curricula of the faculty for teacher education. The results showed that the core curriculum should consist of General pedagogy, Didactics, School pedagogy, Family pedagogy and Methodology of pedagogical research in the field of pedagogical sciences. The field of psychological sciences should be represented through General psychology, Developmental psychology and Pedagogical psychology. The core curriculum can contribute to a clear and unambiguous opportunity for the teacher to acquire all the necessary competences for further work.