Teacher Education in Yugoslavia

Abstract

Summary In the framework of his overall description of the Yugoslav system for teacher training, the author identifies both points at which it resembles other—including Western—systems and those features which are characteristic of Yugoslavia. The former include the steady upgrading of training for the younger age‐levels, the search for the right balance of components of training programmes, a growing stress upon in‐service training, and a (necessary) response to economic constraints. A feature shared with systems in other Socialist countries is the emphasis on social and political education; courses in Marxist philosophy contribute to training programmes. The features which are identified as more especially characteristic of Yugoslavia are, first, the autonomy of the six Republics (and two autonomous regions within the Republic of Serbia) which make up the Federal state. Education generally and teacher education specifically is a Republic/region responsibility, and the author spells out some of the implications. Secondly, there is a uniqueness to the socio‐political context: the system described is related to the socialist self‐management model of Yugoslavia, a model set apart, according to the author, from both other, State‐managed, Socialist economies and from profit‐motivated Western economies. A third point is that all Secondary education in Yugoslavia is vocationally oriented. The author ends with an emphasis on the importance of humane values: the importance of the training of teachers of the very young, teachers to cope with new technologies and to cope with the social consequences—for example, education for leisure—which may come in their wake.