Higher Education In Serbia Research Articles

Nihil Obstat – Medieval Roaming оf Higher Education in Serbia

This work is an assessment of three topics considered in Dušan Rakitić’s article (Anali 1/2022). All three are relevant for the discussion of the disputed issue of the Holy Synod’s blessings for the appointment of theology professors at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Orthodox Theology: (a) legislation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia; (b) the provisions of the 2006 Serbian Law on Churches and Religious Communities; (c) the constitutional principle of the cooperative separation of church and state in the Constitution of Serbia. Furthermore, the 2021 Law on Amendments to the Law on Higher Education is not in compliance with the Constitution of Serbia regarding the provisions implying the consent of church bodies for enrollment of students, employment and loss of appointment pertinent to the Faculty of Orthodox Theology.

НАСТАВНИ ПЛАНОВИ ОСНОВНИХ АКАДЕМСКИХ СТУДИЈА СОЦИОЛОГИЈЕ НА ФИЛОЗОФСКОМ ФАКУЛТЕТУ У НИШУ

The article provides an overview of the curricula implemented at the Department of Sociology starting from its foundation until now. A detailed analysis indicates the trends in the development of the study of sociology and the basic issues the department has faced through various periods. Similarly, we have attempted to detect the main results and achievements of these processes, as well as the development of sociological thought and higher education in Serbia and the world. The refinement of the bachelor studies of sociology curricula has had the intention of contributing to a modern approach to the study of social phenomena and a complete transfer of knowledge in the domain of sociology.

University classes during the state of emergency in Serbia introduced after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis: Students’ attitudes

The state of emergency was declared in Serbia in the spring of 2020 due to the pandemic of the new disease, COVID-19. As a result, distance learning was introduced for the first time at Serbian universities - online learning in utterly specific crisis circumstances caused by the outbreak of the pandemic of a completely unknown infectious disease. This model of learning was adjusted to that fact in the form of emergency remote teaching. The paper presents the results of examining the attitudes of female students of teacher education faculties in Serbia regarding the efficiency and sustainability of the distance learning model in which they gained experience. The sample included 399 female students, who completed an online survey designed for the purposes of this research. The results of the survey showed the strengths and weaknesses of distance learning as a formerly untapped potential in higher education in Serbia, which specifically refers to the teaching model applied during the state of emergency introduced due to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, the differences in the knowledge of digital technologies by the professors came to the fore in terms of the methods that the professors used in their work. The results suggest that distance learning can be a useful tool in the process of knowledge transfer in higher education, but that final year students are most affected by the inability to acquire knowledge in practice that cannot be virtually compensated, which is a very important step in their work training, as well as the pronounced general problem of lack of social interaction and meeting social needs, arising as a result of the pandemic. In contrast, increased leisure time and health reasons stand out as the main advantages of the new teaching model, which is significantly characterized by the crisis environment.

Academic Performance and Physical Activities as Positive Factors for Life Satisfaction among University Students

Life satisfaction influences sustainable personal growth among students by ensuring that they more firmly apply themselves in their education. Universities represent an environment where students may improve their life satisfaction through better academic performance and being engaged in extracurricular sport. This study evaluates life satisfaction (LS) among university students, 18 to 28 years of age to confirm whether academic performance, involvement in sports and physical activity are factors relating to higher levels of LS among university students. The study uses the Brief Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale. Over a three-year timeframe, a questionnaire was administered to a sample of 875 students across areas of study in institutions of higher education in Serbia. The data were analyzed using Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests. LS among students is found to be significantly improved under the following conditions: removing the burden to pay for one’s tuition, having a better Grade Point Average (GPA) as well as being involved in sport. Moreover, the optimum level of physical activity to positively affect LS is found to be four to five hours a week.

Online Assessment in the Light of Covid-19-Imposed Changes in Higher Education in Serbia

Online Assessment in the Light of Covid-19-Imposed Changes in Higher Education in Serbia

Perspektive univerzitetskih nastavnika o kvalitetu nastave na daljinu u vanrednoj situaciji - situacija u Srbiji tokom pandemije kovida 19

The study deals with the quality of emergency remote teaching (ERT) during the COVID-19 pandemic in higher education in Serbia. We aimed to explore how university teachers assess the quality of ERT and whether their assessments are related to their previous online teaching experiences and their beliefs on the potentials of online teaching. The survey included 443 teachers from the University of Belgrade. The findings show that the teachers were not satisfied with the quality of ERT in terms of the interaction with students, students' motivation, and the quality of their engagement during classes. Teachers who had prior experience in online teaching and more positive beliefs regarding the potentials of online teaching/learning, used a greater variety of online tools, teaching methods, and activities during ERT and, in turn, were more satisfied with the quality of online teaching. Therefore, attention should be paid to expanding teachers' knowledge and awareness of the potentials of online teaching/learning as the ERT did not allow for its full potential to be realized.

Service Quality of the Higher Vocational Education

Research Question: The paper will investigate the service quality of the higher education provided by the higher schools of vocational studies using SERVQUAL methodology. Motivation: The paper will show the characteristics of higher education of vocational studies, and it will point out the significance of creating and maintaining a quality management system in higher education institutions. The new reform of higher education in Serbia and establishment of academies of vocational studies are the main reasons why the question of service quality becomes one of the most important issues for higher education institutions and basis for competitive advantage, better image and reputation. Also, a growing competition on the higher education market and a smaller number of prospective students are also problems which higher vocational schools are faced with. Idea: The goal of this research is to find the differences between expected and perceived service quality. Furthermore, the paper will show if there are differences between perceived service quality among the students of different study years, as well as differences between the students with State scholarship and the self-funded students. Data: The research included 244 students of the first, second, and third years of bachelor studies from higher schools of vocational studies in Novi Sad, significant and the second-largest educational centre in the Republic of Serbia. Tools: Statistical methods used in this paper are frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, while the hypotheses are tested using the paired sample t-test, the independent t-test, and the one-factor variance analysis – ANOVA. Findings: The results of the research show that service quality of higher vocational education does not meet students' expectations (sig.<0,001) and that the gap is negative for all dimensions of service quality (Tangibles (-.32), Reliability (-.52), Responsiveness (-.49), Assurance (-.33), and Empathy(-.26)). It is also shown by this research that there are no differences in higher education service quality based on the status of students (sig.>0.05) and the year of studying (sig.>0.05). Contribution: The results can be used as basis for introducing further measures to improve the quality of service provided by higher vocational institutions.

Public and private higher education institutions in Serbia: Legal regulations, current status and opinion survey

AbstractThis article provides insight into the state of higher education in Serbia, particularly in the context of reform processes based on European Higher Education Area principles. A multidimensional approach was taken, encompassing (a) a review and analysis of legal regulations relevant to the historical context of Serbia, (b) an examination of current working conditions at accredited state and private higher education institutions, (c) and a pilot survey of attitudes among the main participants in higher education teaching. The research gauged attitudes of university professors and students with work or study experiences, respectively, at both state and private higher education institutions. Specific instruments for measuring attitudes were constructed for this study. Professors' attitudes toward state and private higher education were compared through the assessment of aspects of organisational culture including work organisation, stimulating atmosphere, innovation, and creativity. Students expressed their attitudes toward state and private higher education in terms of general atmosphere, curricula, grading criteria, and student status. The results indicate that private higher education was appreciated slightly more than state higher education; both professors and students held more positive attitudes of private higher education for all dimensions investigated.

TRANSFORMATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN HIGHER EDUCATION OF SERBIA IN TERMS OF SMART LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Learning and education in higher education in the conditions of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) are experiencing rapid transformation. New technologies, first of all the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data technology, Virtual and Augmentative reality (VR and AR) and Artificial Intelligence are creating the conditions for radical changes in the learning and education landscape and boost the transition towards the next paradigm of learning and education, presented by smart learning environment. These technologies not only accelerate, facilitate and intensify the learning and education process, but also transform the learning and education process, penetrating the essence of the relationship between the teaching staff and the students and have a far-reaching impact on the role of teachers and the overall organizational culture in higher education institutions. The paper explains the concept, division and dynamics of organizational culture in higher education in Serbia, analyses the smart learning environment, compares the advantages and challenges in relation to e-learning and explains the possible model of smart learning environment from the aspect of interaction with organizational culture at universities. The aim of this paper is to determine the opportunities, challenges and perspectives of a smart learning environment and its impact on organizational culture in higher education institutions.

Održivost u visokom obrazovanju - poređenje azijsko-pacifičkog regiona i Srbije

Mankind is slowly and painfully realizing that sustainability is very complicated in the current patterns of human lives. The fact that a billion times smaller enemy (virus) can put all the achievements of the previous civilization to the test testifies to how powerless man is before nature. Regardless of environmental and humanitarian problems, there is hope that man will be able to react in the right way, with a greater understanding of the dynamics of natural and social processes. So, to survive, it is necessary to expand knowledge, it is necessary to find the right path to sustainability. Dissemination of knowledge helps to raise the environmental awareness of man, and it is necessary at the very beginning of the education of each individual, to introduce knowledge about sustainable development and the ways of the same. With the maturation of the individual, knowledge needs to be increased until the moment when the person himself decides on higher education. The paper represents a modest contribution to achieving the path of sustainability, pointing out the importance of education in higher education institutions with the aim of understanding the importance of how inseparable man is from nature and how much he depends on it. Therefore, the authors present the practice of higher education from the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, aimed at understanding the importance of higher education for sustainable development. The authors will refer to Higher Education in Serbia as well as how the understanding of sustainability in education is encouraged.

From gender blind to gender inclusive higher education in Serbia: Gender mainstreaming action plans

Subject of this analysis is the higher education in Serbia, in which the dialectic of patriarchy and emancipation exists in a specific manner. The mentioned dialectic has represented a general locus of gender relations in contemporary time, but, however, has had different manifestations in different societies and various spheres of societal life in each society and globally. The background presupposition is that this dialectic has also been on agenda generally in contemporary higher education, but, again, with significant differences depending on historical-political-cultural specificities of particular educational modalities. Focus will be on the higher education in Serbia, which still has been significantly determined within all its dimensions with a patriarchal matrix. In spite of vivid emancipatory shifts in Serbian higher education, there has obviously still existed horizontal and vertical gender segregation, gender imbalance in governmental structures, gender blind curricula and textbooks for knowledge production. Strategic aims and paths of gender mainstreaming in Serbian higher education are considered in this article. Starting from the statement that this process presuppose all-encompassing structural changes, these authors offer the model of gender action plan (GEP), which could serve as the basis for creating policies of the higher education gender mainstreaming in Serbia. This model is based on action plans which have been developed in projects of European Commission (EC) and European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), and which imply - structural changes from ?above?, which then could initiate changes from ?below? for the purpose of gender mainstreaming and essential advancement of the quality of higher education.

Osnove upravljanja poslovnim procesima u visokom obrazovanju

For more than a decade, the primary field of research is the study of market orientation as an institutional way to improve student-university relations. Market orientation is linked to the possibility of creating sustainable superior value for consumers, thus creating a competitive advantage, as well as a higher institutional impact. However, the level of market orientation and levels of governance with an emphasis on market orientations are alarmingly low in higher education institutions. Despite the interest in this concept in the developed world, higher education in Serbia foresees the need for change. The research in this paper should refer to the concept in terms of construction and how management can be applied as a successful strategy for educational institutions.

Stručno usavršavanje profesora poslovnog engleskog jezika - perspektiva profesora

This paper looks at the professional development of Business English teachers at institutions of higher education in Serbia. The current situation regarding the possibilities for improving these teachers' competencies is unsatisfactory, and in view of this, the study sought to analyze their attitudes and needs in order to suggest guidelines for creating an adequate model of professional development. The sample comprised 30 teachers, and a questionnaire was used as a research instrument. The results indicate that teachers' attitudes coincide with contemporary trends in the area of professional development, at the same time highlighting deficiencies in the current system of professional development in Serbia. A new model of professional development should make it possible for teachers to improve their general and professional competencies as identified through needs analysis; it should be based on collaboration not only between teachers but between all actors in education, should include mechanisms of monitoring the application of new knowledge, and make more extensive use of virtual forms of development. The value of the paper is in its potential for practical application, since it provides crucial information for creating a relevant and effective model of professional development for Business English teachers. The paper can also be used as a starting point for further research in the area of professional development of teachers of foreign languages for specific purposes more generally.

Teme iz medicinske sociologije na stranicama Sociološkog pregleda

The paper presents research results about the representation of medical sociology topics in the journal Sociološki pregled/Sociological Review from 1938 to 2017. It offers a classification of the thematic fields of published papers. Starting from the hypothesis that the situation in periodicals reflects the development level of an academic discipline and in view of the duration of the period considered here, the paper concludes that medical sociology remains an inadequately developed branch of sociology in Serbia, unlike one of its sub-disciplines - sociology of mental health, which is the result of traditional academic reasons and the difference in their representation at institutions of higher education in Serbia.

Gender mainstreaming in legal education in Serbia: A pilot analysis of curricula and textbooks

The general aim of this paper is to initiate a long-lasting systemic process of reviewing higher education in Serbia from a gender-sensitive point of view, and to offer initial input for building action plans and policies oriented towards this goal. The main focus is on analyzing legal studies from a gender-sensitive point of view and on initiating gender mainstreaming within law schools. However, this paper can aspire only to modest achievements, dealing solely with preliminary research of legal studies, with a limited but a representative sample. Namely, only two accredited study programs at two public university faculties of law in Serbia - at the Faculty of Law in Belgrade and the Faculty of Law in Nis - were taken into consideration. This pilot analysis is based on an established methodology for gender-sensitive analysis of curricula as well as of syllabi and textbooks for certain legal courses. The mentioned methodology introduces specific gender-sensitive indicators as well as three categories for assessing learning outcomes of study programs, syllabi and textbooks: gender-negative, gender-neutral, and gender-sensitive. The focus of the investigation was on of the following courses: Sociology of Law, Constitutional Law, Family Law, Labor Law, and Criminal Law. The meaning and importance of gender mainstreaming in law schools is explained in the Introduction. The normative and strategic framework for gender mainstreaming in higher education in Serbia is presented in the second chapter. The main focus of analysis - the reconsideration of curricula and textbooks from a gender perspective - is elaborated through the following three chapters: the third chapter explores the main indicators of the gender-sensitive analysis of legal education; the fourth is devoted to the analytical framework and methodology of investigation; chapter five presents the research results and their interpretation. The concluding notes clarify discrepancies between the normative and strategic international and national framework for gender mainstreaming of higher education, on the one hand, and the given state of affairs in Serbian legal education, on the other. The text includes recommendations for gender action plans, which could contribute to the improvement of legal and higher education in general.

Serbian Students Assessing Higher Education in Serbia and Abroad

The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of higher education systems at different universities. Students who had experience of studying abroad (N= 45) and those who did not have that experience (N= 46) assessed the extent to which education at higher education institutions embedded flexibility, teamwork, collegiality, creativity, cooperation, openness, competitiveness, critical thinking, cognitive skills, knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit in the education process. In addition, the study examined to what extent education at these institutions is characterized by quality, interactivity, an objective system of grading and the professors' availability. Results have shown that students with experience of having studied abroad evaluated the features of studying abroad significantly higher than the features of studying in their home country. These differences in findings were discussed in the context of the theoretical and practical implications relating to an effective higher education system.

Overcoming digital divides in higher education: Digital literacy beyond Facebook

The accelerated development of Information and Communications Technology has had a profound impact on the education system, both online and offline. In a South East European country such as Serbia, new technologies shape information, communication, and collaboration dynamics while contributing to a persistent digital divide regarding the skills necessary to obtain, process, evaluate, and communicate information. In this article, we explore digital divides between students and teachers in higher education with a focus on tensions surrounding digital literacy and collaboration. We apply Weber’s theory of stratification to an empirical case study of the digital divide in higher education in Serbia. We draw upon international indicators, secondary statistical sources, and primary semi-structured interviews with students and teachers in higher education. Through this analysis, we illustrate how forms of stratification intervene when trying to integrate new technologies and technology-oriented practices into the classroom. We consider stratification in terms of the traditional digital divide of access as well as stratification along lines of status, politics, and motivations. We interpret educators’ reluctance to adopt new technology as a reaction to the technology’s capacity to challenge the educators’ legitimacy, expertise, and preferred teaching materials. Students compound this situation with both greater familiarity and yet less focus on source credibility.

The Reactions of Universities to Imposing New a Institutional Pattern: The Case of Higher Education in Serbia

The paper is aiming to discover the shape of universities’ reactions to imposing a new institutional pattern of structure and functioning. The answer to this question is sought through analyzing of the accreditation process in higher education in Serbia. This paper analyzes the way in which universities and faculties reacted to the requirements for implementation of the accreditation standards. Research findings have shown that the universities reacted in four basic ways: full implementation; modified implementation; partial implementation by elements, time, space, and level; and rejection of implementation.

Quality assurance in veterinary education in Serbia and EU: Constructive alignment in curriculum design

Veterinary medicine is a profession of public importance and strictly regulated profession, which means that veterinarians are highly qualified staff, which is studied veterinary medicine curriculum aligned to national and EU standards at university level. The curriculum of veterinary medicine is by nature a curriculum focused on student competencies. In order to students acquire the necessary competencies, it is necessary to do constructive alignment of curricula that include: precise definition of learning outcomes, the use of optimal learning process for the adoption of competence as well as a scoring system derived from the learning outcomes that are guaranteed by the curriculum. All of this represents new needs in the veterinary higher education in Serbia and the region. Teaching skills have to be improved because Veterinary medicine is kind of trade, science, art and philosophy.

Higher educational system of the Republic of Serbia in support of sustainable development: Challenges of the EU integration

The paper examines the system of higher education in the Republic of Serbia in the context of educational paradigms and the development of the innovation and knowledge-based national economy. The subject of the research is higher education in Serbia in a life-long learning perspective as an essential component in achieving smart growth, capable enough to become a competent part of the European Higher Education Area. The aim of this paper is to examine the current situation in this area and the achievements of the new Strategy for Development of Education in Serbia by 2020 in the context of the expansion of higher education on the global level, as well as to emphasize the responsibility towards future generations for development of a more modern system of education based on the creativity of all participants in the learning process. In conclusion, the paper points out that the developmental orientation of educational system in the Republic of Serbia is building a new model of higher education.