The aim of this research is to determine the characteristics of the questionnaire for teacher burnout. In this study, Teacher Burnout questionnaire developed by Wrench et al. was used. The survey was conducted in May 2022. The sample consisted of 103 teachers. Cronbach alpha was 0.974. The results showed that the surveyed teachers experience low burnout (M = 31.53, SD = 17.89). Although being a mentor or the years of experience did not prove to be a statistically significant parameter, it is noticed that teachers who are not involved in mentoring activities express a higher feeling of burnout than mentors. Teachers who have between 11 and 30 years of experience show the signs of burnout; even young teachers (up to 5 years of service) report feeling burnout to some degree. The obtained results should be seen as indicators for next changes in the Serbian education system in terms of reducing the demands placed on teachers, especially administrative tasks. Therefore, the main recommendation is aimed at the education policy makers to take into account as many parameters as possible when introducing new changes, especially an underlying risk for teachers’ burnout.
Keyword(s) : Serbia
Students’ Opinion of Gifted Education and Teaching Profession
Gifted education is specific and requires extensive investment from teachers to respond to their
students’ cognitive and social needs. Due to the link between beliefs and behaviors, teachers’ views
on this issue are often monitored to ensure that gifted students receive educational opportunities
appropriate to their learning needs. This paper presents student teachers’ attitudes to gifted education
and their perception of the teaching profession. It was considered essential to look at how future
teachers relate to the teaching profession to prevent possible problems and better respond to gifted
students’ needs. Eighty-three students of the Teacher Education Faculty, University of Belgrade,
participated in the research. A customized Gagné and Nadeau questionnaire Attitudes towards the
gifted and their education and a customized questionnaire Teacher job satisfaction were used. The
results showed that students have favorable opinion of gifted education in Serbia. Thus, positive
thinking and the theoretical concepts related to gifted education they studied will be appropriately
incorporated into their teaching practice. It also shows that these students are sensitive to other
groups of students with disabilities. A significant belief was that ‘Children with disabilities have
the greatest need for special educational programs.’ The research showed that students are satisfied
with the social position and opportunities for advancement that the teaching profession offers them,
while they are somewhat more dissatisfied with society’s economic position. The positive results are
encouraging because they indicate the existence and maintenance of a positive trend toward Serbia’s
gifted education.
Challenges of initial teacher education in the context of higher education reform in Serbia
In the last few decades, many European countries have introduced changes in the regulation of
education and higher education systems, accepting the provisions of the Bologna Declaration. The
purpose of this declaration is to create a single European Higher Education Area with comparable
and compatible academic standards and quality assurance standards across Europe. Serbia
subscribed to these changes in 2003 reforming its higher education system in accordance with
the declarations. Study modules have been reformed with the aim of achieving higher quality and
more applied knowledge of students. The changes that have taken place have been reflected in the
fundamental goal of an initial teacher education to create quality graduate teachers who are able
to ensure high quality learning outcomes for all the children and young people with whom they
work. The aim of this paper is to examine the effects and the challengies of initial teacher education
in the context of higher education reform in Serbia. The changes that have occurred need to be
seen from three angles: the initial education being implemented in several faculties within the six
state universities; professional teacher training and self-evaluation and quality management of the
teaching process. In the Republic of Serbia initial teacher education is realized in several forms. The
primary form of initial teacher education is carried out at teaching faculties while the secondary
form of initial teacher education is through the training of teachers, which is regulated by law. Some
of the difficulties faced by initial teacher education programs are: the competitiveness of teaching
careers with other careers that are better paid. The results in a lower student response, but also affects
the funding of the teaching faculty itself. Taking into account the importance of education and its
impact on society, it is necessary to monitor changes in the field of teacher education continuously
and systematically in order to find ways to overcome various challenges and difficulties.