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.