EXPERIENCES FROM THE TEMPUS PROJECT: HARMONIZATION OF PRESCHOOL TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULA IN SERBIA
EXPERIENCES FROM THE TEMPUS PROJECT: HARMONIZATION OF PRESCHOOL TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULA IN SERBIA

Summary/Abstract: The paper presents the outcomes of the activities carried out withinthe three-year-project Harmonization of Preschool TeacherEducation Curricula in Serbia, implemented within the TEMPUSprogram including 8 partners from Serbia and EU, in the periodbetween December 2013 and December 2016. The main aim of theproject was to harmonize preschool teacher curricula in Serbia andto modernize it through exchanges with EU partners according toidentification of desirable competencies which are supposed topermeate a modern preschool teacher education curriculum. Havingcompared the existing curricula and consulted the relevant literature,the legislative framework of the preschool teacher training in Serbia,as well as all the stakeholders, i.e. students and the world of labour,the team of experts within the project identified eleven areas in whichkey generic competencies were classified. These areas are as follows:professional competence for the organization of learning andteaching, including ability to develop program and activitiesstimulating and supporting development in each upbringingeducationalfield included in preschool curriculum, i.e. speechdevelopment, literacy, basic mathematical and science notions,development of motor skills, music, visual art, as well as creativity;professional competence for team work; professional competence forplanning, monitoring and documentation of educational activities;organizational skills and pedagogical guidance of groups; knowledgeof developmental and learning needs of children; knowledge of thesystem of preschool education; ability to use information andcommunication technologies in education; ability to plan one’s ownprofessional development; specific competences, knowledge andskills – arts, music, speech, drama, physical and health preservationcompetence; social inclusion, difference and diversity andtransferable/transversal, i.e. soft skills. These main areas ofcompetence are further elaborated into more specific competencies.The mere list of the identified main areas preschool teachers should be competent in makes the profession complex and demanding,imposing serious challenges on higher education institutions providing their pre-service and in-service education, training and professional development.

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