The Future of Education

Preschool teacher education in Serbia is realized at high vocational schools (Preschool Teacher Training Colleges) and faculties. The reform of higher education has resulted in significant changes in the level and duration of studies, structure and content of study programs. Preschool Teacher Training and Business Informatics College of Applied Studies – Sirmium in Sremska Mitrovica continues long tradition of teacher and preschool teacher education in the region of Srem. It took active part in the process of harmonization and modernization of curriculum and participated in core modules for obligatory and elective courses development within the scope of the "Harmonization of Preschool Teacher Education Curricula in Serbia" (TEACH) project. The project was realized from 2013 to2016. Four Preschool Teacher Training Colleges from Serbia (Vršac, Novi Sad, Kruševac and Sremska Mitrovica) participated in the project, in partnership with the Metropolitan University of Manchester (United Kingdom), the Faculty of Pedagogy of the University of Maribor (Slovenia), the Preschool Teacher Training College from Baja (Hungary) and the Western Balkan Institute WEBIN from Belgrade (Serbia), with the financial support of the European Commission. Cooperation with other Preschool Teacher Training Colleges in the region and EU partners during the implementation of the project has improved the process of harmonization and made preschool teacher education responsive to labour market demands and strengthened the links with local community. The authors of this paper present the results of the harmonization of preschool teacher education curriculum based on a comparative analysis of the existing study programs, focusing on the outcomes and competences of graduates. In the future Preschool Teacher Training and Business Informatics College will continue the cooperation with other preschool teacher training colleges in Serbia and abroad in order to examine the possibilities of continuous education courses improvement, as well as the possibilities of professional development of preschool teachers which would lead to improvements in the knowledge and skills of early childhood professionals.

Keywords: prechool teacher education, curriculum, outcome, harmonization;