ISSN 2039-2117 (online)
ISSN 2039-9340 (print)
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences
MCSER Publishing, Rome-Italy
Vol 7 No 5
September 2016
138
The Main Problems and the Role of Teachers in the
Transformation of Education in Serbia
Marko Atlagic
The University of Mitrovica, Faculty of Philosophy, Serbia; atlagicmarko@gmail.com
Zvezdana Elezovic
Institute of Serbian Culture Leposavic, Serbia; zvezdana.el@gmail.com
Vesna Minic
The University of Mitrovica, The Faculty of Teacher Education, Serbia; vesna.minic@pr.ac.rs
Doi:10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n5p138
Abstract
This paper discusses the issue of the reform of education in the Republic of Serbia, which should be carried out on democratic
grounds. The authors advocate the transformation of the entire education system on democratic grounds. The reform has to be
fast, thorough, and democratic. The teacher has to play the central role in this strategic plan. Therefore, the role of the teacher
should be transformed from an indifferent or authoritarian teacher into one with a democratic approach, who will cooperate with
students in the planning, execution, and implementation of the educational process. For this role of teachers, it is necessary to
utmostly improve his/her professional and pedagogical development.
Keywords: education, teacher, pedagogue, reform
Introduction 1.
In the past half century, many reforms have come and gone. Each of them left, among other things, a positive sign,
brought changes, but there has been only few reforms whose strategy was carefully designed, and even a smaller
number of those that were fully implemented. None of them has been able to be, in a true sense, democratic,
educational, and scientifically based (Strategy, 2012). Moreover, no reform, to date, has managed to solve the problem of
adequate financing of this very important activity. Regardless of it, education has become, more or less, a generator of
the progressive development of society (Pastuovic, 2012).
Pedagogical sciences were late, and are late today as well, in providing answers to many open pedagogical
questions, both those from the domain of the concept of the education system, and those within the scope of its internal
organization. Therefore, the reform of education must be entered into democratically, scientifically based, and very
courageously, and without hesitation. The reform must be democratic, radical, and comprehensive. In the first phase of
implementation, the reform should include faculties of education and other faculties. Then economic and educational
prerequisites should gradually be created for a reaffirmation of the educational role of the school and society, especially
the pedagogical profession, which has been neglected in the last two decades in the Serbian society. The pedagogical
institutes and faculties of education should not be excluded from making the concept and implementing the reform of
education. Never has it been more necessary than today to face the social and pedagogical reality, to critically reexamine
our experiences, without any overestimation or underestimation of any model of education. Never has it been more
necessary than today to affirm the system of permanent professional and pedagogical training of education workers
(Exposé, 2014). First of all, we need a rebellion of truth about the state of Serbian educational system, because we can
no longer leave students on an educational astray.
Method 2.
Our research on the subject of this scientific work belongs to the fundamental or basic research dealing with the study of