Opportunities and Weaknesses in Professional Development of Teachers at Secondary Schools of Agriculture in Serbia

Abstract

Recent developments in market economies have showed that education and human resource creation are among the top priorities of national strategies and social, economic, and technological progress policies. The common denominator of educational reforms in many European countries is an attempt to set up a flexible system for professional education and development to respond to changes in labour market demands. In 2012, the Serbian Government adopted Serbia’s Education Strategy until 2020. This document provides for professional development of teachers and expert assistants at secondary specialist schools. Some of the projected actions involve working out various models of professional development, primarily teacher practice in their respective professions, carried out in companies or institutions. This document focuses on continuing professional development through various forms of formal and informal education. Success in finding acceptable solutions in food production technology largely depends on educated staff in agriculture and their engagement in transferring their knowledge and technologies to agricultural practice. Secondary school education is most important as it is the education level producing a qualified student who will do a specific job. The aim of this paper is to address to the need and weaknesses in continuing professional development of teachers at secondary schools of agriculture in Serbia. The weaknesses experienced in practice regarding their development are numerous and often hard to overcome. How to recognise these weaknesses and resolve them is the subject matter of this paper. The paper presents the organizational weaknesses of accredited seminars and their evaluation.