Dejan Stankovic - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Dejan Stankovic
This paper presents one part of the findings of a research that deals with teachers' percepti... more This paper presents one part of the findings of a research that deals with teachers' perceptions of educational reforms in Serbia. More specifically, the paper focuses on the segment of the research that was aimed at exploring teachers' views on the ways of improving the system and practice of in-service teacher training. Pursuing this topic is very important since the findings of recent studies have shown that this aspect of education system needs considerable improvement, while the authors who deal with educational change point to the importance of consulting the teachers in the development of the new system solutions. The questionnaire was used to collect the data from 326 teachers from 125 Serbian primary schools. The teachers provided answers to open-ended questions on what needs to be done in order to improve the quality of their in-service training. Content analysis was used to process the data - response categories were created inductively on the basis of teachers...
The article presents an analysis of the results of the research aimed at examining the relatednes... more The article presents an analysis of the results of the research aimed at examining the relatedness of the teachers' implicit pedagogies and their initiatives for cooperation with students' parents. The starting hypothesis was that the acceptance of modern pedagogical ideas (new pedagogic paradigm) leads towards more successful initiative of the teachers for the cooperation with their students' parents. The sample included 118 subject teachers and 78 class teachers from elementary schools in Serbia. The procedure included a correlation chart and special assessment scales were construed for examining implicit pedagogies and teacher's readiness for cooperation with parents. The results indicate the lack of the initiative of both groups of teachers for enhanced cooperation with parents as it should be in modern school. The research showed the implicit pedagogies of the teachers are still somewhere between traditional and modern pedagogic ideas. Subject teachers showed lo...
This publication is part of a series which was established in 2001 in order to make available tea... more This publication is part of a series which was established in 2001 in order to make available teaching and learning material specifically for European Studies programmes throughout South Eastern Europe. The series makes public the results of research ...
School Effectiveness and School Improvement
Having in mind that student achievement and interest in subject are some of the most important ed... more Having in mind that student achievement and interest in subject are some of the most important educational goals, and that quality of teaching is the crucial schooling factor influencing them, we examined the contribution of teacher-level variables from the dynamic model of educational effectiveness to student achievement and interest in mathematics and biology. The representative sample included 5,476 students from 125 elementary schools in Serbia and 5,021 parents. Data on student and teacher variables were collected through student and parent questionnaires, while data on prior and current achievement were comprised from students' Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011 scores and national examination results, respectively. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling. The results indicate that teacher factors from the dynamic model did not impact student achievement in mathematics and biology but influenced student interest in both subjects. We offer recommendations for educational policy and directions for further research. KEYWORDS SStudent achievement interest in subject educational effectiveness teacher factors multilevel modeling The work presented in this paper was funded by the European Commission's Comenius project "Improving Educational Effectiveness in Primary Schools" (IEEPS), 538992-LLP-1-2013-1-RS-COMENIUS-CMP, within the European Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP), subprogramme Comenius-Comenius Multilateral Projects. The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. This research was funded by the
Within the framework of the global research project Varieties of Governance: Effective Public Ser... more Within the framework of the global research project Varieties of Governance: Effective Public Service Delivery, undertaken under the umbrella of the Global Development Network, the experts in this Report contributed to the current debate on redesigning the educational system in Romania with their research on the governance setup of educational systems in the region with the final purpose of trying to explain why educational outcomes have remained persistently low, and how they can be improved in Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. The study employed an original methodology, namely the development of an index of effectiveness of quality assurance systems. The authors investigated why students in the region consistently achieve below average results in standardized international tests, provided that the whole institutional architecture – ministry inspectorates, school boards, quality assurance agencies – has the stated mission of assuring quality in...
Postignuće pojedinačnih zemalja na velikim međunarodnim istraživanjima često izaziva značajnu paž... more Postignuće pojedinačnih zemalja na velikim međunarodnim istraživanjima često izaziva značajnu pažnju, pa je važno razmotriti rezultate učenika u odnosu na kurikulume ili nastavne programe zemalja učesnica. Za TIMSS studiju ovaj aspekt je od naročitog značaja jer studija ima za cilj da se utvrdi stepen u kojem su usvojeni sadržaji kurikuluma, tj. nastavnog programa. U tom kontekstu, za razumevanje postignuća učenika postaje značajno u kojoj meri se preklapaju nacionalni kurikulumi/programi i ono što se zahteva TIMSS zadacima. Uzorak čini 13 357 učenika četvrtog razreda iz Srbije, Hrvatske i Slovenije koji su učestvovali u ciklusu TIMSS 2011. Mantel - Haenszel (MH) postupak DIF analize primenjen je na 180 stavki u okviru TIMSS testa iz matematike. Ovi podaci su razmatrani u kontekstu podataka o stepenu saglasnosti nacionalnih kurikuluma/programa sa stavkama TIMSS testa iz matematike, kao i nalazima iz analize sadržaja i ishoda kurikuluma za četvrti razred iz ove tri zemlje. Rezultati ...
Strengthening ties between the school and home ‘front’ is seen as an important strategy for the a... more Strengthening ties between the school and home ‘front’ is seen as an important strategy for the advancement of quality of education, although some findings suggest how schools and its personnel may hold conflicting beliefs regarding parents’ desire and ability to be involved in their children’s schooling. The paper presents results of secondary analysis of 2008 Cross-National Survey of School Principals, a component of research project ‘Advancing Educational Inclusion and Quality in South East Europe’. Analysis was done on a region-wide sample. Findings suggest that several types of school principals’ can be found in regards to their perceptions and beliefs on the issue. Additional analyses were aimed in exploring principal’s attributions of responsibility for home-school communication, specifically their perceptions of parents’ and teachers’ skills and interest for mutual communication. Finally various home-school collaborative practices were discussed in the light of those results...
Studia paedagogica, 2011
DEJAn sTAnkoVIć abstrakt Z literatury o rozvoji a zdokonalení školy plyne, že zvýšená kvalita se ... more DEJAn sTAnkoVIć abstrakt Z literatury o rozvoji a zdokonalení školy plyne, že zvýšená kvalita se dostaví jedině na základě skutečně participativního procesu. Znamená to, že nejen ředitel nebo rada školy jsou povoláni k tvorbě vize školy, identifikaci problémů a plánování rozvoje. Odpovědnost za rozvoj a zdokonalení práce školy a její vedení se dělí mezi různé další lidi ve škole i mimo ni. Úroveň zapojení učitelů do procesů rozvoje školy je dána různými podmínkami-od stabilnějších faktorů, jako jsou osobnostní charakteristiky, ke kontextuálním proměnným, jako jsou normy spolupráce mezi učiteli. Provedli jsme výzkum v 51 základních školách v Srbsku za účasti 385 učitelů s cílem identifikovat faktory a cesty individuálních preferencí při plánování rozvoje školy. Analýza shromážděných dat ukazuje, že vazby mezi učiteli mohou projektům ke zdokonalení práce školy překážet, nebo mohou v průběhu jejich realizace naopak zvyšovat jejich význam a naději na úspěch. Podle výpovědí učitelů tyto projekty především prospěly rozvoji spolupráce a týmové práce, zatímco náznaků, že vedly k další separaci a fragmentaci, bylo relativně málo.
U Srbiji je od 2000. godine sprovedeno vise obrazovnih reformi. Međutim, istraživanja pokazuju da... more U Srbiji je od 2000. godine sprovedeno vise obrazovnih reformi. Međutim, istraživanja pokazuju da među zaposlenima u skolama preovlađuje nezadovoljstvo stanjem u skolskom sistemu. Ovo istraživanje je sprovedeno sa ciljem da se ispitaju misljenja direktora osnovnih skola (DS) i prosvetne administracije i strucnjaka (PAS) o procesu kreiranja i implementacije obrazovnih reformi. Ispitivane su razlike u stavovima prema reformama između ove dve grupe ispitanika i analizirano je da li se njihova evaluacija uspesnosti reformi bazira na razlicitim faktorima. U istraživanje su bili ukljuceni DS iz reprezentativnog uzorka osnovnih skola (N=150) i prigodan uzorak PAS (N=87). Konstruisan je upitnik kojim su ispitivana misljenja ispitanika o tri faze ciklusa javnih politika (identifikovanje i formulisanje problema, implementacija politike i evaluacija politike tj. reforme), kao i o drustvenom kontekstu u kom se reforme odvijaju. Preliminarne analize su pokazale da upitnik meri sledece varijable:...
Zbornik Instituta za pedagoska istrazivanja
Many countries have embarked on creating standards of teacher competencies with the ultimate goal... more Many countries have embarked on creating standards of teacher competencies with the ultimate goal of improving teaching in their schools. The aim of this paper is to compare Standards of teacher competencies in Serbia with those in countries/regions which perform well on PISA (Australia, Singapore, Ontario, Estonia, the Netherlands and Slovenia) in order to highlight important similarities and differences which potentially account for teacher quality in those countries, as well as inform policymakers in Serbia on how to reformulate standards of teacher competencies and, consequently, improve teacher quality and pupil outcomes. The criteria on which sets of standards in different countries are compared are: development of standards (who and how developed the standards), content of standards (subject knowledge, didactics, etc.), differentiation of standards (existence of separate sets of competencies for novice teachers, experienced teachers, etc.), purpose of standards (teacher certi...
Croatian Journal of Education - Hrvatski časopis za odgoj i obrazovanje, 2015
ABSTRACT Practical studies of student teachers have increasingly become an important part of init... more ABSTRACT Practical studies of student teachers have increasingly become an important part of initial teacher education (ITE) thus bridging the gap between ITE and subsequent induction and continuous professional development. Practical studies of student teachers as part of ITE are from recently also required in Serbia, however, this development is facing many challenges. We examine results from a survey on ITE from 44 faculty departments which educate future subject and class teachers. Information about the ways how student teachers’ practical studies are organized from University of Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš and Kragujevac were analysed. The results show that student teachers school practice hours varies from only 4 to around 200 across different faculties and goals, outcomes and content of these courses are not aligned with up to date demands of the teacher profession. Differences are found between departments educating class teachers and those educating subject teachers, but in both of these groups intra-group differences are big, indicating an overall fragmentation of ITE in this respect. At all the surveyed departments respondents report about insufficient human resources in running the courses of practical studies, lack of essential cooperation between the faculty departments and the schools where practical placement takes place and insufficient amount of time student teachers are involved in the teaching process. As a response to the state of affairs in ITE in Serbia, we discuss a “practice school” model, aiming to overcome the gap between the academic part of ITE and school-based teacher practice, as well as the initial challenges of introducing the “practice school” model.
Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 2015
Numerous educational reforms have been initiated in Serbia since 2000. The aim of this study was ... more Numerous educational reforms have been initiated in Serbia since 2000. The aim of this study was to examine education policymaking in Serbia in order to provide policymakers and stakeholders with recommendations on how to minimize pitfalls and increase success of future educational endeavors. In the study, we utilized the education policy cycle heuristic to analyze formation, implementation, and evaluation of three major education policies in Serbia: in-service training of teachers (INSET), school development planning (SDP), and inclusive education (IE). Examining three reforms simultaneously enabled us to identify major characteristics of Serbian policymaking, regardless of the reform content.We also relied on educational change literature, so that we could assess complex contexts of reforms. Finally, considering the importance of school staff during implementation, we examined education policymaking in Serbia through the eyes of over 1,800 teachers, counselors, and principals. The results point out to dissatisfaction of school staff with all aspects of the policymaking in Serbia and with the social and education context. Reforms appear to be undertaken in a similar pattern across different reforms. The findings imply that a thorough examination of both the policymaking in Serbia and communication, organization, and administration within the education system itself is in order.
This paper presents one part of the findings of a research that deals with teachers' percepti... more This paper presents one part of the findings of a research that deals with teachers' perceptions of educational reforms in Serbia. More specifically, the paper focuses on the segment of the research that was aimed at exploring teachers' views on the ways of improving the system and practice of in-service teacher training. Pursuing this topic is very important since the findings of recent studies have shown that this aspect of education system needs considerable improvement, while the authors who deal with educational change point to the importance of consulting the teachers in the development of the new system solutions. The questionnaire was used to collect the data from 326 teachers from 125 Serbian primary schools. The teachers provided answers to open-ended questions on what needs to be done in order to improve the quality of their in-service training. Content analysis was used to process the data - response categories were created inductively on the basis of teachers...
The article presents an analysis of the results of the research aimed at examining the relatednes... more The article presents an analysis of the results of the research aimed at examining the relatedness of the teachers' implicit pedagogies and their initiatives for cooperation with students' parents. The starting hypothesis was that the acceptance of modern pedagogical ideas (new pedagogic paradigm) leads towards more successful initiative of the teachers for the cooperation with their students' parents. The sample included 118 subject teachers and 78 class teachers from elementary schools in Serbia. The procedure included a correlation chart and special assessment scales were construed for examining implicit pedagogies and teacher's readiness for cooperation with parents. The results indicate the lack of the initiative of both groups of teachers for enhanced cooperation with parents as it should be in modern school. The research showed the implicit pedagogies of the teachers are still somewhere between traditional and modern pedagogic ideas. Subject teachers showed lo...
This publication is part of a series which was established in 2001 in order to make available tea... more This publication is part of a series which was established in 2001 in order to make available teaching and learning material specifically for European Studies programmes throughout South Eastern Europe. The series makes public the results of research ...
School Effectiveness and School Improvement
Having in mind that student achievement and interest in subject are some of the most important ed... more Having in mind that student achievement and interest in subject are some of the most important educational goals, and that quality of teaching is the crucial schooling factor influencing them, we examined the contribution of teacher-level variables from the dynamic model of educational effectiveness to student achievement and interest in mathematics and biology. The representative sample included 5,476 students from 125 elementary schools in Serbia and 5,021 parents. Data on student and teacher variables were collected through student and parent questionnaires, while data on prior and current achievement were comprised from students' Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011 scores and national examination results, respectively. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling. The results indicate that teacher factors from the dynamic model did not impact student achievement in mathematics and biology but influenced student interest in both subjects. We offer recommendations for educational policy and directions for further research. KEYWORDS SStudent achievement interest in subject educational effectiveness teacher factors multilevel modeling The work presented in this paper was funded by the European Commission's Comenius project "Improving Educational Effectiveness in Primary Schools" (IEEPS), 538992-LLP-1-2013-1-RS-COMENIUS-CMP, within the European Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP), subprogramme Comenius-Comenius Multilateral Projects. The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. This research was funded by the
Within the framework of the global research project Varieties of Governance: Effective Public Ser... more Within the framework of the global research project Varieties of Governance: Effective Public Service Delivery, undertaken under the umbrella of the Global Development Network, the experts in this Report contributed to the current debate on redesigning the educational system in Romania with their research on the governance setup of educational systems in the region with the final purpose of trying to explain why educational outcomes have remained persistently low, and how they can be improved in Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. The study employed an original methodology, namely the development of an index of effectiveness of quality assurance systems. The authors investigated why students in the region consistently achieve below average results in standardized international tests, provided that the whole institutional architecture – ministry inspectorates, school boards, quality assurance agencies – has the stated mission of assuring quality in...
Postignuće pojedinačnih zemalja na velikim međunarodnim istraživanjima često izaziva značajnu paž... more Postignuće pojedinačnih zemalja na velikim međunarodnim istraživanjima često izaziva značajnu pažnju, pa je važno razmotriti rezultate učenika u odnosu na kurikulume ili nastavne programe zemalja učesnica. Za TIMSS studiju ovaj aspekt je od naročitog značaja jer studija ima za cilj da se utvrdi stepen u kojem su usvojeni sadržaji kurikuluma, tj. nastavnog programa. U tom kontekstu, za razumevanje postignuća učenika postaje značajno u kojoj meri se preklapaju nacionalni kurikulumi/programi i ono što se zahteva TIMSS zadacima. Uzorak čini 13 357 učenika četvrtog razreda iz Srbije, Hrvatske i Slovenije koji su učestvovali u ciklusu TIMSS 2011. Mantel - Haenszel (MH) postupak DIF analize primenjen je na 180 stavki u okviru TIMSS testa iz matematike. Ovi podaci su razmatrani u kontekstu podataka o stepenu saglasnosti nacionalnih kurikuluma/programa sa stavkama TIMSS testa iz matematike, kao i nalazima iz analize sadržaja i ishoda kurikuluma za četvrti razred iz ove tri zemlje. Rezultati ...
Strengthening ties between the school and home ‘front’ is seen as an important strategy for the a... more Strengthening ties between the school and home ‘front’ is seen as an important strategy for the advancement of quality of education, although some findings suggest how schools and its personnel may hold conflicting beliefs regarding parents’ desire and ability to be involved in their children’s schooling. The paper presents results of secondary analysis of 2008 Cross-National Survey of School Principals, a component of research project ‘Advancing Educational Inclusion and Quality in South East Europe’. Analysis was done on a region-wide sample. Findings suggest that several types of school principals’ can be found in regards to their perceptions and beliefs on the issue. Additional analyses were aimed in exploring principal’s attributions of responsibility for home-school communication, specifically their perceptions of parents’ and teachers’ skills and interest for mutual communication. Finally various home-school collaborative practices were discussed in the light of those results...
Studia paedagogica, 2011
DEJAn sTAnkoVIć abstrakt Z literatury o rozvoji a zdokonalení školy plyne, že zvýšená kvalita se ... more DEJAn sTAnkoVIć abstrakt Z literatury o rozvoji a zdokonalení školy plyne, že zvýšená kvalita se dostaví jedině na základě skutečně participativního procesu. Znamená to, že nejen ředitel nebo rada školy jsou povoláni k tvorbě vize školy, identifikaci problémů a plánování rozvoje. Odpovědnost za rozvoj a zdokonalení práce školy a její vedení se dělí mezi různé další lidi ve škole i mimo ni. Úroveň zapojení učitelů do procesů rozvoje školy je dána různými podmínkami-od stabilnějších faktorů, jako jsou osobnostní charakteristiky, ke kontextuálním proměnným, jako jsou normy spolupráce mezi učiteli. Provedli jsme výzkum v 51 základních školách v Srbsku za účasti 385 učitelů s cílem identifikovat faktory a cesty individuálních preferencí při plánování rozvoje školy. Analýza shromážděných dat ukazuje, že vazby mezi učiteli mohou projektům ke zdokonalení práce školy překážet, nebo mohou v průběhu jejich realizace naopak zvyšovat jejich význam a naději na úspěch. Podle výpovědí učitelů tyto projekty především prospěly rozvoji spolupráce a týmové práce, zatímco náznaků, že vedly k další separaci a fragmentaci, bylo relativně málo.
U Srbiji je od 2000. godine sprovedeno vise obrazovnih reformi. Međutim, istraživanja pokazuju da... more U Srbiji je od 2000. godine sprovedeno vise obrazovnih reformi. Međutim, istraživanja pokazuju da među zaposlenima u skolama preovlađuje nezadovoljstvo stanjem u skolskom sistemu. Ovo istraživanje je sprovedeno sa ciljem da se ispitaju misljenja direktora osnovnih skola (DS) i prosvetne administracije i strucnjaka (PAS) o procesu kreiranja i implementacije obrazovnih reformi. Ispitivane su razlike u stavovima prema reformama između ove dve grupe ispitanika i analizirano je da li se njihova evaluacija uspesnosti reformi bazira na razlicitim faktorima. U istraživanje su bili ukljuceni DS iz reprezentativnog uzorka osnovnih skola (N=150) i prigodan uzorak PAS (N=87). Konstruisan je upitnik kojim su ispitivana misljenja ispitanika o tri faze ciklusa javnih politika (identifikovanje i formulisanje problema, implementacija politike i evaluacija politike tj. reforme), kao i o drustvenom kontekstu u kom se reforme odvijaju. Preliminarne analize su pokazale da upitnik meri sledece varijable:...
Zbornik Instituta za pedagoska istrazivanja
Many countries have embarked on creating standards of teacher competencies with the ultimate goal... more Many countries have embarked on creating standards of teacher competencies with the ultimate goal of improving teaching in their schools. The aim of this paper is to compare Standards of teacher competencies in Serbia with those in countries/regions which perform well on PISA (Australia, Singapore, Ontario, Estonia, the Netherlands and Slovenia) in order to highlight important similarities and differences which potentially account for teacher quality in those countries, as well as inform policymakers in Serbia on how to reformulate standards of teacher competencies and, consequently, improve teacher quality and pupil outcomes. The criteria on which sets of standards in different countries are compared are: development of standards (who and how developed the standards), content of standards (subject knowledge, didactics, etc.), differentiation of standards (existence of separate sets of competencies for novice teachers, experienced teachers, etc.), purpose of standards (teacher certi...
Croatian Journal of Education - Hrvatski časopis za odgoj i obrazovanje, 2015
ABSTRACT Practical studies of student teachers have increasingly become an important part of init... more ABSTRACT Practical studies of student teachers have increasingly become an important part of initial teacher education (ITE) thus bridging the gap between ITE and subsequent induction and continuous professional development. Practical studies of student teachers as part of ITE are from recently also required in Serbia, however, this development is facing many challenges. We examine results from a survey on ITE from 44 faculty departments which educate future subject and class teachers. Information about the ways how student teachers’ practical studies are organized from University of Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš and Kragujevac were analysed. The results show that student teachers school practice hours varies from only 4 to around 200 across different faculties and goals, outcomes and content of these courses are not aligned with up to date demands of the teacher profession. Differences are found between departments educating class teachers and those educating subject teachers, but in both of these groups intra-group differences are big, indicating an overall fragmentation of ITE in this respect. At all the surveyed departments respondents report about insufficient human resources in running the courses of practical studies, lack of essential cooperation between the faculty departments and the schools where practical placement takes place and insufficient amount of time student teachers are involved in the teaching process. As a response to the state of affairs in ITE in Serbia, we discuss a “practice school” model, aiming to overcome the gap between the academic part of ITE and school-based teacher practice, as well as the initial challenges of introducing the “practice school” model.
Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 2015
Numerous educational reforms have been initiated in Serbia since 2000. The aim of this study was ... more Numerous educational reforms have been initiated in Serbia since 2000. The aim of this study was to examine education policymaking in Serbia in order to provide policymakers and stakeholders with recommendations on how to minimize pitfalls and increase success of future educational endeavors. In the study, we utilized the education policy cycle heuristic to analyze formation, implementation, and evaluation of three major education policies in Serbia: in-service training of teachers (INSET), school development planning (SDP), and inclusive education (IE). Examining three reforms simultaneously enabled us to identify major characteristics of Serbian policymaking, regardless of the reform content.We also relied on educational change literature, so that we could assess complex contexts of reforms. Finally, considering the importance of school staff during implementation, we examined education policymaking in Serbia through the eyes of over 1,800 teachers, counselors, and principals. The results point out to dissatisfaction of school staff with all aspects of the policymaking in Serbia and with the social and education context. Reforms appear to be undertaken in a similar pattern across different reforms. The findings imply that a thorough examination of both the policymaking in Serbia and communication, organization, and administration within the education system itself is in order.