The role of research in curricula reform in initial education for primary school teachers in Croatia

Abstract

In the paper we examine the relationship between extensive empirical research on teacher education carried out in Croatia since 2003 and educational reform of university curricula for prospective teachers within the Bologna process. The research overview enabled a comparison between different initial teacher education models in EU countries with empirical data on teachers’ educational needs in the Croatian context. First, we discuss the structural and content changes in the initial teacher education curriculum based on the suggestions from comparative and empirical analysis. The empirical data, collected from several target groups – prospective teachers, university teachers, employed primary and secondary school teachers – gives an insight into teachers’ educational needs at the beginning of the educational reform starting in 2005. The content analysis of new curricula has been carried out in order to examine whether the needs assessment data were taken into account in new curricula development. Secondly, the data from the new cycle of empirical research starting in 2010 are presented offering an insight into some effects of curricula reform at student outcome level. We conclude that the impact of comparative analysis data was stronger at the structural and formal level than in the curricula implementation process. Nevertheless, in the first generation of students who studied under the new programs some positive shifts in their perception of achieved competences have been identified.