Abstract:

The social context of the contemporary education process has significantly changed in last years. Technological development, orientation on educational outcomes, inclusiveness, flexibility, fairness and accessibility of education, led to changes in the educational goals, the way of teaching, which requires the enrichment of traditional professional roles and development of the teacher’s competences. Teachers today are expected not only to create (plan, implement and evaluate) the academic, social and physical environment of teaching and learning, but also to adapt it to the diverse individual characteristics and needs of students.

In contemporary pedagogical theory, the teacher is positioned as a main factor of an inclusive holistic concept of education, whose professional development is increasingly moving from the subject-content, to the interaction-communication dimension of the teaching process (Kostović, 2005). This change implies the development of competencies for supporting student development, then, communication competences, competencies for collaboration, teamwork, continuous learning and reflection of one's own practice, but it also raises the question of the teacher's ability to respond to these demands.

If we want to create coordinated system of teacher’s education, in accordance with desire changes, it’s important to be aware of the necessity and importance of teacher professional development, as well as normative, political and professional support. Development of each educational policy has three stages: creating policy (conceptualization, definition of priorities), implementation and evaluation. In the context of professional development of teachers (PRN), one of the biggest problem is evaluation of the program, through monitoring the effects that program had on the students, and thus on the quality of student learning (Garet, MS, Porter, A., Desimone, L., Birman, B. F. & Yoon, K. S, 2001; Ingvarson, L., Meiers, M., & Beavis, A., 2003). In other words, evaluation is an unjustifiably neglected component, although the success of any professional development activity depends of a systematic evaluation, especially when it comes to long-term effects on student learning (Guskey, 2000).

In Republic of Serbia educational authorities have paid the highest attention to the normative regulation, creation and accreditation of the INSET system (Standards of competences for the teaching profession and professional development, 2011; Rulebook on Continuing Professional Development of Teachers, 2017; Strategy for the Development of Education in Serbia, 2020), so the quality of these programs becoming an important question that requires specific research.

This paper analyzes the evaluative dimension of accredited programs in the field of supporting children development (Catalog 2018/19). Guskey & Yoon, 2009 - criteria for evaluating program effectiveness were applied in the analyzes. The results obtained are presented according to the quantitative aspect - the scope of the program (number, method of realization, duration) and content aspect (thematic diversity, goals, outcomes, logical consistency). The final part of the paper highlights the importance of evaluation as an integral component of INSET, and the use of multiple program evaluation models to provide more complete information not only on the shortcomings and benefits of programs, but also on the ways of their adaptation and revision, according to the needs of teachers in practice.

Keywords:

Professional development of teachers, INSET programs, competences, evaluation.