The problems and challenges of professionalization of the technology teachers in Croatia Cover Image

Problemi i izazovi profesionalizacije učitelja i nastavnika tehničkog nastavnog područja u Hrvatskoj
The problems and challenges of professionalization of the technology teachers in Croatia

Author(s): Damir Purković, Stjepan Kovačević
Subject(s): Vocational Education, Human Resources in Economy
Published by: Akademsko politehničko društvo APOLD Rijeka
Keywords: model of profession; teacher profession; de-professionalization and dequalification; technology teacher; professionalization of teachers;

Summary/Abstract: Teachers' competences have significantly transformed over the past five decades, particularly due to the impact of global social and technological changes, but did not change the main goal of the teacher, and that is the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development of students and taking responsibility for this development. These changes have brought a number of problems, such as uneven qualifications, differentiation of scientific foundations in certain teaching areas, and inappropriate models of teacher education, making it difficult professionalization process of the teaching profession. In this review we are focused on the main problems of the de-qualification and deprofessionalization of teaching profession, the long-term dangers of these trends, and we have laid out the guidelines for a possible successful professionalization of teachers. In this paper we present an overview of the model of profession, criticism of structural functionalism to which such models are based, and we analyse the problem of the de-qualification of technology teachers in Croatia. We also explain the reasons for nonsustainability of such a model in modern society, where dominated a centralized approach that teacher imposes ways of teaching and learning facilities, but does not assume co-responsibility for the effect of such an approach. In such circumstances, an acceptable and successful professionalization of technology teachers can provide only certain hybrid approach that will standardize qualifications, as a mechanism to prevent the de-professionalization, but also to provide teachers' professional autonomy, as the only guarantee of quality and effective education.

  • Issue Year: 1/2017
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 17-43
  • Page Count: 27
  • Language: Croatian