Serbia
STRUCTURE OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEM
Source: Eurydice 2022/23
The Serbian education system is outlined by the Law on Education (2017) and is divided into two levels: primary and secondary education. The former is compulsory but the latter is not. The first cycle of primary education covers grades 1-4 (ages 6-10); the 2nd cycle of primary education includes grades 5-8 (ages 10-15); and a third cycle is equivalent to secondary education (ages 15-19). The state is responsible for the approval of history textbooks, and only partly for creating them. In the second stage of this process, the Institute for the Improvement of Education has expert groups who evaluate textbooks, which are finally approved by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development.*
For more information on the national education system in Serbia, please visit:
Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development
*OHTE Thematic report on "Pandemics and natural disasters as reflected in history teaching"
HISTORY IN SCHOOL
Data are currently being collected for the OHTE general report.
This section will host information on the space and time provided to ‘History’ as a subject matter within the three main levels of education (primary, lower secondary and upper secondary). It will also provide insights on the relationship between history and other school subjects.
HISTORY CURRICULUM
Data are currently being collected for the OHTE general report.
Each subject’s curriculum, including history, is designed to be outcome-oriented and is meant to ensure that every teacher has the freedom to create and design additional teaching materials on any topic, regardless of whether or not they are present in textbooks. It is important that these materials contribute to a better understanding of the content.
History as a separate school subject starts at the age of 11 and is taught until the age of 18. Prior to that, some historical topics are included within the framework of other subjects (e.g. “The world around us” (ages 7-8); “Nature and society” (ages 9-10)). According to the Serbian curriculum, the teacher’s role in education is to contextualise the curricula and its content according to the needs of the specific class, having in mind different agents and resources, textbooks, technical equipment, verified sources and so on. Consequently, teachers have a certain degree of flexibility, and can choose content that they consider appropriate and be creative in their teaching process, which is only vaguely outlined by the semi-instructive curricula. The possibility of creating their own teaching framework suggests that teachers can teach about pandemics and natural disasters if they consider these to be suitable topics for their classes. The only state-imposed limitations on teaching are the aims and objectives of history teaching, some major general themes, some key first-order and second-order concepts, and the learning outcomes defined by curricula.
The wider framework for learning about “environmental” topics (which includes current climate changes and natural disasters like floods, fires or epidemics) is also defined by the Law on Education (Article 12), which addresses general outcomes of education and specific cross-curricular competences (e.g. responsible attitude towards health or towards the environment).*
Curricula workstation by GEI (History curricula search by country)
*OHTE Thematic report on "Pandemics and natural disasters as reflected in history teaching"
LEARNING OUTCOMES AND ASSESSMENT
Data are currently being collected for the OHTE general report.
This section will contain information on the learning outcomes set for history lessons within the different levels of education and on the methods of testing and assessment used in history examinations.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES AND PEDAGOGY USED IN THE HISTORY CLASSROOM
Data are currently being collected for the OHTE general report.
This section will host data on the study material and teaching practices used for history teaching within the different levels of education.
International TextbookCat (GEI collection of Textbooks and Educational Media)
HISTORY TEACHERS
Data are currently being collected for the OHTE general report.
This section will provide an overview of the number of history teachers within the different levels of education, as well as relevant information on teachers’ initial training and in-service training available to them.
Association for Social History – EuroClio (presentation by EuroClio)
Association for Social History – EuroClio (official website)
Education for the 21st Century (presentation by EuroClio)
THEMATIC DATA
The Observatory on History Teaching in Europe also provides thematic studies on given topics.
2022: Pandemics and natural disasters as reflected in history teaching
