Experts for Learning in Practice. A manual for Mentors of Teacher Students

The manual is a result of the project Preparing Future Teachers in the Western Balkans: Educat­ing for Democracy & Human Rights 2019 – 2021, led by the European Wergeland Center.

Funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the project provides support for higher education institutions and universities in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*[1], Montenegro, North Mac­edonia and Serbia, that are interested in modernizing their teacher education courses, with an aim to improve the quality of teacher education for future teachers in the region.

One key aim is to strengthen the initial training of teachers by emphasizing practice-oriented teaching promoting citizenship, democracy and human rights. It is crucial that initial teacher train­ing contains practical elements as theoretical training alone is not enough to prepare teachers for the demands of the profession. By putting together a strong regional network of teach­er training institutions and universities, together with practice schools, the project aims at tackling these issues.

This manual was developed, after the request from the regional network of universities being part of the project. The intention with the manual is to clarify their role, and to support them in their task  to, as mentors, support teacher students by providing them with an opportunity to try out and improve their com­petencies as teachers in the classroom.

Key author of the Manual for Mentors is Rolf Gollob, Department IPE – Zurich University of Teacher Education. His work has been strongly supported by an established focus group, consisting of members from the regional network of universities established within the framework of the project. Members of the focus group are Professors from pre-teacher education institutions, namely, University of Belgrade; University of Sarajevo; University of Prishtina; University of Nis; University of Montenegro; University of Skopje and University of Durres. Their role has been to provide input, feedback and suggestions throughout the development of the manual, resulting in a strong regional ownership of the manual. The Steering Group of the project; Astrit Dautaj (Albania), Ljubica Bajo Behmen, (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Petrit Tahiri (Kosovo*4); Bojka Djukanovic (Montenegro), Vidosava Kascelan (Montenegro), Ivanka Mijik (North Macedonia), and Zlatko Grusanovic (Serbia), have also been closesly involved and consulted throughout the process.

[1]All references to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institution or population in the text shall be understood in full compliance with the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice of the status of Kosovo.