- Machine-translated
Completed project · 2018–2022
Enhancing the Professional Development of Vocational Education Teachers in Russia and Serbia with European Practices
A key factor behind the differences in the quality and standing of vocational education and training across European countries and beyond lies with the teachers themselves. The selection, initial and continuing training, and employment conditions of vocational school teachers vary considerably. The Pro-VET project focuses on developing uniform teacher training objectives in Serbia and Russia, as well as online resources to help achieve these. The methodological approach is ‘policy learning’; in other words, the aim is not to export European solutions (which do not exist in this form anyway), but to further develop the existing teacher training systems in Serbia and Russia by drawing on examples of good practice from individual EU countries.
Background and problem statement
Before the project began, VET in Russia and Serbia was characterised by structural and systemic weaknesses. VET teachers had limited opportunities for systematic continuing professional development. Provision was often fragmented, had little practical relevance and was scarcely embedded institutionally. Curricular coherence, digitally supported learning opportunities and alignment with internationally recognised quality standards were lacking. In particular, inadequate digital infrastructure at many VET institutions presented a substantial barrier to modern teaching approaches.
Analyses by the project partners showed that around 220,000 VET teachers in Russia and approximately 3,000 in Serbia worked without systematic access to innovative professional development formats. The absence of ECVET-compatible national qualifications frameworks also hindered international recognition and comparability of occupational competences.
Pro-VET specifically addressed these challenges. It drew on established European approaches to professionalising VET staff and pursued a capacity-building approach. Its objectives were to expand digital infrastructure, establish open e-learning laboratories at universities and VET institutions, develop modern continuing professional development concepts, and build an interregional network for training VET staff in Russia and Serbia (VET-ETN). It thereby contributed to sustainable quality assurance and the international relevance of VET in both countries.
Research questions
Implementation: how can European VET concepts be integrated into Russian and Serbian teacher professional development through e-labs and VOOCs so that a viable VET Educators’ Training Network emerges?
Effectiveness: what competence gains do teachers achieve after completing the newly designed in-service courses compared with previous national formats?
Sustainability and transfer: under what political and institutional conditions are roadmaps and memoranda of understanding accepted as a basis for lasting curricular change?
Approach
WP 1 – Preparation: kick-off, comparative analyses of national VET systems, policy workshops and partner country reports (months 1–8).
WP 2 – Development: train-the-trainer programme with five intensive weeks, establishment of eight e-labs and production of multilingual VOOCs (months 8–24).
WP 3 – Quality: establishment of a multi-level quality assurance system using semantic learning analytics and external review (ongoing).
WP 4 – Dissemination and exploitation: website, publication series, branding and roadmap conferences in Moscow and Belgrade (months 8–36).
WP 5 – Management: steering and technical committees, nine transnational project meetings, financial control and auditing.
Results
Capacity-building: 160 university teaching staff were trained in European VET approaches; the first VOOC prototypes went online.
Infrastructure: eight e-labs were fully equipped and brought into operation as production and training centres; the open platform brings together materials in Russian, Serbian and English.
Courses: twelve modular in-service courses on work-based learning, e-pedagogy and assessment were piloted and optimised using semantic learning analytics.
Policy output: two national VET roadmaps were adopted in cooperation with education ministries; 60 memoranda of understanding secure recognition of the courses as official continuing professional development.
Knowledge transfer: four peer-reviewed journal articles, one position paper on European instruments in VET teacher education, and presentations at three EU specialist conferences were published.
Dissemination / knowledge transfer activities
Digital channels: the project website, e-platform and social media campaigns reached more than 300 institutions and over 10,000 teachers.
Specialist community: roadmap conferences in Moscow and Belgrade, five regional networking events, regular webinars and newsletters.
Publications: series of articles in the VETNET Yearbook, bwp@ and Engineering Education proceedings; open-access provision of all course materials.
Policy advice: ongoing dialogue with two national and four regional education ministries accompanied implementation of the roadmaps.