In Slovenia there are three public universities offering study programmes in teacher education. The faculties of education, which are located at the universities, are the main institutions for pre- and in-service teacher education. They offer study programmes in pre-school and primary school and some programmes for two-subject teachers. In addition, there are some study programmes at other faculties, that also offer some teacher education programmes, especially for subject teachers in various academic and art domains, and in physical education. At the University of Ljubljana, about 10% of the students are involved in teacher education programmes.
The teaching practice in schools is a compulsory part of the education in the reformed Bologna study programmes. It is organised and carried out according to the principle of reflective practice and is intended to enable students to integrate subject-content and the pedagogical-professional knowledge through gradual introduction to teaching and the teaching profession. Teaching practice is organized differently in different study programmes: from four to ten weeks of teaching practice in undergraduate study programmes, and in some extend also at master level, mostly as a research work.
At the Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, teaching practice has a rich history of 70 years. It is conceptualised based on theoretical and empirical research. Quality assurance in teaching practice has been ensured by the Faculty’s Teaching Practice Committee since 2014. Teaching practice in different study programmes is monitored and evaluated annually, both internally (by academic staff and mentors from schools) and externally (through the University’s evaluation system).
