Enhancing Professional Development of Education Practitioners and Teaching/Learning practices Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, November 2006 The role of teachers in the regional cross-border cooperation Pavel Zgaga University of Ljubljana

1. International cooperation in education International cooperation in education is on increase: - between individual countries (bilateral agreements); - between close neighbours; - between institutions (universities, schools); - between EU member countries (e.g. Socrates); - supported by international organisations, associations etc. (e.g. ASP – Unesco). Why is it supported? – There are numerous /dis/advantages of such cooperation: - intercultural understanding, etc.; - higher critical mass (joint projects, institutions, etc.); - open minds; - support to quality teacher education; - but also dilemmas about educational trade, etc.

2. Findings from our survey Is the international – and in particular cross-border cooperation – in education in SEE in increase? Some figures from universities / colleges show that there is an increase in student (= future teachers) mobility. However, there are many obstacles: financial constraints, visa policies, political tensions, language barriers… An enhanced cross-border cooperation in education could offer a number of advantages – institutions find international cooperation very important. International and cross-border cooperation in education could be an instrument to strengthen a process of professional development of teachers. A case of good practice: the EU Socrates – Commenius programme.

A 3.17 Has the international mobility of students and teaching staff increased at your institution over the last three years? Studentsff% Yes, significantly.1218,2 Yes, but only slightly.3147,0 Not at all.1624,2 No, on the contrary it decreased.11,5 No information available.69,1 total66100,0

A 3.17 Has the international mobility of students and teaching staff increased at your institution over the last three years? Teachersff% Yes, significantly.1928,4 Yes, but only slightly.3146,3 Not at all.1116,4 No, on the contrary it decreased.23,0 No information available.46,0 total67100,0

A 3.18 Do you consider international mobility of students and staff important for enhancing pre-service teacher education and training at your institution? ff% Yes, it is very important.4161,2 It is important but not the decisive factor. 2537,3 No, it is not important.11,5 No, it is waste of time / brain drain.00,0 total67100,0

B 2.13 Would you be willing to work with teachers and pupils from schools in other countries? TMINMAX Yes, from any country of the world AL 62.4 HR Yes, from EU countries MO 57.4 KO Yes, from all neighbouring countries HR 25.1 KO Yes, from one or some of the neighbouring countries HR 40.6 MO Yes, I already have good experience HR 29.0 AT No, I am not interested KO 25.2 SI

3. Some questions for a discussion 1. What experiences do we have in this area? 2. What is the main motivation for teachers to join international programmes? 3. What interpretation of results from Q-B 2.13? 4. What are main obstacles to cross-border cooperation in education in my environment? 5. What could be advantages of an enhanced cross-border cooperation in education in my environment? 6. How could schools and other institutions contribute to an enhanced cross-border cooperation? 7. How could international organisations, NGOs etc. contribute to cross-border cooperation? 8. Is the international and cross-border cooperation also an instrument to strengthen a process of professional development of teachers?