Search

The law stipulates that educational staff in Croatian primary and secondary schools have right and obligation to permanent professional training and development with programmes approved by the competent Ministry of Science, Education and Sport. By the notion the professional development of educational staff implies individual and group development in mother science, field pedagogy, didactics, educational psychology, methodics, information-communication technology, advisory work, management, educational policies and other areas relevant to efficient and highquality educational activities in the educational institutions. This paper deals with laws governing traineeship, licensing, professional development, progress and promotion of educational staff in general education but also with adequate ordinance defining details and conditions. However, it has become more and more apparent that those ordinances are not fully in harmony with laws because they have not been adapted for years. Some of the challenges relate to lack of programme accreditation system and provider of professional development, lack of material resources and common competitive framework for teaching profession all of which hinder the professional development and progress. Along with the Croatian Education and Teacher Training Agency as a liable public institution that organises and provides professional development of educational staff on all levels of general education (a recently issued document ''Strategy of professional development of teaching and non-teaching staff 2014-2020''), there are also other providers of professional development, starting from the Erasmus+ programme within the framework of European educational perspective, to occupational associations and publishing houses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]