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The New State Policy forTeacher Education and Trainingin Bulgaria: An overviewof provision for vocationaleducationMariana Ilieva & Senia TerzievaPublished online: 01 Jul 2010.

To cite this article: Mariana Ilieva & Senia Terzieva (2000) The New State Policyfor Teacher Education and Training in Bulgaria: An overview of provision forvocational education, European Journal of Teacher Education, 23:3, 299-306, DOI:10.1080/02619760120049175

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European Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 23, No. 3, 2000

Short Communication

The New State Policy for Teacher Education andTraining in Bulgaria: an overview of provision forvocational education

MARIANA ILIEVA & SENIA TERZIEVA [1]

SUMMARY The dynamics of change in Bulgaria are supported by changes in state policy inthe development of the education system. Since 1995, the training of teachers for vocationaleducation has taken a leading place in this policy: two decrees of the Council of Ministers ofthe Republic of Bulgaria have been published which regulate the activity of higher educationinstitutions in that sphere. The new strategy broadens the scope of educational structures andregulates the most signi� cant aspects in the training of teachers for vocational education—thecurriculum, the ways of organising teacher education and its staf� ng. The present commentaryinterprets the didactic and pedagogical essence of the different rules and the professional andpsychological consequences of their adoption in real life. On the basis of the results of the currentstate policy, it can be concluded that its impact on the quality of the education for theattainment of quali� ed teacher status is positive with respect to human resource developmentand the motivation of university lecturers for the successful ful� lment of their mission in thisdirection.

RESUME Les changements dynamiques en Bulgarie se voient favorises par les changementsde la politique d’Etat au niveau de l’enseignement ainsi que par le developpement dusysteme educatif dans ses differents degres. Depuis 1995 la formation de professeurs pourles ecoles professionnelles repose sur une nouvelle base normative. Cette derniere � xe lereglement des activites des ecoles superieures en ce qui concerne la formation des professeurs.La strategie moderne elargit l’eventail des structures d’enseignement et regle les aspects les plusimportants du developpement institutionnel de l’enseignement dont le but est l’obtention de laquali� cation professionnelle de “professeur”—le contenu educatif (standards), les procedesd’organisation de l’enseignement et les exigences concernant les effectifs academiques.L’analyse presentee ici, donne une interpretation de l’entite didactique des differents reglementsainsi que de certaines consequences pedagogiques et psychologiques dues a leur transpositiondans les conditions reelles de la pratique d’etudes. Du caractere meme des changementsen cours dans la politique d’Etat resultent les conclusions illustrant l’in� uence de celle-ci surla qualite de la formation des professeurs, sur les aspects positifs du developpement desressources humaines et sur la stimulation des enseignants dans la realisation de leur missioneducative.

ISSN 0261-9768 print; ISSN 1469-5928 online/00/030299-08Ó 2000 Association for Teacher Education in EuropeDOI: 10.1080/02619760120049175

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300 Mariana Ilieva & Senia Terzieva

RESUMEN Los cambios dinamicos en Bulgaria se ven favorecidos por los cambios de lapolõ tica educacional del Estado as õ como por el desarrollo del sistema educativo en susdiferentes niveles. Desde 1995 existe una nueva base normativa que reglamenta la actividadde las escuelas superiores en lo concerniente a la capacitacion de maestros para las escuelasprofesionales. La nueva estrategia amplõ a las estructuras educacionales y regula los aspectosmas signi� cativos del desarrollo institucional de la ensenanza para la obtencion de lacali� cacion profesional de “maestro”—el contenido educativo (estandar), las formas deorganizacion de la ensenanza y las exigencias hacia el cuerpo docente. El analisis expuestoaqu õ presenta una interpretacion esenciadle caracter didactico de los diferentes reglamentos yde algunas consecuencias pedagogicas y psicologicas de la aplicacion de dichos reglamentosbajo condiciones reales de la practica docente. A partir del caracter de los cambios actuales enla polõ tica estatal se ha llegado a conclusiones sobre la in� uencia de esta pol õ tica en la calidadde la capacitacion de los maestros, sobre su papel positivo en el desarrollo de los recursoshumanos y en el incentivo a los profesores universitarios para el cumplimiento de su tarea.

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Die dynamische Veranderungen in Bulgarien wurden durchAnderung der Staafsausbildungspolititk und Entwicklung der Bildung in verschiedenenSchichten unterstutzt. Seit 1995 ist die Vorbereitung der Lehrer fur die Berufsschulen auf eineneue Normativbasis gestellt. Sie reglamentiert die Tatigkeiten der Hochschulen in RichtungLehrerausbildung. Die neue Strategie erweitert das Gebiet der Ausbildungstrukturen undreguliert die bedeutende Gesichtspunkte in Institutionalentwicklung der Berufsquali� kationLehrer—Unterrichtsinhalt, die Organisationsmethoden und die Anforderung am Akademie-bestand. Die vorlegende Analyse gibt sowohl eine Interpretation des didaktischen Wesensverschiedener Reglament, als auch einige Padagogische und psychologische Folgen der Einsazin realen Ausbildungspraxis. Aus der Anderung der Staatspolitik sind einige Schlussfolgerun-gen gezogen—ihr Einfuss auf die Bildungsqualitat der Lehrer, auf die positive Aspektemenschlichen Ressourceentwicklung und Stimulierung der Universitatslehrer in dieserRichtung.

Introduction

The dynamics of change in Bulgaria are supported by changes in the state policy in thedevelopment of the education system. The basic concepts in this policy are a responseto expectations that education at all its stages should take account of a changed social,economic, technological and informational environment. The legislative basis of higher,secondary and vocational education has changed since 1995. Priorities in the currentdevelopment of education are:

· the creation of a coherent structure of educational stages in the system;· increased autonomy for schools;· parallel development of state and private educational institutions;· restructuring of subjects with a high level of interdisciplinary integration;· enhancement of the system with new educational technologies.

In the area of vocational education, the new situation may be summarised in threestages:

(A) secondary vocational school/technical schools—awarding educational and vo-cational quali� cations;

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Policy for Teacher Education in Bulgaria 301

(B) higher education institutions—awarding educational and vocationalquali� cations at bachelor’s and master’s levels;

(C) vocational training outside the formal educational system, with the awarding ofvocational certi� cates.

The system of secondary specialised education and current courses for professionalquali� cations, that is in (A) and (C) above, require professionals with interdisciplinarytraining in two major areas—pedagogical and scienti� c. That is why the education andtraining of such specialists are being developed in the area of higher education, wherethere is a tradition in this � eld that provides a basis for easier innovation, restructuringand development of educational programmes.

The year 1995 saw the beginning of a new and already sustainable strategy forteacher education and training in the area of vocational education in Bulgaria. It is newbecause its philosophy is fundamentally different from the strategies of earlier years;and it is sustainable because it developed and was con� rmed as an overall strategy in1997 and is now being successfully carried through in practice in the same direction.

Two decrees of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria helped bringabout these changes. The � rst, [2] from 1995, accepted for the � rst time the Rules forthe Uni� ed State Requirements for higher education, leading to professional, quali� edteacher status; and the second, [3] from 1997, was an updating of the same Rules andwas undertaken as a necessity in anticipation of the 1999 Higher Education Act. Until1995, higher education institutions and in-service teacher education institutes wereengaged in various forms of teacher education and training. But these combined, in notso effective ways, activities regulated by the state with local initiatives of different highereducation institutions ‘sanctioned’ by government bodies. In other words, there was notexactly chaos, nor was there a uni� ed state policy. Because of this, publication of the1995 Rules marked the beginning of a completely new stage of teacher education andtraining in Bulgaria. This was a publicly announced state policy, containing preciselyde� ned conditions, requirements, criteria and rules for operation. These are demandingbut are also democratic: every higher education institution which complies with staterequirements has the right to play a role in teacher education. Together with this, thenew state strategy activates and stimulates higher education institutions to embark onnew initiatives in the direction of the already expanded and clearly outlined area of thetraining of teachers for vocational education.

Strategic Elements of the New State Policy

All state higher education institutions which have been accredited as such are eligibleto award quali� ed teacher status if this activity conforms with the 1995 requirements.Until 1995, the education and training of teachers was the privileged domain of certainuniversities only and of in-service institutes of teacher education. This had a number ofnegative consequences for the quality of the professional and pedagogical, psychologicaland, above all, methodological training of teachers. In effect, the 1995 Rules acknowl-edge a real fact—that the good teacher in a specialised subject will receive better teachereducation in the environment of those working in the area of the same basic subject.Higher education institutions have the scienti� c and teaching potential with the highestquali� cation and, in that sense, can provide the most appropriate professional andscienti� c environment. A number of guarantees can be provided in this way: highquality in the subject knowledge and skill of the future teacher; and adequate spe-cialised, didactic training, rather than general didactic knowledge, which in fact can be

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302 Mariana Ilieva & Senia Terzieva

taught by any outside institution and which does not take into account the speci� cs oftraining in a particular subject. Vocational-pedagogical theory is of great importance inthat respect as it directs education to the spheres of practical activity for which teachersprepare their students.

Therefore, through the expanding of the boundaries of teacher education struc-tures—an endeavour which at � rst glance may be de� ned as a purely administrativeact—an important prerequisite for the increase of the quality of the future teachers’education and training has been provided.

A second element in the new state policy is the uni� ed state requirements forobtaining professional, quali� ed teacher status. During the 1980s, attempts were madeto justify such requirements, but, compared with the 1995 and 1997 regulations, theformer were incomplete and conservative in conception. As a result, they hampered theinitiatives of higher education institutions.

The Impact of the Uni� ed State Requirements on the Practice of TeacherEducation and Training

The interpretation of the professional and pedagogical consequences of the adoption ofthe 1997 uni� ed state requirements may be summarised under three headings:

· the content of teacher education;· the organisation of teacher education leading to quali� ed teacher status;· the staf� ng of initial teacher education.

Content of Teacher Education

This refers to the theoretical as well as to the practical education which leads toquali� ed teacher status.

Theoretical education comprises two cycles of study—mandatory and optional—and a minimum number of classes is stipulated. The � rst cycle (mandatory disciplines)includes: Theory of Education, Theory of Teaching, General Pedagogical and PeerGroup Psychology, Educational Technology—Methods and Methodology of Teachingin Specialised Domain and Audio-visual and Information Technologies in Education.In other words, pedagogical, psychological, methodological, didactic and technicalareas are covered. In comparison with earlier Bulgarian teacher education and trainingprogrammes, the new system enjoys a number of positive features. These include:

· Pragmatically oriented selection of the scienti� c knowledge necessary for thesuccessful performance of the teacher: scienti� c subjects which have direct practi-cal intent in the teacher’s job are selected. In other words, theoretical training is� xed within a reasonable framework and is structured accordingly. This strategy isin conformity with the experience of other countries (Lanely & Berger, 1990). Thisshould be especially noted because, in the 1980s, there was a trend towardsexcessive broadening of the number of obligatory disciplines, with a comparativelysmall number of generic classes. This could lead only to super� cial trainingwithout adequate foundations.

· Appropriate rank ordering of scienti� c disciplines is expressed in the proposedminimum number of classes. Methodological training (theoretical and practical)plays a leading role here. The psychological disciplines follow and, � nally, audio-visual technologies in education.

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Policy for Teacher Education in Bulgaria 303

· Flexibility of the content of theoretical education is expressed in the combination ofmandatory and optional academic subjects. The latter are described in detail in the1995 Rules, which are binding; and the 1997 Rules outline two blocks with a differentorientation. The � rst block includes pedagogical, methodological and psychologicalstudy disciplines, and the second one, interdisciplinary and applicable and exper-imental study disciplines connected with the professional and pedagogical perform-ance of teachers. In other words, arrangements are in tune with internationaleducational trends towards greater � exibility in de� ning the scope of the optionaleducational content, a trend whose signi� cance is being increased in the context ofinnovative and research accomplishments of teachers in the environment of “openingup of schools” (Linke, 1997). Secondly, there is a movement towards augmentationand specialisation of knowledge in the basic scienti� c disciplines (pedagogical,methodological and psychological), a trend which ensues from the development ofteachers’ functions in democratic societies (Glenn, 1995). Thirdly, there is develop-ment towards integration of knowledge from different scienti� c domains (Klippert,1997); and, fourthly, there are moves towards the formation and development ofexperimental and research skills, a trend which received impetus and developmentwith the beginning of the technological revolution in education (Miller, 1997), withthe possibilities of virtual communication and multimedia (Palme, 1997).

· The uni� ed state requirements for practical education show greater constancy thanthose for the theoretical one, and this is quite justi� able. They are based on a � rmuni� ed notion about the essence of practical education—and there is directreference to attendance at additional courses, current study practice and internpractice and (in the 1997 Rules) pre-service pedagogical practice.

The new rules provide a legal basis for assuring the quality of teacher education withinthe context of the human resource development and overcoming of the rigidity andin� exibility of training programmes (Buchberger & Byrne, 1995). This is guaranteed bya � exible educational policy with respect to the character of the education and trainingprovided: the breaking up of the practical component of training allows for thedevelopment of technologies and procedures based on the re� ective components of theeducational environment (Leino, 1996)

Concurrently with the continuously improved statutory regulations concerning thecontent of teacher education leading to quali� ed teacher status, certain contradictorytrends are becoming apparent—and these lead Bulgarian teacher educators to hope foran updating of the uni� ed state requirements. How have these contradictions expressedthemselves so far? With the decrease of the relative component of practical educationsince 1997, theoretical education has indirectly increased. This presupposes, therefore,an increase of its importance as well. But such an interpretation does not conform tothe state examination in pedagogical, methodological and psychological sciences andthe defence of a diploma paper revoked in 1997. An integrated practical state examin-ation, which consists of a lesson taught and defended by the student, remains the onlyform of control at graduation. In other words, it is not clear which are the mostimportant elements in the initial concept of the uni� ed state requirements with respectto the different components for the obtaining of quali� ed teacher status and what thegrounds are for being so de� ned. It should be noted here that, under their autonomouspowers, higher education institutions have preserved both forms of � nal control—thestate theoretical examination or a defence of a diploma thesis, and a mandatory stateexamination in pedagogical practice. This positively shows the importance of these

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means of awarding a professional quali� cation and in reality de� nes (clearly and morespeci� cally) the concept suggested in the Rules—an integrated practical state examination.

The Organisation of Teacher Education Leading to Quali� ed Teacher Status

Two ways of organising teacher education are outlined under the regulations:

· concurrently with training in a main academic subject;· post-graduate training in engineering and technological subjects.

Higher education institutions have the freedom to de� ne their requirements for theawarding of quali� ed teacher status. This part of state policy has not undergone crucialchanges, and this is understandable. Here, in line with the procedures drawn up for theaccreditation of higher education institutions, the latter are not allowed to changedramatically the standards or to interpret too widely the directions stipulated in theuni� ed state requirements. At the same time, the experience of other countries can beused in the academic organisation of initial teacher education and training, thusbreaking the mould of somewhat established stereotypes within initiatives inside andbetween the university in this � eld (Messner, 1997; Schaube, 1995)

Conditions for the following of individual rules and procedures by every universityhave been established in a number of areas: the preliminary selection of students; controlof the training process and the results of the students (semestrial and � nal examina-tions); and rules for the differentiation of programmes in the course of an academic year.On this basis, the outer and inner criteria for assessment are combined as one of thecomponents for achievement of the desired quality of training (De Jong & Prins, 1995).

A signi� cant consequence of the opportunity that has been opened up through theintroduction of concurrent courses of teacher education combined with a main aca-demic subject is that young people now enjoy another opportunity of � nding employ-ment in the dif� cult environment of the transition to the world of work.

The Staf� ng of Initial Teacher Education

The new regulations effectively place an invincible barrier before some higher educationinstitutions. Under Article 7/2 of the 1997 regulations, these institutions cannot trainteachers because lecture courses in obligatory academic disciplines are to be given “bylecturers with an academic rank in the respective scienti� c domain and not less thanthree quarters of these should be permanently employed by the respective highereducation institution”. Until 1995, when the issue of staf� ng initial teacher educationand training courses was regulated in the same way, the number of higher educationinstitutions training teachers for vocational education in Bulgaria was considerable.This was possible since higher education institutions provided this education with theirown resources, but in most cases by making compromises with the professionalcompetence of lecturers or with outside assistance which did not always facilitate thequality of the teaching and learning environment.

Today, the regulation in question cannot be ignored, and it has created a basicimpediment in the accreditation quali� cations leading to full teacher status. Article 7/2places higher education institutions in a precarious situation. Generally, state policy forhigher education is oriented towards optimisation (that is, reduction) of the number ofpermanent academic posts; but to comply with the above-mentioned requirements,new academic posts are required in higher education. Naturally, those institutions

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Policy for Teacher Education in Bulgaria 305

which strive at a university mission and status have directed their strategies in favour ofthe attainment of quali� ed teacher status by � nding a solution to staf� ng problems inthis area of education.

Conclusion

The uni� ed state requirements concern themselves with three major aspects of theeducation and training of teachers for the area of vocational education—the content,organisation and the staf� ng of the process. Both the scope of the aspects consideredabove and the intrinsic characteristics of the recent requirements outline a balancedcombination between centralised management by the state and the autonomy of thehigher education institutions on the basis of the scienti� cally grounded system of normsand criteria. Experience so far has shown that higher education institutions accomplishtheir autonomy in practice by orienting their activity to the education and training ofteachers for the area of vocational education through innovative strategies, internalassessment of the process and the results, and by adapting towards the rapidly changingenvironment in Bulgaria. The current state policy in the area of the training of teachersfor vocational education in Bulgaria is having a positive effect on the quality of theattainment of quali� ed teacher status both in terms of human resource development andin the motivation of the university teachers for the successful ful� lment of their missionin that direction.

NOTES

[1] The authors of the present commentary are lecturers in the Department ofHuman Sciences at the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy(UChTM), So� a. The primary mission of the department is the training ofteachers for vocational schools and secondary professional schools providingchemical, technological and metallurgical education. The section has beenestablished for 15 years and 800 students have passed through the courses itorganises. Some 30% of these work as teachers—that is, with the additionalquali� cation which they have acquired at the UChTM.

The centre uses the two possibilities stipulated in the recent Rules for thesecuring of quali� ed teacher status—concurrent education in a main academicsubject, and postgraduate courses. The key aspects of such courses at theUChTM are, inter alia, the pragmatically oriented programmes, emphasis oninterdisciplinary knowledge, connections with vocational schools in industrialchemistry, joint research projects with teachers from central vocational schoolswith methodical orientation towards the � nal product, and the use of multimedia.

Our future projects include efforts at further improvement in the followingspheres:

· optimising the system leading to quali� ed teacher status, including a review ofselection procedures for applicants to the course;

· creating closer linkages between examination procedures and techniques andreal life pedagogical practice;

· improving the quality of education through making enhanced feedback fromgraduates working in the sphere of vocational education;

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· applying elements of the method of “reasonable practice” in postgraduate edu-cation (Ghisla, 1996), and connecting practising teachers to the Internet as usersand as people developing information for it (Futoran, Scho� eld & Fulcer, 1995);

· developing marketable courses for trainers and consultants in companies atpostgraduate level.

[2] Decrees of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria, No.12, 18.01.1995, Rules for the Uni� ed State Requirements for the accomplishment ofhigher education with quali� ed teacher status.

[3] Decrees of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria, No. 162, 17.04. 1997, Rules for the Uni� ed State Requirements for the accomplishment ofhigher education with quali� ed teacher status.

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DE JONG, R. & PRINS, J. (1995) No silence after the storm. From quality assessment toquality improvement, European Journal of Teacher Education, 18(18), pp. 37–45.

FUTORAN, G., SCHOFIELD, R. & FULCER, R. (1995) The internet as a K-12 educationresource: emerging issues of information access and freedom, Computers & Edu-cation, No. 3, pp. 229–236.

GHISLA, G. (1996) Le laboratoire didactique: nouvelle perspective pour la formationdes enseignants, Education et recherche, No. 2, pp. 183–193.

GLENN, P. (1995) Student � eld studies in forestry: a suggested paradigm for ecosystemresearch, American Biotechnology Teacher, No. 4, pp. 240–242.

KLIPPERT, H. (1997) Pedagogische Schulentwicklung, Padagogische Fuhrung, No. 2,pp. 8–87.

LANELY, C. & BERGER, N. (1990) Factor analysis of importance of teacher initialcerti� cation test competency rating by practicing Florida teachers, Education andPsychological Measurement, No. 50, pp. 161–165.

LEINO, J. (1996) Widening perspectives through re� ection in teacher education,Teacher Training and Values Education, 18th Annual Conference of the ATEE,Portugal, September 1993, pp. 631–640.

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MESSNER, E. (1997) Kollegiale Kooperationsformen bei Schulentwicklung ander Basis.Praxiserfahrunden aus dem Schulverbund Graz—West, Erziehung und Untericht,No. 4, pp. 438–454.

MILLER, B. (1997) Teach teachers technology right in their schools, Education Digest,No. 6, pp. 43–46.

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Correspondence: Mariana Ilieva and Senia Terzieva, University of Chemical Technologyand Metallurgy, Department Human Science, 8, Kliment Ohridski, 1756 So� a, Bulgaria.

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