SPECIFICITIES OF WORK ORGANISATION IN COMBINED CLASS IN SCHOOLS ACROSS THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF TEACHERS

Abstract

In the Republic of Srpska, as well across the globe, there are numerous schools featuring combined classes, with a single teacher working with students from two or more grades. Such design of teaching is more likely to be found in rural communities, where teachers encounter a lot of challenges in organising educational and moral education process. The issues related to this type of teaching are being more and more highlighted in the rest of the world, but our community seems, with the countries of the former Yugoslavia included, to be stagnating in this regard, and that is the reason the authors have decided to conduct a theoretical analysis of the relevant literature in the field and of teachers as regards teaching combined class in the Republic of Srpska. This empirical research has been realised by means of qualitative methodology, with the application of a guideline interview technique aimed at examining the perception, experiences, and expectations of 15 teachers of combined class from the area of the Municipality of Bijeljina. The results show the following specific features of working in a combined class: adaptation of teaching contents, design of class timetable, shifts of direct and indirect teaching, seating order of students in the classroom, interaction and communication, keeping a student’s records, selection of examination and grading methods, and methods of obtaining feedback. The final section of the paper provides, along with the interpretation of research results, recommendations to teachers based upon similar experiences of their counterparts from foreign countries, which can be a guideline for improvement of their professional competences and for establishment of good practice in their respective classes.