PEDAGOGY IN THE EUROPEAN QUALIFICATION FRAMEWORK: Croatian context

Abstract

The European Union was founded primarily because of the free movement of capital, labour, goods, and services. The movement of the workforce was facilitated by the European Qualification Framework, a model established in 2008 together with the national qualification frameworks of all EU member states. It is based on summing up the learning outcomes acquired through all forms (formal, informal, and informal) and all levels (from primary to higher) of moral education, education and learning, up to and including the level of a doctorate in science in order to determine the level, scope, and profile of competence of anyone who competes for inclusion in the world of work. In addition to the 27 European Union member states, which have developed national qualification frameworks, another 11 candidate countries, potential candidates, and countries with special status are working on the implementation of the European Qualification Framework. Out of the countries formed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, these include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. This paper critically examines these processes, along with the expansion of economisation, psychologization and computerisation in modern schools, which is why, instead of a comprehensive approach to moral education and education, the focus of attention has been redirected to the development of competencies for the labour market. At the end, the basic features of the professional standards and qualification standards of educators as a profession are given in accordance with the Croatian and European Qualifications Frameworks, which were developed by pedagogues employed at all five pedagogy study programmes at public universities in Croatia. The implications that these documents have on the further development of pedagogy and educators are particularly emphasised.