“Whether they are pleased or come running to you to brag about how a certain class was, in my profession, it is nice to see that children are making progress,” says Snežana Đorđević graduated special pedagogue currently employed as a pedagogical assistant in Knez Sima Marković primary school in Barajevo.
Zorica Jovanović, pedagogical assistant in Milan Hadžić primary school in Vojka, takes the fact that she can be of help in the area of education as a success, because she considers the education one of the key means to include Roma population in society.
Snežana and Zorica are among 25 participants of the compulsory introductory training aimed at pedagogical assistants working in primary and preschool educational institutions. The training was organised within the EU-funded project “We are here together – European support for Roma inclusion” in cooperation with the Ministry of education, science and technological development.
From 28 July-1 August 2014, the assistants were trained to work in schools, support the children in and out of the learning environment, but also to work with families and colleagues. Training was delivered by teachers from the Centre for lifelong learning of the University of Kragujevac and Teacher education faculty in Jagodina.
Training included record keeping, facing the discrimination, bullying and harassment, confidentiality and obligation of reporting. This was only the first of six training modules, intended to deliver training to all 175 pedagogical assistants, thus providing them with a license to work in schools.
Pedagogical assistants’ job is a responsible and a complex one. “We assist children in mastering the material, but we also motivate them to improve their knowledge and move forward. Occasionally, we work with parents as well, and it seems easier for them to approach pedagogical assistants, so we send them to teachers to establish communication. In addition, not only we work with Roma children but also with children with disabilities, other children with learning difficulties and we pay field visits,” the interlocutors say.
Snežana believes trainings for pedagogical assistants are extremely important and useful to people engaged in this profession for a long period of time, but even more to assistants who have just started their careers. The topics covered do not concern only curricula, record keeping, annual plan and class preparation, but also other schools’ experience.
Modular trainings for 175 pedagogical assistants working in primary and preschool educational institutions across Serbia are planned for continuation as of the next school year. Snežana and Zorica agree that motivating pedagogical assistants to continue their education is important, because, after all, learning is a lifelong process.
School years 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 will see the granting of scholarships to 500 secondary school students, in order to stimulate children to continue their education after the primary level.
