This study aims to reflect teachers' perspectives on the use of innovative and interactive teaching methods (mobile learning and others) and to present the importance of the application of modern teaching methods by first-level teachers (grades 1-5) and second-level teachers (grades 6-9), in the development of student competencies. The research includes the Anamorava Region in Kosovo which covers an area of ​​650 km2 and has about 200,000 inhabitants. Quantitative methods were used to research this issue, while Likert scale questionnaires were used as a tool for measuring teachers' thoughts and attitudes. The research sample consists of 97 teachers working with first and second-level students.  The results show that teachers do not use a variety of methods while a number of them state that teaching methods are always in coherence with the age and skills of students. A small number of teachers pay special attention to students' prior knowledge. Based on the general data from the research, I have noticed that teachers do not practice enough modern teaching methods to develop students' competencies and promote their activity and creativity.

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This paper aimed to explore the impact of Kosovar teachers’ characteristics on the performance of fourth-grade students in TIMSS 2019. The paper addressed the characteristics of teachers, demographic, and academics, which are closely related to the overall performance of students. In this research, data from the TIMSS 2019 database were used, for which 4435 Kosovar students were tested, and 192 teachers were surveyed. The findings show that Kosovar students did not perform well in TIMSS 2019. They achieved 444 points in the field of mathematics and 413 points in science (average TIMSS 500 points) and were ranked 49th out of 56 countries participating in the test. Data from the teacher survey show that the characteristics of teachers, such as age, professional development, pre-service education, contemporary approach to teaching, etc., also played an important role in the low-scoring performance of Kosovar students in TIMSS 2019. Students who had a teacher with an average age of 30–60 years had a better performance on the test, achieving a difference of 20 points more, compared to students who had new or older teachers (under 30 years and over 60 years). The lack of professional development of teachers also had a major impact on student performance. On average, 25% of teachers in the last 2 years had attended training in certain areas, while on average 80% of them were willing to attend training programs that would improve the profile of their competencies.

This study aims to reflect teachers' perspectives on the use of innovative and interactive teaching methods and to present the importance of the application of modern teaching methods by first-level teachers (grades 1-5) and second-level teachers (grades 6-9), in the development of student competencies. The research includes the Anamorava Region in Kosovo which covers an area of ​​650 km2 and has about 200,000 inhabitants. Quantitative methods were used to research this issue, while Likert scale questionnaires were used as a tool for measuring teachers' thoughts and attitudes. The research sample consists of 97 teachers working with first and second-level students.  The results show that teachers do not use a variety of methods while a number of them state that teaching methods are always in coherence with the age and skills of students. A small number of teachers pay special attention to students' prior knowledge. Based on the general data from the research, I have noticed that teachers do not practice enough modern teaching methods to develop students' competencies and promote their activity and creativity.   Keywords: Contemporary methods, perceptions, student activities, competencies, technology

Socioeconomic status has long been considered an influential factor in student achievement. Similar to existing literature, results of this analysis reveal that socioeconomic status influenced student achievement in the 2015 and 2018 PISA assessments. However, the achievement gap between categories widened between 2015 and 2018. Results reveal that home possessions, school location, parental education played a role in achievement. Furthermore, students who attended private schools outperformed students in public schools, a gap that widened considerably between assessments. Results of the current analysis reveal the importance of socioeconomic factors in achievement and, the need for policy builders to mitigate this impact.