Reflections of pedagogy students on their future profession and the job search process

Abstract

In recent years, preparation of youth for their future profession and the job search process have become the leading topics in social sciences and an inevitable segment of a number of European policies in the field of education. The goal of our research was to obtain a more comprehensive insight into the ways in which pedagogy students perceive their preparation for the future profession and the opportunities for finding a job in their field of study. The sample comprised fifty-three third- and fourth-year students from the Department of Pedagogy of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. For the purposes of the research, a questionnaire with open-ended questions was constructed. Since our study is explorative in nature, we opted for qualitative analysis of the collected material. Research findings indicate that the majority of students predominantly believe that the acquired knowledge and skills are insufficiently usable in future professional work. Such beliefs lead towards the feeling of low competence for performing the future professional role. It was established that students use the “usual” methods for job search. However, the choice of these activities is not various enough, which consequently reduces the chances of pedagogy students to find employment. Negative perceptions of one’s own preparation for future profession point out to the necessity of a more efficient preparation of pedagogy students for their future job through establishing cooperation between institutions in the field of high education, research centres and world of labour. Key words: pedagogy students, personal meanings, high education, professional competences and the job search process