Much has been written about educational provision in eastern European countries as they made the transition from communist to more democratic forms of government.  Many writers have focused on the importance of education as a tool for modernising society, for example McLeish (2003, p.163) notes that ‘…the reform of existing educational practices be deemed a priority’.  However, it is also claimed that many of these countries, despite the rhetoric of reform and the introduction of reforming legislation, have continued to maintain aspects of the ‘old system’ (Weiler et.al. 1996, Cerych 1997, Alexander 1999).  Educational reform is also important in post-war contexts, Popkewitz (1991, p.13) considers ‘school reform’ to be one mechanism by which states attempt to achieve ‘cultural transformation, and national solidarity’, and this is particularly important in newly-formed states. 

Several researchers (Dillon and Maguire 1998, Fullan 2001, Lita 2004) acknowledge the important role played by teachers in implementing change, but it is also acknowledged that this is often difficult to achieve (Fullan 2001; Finnan and Lewin 2003).  Leclerq (1996, p.83) notes that teachers’  ‘… capacity for change is not easy. Rapid and spectacular changes in their attitude and practices are generally rare.’   Pritchard (2002, p.57) also believes that, in post-communist countries, educational reforms ‘can be threatened or diluted by teachers reverting to earlier, more authoritarian modes of classroom management and lesson delivery’.  It has also been noted that it is difficult to reform teacher education (Popkewitz 1987, Leclerq 1996, Cerych 1997), although ‘substantial innovations’ were successfully introduced in Hungary (Nagy 1998). 

My own previous work (Owen-Jackson 2006) found that in Bosnia there was little change in teachers’ classroom practice following the political transition and civil war; many reverted to pre-war practice.  Since then the Bosnian government has acknowledged that teaching remains ‘out-dated’ and that university education for teachers is often ‘inadequate’ (Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2004).  This study returned to investigate what changes, if any, had been introduced to primary teacher education policy and practice. 

The main research questions were

·         What is government policy in relation to primary teacher education, and how has this developed since 1995?

·         How has government policy informed primary teacher practice?

The approach adopted was interpretive and a qualitative framework used. 

Cerych, L. (1997). "Educational Reforms in Central and Eastern Europe: processes and outcomes." European Journal of Education 32(1): 75-96 Finnan, C., and Lewin, H., M. (2003). Changing school cultures. Images of Educational Change. H. Altrichter, and Elliott, J. Buckingham, Open University Press Leclerq, J. M. (1996). "Teachers in a Context of Change." European Journal of Education 31(1): 73-84 Lita, Z. (2004). Teacher Education in Albania past-present-future (PhD thesis). Faculty of Education and Language Studies. Milton Keynes, The Open University McLeish, E. A. (2003). "Post-Totalitarian Transition: to change a label is easy, but to effect a comprehensive change in practice represents a far greater challenge." European Journal of Education 38(2): 163-175 Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2004) Education Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina – National Report Sarajevo: Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Nagy, M. (1998). "Teacher Training in Central Europe: recent developments." European Journal of Education 33(4): 393-406 Owen-Jackson, G. (2006) and Herzegovina: A study of the effects of social and political change on primary schooling 1878-2002’ PhD thesis, The Open University Popkewitz, T. S. (1987). Critical Studies in Teacher Education Its Folklore, Theory and Practice. United Kingdom, Falmer Press Popkewitz, T. S. (1991). A Political Sociology of Educational Reform, Power/Knowledge in Teaching, Teacher Education and Research. New York, Teacher College Press. Pritchard, R. M. O. (2002). "Was East German Education a Victim of West German 'Colonisation' after Unification?" Compare 32(1): 47-59 Weiler, H. N., Mintrop, H.A., Fuhrmann, E. (1996). Educational Change and Social Transformation, Teachers, Schools and Universities in Eastern Germany. London, Falmer Press