In post-conflict and Europeanising contexts, initial teacher education (ITE) is expected to prepare future teachers for democratic schooling, yet policy ambitions may exceed institutional translation capacity. This study examines how values are realised across ITE in Kosovo and develops a grounded conceptual model of value-based teacher education (VbTE) for democracy. Building on recontextualisation theory (Bernstein, 1990, 1996/2000), a systems perspective on education (Fend, 2006, 2008), and axiological theory (Hartman, 1967), we conceptualise value realisation across three system levels (macro–meso–micro) and three depths (systemic–extrinsic–intrinsic). We further operationalise value travel through a Conceptualised–Interpreted–Positioned (CoIP) lens that distinguishes (i) how values are named/defined, (ii) how they are normatively framed (e.g., legal, moral, professional), and (iii) how they become binding through assessment, practicum, and routine institutional practices. Value content is traced using the Council of Europe’s RFCDC clusters: human dignity and human rights, cultural diversity, and democracy/justice/fairness/equality/rule of law and related EU foundational values (Council of Europe, 2018; European Union, 2012).

The study addresses one main research question: How are democratic and human-rights-related values conceptualised, interpreted, and positioned across macro, meso, and micro levels of ITE in Kosovo, and what model best explains their configuration as VbTE for democracy? Three sub-questions guide the analysis: (1) How are values codified and framed in European and national policy/curriculum architectures for education and teacher education? (2) How are these commitments translated into programme structures, practicum arrangements, and assessment routines within ITE institutions? (3) How do teacher educators and student teachers describe the enactment, opportunities, and constraints of democratic and rights-based practice in everyday ITE pedagogy?

Empirically, we find a stable cross-level pattern. At the macro level, democratic and human-rights-related values are densely codified and positioned as foundational principles, commonly framed as legal obligations and alignment with European normative orders; however, interpretive guidance on prioritising values and working through tensions in practice is comparatively thinner. At the meso level (ITE programmes and institutional regulations), values are visible but selectively embedded: inclusion and cultural diversity are more frequently institutionalised than democracy as participatory practice, and extrinsic realisation is fragmented particularly where practicum and assessment should make values consequential (e.g., limited assessment criteria specifying democratic competences; generic practicum expectations). At the micro level, teacher educators and student teachers report strong intrinsic enactment of democratic norms: respect, fairness, dialogic spaces, and inclusive relations often expressed through locally meaningful professional language rather than policy-derived terminology, producing uneven shared vocabularies across programmes.

The resulting model reframes cross-level divergence from an “implementation gap” to an architecture of value realisation: VbTE for democracy is produced through the interaction of (a) codified commitments, (b) institutional translation capacity, and (c) enacted professional practice. The model positions the meso level as the decisive hinge where values either become durable infrastructures for all student teachers or remain contingent on individual initiative.

We conducted an embedded single-case study of the ITE system in Kosovo (Yin, 2018), analytically suited to contexts where strong normative frameworks coexist with uneven institutional capacity for enactment. The case (“ITE in Kosovo”) was examined through embedded subunits at macro, meso, and micro levels and interpreted across systemic–extrinsic–intrinsic depths of value realisation (Hartman, 1967; Fend, 2006, 2008). Sampling was purposive and theory-driven to maximise conceptual coverage across levels and value clusters. The corpus comprised: Macro: European and national frameworks relevant to values, democracy, human rights, inclusion, and teacher education (e.g., RFCDC; EU foundational values; Kosovo education and higher-education legislation; national strategies; Kosovo Curriculum Framework and guidelines). Meso: Programme documents from five public universities offering BA ITE (and selected related programmes where relevant): programme descriptions, study plans, course catalogues/syllabi, accreditation/self-evaluation materials, and practicum/partnership regulations. Micro: (a) Open-ended online survey of teacher educators (n=52); (b) open-ended online survey of student teachers (n=125) in BA and selected MA education programmes; (c) four focus groups with teacher educators across four programmes (14 participants), including programme heads and practicum coordinators. Analysis followed two complementary procedures: qualitative content analysis for documents and programme artefacts (Mayring, 2014) and reflexive thematic analysis for surveys and focus groups (Braun & Clarke, 2019). Coding combined deductive categories (RFCDC value clusters; systemic–extrinsic–intrinsic depths; CoIP dimensions) with inductive sub-codes for context-specific formulations. Integration used pattern matching and explanation building (Yin, 2018), treating divergences as analytically informative recontextualisation effects rather than compliance deficits. Credibility and dependability were supported through triangulation across sources, an audit trail of coding decisions, and peer debriefing. Ethical clearance was obtained through the University of Prishtina; the study was deemed exempt. Participation was voluntary with written informed consent; data were anonymised and stored securely.

This study shows that VbTE for democracy in Kosovo is best understood as an architecture of value realisation rather than a linear implementation process. Macro-level frameworks strongly codify and position democratic and human-rights commitments, but provide comparatively limited interpretive and organisational pathways for making these values actionable in ITE. At meso level, programmes translate this architecture selectively: values appear in aims and modules, yet remain weakly stabilised in the extrinsic infrastructures that determine what is routinely teachable and assessable most notably in assessment and practicum. At micro level, teacher educators and student teachers describe strong intrinsic enactment of democratic norms (respect, fairness, dialogic participation), often expressed through local professional vocabularies that only partly align with policy language. The principal contribution is the CoIP-based, three-dimensional model that makes value recontextualisation traceable across levels, depths, and value clusters. By distinguishing conceptualisation, interpretation, and positioning, the model clarifies why “the same” value label can have different consequences depending on whether it becomes binding through programme infrastructures. Empirically, the meso level emerges as the decisive hinge: where translation capacity is thin, democratic formation depends on individual initiative, valuable but uneven and difficult to sustain system-wide.

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