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