Serbian folk costume – the identity matrix of future teacher s and educators

Abstract

:  Arising from the theoretical observations of the research problem based on the value orientation of the young future teachers and educators, in addition to the interpretation of studies on national identity and its importance while globalism and anti globalism are confronted, the research problem is defined: is the Serbian national costume recognised by the future teachers and educators. In the descriptive research, using survey technique on the sample of 184 students of the Faculty of Education in Uzice,  the following was examined: 1) successful identification of the Serbian national costume without geoprediction; 2) successful identification of the Serbian national costume with specified geographical indications; 3) statistically significant differences in the success of students’ assessment  (task 1 and 2) in relation to the course of study, year of study, success and participation in folk dancing clubs.

The answer to the question of whether future teachers and educators are familiar with Serbian folk costumes is not affirmative: students do not sufficiently know the national costume that originates from the territory of the Republic of Serbia, and even less the Serbian folk costume from the territories of the former SFRY; it has been shown that the identification of this important national cultural feature and heritage is at the level of (often distorted) representations, but not knowledge about the aforementioned; students do not adequately understand regional geography and national history that would serve as a premise for a successful selection of answers; the most common criteria for classification and identification are visual elements or, (often incorrectly) assumed national toponyms. Relying on experiential predictions based on poor textbook knowledge, which primarily presents the folk costume of the Šumadija type as an exemplar of Serbian folk costume, students build their classifications according to this (poor) school experience.

Since the level of content recognition belongs to the lowest category, it cannot be discussed that students of the Faculty of Education possess higher categories of knowledge (understanding, functional, and creative knowledge). Therefore, it cannot be expected that future teachers and educators will properly present Serbian folk costumes to younger generations in their pedagogical practice; for them, in this case, it has exclusively decorative value, meaning that it represents a prevalence of declarative, but not substantive national identity.

It is undeniable that faculties of education have an important, irreplaceable role in this process. In this context, they should take appropriate measures to strengthen desirable socially acceptable national narratives while respecting other national identities. Nurturing, developing, constructing, and co-constructing national identity, with mutual respect for cultural differences and specificities, should be an imperative of contemporary educational reality.

This opens a large space for further additional research. The significance of the research should be interpreted in the context of understanding the potential strength of faculties of education in the proper nurturing of national identity, at both primary and secondary levels.