Publications

Within the framework of its projects, the Institute for the Development of Education (IDE) issues publications related to higher education in Croatia and abroad. This section provides a short description of IDE's publications, as well as electronic versions of the publications that can be downloaded free of charge.

Policy document "Policy recommendations for increasing equal access to higher education in Croatia" (2009)

The goal of this policy document is to define concrete measures that must be taken by relevant institutions in Croatia to address inequalities in access to higher education.

The document was produced by the Institute for the Development of Education based on the conclusions of discussions held by experts and activists in the field of education during the seminar "Right to Education: Increasing Equal Access to Higher Education in Croatia" (held on 26th November 2008 in the National and University Library in Zagreb). The seminar was attended by 76 participants from government institutions, universities, student associations, research institutes, civil society organisations and the media representatives.

Among the policy recommendations, the main proposed measures are the following: 

  • provide additional support to vulnerable groups to prevent failure in education, and provide such support from primary education onwards 
  • ensure that the “Državna matura” (national school-leaving exam required for the completion of secondary education) is not the only criterion for admission to universities, in order to prevent disparities in access for students from vocational schools 
  • provide financial support for 18% of households for which the costs of higher education are too high in relation to their income 
  • remove all architectural barriers from institutions of higher education in Croatia and to provide assistance to persons with disabilities within university housing as well as for transportation to the university 
  • systematically address the problem of the insufficient percentage of Roma who complete primary and secondary education, as a precondition for equal access to higher education.

Policy recommendations in PDF format (in Croatian only)

Handbook "Enhancing Academic Mobility in Croatia: Croatia’s Entry into Erasmus" (2008)

Erasmus is the largest and most significant EU exchange programme for students, university teachers and administrative staff at universities. The purpose of this handbook is to ensure the thought-out entry of Croatia into the Erasmus programme and to enable careful preparation of all the main stakeholders in the Erasmus programme in accordance with the actual needs and recommendations made by Croatian and EU experts. The handbook therefore represents an action plan for the entry of Croatia into the Erasmus programme.

The handbook includes: 

  • an analysis of the current state of academic mobility in Croatia and the challenges for its development; 
  • results of the first study of the capacity of Croatian universities for successful participation in the Erasmus programme; 
  • an account of the main characteristics of the Erasmus programme and an overview of the preparations that should be made (and of measures already undertaken) by relevant government bodies and universities in Croatia to participate successfully in the programme; 
  • self-assessment of the capacities of Croatian universities for participation in Erasmus and their action plans for entry into Erasmus;
  • present best-practice examples from Slovenian and Swedish institutions involved in Erasmus.

The handbook is intended for decision makers, teachers, students and administrative staff at Croatian universities, as well as decision makers and administrative staff in national institutions that will be dealing with Erasmus.

The handbook was published and edited by the Institute for the Development of Education, and the main authors are the vice-rectors for international cooperation of all Croatian universities, representatives of the Croatian Ministry of Education, Science and Sports and the Croatian Agency for Mobility and EU Programmes, experts from the Institute for Social Research (Centre for Educational Research and Development) and the Institute for the Development of Education, as well as experts from universities and national agencies dealing with academic mobility in Slovenia and Sweden.

The unique feature of this handbook is the fact that it is a joint effort of both key stakeholders in the field of academic mobility in Croatia and international experts. We believe that the results obtained in practice will confirm that a thought-out, systematic and comprehensive approach to academic mobility policy will enhance the mobility of Croatian students, teachers and administrative staff within the European Higher Education Area and will, consequently, lead to the effective use of the opportunities provided by the Erasmus programme.

Handbook “Career Advising Services in Croatian Universities” (2006)
The handbook aims to serve as a platform for the introduction of career advising services at Croatian universities. It contains:

  • Survey results on the need for career advising services at Croatian universities; 
  • Proposed models of career advising services for each Croatian university;
  • Recommendations regarding the introduction of career advising services in Croatia.

The handbook was conceived as reference material on career advising services in Croatia for decision- and policy-makers at universities and ministries. It will also serve as a lobbying tool in order to speed up the process of introduction of these services at universities.

With IDE as the author, the texts in the handbook were written with the participation of vice-rectors of all Croatian universities, as well as experts from the United Kingdom and Poland.

Minutes of the Symposium “The Role of the Human Right to Education in the Democratisation of Higher Education in Croatia” (2006)
The main goal of the symposium was to establish the level of respect of all aspects of the human rights to/in higher education in Croatia and make concrete recommendations that would contribute to greater accessibility, adaptability, and acceptability of higher education in Croatia.

The two main themes of the symposium were: “Socio-Economic and Financial Aspects of the Right(s) to/in Higher Education,” and “Marginalisation in Higher Education: Perspectives of Ethnic, Gender, and Sexual Minorities and Students with Disability.”

Among the participants were Slobodan Uzelac, State Secretary for Higher Education, Smiljana Leinert Novosel, Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Zagreb, as well as numerous experts and activists in higher education and human rights, including Vedrana Spajic-Vrkas (Research and Training Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Citizenship) and Ante Bajo (Institute for Public Finance).

Collection of Papers “Scholarships.info: The Role of Scholarships in Raising Academic Mobility” (2005)
This collection of papers is the first publication in Croatia to problematise the role of scholarships in a broader social context. The primary aim of the publication is to promote the importance of scholarships as a factor that contributes to raising academic mobility and democratising higher education.

The authors of the texts are representatives of Croatian universities and representatives from the public, private and civil sector, as well as individual experts in higher education and scholarships alumni.

Handbook “Right to Education: Higher Education in Croatia and Europe” (2005)
The aim of the handbook is:

  • To provide basic information on the human right to education, as well as on the mechanisms for its realisation; 
  • To provide an overview of institutions in Croatia that are involved in higher education in Croatia and other European countries, as well as a list of Internet resources on higher education in Croatia and Europe.

Download handbook, PDF format (in Croatian only).

Print   Send link

Scholarships Fair 2009