TALIS 2024 in the Western Balkans

Teacher shortages appear more pronounced in Montenegro than in neighbouring systems: one-fifth of teachers work in schools whose principals report a shortage of qualified teachers. Gaps are also evident for teachers with competence in supporting students with special education needs and those skilled in working in multicultural or multilingual settings.

Teacher retention is a growing concern: 28% of teachers report intending to leave the profession in the next five years, rising to over half among older teachers. Most teachers in Montenegro are employed on permanent contracts but young teachers are far more likely to be employed on fixed-term or part-time contracts, pointing to less stable early-career pathways. 

In contrast to neighbouring systems, nearly 30% of teachers in Montenegro work in schools enrolling refugee students. This places additional demands on them to meet a variety of complex learning, social and emotional needs.

Although only 7% of teachers work in schools with high shares of students with special education needs, this is their most commonly reported professional development need. Moreover, teachers report lower confidence in supporting students with specific needs, including special education needs and diverse linguistic or cultural backgrounds. 

In Montenegro, 70% of teachers report participating in induction in their current school. Around 80% work in schools where a mentoring programme is available but only 1% report having received mentoring and 7% report acting as a mentor. Neither participation in induction nor mentoring is positively associated with teachers’ reported fulfilment of lesson aims.  

All teachers in Montenegro report having participated in at least one professional development activity in the 12 months prior to TALIS 2024. Around two‑thirds reported that this impacted their teaching, though this is less common among older and more experienced teachers. 

Although many teachers in Montenegro report collaborating to exchange materials or discuss student progress, engagement with instruction-focused collaboration is low. Only 19% report participating in collaborative professional learning at least once a month and just 7% report engaging in peer observation and feedback.