The Council of the Department of Psychology, at its session of 6 June 2013, adopted a decision to cancel the course "Methodical practice" (hourly rate: 120V; 10 ECTS). This was a mandatory course as a part of the acquisition of pedagogical-psychological-didactic-methodical education for psychologists, and necessary for the work of psychologists in schools according to the Law on Education in Primary and Secondary Schools (OG, No. 87/08). According to the former program, students who opted for the acquisition of these competences had to meet all obligations of the course "Practice" (75V; 6 ECTS), a mandatory course of Graduate study programme in psychology, along with the mentioned course.

Students who acquire pedagogical-psychological-didactic-methodical competences shall perform the course "Practice" in primary and secondary schools so as to obtain the competencies that were acquired by the course "Methodical practice". Thus, students who wish to acquire these competencies are not doing two practices, methodical and student, as was the case so far, but only a practice carried out in primary or secondary school.

The Law on Education in Primary and Secondary Schools (2008) provides that the duties of teachers, professors and teaching assistants can be performed by persons with Master's degree who have pedagogical competencies. Pedagogical competencies are defined by law as pedagogical-psychological and didactic-methodical education worth 60 ECTS credits.

In other words, in order for a Master of Psychology to work as a teaching assistant at the elementary or secondary school, or as a teacher at secondary school, they have to acquire prescribed pedagogical competencies during or after the study.

Graduate study programme of psychology provides that students can acquire the aforementioned competencies by choosing certain elective courses. Namely, all students with education orientation (which in this case applies to those who may in future work as teaching assistants in schools) are required to pass the courses: Educational Psychology (6 ECTS), Systematic Pedagogy (6 ECTS) and Didactics (6 ECTS) as part of education at the Centre for Teacher Education in accordance with the decision of the Faculty. With a request to the Centre, Courses "Educational psychology: learning and teaching" and "Educational psychology: motivational and social factors" will be recognised to students of Psychology in place of "Psychology of education" amounting to 6 ECTS credits as the course Psychology of education is worth at the Centre. All students are also required to pass the courses related to teaching methodology in their home departments. To the students of Psychology those are Methodology of teaching psychology (5 ECTS), Practicum in methodology of teaching (6 ECTS) and Practice (6 ECTS) - a total of 17 ECTS credits.

Thus, through passing or recognition of these courses, students of psychology can acquire a total of 35 ECTS credits. The remaining credits to reach 60 ECTS can be gained by passing certain elective courses offered by the Department of Psychology or certain elective courses offered by the Centre for Teacher Education.

List of elective courses offered by the Centre for Teacher Education can be found on the website of the Centre: http://czon.ffzg.unizg.hr/

1. Psychology students do not enrol to the following courses from the Centre for Teacher Education:

• Evaluation of treatment in education
• Intelligence
• Psychodiagnostic instruments
• Work with gifted students
• Developmental psychology for teachers

2. Elective courses of the Department of Psychology which are recognised as courses that improve the pedagogical-psychological-didactic-methodical education:

• Introduction to school and preschool psychology (4 ECTS)
• Introduction to developmental psychology (6 ECTS)
• Child and adolescent psychology (6 ECTS)
• Intelligence (3 ECTS elective, 4 ECTS compulsory)
• Practicum in communication skills (5 ECTS)
• Treatment evaluation (4 ECTS)
• Psychology of learning and teaching mathematics (3 ECTS)
• Psychology of persons with special needs (4 ECTS)
• Psychology of trauma (4 ECTS)
• Personality assessment (4 ECTS)
• Basic counselling skills (5 ECTS)
• Research with children (4 ECTS)
• Psychological counselling in crisis (4 ECTS)
• Psychological assessment of children (5 ECTS)
• Educational psychology of gifted students (5 ECTS)
• Applied developmental psychology (4 ECTS)
• Violence in close relations (6 ECTS)
• Psychology of parenting (6 ECTS)