School in the Czech Republic: Three decades after the fall of communism
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| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
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| Description | In this chapter, we introduce the development of the education and curricular changes in the Czech Republic after the so-called Velvet Revolution (1989), with special focus on the recent curriculum reform. It has been shown that countries of Central and Eastern Europe went through similar phases after the fall of Communism. In our chapter we draw on these and describe four relatively distinct periods in the history of education in the Czech Republic after 1989. First, we look at the 1990s as a period of deconstruction and partial stabilization when the country needed to turn away old principles and establish new ones on all levels of education. The second period dates approximately from the turn of the millennium till 2005. In this period, also called reconstruction phase, a strategic paper was prepared and authorized that described the visions for the development of education in the Czech Republic (White Paper, 2001) and a curriculum reform was designed and piloted. The third period – years 2005 to 2013 – is marked by implementation of the reform. From 2014–2020 (fourth period) we can see signs (Education Strategy 2020 published in 2014) that the idea of the curriculum reform is being re-framed and steps are being taken that seem to go against its principles. We label this period as gradual differentiation. By the end of the chapter we to discuss these tendencies in connection with the new strategic plans for Czech education system (e.g. Education Strategy 2030+). |