6.2 TEACHING AND LEARNING
•1 Curriculum, subjects, number of hours
General Upper Secondary Education
The development of the curriculum and syllabuses for the general upper secondary education is responsibility of the Bureau for Development of Education and are approved by the Minister for Education and Science.
General secondary schools are implementing the teaching plan and programs for general secondary education, where the first two years are common for all students and in the third and fourth year students are selecting combination of courses from one of the areas: natural sciences and mathematics, social sciences and humanities, linguistic and art area.
The teaching plans for general upper secondary education are developed for each area of the general upper secondary education. For each study area there are two elective options – combinations of elective subjects. For example: for the area of natural sciences and mathematics: combination A (mathematics - computer sciences) and combination B (chemistry and biology); for the area of social sciences and humanities combination A (social sciences) and combination B (humanities); and for the area of linguistic and arts combination A (linguistic) and combination B (arts).
The general secondary education structure and content of the syllabus is composed of four components: compulsory subjects, elective subjects, compulsory elective programmes and project activities.
Compulsory subjects are those that students have studied in primary school, and are aimed at providing students with general education, covering 80% of the syllabus. Elective subjects allow students to reach a higher level of theoretical knowledge and they are more oriented and focused on the selected area of studies. The elective programmes cover sports and recreation, music and visual arts. The programmes entail more flexible forms and methods of realisation depending on student interests and school facilities. Project activities are a special area in the syllabus focused on meeting individual interests and desires of students in respective fields.
The syllabuses contain information about the list of compulsory subjects, list of elective subjects, project activities and the number of hours (periods of teaching) for each subject in each year of studies. In the upper general education the total number of hours (compulsory and elective subject) is: 29 weekly hours (1044 in school year) for I year, 31 weekly hours (1116 in school year) for II year, 29 weekly hours (1044 in school year) for III year, 29 weekly hours (957 in school year) for IV year. Also, the students must spend 70 hours on project activities. The school year for the IV year is shorter due to the preparation period for the State Matura and School Matura exams.
Vocational Upper Secondary Education
Technical education schools (4-years VET schools) are implementing curriculum of 15 vocational areas in the technical education such as: economics, law and trade; health; textile and leather processing; graphics and printing; electro-technical; personal services; hospitality and tourism, forestry and wood processing; construction and geodesy; agriculture and veterinary; traffic and transport; sports, geology, mining and metallurgy; chemistry; machinery.
Vocational education for occupations (3-years VET schools) prepares graduates for occupations in the economic sector, i.e. industry, crafts or services. It is provided in 45 public vocational schools which deliver curricula for 36 educational profiles in 14 occupational areas.
Vocational skilling (up to 2-years VET) provides students with practical knowledge and qualifications for work with lower level requirements in different areas of labour. Programmes for vocational skilling are open to all who have completed primary education or less and provide learners with functional skilling (up to one year duration) and vocational skilling (up to two years duration).
The structure of the curriculum of the vocational education and training is composed of subjects for general education, subjects for vocational-theoretical education and practical training.
In the four years VET curriculum, the total number of hours is: 29 weekly hours (1044 in school year) for I year, 33 weekly hours (1188 in school year) for II year, 31 weekly hours (1116 in school year) for III year and 31 weekly hours (1023 in school year) for IV year. The total number of hours from I until IV year is 4371 in school year where up to 50% are subjects for general education, up to 40% are subjects for vocational-theoretical education and up to 10% are practical training.
In the three years VET curriculum, the total number of hours is: 33 weekly hours (1188 in school year) for I year and II year and 31 weekly hours (1023 in school year) for III year. The total number of hours for I, II and III year is 3399 in school year where up to 40% are subjects for general education, up to 20% are subjects for vocational-theoretical education and up to 40% are practical training.
In the two years VET curriculum, the total number of hours is: 26 weekly hours (936 in school year) for I year and 29 weekly hours (957 in school year) for II year. The total number of hours for I and II year is 1893 in school year where up to 30% are subjects for general education, up to 20% are subjects for vocational-theoretical education and up to 50% are practical training.
• 2 Teaching methods and materials
General Upper Secondary Education
The teaching methods and materials are prescribed in the curriculum which are developed by the Bureau for Development of Education for each subject in each year of schooling separately. Each curriculum contains description of the general objectives, specific objectives, prerequisites (in terms of previously acquired knowledge necessary for participation in class for the subject in question), teaching process with explanations about the subject’s content and study areas, structure of the content with explanation of the specific goals in each study area, didactical recommendations and correlation with other subjects, teaching methods, learning activities, organisation and implementation of the teaching activity, prescribed textbooks for the pupils, prescribed literature for the teacher, directions for assessment of the pupils, standards about the teachers, standards about the school facilities (classroom and equipment). Free of charge textbooks for each student is available in order to provide equal access to the education for all.
Vocational Upper Secondary Education
Resources available for the teaching and learning process are primarily focused on textbooks, whilst other sources of learning (worksheets, manuals, software packages, etc.) are available for general education subjects. Teaching is dominated by traditional, whole-class frontal work with students at the expense of interactive approach and processes.
The curriculum for the general subjects in the vocational education are developed by the Bureau for Development of Education, whereas the development of the curriculum for the vocational subjects is responsibility of the Centre for Vocational Education and Training.
Each curricula contains description of the general objectives, specific objectives, prerequisites (in terms of previously acquired knowledge necessary for participation in class for the subject in question), teaching process with explanations about the subject’s content and study areas, structure of the content with explanation of the specific goals in each study area, didactical recommendations and correlation with other subjects, teaching methods, learning activities, organisation and implementation of the teaching activity, prescribed textbooks for the pupils, prescribed literature for the teacher, directions for assessment of the pupils, standards about the teachers, standards about the school facilities (classroom and equipment).
The standards for occupations and the vocational qualifications are developed by Centre for Vocational Education and Training for each occupational area and vocational profile within each occupational area.