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Add to favouritesEconomical and working world-related education > Economical and working world-related education in in the Czech republic
Education in economic subjects in Czech basic and secondary schools
Economic subjects in basic and secondary schools is an important element of the current changes in the Czech educational policy. In view of the new principles of the curricular policy, as worded by the National Education Development Programme (also called The White Book) and anchored in the Czech 2004/561 School Act, a new system of curricular documents for the education of children and pupils aged 3 to 19 has been launched. Such curricular documents are published at two levels - national and that of the school.
The national level in the system of curricular documents is represented by the National Programme of Education and the Framework Programmes of Education, the latter delimitng the obligatory frameworks of education and its stages: pre-school, basic, and secondary.
The level of the school is represented by the School Education Programmes according to which teaching at individual schools is carried out.
The following outline of the education in subjects related to economics in basic and secondary schools is based on the Framework Programme of Basic Education (2005). It is thus a very general curriculum with an obligatory framework and a rather wide scope for enhancement by authorized teachers in schools.
1) Education in economic subjects in basic schools
The Framework Programme of Basic Education became basis for the application of School Education Programmes in a few pilot basic schools in the Czech Republic. The term for the full implementation of both types of programmes at all basic (and special) schools is 1 September 2007.
As follows, ten educational areas have been identified in basic education, each of them with specified outcome:
1. Language and language communication
2. Mathematics and its applications
3. Information and communication technologies
4. Man and the world
5. Man and society
6. Man and nature
7. Arts and culture
8. Man and health
9. Man and the world of work
10. Additional subjects of education
A general objective is to develop children's key competences in all of these areas, i.e. their competence to learning, competence to problem-solving, communicational competence, social and personal competence, civic competence, and the competence of work. The support to economic thinking is included in the area named Man and the world of work.
The concept of the educational area named Man and the world of work is based on specific situations in which pupils are directly confronted with human actions and technologies, in a variety of forms and contexts. Such area of education is purposefully aimed at work skills and habits, adding an important element to the whole of the basic education and making thus young people able to find their places in life and the society.
For lower basic education, the educational contents of this area is divided into four themes, obligatory for every school:
- work with small material
- constructional activities
- plant-growing
- food preparation
For upper basic education, the area is divided into eight themes:
- work with technical materials
- design and constructing
- growing and breeding
- household operation and maintenance
- food preparation
- work with laboratory technologies
- utilizaton of digital technologies
- the world of work
The theme the world of work (containing issues of economics) is obligatory. Besides, schools have to choose at least two more themes from the above options, correspondingly to their pedagogic objectives and the conditions under which they operate. The chosen themes are fully applied, with the world of work obligatory for grades 8 and 9 (possibly starting from grade 7). Apart from the world of work, questions of economics are included in the theme household operation and maintenance.
Expected outcome and the curriculum within the theme household operation and maintenance
As expected outcome of the theme household operation and maintenance, pupils:
- make simple payment/accounting operations
- know simple work procedures in household maintenance and understand directions for use of household appliances
- handle correctly household aids, tools, instruments, and equipment
- follow the basic instructions and standards of hygiene and safety, able to give first aid in emergency/injury, including that of electric shock
The curriculum:
- finance, operation, and maintenance of the household: budget, income, costs, savings, cash payments and cashless transfers, economy of the household, maintenance of clothing and textiles, cleaning (procedures, means and their effect on the environment), waste and the environment-friendly disposal, household appliances
- electrotechnics in the household: installation, equipment, electronics, communication technologies (function, handling, protection), safety and economy, accident hazard
Expected outcome and the curriculum within the theme the world of work (obligatory for grades 8 and 9, optionally 7)
As expected outcome of the theme the world of work, pupils:
- are well informed about the contents of selected professions
- can judge the opportunities in the choice of their careers and professional formation
- can use specialist information and consulting for the choice of prospective education
- can prove, in model situations, the ability to present themselves when entering the labour market
The curriculum:
- labour market: occupations, kinds of working places, instruments, objects, characters and types of work, requirements for qualification, personal characteristics and health, equity of opportunities in the labour market
- vocational selection: basic principles, self-recognition (individual interests and objectives, health conditions, personal abilities, self-evaluation, impacts on career choice), information basis for vocational selection, work with specialist information and use of consulting services
- options of education: contents of study subjects, entrance proceedings, information and consulting
- jobs: vacancies in the community/region, job search, writing CVs, interviews with possible employers, problems of unemployment, employment offices, rights and obligations of employees and employers
- businesses: kinds and structure of organizations, major forms of undertaking, small businesses and private undertaking
2) Education in economic subjects at secondary grammar schools
For general secondary education, the Framework Programme is currently being tested in pilot schools. The aim of the testing is to facilitate the creation of the first Education Programmes for secondary grammar schools and, based on the experience of the pilot schools, to publish a manual to help other schools create their Education Programmes.
For general secondary education, economics is again included in the educational area named Man and the world of work. Such education is to introduce pupils into adequate professional, economic and civic life, supporting their knowledge of the market economy, the world of finance, and the national/European economic structures.
The objectives of the educational area Man and the world of work are as follows:
- general understanding of the micro-economic and macro-economic relations
- responsible use of the opportunities of the social state
- responsible management of financial means through safe investments
- ability to analyse the function of the media in the world of economics, using the obtained information to comprehensively understand the national and international economies
- grasp and critical analysis of the benefits and risks of the globalized economy
The specific educational contents is then divided into the following themes:
- labour market and the professional choice
- working and legal relations
- market economy
- national economy
- finance
As expected outcome of the theme market economy, pupils:
- can explain the functioning of the market and the variability in the prices of goods and the labour force as related to demand/supply, based on real and actual situations
- can differentiate and compare among various forms of undertaking, identifying those most applicable under given conditions
- can judge the advantages and risks of undertaking as compared to employment
- know how to establish one's own business, including the procurement of the necessary documents
- can analyse the hidden contents of advertising, critically evaluating the importance of marketing for the success of certain products
The curriculum:
- basic economic notions: types of economies, economic cycle, market mechanisms, demand/supply, price-making, global economic questions
- economic subjects: legal forms of undertaking (types of businesses, basic legal norms of undertaking)
- marketing: (marketing and public relations, advertisement, advertising agencies)
As expected outcome of the theme national economy, pupils:
- can explain the basic principles of the functioning of the income/expense system in national economies
- know various types of taxes, specifying the activities or facts the taxes are related to
- can submit tax statements, able to make basic calculations of taxes and social/health insurance
- can evaluate the influence of some essential economic indicators (inflation, VAT rate, unemployment rate, etc.) on changes in the living standard of the population
- know how to calculate the minimum income of their households or ask for social benefits
- can find information on jobs and requalifications and explain the function of unemployment benefits, the registry office, personal placement agencies, and so forth
The curriculum:
- fiscal policy: state budget, structure of taxes
- monetary policy of the National Bank: inflation, exchange rate, balance of foreign payments, GNP
- social policy: system of pensions and social benefits, state employment policy, and so forth
As expected outcome of the theme finance, pupils:
- can explain the function of the National Bank and the impact on the operation of commercial banks
- know the principles of the developments in financial markets and the possibilities of safe investments in shares
- use modern banking services including those based on information and telecommunication technologies
- can choose the best possible ways on financing their needs (savings, credits, lease, etc.)
The curriculum:
- money: functions of money, forms of cashless payments, equities, shares, stock exchange
- structure of banks: National Bank and commercial banks, specialized financial institutions, banking products, savings, credits, lease, insurance
3) Other types of secondary schools
The national reform of the curriculum only applies for basic schools and secondary schools of general education. In other types of secondary schools, education in economis subjects depends on the specialization of the school, focusing on the professions for which the pupils are being prepared (technical schools, business colleges, apprentice training colleges, and so on).
References:
Rámcový vzdělávací program pro základní vzdělávání [Framework Programme of Basic Education], VÚP, Praha, 2005
Manuál pro tvorbu školních a vzdělávacích programů v základním vzdělávání [Manual for School Education Programme Making in Basic Education], VÚP, Praha 2005 www.vuppraha.cz