Publication at Faculty of Education |
2012
Abstract
A major educational reform of primary and lower secondary education was launched in the Czech Republic recently. Nevertheless, recent decline of TIMSS and PISA results of Czech pupils raised debates about further measures for improvement of the national school system.
In this paper, the new institutionalism is outlined as a valuable theoretical framework for deeper understanding of the Czech schools and for the analysis of the problems encountered by the reform. For instance, the promotion of general key competences as the preferred goal of Czech basic school may be in conflict with the "world culture of schooling" that emphasizes academic outcomes measured by PISA or TIMSS.