Security Issues in the Context of Curriculum 229 Revision in the Czech Republic from the Perspective of Key Actors in Curriculum Reform

Abstract

The text discusses the issue of including safety issues in the Framework Educational Programs in the Czech Republic in the currently ongoing curriculum revision. The article presents data from a quantitative research study conducted in January 2023 using the questionnaire method. The selection of respondents was specific, including teachers of primary and secondary schools who are actively involved in teaching safety topics in practice and one of their professional qualifications is Health Education. The selection criteria were met by 298 out of a total of 438 respondents who were included in the evaluation. The text outlines the development of the curriculum of safety topics in the historical context of conceptual changes in the education system.

Objectives: The research study aims to reveal teachers’ opinions on the ongoing curricular reform in the field of teaching safety topics. Another objective is to determine the relationship between the assessment of the importance of teaching and the demands on teachers’ preparation for teaching and the assessment of their own competence in a given area.

Data collection methods: A quantitative type of survey was chosen for the needs of the research study. The data collection method used was a questionnaire.

Data analysis method: A primary analysis of individual questions was carried out and subsequently a secondary analysis of the results. The statistical methods Mann–Whitney U-test and Spearman’s correlation coefficient were used to evaluate the questions.

Results and conclusions: It turned out that teachers assess safety topics as important for students’ readiness for life and consider the inclusion of this issue in the educational area of Man and Health, or Man, his Health and Safety, as the right decision. There are differences in the perception of the importance of the topics among the 15 monitored thematic areas. According to the respondents, the least important topics include the topic of natural disasters in the world and the topic of national defense. However, their average importance rating remains high: 7.1 and 7.3 out of 10 possible points. It is therefore clear that teachers consider them to be topics that belong to education. It turned out that these topics are also most often proposed by respondents as developing curriculum. It was also found that the assessment of one's own teaching competence in the monitored topics increases with the length of teaching experience, with the exception of the topic of population protection. Respondents evaluate the topic of national defense as one of the most difficult to prepare for and also report a low assessment of teaching competence.