Abstract
Results of the worldwide PISA study in science performance from past years (2009, 2012 and 2015) show that Czech pupils are placed in the OECD average, whereas some countries with similar cultural and historical background are statistically significantly above it as well as above the results of the Czech Republic. As an example, Estonia, Poland and Slovenia belong to these countries and therefore they were chosen for the presented comparative study. The study focuses on comparison of national curricula of these countries,
especially on fundamental aspects important for physics education at lower secondary schools. The study highlights the comparison of teaching content and learning outcomes in physics, interdisciplinary education and cross-curricula subjects, educational methods and assessment and field-specific key competences. One of the most evident differences that this study has detected is in the level of autonomy that the curricular documents give schools in deciding what the learning process will look like. This result as well as other findings will be discussed in the paper.
References
Estonian Ministry of Education and Research. (2014). National curricula 2014. Available from https://www.hm.ee/en/national-curricula-2014
Estonian Ministry of Education and Research. (n.d.). Pre-school, basic and secondary education. Available from https://www.hm.ee/en/activities/pre-school-basic-and-secondary-education
European Communities. (2007). Key Competences for Lifelong Learning — A European Framework. Retrieved from https://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv%3A59967
Eurydice. (n.d.). National Education Systems. Retrieved from https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/national-description en
Francuz-Ornat, G. & Kulawik, T. (2009). Program nauczania fizyki w gimnazjum. Spotkania z fizyka. Warszawa: Nowa era. Available from http://www.dlanauczyciela.pl/zasob-744
Krek, J., & Metljak, M. (2011). Bela knjiga o vzgoji in izobraževanju v Republiki Sloveniji 2011. Zavod RS za šolstvo. Available from http://pefprints.pef.uni-lj.si/1195/1/bela knjiga 2011.pdf
Ministery of Education, Youth and Sport. (2005). Vyhláška č. 48/2005 Sb., o základním vzdělávání a některých náležitostech plnění povinné školní docházky. Available from http://www.msmt.cz/file/38827/
Ministry of Education, Science and Sport. (2014). Predmetnik osnovne šole. Available from http://www.mizs.gov.si/fileadmin/mizs.gov.si/pageuploads/podrocje/os/devetletka/predmetniki/Predmetnik OS.pdf
Ministry of Education, Science and Sport. (n.d.). Učni načrti. Available from http://www.mizs.gov.si/si/delovna podrocja/direktorat za predsolsko vzgojo in osnovno solstvo/osnovno solstvo/ucni nacrti/
OECD iLibrary. (n.d.). PISA. Available from https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/pisa 19963777
OECD. (2012). Public and Private Schools: How Management and Funding Relate to their Socio-economic Profile. OECD Publishing. Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264175006-en
OECD. (2017). Education at a Glance 2017: OECD Indicators. OECD Publishing, Paris. Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2017-en
Polish Eurydice Unit. (2015). The System of Education in Poland in Brief 2015. Foundation for the Development of the Education System, Warsaw. Available from http://eurydice.org.pl/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/BRIEF EN FINAL2015.pdf
Polish Ministry of National Education. (2012). Rozporz˛adzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej. Available from https://men.gov.pl/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/27 08.pdf
Taštanoska, T. (ed.). (2017). The EDUCATION SYSTEM in the Republic of Slovenia 2016/2017. Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia. Available from https://eng.cmepius.si/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/The-Education-System-in-the-Republic-of-Slovenia-2016-17.pdf
The Research Institute of Education. (2017). Framework education programme for basic education (with amendments as of September 1, 2007). Available from http://www.msmt.cz/uploads/Areas of work/basic education/Basic Education EN.doc
TIMSS & PIRLS International Study center. (n.d.). Lynch School of Education, Boston College. Available from https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/isc/publications.html
UNESCO. (2012). International Standard Classification of Education ISCED 2011. Available from http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/internationalstandard-classification-of-education-isced-2011-en.pdf
United Nations Development Programme. (2016). Human Development Report. Available from http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2016 human development report.pdf
World Bank. (2017). GDP per capita. Available from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD