Page 23 - Šolsko polje, XXX, 2019, št. 5-6: Civic, citizenship and rhetorical education in a rapidly changing world, eds. Janja Žmavc and Plamen Mirazchiyski
P. 23
i. elezović ■ civic and citizenship education in croatia ...
new push came along with the first comprehensive national reform8 which
started with the strategic document Education Sector Development Plan
2005-2010 (Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of
Croatia, 2005) and the consequent implementation of the new Nation-
al Program on Primary Education (Ministry of Science, Education and
Sports of the Republic of Croatia, 2006). All elementary programs were
revised and new documents came into power after the experimental pe-
riod of implementation. Here, HRE was included with integrated con-
tent in many, predominantly social science, subjects and the possibility
of organizing it as an optional school subject was left upto schools. This
“possibility” was not appealing in practice, and again only a small portion
of schools and/or local communities was devoted to this implementation
due to their objective restrictions in the teaching organization (limited
time/space in the schedule, lack of expert teachers, students choosing oth-
er subjects perceived as more important as optional ones, etc.).
This ambiguous period ended with the publication of the first Cro-
atian National Curriculum Framework (Ministry of Science, Education
and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, 2011) in which Civic and Citizen-
ship Education (CCE) was introduced in the form of cross-curricular
themes that needed to be implemented in all subjects and in all levels of
compulsory education (ISCED 0 to 3). Here again, the option of organiz-
ing CCE as a school subject remained, but with similar effect as up until
then. In this period Health Education had its second experimental imple-
mentation in primary and secondary education9 as one of the cross-cur-
ricular themes that opted to become a separate subject but in both cases
this was postponed and accompanied with heated public debate. Right-
wing parties and NGO’s organized public campaigns for Health Edu-
cation not to be introduced in its integral form10 but selective and on a
voluntary basis, and in that moment this educational content was success-
fully disputed on the basis of “acceptable values”. At the same time, a new
independent CCE curriculum was experimentally introduced to only 12
schools for one school year (Ministry of Science, Education and Sports
and Teacher Training Agency, 2012) with the aim of becoming the one
8 Reform known under the name of Croatian National Educational Standard (hrv. “Hrvatski
nacionalni obrazovni standard” or HNOS).
9 The first experimental implementation of Health Education was done in school year
2008/2009 and the second one 2012/2013. External evaluation was done by the National
Centre for External Evaluation of Education (NCEEE).
10 The most “problematic part” was forth module – Sex/Gender Equality and Responsible
Sexual Behaviour, especially in the part of sexual behaviour of youth and possible forms
of contraception. Three other modules were: Living healthy, Prevention of Violent Behav-
iour and Prevention of Addictions.
21
new push came along with the first comprehensive national reform8 which
started with the strategic document Education Sector Development Plan
2005-2010 (Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of
Croatia, 2005) and the consequent implementation of the new Nation-
al Program on Primary Education (Ministry of Science, Education and
Sports of the Republic of Croatia, 2006). All elementary programs were
revised and new documents came into power after the experimental pe-
riod of implementation. Here, HRE was included with integrated con-
tent in many, predominantly social science, subjects and the possibility
of organizing it as an optional school subject was left upto schools. This
“possibility” was not appealing in practice, and again only a small portion
of schools and/or local communities was devoted to this implementation
due to their objective restrictions in the teaching organization (limited
time/space in the schedule, lack of expert teachers, students choosing oth-
er subjects perceived as more important as optional ones, etc.).
This ambiguous period ended with the publication of the first Cro-
atian National Curriculum Framework (Ministry of Science, Education
and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, 2011) in which Civic and Citizen-
ship Education (CCE) was introduced in the form of cross-curricular
themes that needed to be implemented in all subjects and in all levels of
compulsory education (ISCED 0 to 3). Here again, the option of organiz-
ing CCE as a school subject remained, but with similar effect as up until
then. In this period Health Education had its second experimental imple-
mentation in primary and secondary education9 as one of the cross-cur-
ricular themes that opted to become a separate subject but in both cases
this was postponed and accompanied with heated public debate. Right-
wing parties and NGO’s organized public campaigns for Health Edu-
cation not to be introduced in its integral form10 but selective and on a
voluntary basis, and in that moment this educational content was success-
fully disputed on the basis of “acceptable values”. At the same time, a new
independent CCE curriculum was experimentally introduced to only 12
schools for one school year (Ministry of Science, Education and Sports
and Teacher Training Agency, 2012) with the aim of becoming the one
8 Reform known under the name of Croatian National Educational Standard (hrv. “Hrvatski
nacionalni obrazovni standard” or HNOS).
9 The first experimental implementation of Health Education was done in school year
2008/2009 and the second one 2012/2013. External evaluation was done by the National
Centre for External Evaluation of Education (NCEEE).
10 The most “problematic part” was forth module – Sex/Gender Equality and Responsible
Sexual Behaviour, especially in the part of sexual behaviour of youth and possible forms
of contraception. Three other modules were: Living healthy, Prevention of Violent Behav-
iour and Prevention of Addictions.
21
