Chemistry Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

In this paper, the education system in Bosnia and Herzegovina is presented in the light of current state-level legislation, with an emphasis on chemistry education at the primary, secondary and tertiary level. The consequences of the last war in our country still persist and are visible in many aspects of everyday life, including the education system, thus limiting the efforts of education professionals to follow international trends in education. There are three valid curricula for primary education at the national level, each of which differs in the national group of school subjects. Teaching methods are common for all three curricula and are mainly teacher-oriented. The situation is similar with regard to secondary education. Study programmes at the university level are organised in accordance with the Bologna principles. The programmes are made by the universities themselves and approved by the corresponding ministry of education. Chemical education research in Bosnia and Herzegovina is mainly conducted at the University of Sarajevo. It deals with (1) the problems of experimental work in chemistry teaching, resulting in more than 60 experiments optimised for primary and secondary school, (2) integrating the knowledge of chemistry, physics and physical chemistry for university students, with regard to students’ difficulties observed during university courses and potential solutions, and (3) the effectiveness of web-based learning material in primary school chemistry for the integration of macroscopic and submicroscopic levels. For the purpose of this paper, official documents for primary, secondary and higher education have been used.