Teacher Preferences of Literature Curricula at Higher Secondary Schools in the Czech Republic

Michal Čuřín,Michala Mikolášíková

doi:10.15405/ejsbs.306

Abstract

The current revision of national curricula documents in the Czech Republic is motivated by the increasing digitalization of society as well as the need to prepare students for future challenges linked with economic restructuring. The revision includes the reduction of teaching content as well as the establishment of a new range of student learning outcomes. This paper focuses on identifying teacher preferences with regard to the literature curriculum in terms of the curricular content and scope at higher secondary schools. Based on a thorough content analysis of current school curricula documents and textbooks, a so-called model maximum curriculum of literature was established as a basis for the construction of a questionnaire for teachers to express their preferred content. 20 secondary school teachers were selected according to their gender, type of school and duration of working experience as the sample for this study. The analysis found that teachers are satisfied with the current curriculum in terms of content and scope. However, two common tendencies were observed. Firstly, the majority of respondents agreed on the reduction of the curricular content devoted to older literature. Secondly, the reduction of curricular content was consistent in rejecting foreign thematic blocks and minor national literatures. The analysis also confirmed the teachers' lack of interest in including Asian, African, and Central and South American literature in the curriculum.

Highlights

In the context of social, cultural and environmental changes, the rapid development of digital technologies and the concurrent transformation of the economy, the Czech Republic is currently undertaking an in-depth revision of curriculum documents with a view to the 10 years and beyond
In the area of teaching literary theory in secondary school, the only significant consensus among the respondents related to the neglect of the role of the doctrine of prosody
The majority of respondents were in favour of expanding the teaching of contemporary literature in secondary schools. This finding, contrasts sharply with our previous research (Čuřín, 2013), which attempted to determine the actual state of teaching in terms of the content of literature curricula for secondary schools based on the mandatory published documents1 for the secondary school final examination

Summary

Introduction

In the context of social, cultural and environmental changes, the rapid development of digital technologies and the concurrent transformation of the economy, the Czech Republic is currently undertaking an in-depth revision of curriculum documents with a view to the 10 years and beyond (see Fryč et al, 2020). These revisions are being undertaken to emphasise the fundamental position of key educational competences in accordance with the Recommendations of the Council of the European Union (2018), as well as the new structure of curriculum content. Better teachers support better learning because they are most knowledgeable about the practice of teaching and are responsible for introducing the curriculum in the classroom. (p.106)

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