THE CZECH EDUCATION SYSTEM: BUILDING ON THE STRENGTHS AND ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES

Paulo Santiago, Senior AnalystOECD Directorate for Education

Opening Conference on Education Strategy for 2020 Prague, 17 January 2013

Key topics for the presentation

• School education• Higher education• Equity in education

For each area: strengths, challenges and policy options

Analytical sources

• OECD Review of Evaluation and Assessment in Education (2012)

• OECD Equity and Quality in Education: Spotlight Report on the Czech Republic (2012)

• OECD Project: Quality Matters in Early Childhood Education and Care: Policy profile for the Czech Republic (2012)

• OECD Review of Vocational Education and Training in the Czech Republic (2010)

• OECD Review of Tertiary Education in the Czech Republic (2007) and Follow-up OECD Expert Views on White Paper (2009)

PART 1

School Education

School Education: Strengths (1)

There are common references at the national level4-year Long-term policy objectives with targets and indicators; Framework Education Programmes

There are good conditions for adapting learning to local needso School Education Programmes: curriculum innovation; collaborative worko Regional 4-year Long-term policy objectiveso Good levels of school autonomy

There is an increased focus on student outcomes

Including a move to identify expected minimum standards of achievement for students at key points in their education

There has been progress regarding the monitoring of the school systemo An Education Indicators Framework is established o Assessment against pre-established objectiveso Introduction of student national tests in 5th and 9th grades

School Education: Strengths (2)

Positive developments in evaluation and assessment at the local level

o An external dimension to assessment was introduced: national component of school-leaving examination; Common assignments for the apprenticeship certificate

o The principle that teachers should be evaluated is widely accepted: plans to develop teaching standards and new career structure for teachers

o External school evaluation is well established

o Classroom observation is part of the school culture

School Education: Challenges (1)

There are concerns about the articulation between levels of governmento Concerns about the lack of systematic application of national directions, inconsistency of

practices and little capacity or commitment to developing quality frameworks.o Weak articulations between the different decision-making levels.

The balance between general and vocational programmes might need to be revisited – is the education system accommodating student preferences?

Approaches to learning and assessment remain markedly traditionalo Traditional approach to the organisation of classroomso Little emphasis in assessment for learning (formative assessment)

There is little tradition for educational leadership in schools and little recognition of the role of school principalo Many school leaders have not been sufficiently prepared for their wide range of

tasks, in particular leading teaching and learning processes in the school.o While the school principal has considerable responsibilities, this has not as yet been

translated into a dedicated career structure and adequate financial rewards.

School Education: Challenges (2)

There is little emphasis on the evaluation of the education systemo No comprehensive strategic approach to ito The absence of student performance data is a major gap in system monitoringo There are key information gaps at the system level: e.g. no measures on students’ socio-

economic background; limited information on the teaching and learning environmento System-level information is not fully exploited: little analysis to inform educational planning;

limited use to inform school management.

The overall evaluation and assessment framework is incomplete and not integrated

o Some articulations are not sufficiently developedo Underdeveloped components: limited formative assessment of students, no moderation of

marks, no systematic teacher evaluation, incipient school self-evaluation , no framework for school leadership appraisal; limited emphasis of external school evaluation on improvement

o Absence of important references: teaching and school leadership standardso Narrow understanding of the purposes of evaluation and assessment

School Education: Challenges (3)

The national standardised tests entail a range of limitations and riskso Importance of a proper development of the standards o Potential detrimental effects of high-stakes use

The pressures on the education budget might call for a review of the distribution and use of school resourceso Is the distribution of funding efficient and equitable? o Are school resources effectively used?

There are a range of challenges in vocational education and training (VET)o There are concerns about general education in VET programmes, particularly

apprenticeshipso Students do not receive adequate career guidanceo Limited use of workplace trainingo Involvement of social partners in VET is fragmented

School Education: Policy options (1)

• Develop educational standards covering the breadth of student learning objectives

There is a need for clear external reference points in terms of expected levels of student performance at different levels of education

• Improve the articulation between levels of governmento Clarify responsibilities and improve co-ordination

o The regional and municipal authorities should strengthen their role in supporting school improvement.

o Collaboration and networking among schools could be encouraged to help develop and spread good practice and enhance teachers’ professional skills.

• Reassess the balance between general and vocational programmeso Develop strategies for the education system to respond to student preferences

• Strengthen the instructional leadership skills of school principals and develop a specific career structure for school leaders

School Education: Policy options (2)

Place greater emphasis on the evaluation of the education systemo Ensure broad measures – policy making needs to be informed by high quality data and

evidence, but not driven by the availability of such informationo Develop national student performance data (national tests) for system monitoring and as a

pedagogical toolo Prioritise efforts to meet information needs for national monitoringo Optimise the reporting and use of system-level data

Integrate and strengthen the evaluation and assessment frameworko Strategic plan or framework for evaluation and assessmento Strengthen the role of student formative assessment and limit the undesired effects of

national standardised testso Make teacher evaluation systematic: developmental component and evaluation for

certification (associated with steps in career structure)o Develop school leader appraisal and school self-evaluationo Give greater emphasis in external school evaluation to the improvement functiono Put in place moderation processes to ensure consistency of student summative assessmento Develop teaching and school leadership standards

School Education: Policy options (3)

Optimise the use of school resources to minimise the effect of budget constraints

o Review approaches to school fundingo Examine the distribution, use and management of school resources

Improve the delivery of vocational education and training (VET)o Improve the quality of general education within VETo Strengthen career guidance serviceso Systematically enhance the quantity and quality of workplace trainingo Encourage the engagement of employers and unions in VET

PART 2

Higher Education

Higher education: Strengths

• The system has responded successfully to the rapid growth in demando Major growth in student numbers and increased participation rate accommodated

• Some diversification of higher educationo Number of public universities increased with improved regional spreado Concept of non-university HEI introduced, legislated and implemented (public and private)o Private higher education permitted but carefully regulatedo Tertiary professional school sector introduced

• A framework of governance and accreditation is in placeo Well established Accreditation Commissiono Institutional autonomy established, with guarantees of academic freedom and self-

governmento Clear partner role for stakeholders via consultative structures

• Funding system constitutes an important steering mechanismo Introduction of performance-based funding mechanismso Use of normative costs in funding formula

• Reintroduction of research into universities

Higher education: Challenges (1)

• The higher education system is mostly academically driven and inward-lookingo Insufficiently responsive to the diverse needs of the economy and societyo Both programme offerings and curricula are supply-dominated and links with the labour

market are weako Partnerships with business and industry are limited in R&D, constraining the innovation

potential of HEIs

• Differentiation within higher education remains limitedo Non-university HEIs and tertiary professional schools account for a small proportion of

studentso Weak integration between universities and the non-university sector – tertiary professional

schools are not properly integrated either into the higher education or secondary sectorso University sector weakly differentiated – marked by strenuous academic career requirements

• There are concerns about the financial sustainability of higher educationo Although the wage premia for graduates are large, the extent to which graduates contribute to

the costs of their tertiary education is limitedo The student support system is insufficiently developed

Higher education: Challenges (2)

• Institutional governance raises concerns in achieving the alignment of higher education to societal goalso Extensive institutional and faculty autonomy can make it difficult to implement system level

policieso Ability of Rectors and Deans to lead effectively is constrained by democratic academic self-

governanceo Structural tendency to limit central university resources in favour of maximising faculty incomeo While internal higher education representatives have an important role in system and

institutional governance, external stakeholders are largely absent

• The academic labour market is much less open and competitive than in other countries, and there is little academic mobility

Higher education: Policy options (1)

• Reconcile the broader priorities as perceived by society and the priorities of individual institutionso The need to develop a coherent vision for HE with the relevant stakeholders – mechanisms to

build consensuso Re-conceptualisation of academic freedom and self-governanceo Finding the proper balance between governmental steering and institutional autonomy

• Reform institutional governance arrangements to respond to external expectationso Strengthen the strategic leadership of institutionso Address the considerable degree of (internal) institutional fragmentationo Introduce external representation in institutional governance

• Achieve the integration of the tertiary education system with further diversificationo Agree on distinctive missions and contributions of different types of institutionso Possibly integrate part of the tertiary professional school sector into universities o Establish collaborations and credit recognition to facilitate mobility across sectors

Higher education: Policy options (2)

• Enhance relevance of educational offeringso Expand the vocationally-oriented sector and short-cycle programmeso Improve the links to the labour market / businesses and employerso Improve the knowledge flows between higher education and the other actors of the R&D

systemo Build on student choice to define programme offerings – provision of information about

benefits and costs of programmes

• Ensure the financial sustainability of higher educationo More reliance on private resources necessaryo Increase of cost-sharing needs to go alongside a comprehensive student support system

• Develop a more diverse and flexible academic career structure

PART 3

Equity in Education

Equity in education: Strengths

• Greater prominence of equity in education policyo Greater awareness of equity as a serious policy issue

o Concrete policy initiatives such as the National Action Plan for Inclusive Education and the Inclusive Education Support Centres

o Greater focus on school career guidance

o Greater support for disadvantaged schools

• Greater policy focus on and more resources for early childhood education and care

• One of the lowest dropout rates across OECD countrieso To a great extent linked to wide ranging offerings at the school level

• Low levels of grade repetition

Equity in education : Challenges

• Articulation of equity among the national goals for education is narrowo Equity and inclusiveness not explicitly stated as education goalso No clear reference objectivesfor equity and inclusiveness

• Limited information about educational disadvantageo Lack of differential analysis across specific disadvantaged groups – e.g. little information

about school experience of Roma childreno Lack of equity measures

• Strong social selectivity and inequities in the education systemo Early tracking and access to gymnasia strongly influenced by family backgroundo Basis for attending a special school – often based on learning difficulties and / or social

disadvantageo Challenges in the integration of Roma children in the school systemo Inequities in the access to higher education

• Limited systemic policies targeted at addressing inequities in educationo Lack of systemic support to disadvantaged schoolso Lack of preparation of teachers to respond to diversity

The challenge: to reduce the risk of low achievement due to personal circumstances

Relative risk of scoring below level 2 depending on personal circumstances, PISA 2009

Low

ris

k

H

igh

risk

Impact of school’s socio-economic status on student achievementScore point difference associated with a one-unit increase in the school-level PISA index of economic, social and cultural status, PISA 2009

Equity in education: Policy options

• Make equity and inclusion more prominent among educational goals and a greater policy priority

• Assess the extent of inequities in the education system – develop equity measures and promote differential analysis on specific groups

• Strengthen career guidance and counselling

• Guarantee quality access to Early Childhood Education and Care for all children, including through adequate funding

• Defer school tracking and develop pathways between educational tracks

• Prepare teachers for diversity

• Strengthen partnerships between schools and communities

• Incentives for schools to attract disadvantaged students (e.g. higher funding)

• Redefine the role of special schools and monitor their student selection

• Provide systemic support for disadvantaged schools

• Prepare teachers for student diversity and inclusive education

DĚKUJI!

CONTACT INFORMATION:

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