A New Concept of the Informatics Curriculum in the Czech Republic: Teacher Reflection on the First Year of the Transition Period

Katerina Kostolanyova, Lukas Cirus, Tomas Javorcik and Ivana Simonova ()
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Katerina Kostolanyova: Faculty of Education, University of Ostrava, 701 03 Ostrava, Czech Republic
Lukas Cirus: Faculty of Education, University of Jan Evangelista Purkyne, 400 01 Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic
Tomas Javorcik: Faculty of Education, University of Ostrava, 701 03 Ostrava, Czech Republic
Ivana Simonova: Faculty of Education, University of Ostrava, 701 03 Ostrava, Czech Republic

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-19

Abstract: In the Czech Republic, a new concept that proposes an Informatics curriculum for primary schools was prepared to meet the new requirements of the field. For the implementation to be smooth, a two-year transition period was planned from 2021 to 2023. Training seminars were the main tool to help teachers develop missing subject knowledge and didactic skills. After the first year of the transition period, the question was whether the seminars met the needs of teachers. Therefore, the main objective of the investigation was to collect feedback from them (N = 142) in five regions (of 14), consider changes within the first year (from autumn 2021 to autumn 2022), and propose recommendations for the rest of the period (by autumn 2023). The ex post facto method was used. Data were collected by questionnaires in five areas: (1) preference for an original or new concept for a curriculum, (2) and subject knowledge and didactic skills of teachers, (3) school equipment; (4) learning materials and teaching methods used, and (5) experience in online learning and teaching. The results show that in autumn 2022, the support for the new concept increased and the school equipment improved; however, subject knowledge and didactic skills were the weak points. Individualization through the tailoring of the seminars to the needs of teachers represents an efficient way to train them according to their level of knowledge, their preferred form of learning, and the learning content.

Keywords: ICT; Informatics; computational thinking; primary school; curriculum; Czech Republic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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