THE CZECH EDUCATION SYSTEM:
BUILDING ON THE STRENGTHS AND
ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES
Paulo Santiago, Senior Analyst
OECD 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 level
4-year Long-term policy objectives with targets and indicators; Framework Education Programmes
 There are good conditions for adapting learning to local needs
o School Education Programmes: curriculum innovation; collaborative work
o Regional 4-year Long-term policy objectives
o 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 system
o An Education Indicators Framework is established
o Assessment against pre-established objectives
o 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 government
o 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 traditional
o Traditional approach to the organisation of classrooms
o 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 principal
o 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 system
o No comprehensive strategic approach to it
o The absence of student performance data is a major gap in system monitoring
o There are key information gaps at the system level: e.g. no measures on students’ socioeconomic background; limited information on the teaching and learning environment
o 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 developed
o 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 standards
o Narrow understanding of the purposes of evaluation and assessment
School Education: Challenges (3)
 The national standardised tests entail a range of limitations and risks
o 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 resources
o 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
apprenticeships
o Students do not receive adequate career guidance
o Limited use of workplace training
o 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 government
o 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 programmes
o 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 system
o Ensure broad measures – policy making needs to be informed by high quality data and
evidence, but not driven by the availability of such information
o Develop national student performance data (national tests) for system monitoring and as a
pedagogical tool
o Prioritise efforts to meet information needs for national monitoring
o Optimise the reporting and use of system-level data
 Integrate and strengthen the evaluation and assessment framework
o Strategic plan or framework for evaluation and assessment
o Strengthen the role of student formative assessment and limit the undesired effects of national
standardised tests
o Make teacher evaluation systematic: developmental component and evaluation for
certification (associated with steps in career structure)
o Develop school leader appraisal and school self-evaluation
o Give greater emphasis in external school evaluation to the improvement function
o Put in place moderation processes to ensure consistency of student summative assessment
o 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 funding
o Examine the distribution, use and management of school resources
 Improve the delivery of vocational education and training (VET)
o
o
o
o
Improve the quality of general education within VET
Strengthen career guidance services
Systematically enhance the quantity and quality of workplace training
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 demand
o Major growth in student numbers and increased participation rate accommodated
• Some diversification of higher education
o
o
o
o
Number of public universities increased with improved regional spread
Concept of non-university HEI introduced, legislated and implemented (public and private)
Private higher education permitted but carefully regulated
Tertiary professional school sector introduced
• A framework of governance and accreditation is in place
o Well established Accreditation Commission
o Institutional autonomy established, with guarantees of academic freedom and self-government
o Clear partner role for stakeholders via consultative structures
• Funding system constitutes an important steering mechanism
o Introduction of performance-based funding mechanisms
o 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-looking
o Insufficiently responsive to the diverse needs of the economy and society
o Both programme offerings and curricula are supply-dominated and links with the labour
market are weak
o Partnerships with business and industry are limited in R&D, constraining the innovation
potential of HEIs
• Differentiation within higher education remains limited
o Non-university HEIs and tertiary professional schools account for a small proportion of students
o Weak integration between universities and the non-university sector – tertiary professional
schools are not properly integrated either into the higher education or secondary sectors
o University sector weakly differentiated – marked by strenuous academic career requirements
• There are concerns about the financial sustainability of higher education
o Although the wage premia for graduates are large, the extent to which graduates contribute to
the costs of their tertiary education is limited
o The student support system is insufficiently developed
Higher education: Challenges (2)
• Institutional governance raises concerns in achieving the alignment of higher
education to societal goals
o Extensive institutional and faculty autonomy can make it difficult to implement system level
policies
o Ability of Rectors and Deans to lead effectively is constrained by democratic academic selfgovernance
o Structural tendency to limit central university resources in favour of maximising faculty income
o 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 institutions
o The need to develop a coherent vision for HE with the relevant stakeholders – mechanisms to
build consensus
o Re-conceptualisation of academic freedom and self-governance
o Finding the proper balance between governmental steering and institutional autonomy
• Reform institutional governance arrangements to respond to external
expectations
o Strengthen the strategic leadership of institutions
o Address the considerable degree of (internal) institutional fragmentation
o Introduce external representation in institutional governance
• Achieve the integration of the tertiary education system with further
diversification
o Agree on distinctive missions and contributions of different types of institutions
o 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 offerings
o Expand the vocationally-oriented sector and short-cycle programmes
o Improve the links to the labour market / businesses and employers
o Improve the knowledge flows between higher education and the other actors of the R&D
system
o Build on student choice to define programme offerings – provision of information about
benefits and costs of programmes
• Ensure the financial sustainability of higher education
o More reliance on private resources necessary
o 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 policy
o 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 countries
o
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 narrow
o Equity and inclusiveness not explicitly stated as education goals
o No clear reference objectivesfor equity and inclusiveness
• Limited information about educational disadvantage
o Lack of differential analysis across specific disadvantaged groups – e.g. little information
about school experience of Roma children
o Lack of equity measures
• Strong social selectivity and inequities in the education system
o Early tracking and access to gymnasia strongly influenced by family background
o Basis for attending a special school – often based on learning difficulties and / or social
disadvantage
o Challenges in the integration of Roma children in the school system
o Inequities in the access to higher education
• Limited systemic policies targeted at addressing inequities in education
o Lack of systemic support to disadvantaged schools
o Lack of preparation of teachers to respond to diversity
The challenge: to reduce the risk of low achievement due to personal
circumstances
High risk
Relative risk of scoring below level 2 depending on personal circumstances, PISA 2009
Low socio-economic status
(low vs. high)
Low parental education
(low vs. high)
Immigrant status
(immigrant vs. non-immigrant)
Gender
(boys vs. girls)
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.0
0.5
0.0
Korea
Finland
Canada
Estonia
Japan
Australia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Denmark
Switzerland
Iceland
Ireland
Sweden
Hungary
United States
Portugal
Belgium
United Kingdom
Germany
OECD average
Spain
France
Italy
Slovenia
Greece
Slovak Republic
Czech Republic
Turkey
Luxembourg
Israel
Austria
Chile
Mexico
Low risk
1.5
Finland
Spain
Poland
Mexico
Norway
Canada
Hong
Kong-China
Hong Kong-China
Russian
Federation
Russian Federation
Portugal
Estonia
Denmark
Greece
Chile
Sweden
Brazil
Brazil
Ireland
Shanghai-China
Shanghai-China
Turkey
New Zealand
Korea
United States
OECD average
Luxembourg
Australia
Switzerland
Italy
United Kingdom
Slovak Republic
Hungary
Slovenia
Austria
Netherlands
Israel
Belgium
Germany
Czech Republic
Japan
Iceland
Macao-China
Macao-China
Score point difference on the reading scale
Impact of school’s socio-economic status on student achievement
Score point difference associated with a one-unit increase in the school-level PISA
index of economic, social and cultural status, PISA 2009
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
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:
WWW.OECD.ORG/EDUCATION
PAULO.SANTIAGO@OECD.ORG