Students of Croatian schools still learn about floppy disks and the 1990s technology.
Starting from the next school year, floppy disks, which were part of the curriculum in Croatian schools, will become history, while computer science classes will become mandatory and will finally be adapted to advances in technology, reports Večernji List on February 19, 2017.
This will mark the official implementation of the curriculum reform. Students are expected to study computer science based on a proposal which has been drafted by the former curriculum reform working group headed by Boris Jokić. “We are analyzing documents that have been drafted, and we will certainly use some of them”, said Education Minister Pavo Barišić, confirming that one of these documents is the one related to computer science classes.
Several days earlier, the Minister promised a thorough analysis of IT equipment available in classrooms in all schools, adding that the main objective was the modernization of the curriculum of computer science classes, equipping schools with latest technology, as well as encouraging further involvement of teachers in international programmes so that they would gain knowledge and experience.
On Monday, a meeting of the commission for the implementation of the strategy will take place, which should be followed by the adoption of the IT curriculum. According to the proposal, students from first to eight grade should have 70 school hours of computer science classes a year, and they should be divided in groups of no more than 15 students, in order for each student to have its own computer.
Students in general and vocational high schools will also have 70 hours of computer science classes a year, and the classes will be compulsory for all students in the first two grades.
This step towards the new curriculum is a watershed in Croatian education system, since the current outdated curriculum was of no use to students. The new curriculum is based, instead on the prescribed content, on learning outcomes – teaching process will have to be directed towards each student individually, in order for them to develop their potential.
Teachers will have to encourage students to participate in class, school, national and international projects that require the application of knowledge and skills in new contexts. They will also have to constantly learn by taking part in permanent professional training in order to get acquainted with new innovative teaching methods and be able to respond to the needs of students.
