Curriculum, Subjects, Number of Hours

Education in primary schools is carried out based on the National Curriculum, teaching plan and programme and school curriculum. The national curriculum sets values, principles, general educational goals and teaching goals, learning and teaching concepts, teaching approaches, educational goals by educational areas and subjects defined in learning outcomes, i.e. competences, and evaluation and assessment. Pursuant to the Article 26 of the Act on Education in Primary and Secondary Schools (Official Gazette No. 87/2008, 86/2009, 92/2010, amend. - 105/2010, 90/2011, 5/2012, 16/2012, 86/2012 – consolidated text, 12620/12, 94/2013, 152/2014), the national curriculum is passed by the minister responsible for education. With the creation of the Strategy for the Creation and Development of the National Curriculum for Preschool, General Compulsory and Secondary Education and with the adoption of National Framework Curriculum for Preschool, General Compulsory and Secondary Education (2011), structured through educational levels and educational cycles, the platform was created for deeper interventions in the education system. This is complemented by the Strategy on Education, Science and Technology (Official Gazette No. 124/2014), which provides a holistic approach to education and is focused on several main goals which pervade the strategy: a quality, efficient and relevant education available to all under equal conditions. The strategy appreciates earlier strategic and developmental documents and foresees the flexibility and adaptability of the education system, as well as its disposition to continuous re-evaluation and periodic revision. The Strategy aims toward an education that actively stimulates a comprehensive individual development of each student. It promotes social equality and democratic values and strongly contributes to socio-economic development.

In its chapter Early Childhood Education and Care, Primary and Secondary Education, the Strategy defines eight developmental areas and defines a key strategic goal for each one of them. The key strategic goal of the second developmental area is the implementation of a comprehensive curricular reform. The first stage of such reform (February 2015 – January 2016) includes the creation of such curricular documents as, for example, the fundamental one – Framework of the National Curriculum, as well as the National Curriculum for Grammar School Education and National Curriculum for Vocational Education, which will be followed by the creation and adoption of subject curricula according to types of educational programs and years.

National Curriculum

The national curriculum sets values, principles, general educational goals and teaching goals, learning and teaching concepts, teaching approaches, educational goals by educational areas and subjects defined in learning outcomes, i.e. competences, and evaluation and assessment. Pursuant to the Article 26 of the Act on Education in Primary and Secondary Schools the national curriculum is passed by the minister responsible for education. In relation to the aforementioned, the National Curriculum structured according to the educational levels and educational cycles was passed in 2011. National Framework Curriculum provides only a framework subject structure for different educational fields. The next step in development of a national curriculum is to define the precise structure of the subjects, to list compulsory subjects of the core curriculum and elective subjects of the differential curriculum, and to define subjects and modules of the school curriculum.

Teaching Plan and Program

Until the national curriculum and subject curricula are passed, the classes in primary schools will be taught as prescribed by the teaching plan and program. The teaching plan and program defines the number of compulsory and elective class periods per week and per year, their distribution across the grades, the weekly number of class periods per subject and the total number of class periods per week and per year, as well as the goals, objectives and content of each subject. Current National Plan and Program was passed in 2006 and its content reflects the prescribed structure of national plans and programs.

National Plans and Programs

National plans and programs contain: teaching plans per subject and per grade (grades 1 - 8), the number of class periods per week and per year, and the total number of class periods per week and per year, the plan of extracurricular activities per grade and per total number of class periods per week and per year, the implementation plan for facultative classes of foreign and classical languages, and the plan for remedial, advanced and homeroom classes.

Teaching programs contain: the program of the compulsory subjects structurally harmonized for each subject, with defined goals, objectives, educational content and teaching and learning outcomes for each topic, the program of elective subjects structurally harmonized for each subject, with defined goals, objectives, educational content and teaching and learning outcomes for each topic, as well as the facultative programs for learning foreign and classical languages with defined goals, objectives, educational content and teaching and learning outcomes for each topic.

National plan and program for primary school contains compulsory and elective subjects as well as other forms of educational activities. Compulsory subjects are: Croatian language, Art, Music, a foreign language (English, German, French and Italian), Mathematics, Science and Social Studies, Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, History, Geography, Industrial Arts and Physical Education. Elective subjects are: Religious Education, a foreign language (English, German, French and Italian) and other elective subjects (ICT). Other forms of direct educational activities include remedial and advanced classes, extracurricular activities and homeroom classes. Facultative programmes for classical languages are Latin and Greek.

The table lists compulsory and elective subjects, as well as the other forms of educational activities in generalist teaching (1-4) and specialist teaching (5-8), and the number of class periods per week and per school year for each subject. E. g., in 1st grade the number of class periods for Croatian language is 5 per week and 175 per year, while the number of class periods for Art is 1 per week and 35 per year, etc. The total number of class periods for compulsory subjects (regular classes) is 18 per week and 630 per year. The total number of class periods for elective subjects is 2 per week and 70 per year. The number of class periods for other forms of direct educational activities is 3 per week and 105 per year.

Educational activities in primary school

School activities are prescribed in the school curriculum and annual activities plan and program. The school curriculum and annual activities plan and program are published on the school’s website, in accordance with the Act on Protection of Personal Information, (Official Gazette No. 103/2003, 118/2006, 41/2008, 130/2011 and 106/2012).

School Curriculum

School curriculum defines a long-term and short-term school plan and program that contains the list of extracurricular and out-of-school activities and is based on the national curriculum and the teaching plan and program. The school curriculum defines how the school implements framework curriculum taking into account educational needs and priorities of the pupils and the community in which the school operates. The school curriculum is designed in collaboration with school employees, pupils, parents and local community. The school curriculum defines optional subjects, modules and other educational programs offered in school, organization of remedial and advanced classes, projects carried out by the school, class departments or groups of pupils, excursions, field trips, and extracurricular and out-of-school activities. School curriculum programs are not obligatory. However, if optional subjects defined in the school curriculum, like advanced classes (e.g. foreign language), other activities (e.g. special curriculum for talented pupils), or activities like entrepreneurial learning, provide certain competences, pupils can be assessed using numerical marks or descriptive assessment. This assessment is not listed with the other marks in the report but it may be mentioned in the certificate supplement if it was transparently offered to the pupils at the beginning of the school year. School curriculum includes extracurricular and out-of-school programs and activities that are elaborated and adjusted by each school taking into consideration pupils’ preferences and developmental stages, the school’s capacities and, in particular, optimum pupils’ workload. The school curriculum is adopted by the school board by September 15 each year on the basis of the proposal by the teachers’ council.

Annual Activities Plan and Program

The annual activities plan and program is compiled by the school board on the basis of the teaching plan and program and the school curriculum till the September 30 each year. The annual activities plan and program for the primary school determines the location, the time, the method, and it usually contains information on the providers of the activities, annual schedule, information on daily and weekly organization of the activities, weekly and annual number of class periods per grade, and the forms of educational activities, plan of the activities for the school principal, the primary or secondary school teachers and expert associates, the plan of activities for school board and professional bodies, plan of professional training, in accordance with the needs of the school, as well as the information on other activities in the function of the educational work and business of the primary school.

In accordance with the aforementioned, educational activities in the primary school are conducted through regular and elective classes and other forms of immediate teaching and learning activities. The compulsory subjects are obligatory for all pupils while the elective subjects are compulsory for the pupils that selected those subjects. Pupils can stop to attend an elective subject they selected at the beginning of the school year if they and their parents submit a written request and an explanation to the teachers’ council until the beginning of the school year, under the condition that the subject they want to stop attending is replaced by another elective subject or activity in school.

Regular classes refer to compulsory inclusion of children of the age six to fifteen in educational activities in primary schools, which are usually implemented as generalist teaching for the pupils of the grades 1-4 and as specialist teaching for the pupils of the grades 5-8. Regular classes are conducted within one class department that comprises pupils of the same grade. In exceptional cases, in remote areas, such as in the mountains or on the islands, combined class departments that comprise pupils of the grades 1-4 or the pupils of the grades 5-8 can be formed.

Elective classes are selected out of the pool of elective subjects as educational school activities based on pupils’ personal preferences. An elective subject is a compulsory subject in the school year in which the pupil selects it. Parents/guardians should be informed of the pupil’s selection and attendance of the elective subject. The purpose of providing elective classes is to allow for the freedom of choice in creation of the educational process and widening and deepening of the knowledge and skills in the field for which the pupil shows special preferences and interest. Elective subjects in primary school are: a second foreign language, religious education and ICT.

Starting in the school year 2003/2004, in primary schools in the Republic of Croatia the program of early acquisition of foreign languages has been implemented, providing an opportunity for the pupils to learn English, German, French and Italian language. The foreign language that a pupil starts to learn in the first grade is considered to be the first foreign language by the end of the single structure education, while the foreign language that a pupil starts to learn in the fourth grade is considered to be the second foreign language by the end of the single structure education.

In primary schools in the Republic of Croatia religious education is taught as an elective subject that can be taught only by those religious communities that have an agreement with the government of the Republic of Croatia on the questions of mutual interest. Religious education is an elective subject and it is compulsory for the pupils that select it. Parents submit a written statement to the school principal regarding the selection of the religious education as an elective subject. Religious education classes are taught according to the teaching plan and program written by the religious community and approved by the minister responsible for education. The school is obliged to provide remedial classes for the pupils that need assistance in learning. Remedial classes are organized for a temporary period of time when pupils are in need of such a form of assistance. A remedial class is a special educational program for a pupil or a group of pupils that have difficulties following the regular teaching program with the expected level of results. For those pupils a temporary program is organized that provides assistance in learning and acquiring the knowledge and skills from several fields or subjects or in only one subject. Remedial classes can be organized for all subjects except for: Art, Music, Industrial Arts, Physical Education, and elective subjects. This form of classes is also used as a special form of assistance for the children of the citizens of the Republic of Croatia who returned to Croatia after living abroad. Remedial classes are in this case organized in order to accelerate the overcoming of educational differences of different school systems, to enable successful adaptation of the pupils to the new school environment and to successfully overcome the obstacles while using the mother tongue.

The school is obliged to provide advanced classes for pupils excelling in a certain subject with above-the-average results or show special interest in a certain subject in which pupils voluntarily partake. The advanced class is a form of school activity organized for gifted pupils. The level of educational and teaching efficiency does not depend only on the quality and the range of the educational and teaching means and forms of educational activities but also on the level of training of teachers for the implementation of the most adequate forms, methods and contents of school, teaching and extracurricular activities.

In extracurricular activities teachers have the freedom to design educational activities in which their creativity plays an important role. They also offer a good incentive for the pupils to become involved in the activities that surpass regular classes. Extracurricular activities can be linked to a certain subject or they can be interdisciplinary. Extracurricular activities are usually implemented as workshops, projects, group research, individual research, field classes or other didactical and methodical approaches that require interactive participation.

This type of activity is organized for all pupils – average pupils, talented pupils, pupils with learning difficulties and pupils with disabilities. Involvement in extracurricular activities is based on an independent decision of the pupils to participate which reflects their ambition to be more successful and demonstrate strong motivation for learning in less restrictive teaching environment. Means and fields for implementing extracurricular activities differ greatly and comprise:

• literary expression, drama, and journalism field, filmmaking workshops, school radio and school newspaper projects – art styles and art periods (clothing, communication, behavior patterns, diet, etc.), music projects (recognition of permanent values and qualities in artistic music and other musical genres like pop, rock, jazz, etc), choir singing, etc.,
• science and mathematics fields that offer the opportunity to learn from the experience and to understand the relations between humans and plants, humans and animals, chemistry experiments, chemistry in the environment, chemistry in the everyday life, meteorology, research of causes and effects of natural disasters, mapmaking, genetics, astronomy, etc.,
• sport, health and recreation field in which sport skills and abilities can be acquired (soccer, basketball, volleyball, chess...), social dances, folk dances, therapeutic gymnastics skills, relaxation exercises, etc.,
• preservation of national and cultural heritage through projects and research on different regions, ethnology, tourist culture, etc.,
• preservation of environment and healthy lifestyle – research of the local region and environment protection, learning about the environment, acquiring the culture of living in healthy environment and for healthy environment,
• social sciences and humanities projects and workshops (civil education, children rights, human rights)
• pupil cooperatives – farming, home economics, beekeeping, basics of crocheting, embroidery, stitching, school ground horticulture, etc.,
• technical projects (technical innovations, design and construction techniques, prototype design, etc.).

Extracurricular activities are very beneficial for pupils’ self-actualization and independent, research-oriented learning.

Furthermore, educational activities in primary school also include out-of-classroom classes. Out-of-classroom class is the type of class involving the realization of planned educational activities out of school. Out-of-classroom classes comprise field trips, excursions, visits to movie theatres, theatres, galleries and other institutions, field classes, classes in the nature and other similar organized types of classes that take place outside the school. The goal of the out-of-classroom classes is to learn through the process of discovery in immediate reality, where pupils are familiarized with their natural and cultural surroundings and with people who live in those surroundings and who have an impact on that surroundings. Activities outside the school emphasize the joy of discovery, research and creation, facilitate the development of teamwork, provide opportunities for the development of good interpersonal relationships within the group and foster intellectual development. In the process of planning this type of activity, pupils’ interests, abilities and capacities should be taken into account. Out-of-classroom classes should utilize the possibility for fostering an interdisciplinary approach by linking contents from various subjects. The benefit of this type of activity is that it stimulates learning. It is important to carefully plan out-of-classroom activities with clearly defined goals, objectives and adequate contents and methods for their implementation. The most frequent type of out-of-classroom classes are school trips, school excursions and the program called “School in the Nature”. The plan and program for these activities is defined in the annual plan and program of school activities.

Teaching methods and materials

Educational activities in primary schools are based on planning and stimulating the autonomy and freedom of pedagogical and methodological work in line with the national curriculum, teaching plans and program, and national pedagogical standards. Educational work in primary schools is carried out through regular and elective classes, and through other forms of immediate educational work. In relation to this, teachers also need to be trained to be able to implement these types of educational activities and to employ various educational forms – frontal, group and personalized interaction with pupils, which requires:

• adjustment of educational and teaching forms, methods and contents to individual needs and abilities of the pupils in order to allow for success in learning to each pupil
• selection and implementation of educational forms, methods and contents so that a positive impact on all aspects of pupils personality is achieved
• planning and preparation of school and teaching activities in accordance with pupils’ abilities by preparing different contents, organizational forms and teaching paces
• recognition of different learning styles among pupils, as well as the age-specific differences among boys and girls and between individual pupils
• introduction of appropriate teaching and learning modes and methods that will result in active and independent learning and practical application of acquired skills
• use of various relevant resources of knowledge and teaching means that encourage participation, observation, independent research, experimenting, discovery, analysis, curiosity and development of learning skills
• creation of a stimulating educational environment in the classroom and in the school, which encourages pupils to become interested and motivated for learning and to feel safe and respected
• recognition and support of talented pupils and pupils with difficulties in terms of their learning and their behavior
• assisting pupils with disabilities and educating other children and pupils about their needs in order to assist them and to work with them.

Teachers have a complete freedom regarding the achievement of educational goals. Suggested open didactical and methodological systems provide an opportunity for the selection of methods, forms and conditions for the achievement of program goals. The following methods, forms and modes are fully accepted: research classes, classes based on pupils’ experience, project classes, multimedia classes, personalized approach, interdisciplinary approach, i.e. linking of the program contents based on the cross-curricular principle, problem-based learning, learning in pairs, learning in groups, etc.

Textbooks and corresponding additional teaching material approved by the ministry responsible for education, pursuant to the provisions of the Act on Textbooks in Primary and Secondary Schools (Official Gazette 27/2010, 55/2011, 101/2013), are used in primary schools as a support in the realization of educational goals, methods and forms. The standards that must be met by textbooks and additional teaching material are prescribed by the textbook standard which determines scientific, pedagogical, psychological, didactical and methodological, ethical, linguistic, visual and graphical, and technical requirements for textbooks and additional teaching material, as a type and form, or forms in which textbooks and additional teaching material can be published (printed edition, electronic edition or multiform material).

Rights and obligations of educational staff

Teachers, expert associates and headmasters (school principals) have the right and duty to engage in continuing professional development. Continuing professional development includes individual and organized training in basic science in the field of pedagogy, didactics, educational psychology, methodology, ICT, counseling, management, educational policies and other areas relevant in effective and successful educational work in primary schools.

Professional development of headmasters, teachers and expert associates is defined as continuing professional development of headmasters, teachers and expert associates through official or unofficial, group or individual forms of education and acquiring additional knowledge and skills with the aim of improving personal competences and professional skills and educational work as a whole.

The headmasters, teachers and expert associates are required to undergo continuing professional development:

• by participating in professional development at national level at least once in two years,
• at least three times a year by participating in professional development at county level at least three times a year,
• by regularly participating in professional development courses in the school where they work,
• at personal level, in line with their job tasks and responsibilities.

The contents of continued professional development are approved by the ministry responsible for education, following the national strategy for the education system. It is organized and carried out by the institutions responsible for education and other entities that have the relevant approval by the ministry responsible for education. The teachers’ council adopts the plan for continuing professional development and as such it becomes compulsory for all educational workers. The annual plan and program for the professional development of teachers and expert associates is an integral part of the school’s annual plan and program. The annual plan and program for the professional development lists the forms of professional development, as well as the number of hours per form, for each teacher and expert associate. Each teacher and expert associate must submit a report on his/her professional development at least once a year. The participants in continuing professional development at national or county level are issued a certificate on professional development. The participation in professional development is valuated following the implementation regulations of the Ministry. The institution responsible for organizing and carrying out professional education is the Education and Teacher Training Agency (ETTA).

The teachers and expert associates have the right to professional advancement. The procedures, manner and conditions for advancement to the level of mentors or counselors is stipulated by the Rulebook on the Advancement of Teachers and Expert Associates in Primary and Secondary Education (Official Gazette No. 89/1995, 148/1999, 20/2005)