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SlovakiaFrom Researching Virtual Initiatives in Education(Redirected from SK)
by Paul Bacsich and Nikki Cortoos for Re.ViCa. Minor update for VISCED by Nikki Cortoos For entities in Slovakia see Category:Slovakia
Partners and Experts situated in SlovakiaNone.
Slovakia in a nutshellThe Slovak Republic - short form: Slovakia; Slovak: Slovensko - long form Slovenská republika - is a landlocked country in Central Europe with an area of about 49,000 square kilometres (almost 19,000 square miles).  It borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. It has a population of 5,483,088 (July 2011 estimate according to CIA World Factbook). The largest city is its capital, Bratislava. Slovakia is a member state of the European Union, NATO, UN, OECD, WTO, UNESCO and other international organizations. Slovakia is a high-income advanced economy with the fastest growth rates in the EU and OECD. It joined the European Union in 2004 and joined the Eurozone on the 1st of January, 2009. The Slovak economy is considered a tiger economy, with the country dubbed the "Tatra Tiger". Slovakia transformed from a centrally planned economy to a market-driven economy. Major privatizations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in private hands, and foreign investment has risen. Slovakia's has recently been characterized by sustained high economic growth. In 2006, Slovakia achieved the highest growth of GDP (8.9%) among the members of OECD. The annual GDP growth in 2007 was estimated at 10.4% with a record level of 14.3% reached in the fourth quarter. Unemployment, peaking at 19.2% at the end of 1999, decreased to 7.51% in October 2008 according to the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. In addition to economic growth, migration of workers to other EU countries also contributed to this reduction. According to Eurostat, which uses a calculation method different from that of the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, the unemployment rate is still the second highest after Spain in the EU-15 group, at 9.9%. Inflation dropped from an average annual rate of 12.0% in 2000 to just 3.3% in the election year 2002, but it rose again in 2003-2004 because of increases in taxes and regulated prices. It reached 3.7 % in 2005.
The majority of the inhabitants of Slovakia are ethnically Slovak (85.8%). Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority (9.7%). Other ethnic groups, as of the 2001 census, include Roma with 1.7%, Ruthenians or Ukrainians with 1%, and other or unspecified, 1.8%. Unofficial estimates on the number of Roma population are much higher, around 9%. The official state language is Slovak, a member of the Slavic Language Family, but Hungarian is also widely spoken in the south of the country and enjoys a co-official status in some municipalities; and many people also speak Czech. The Slovak constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The majority of Slovak citizens (68.9%) identify themselves as Roman Catholics, although church attendance is much lower than this percentage. The second-largest group are people "without confession" (13%). About 6.93% indentify as Lutherans, 4.1% Greek Catholic (affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church), and 2.0% Calvinism. Other and non-registered churches account for 1.1% of the population and some 0.9% are Eastern Orthodox. About 2,300 Jews remain of the large estimated pre-WWII population of 90,000.
Slovakia is a parliamentary democratic republic with a multi-party system. The last parliamentary elections were held on June 17, 2006 and two rounds of presidential elections took place on April 3, 2004 and April 17, 2004. The Slovak head of state is the president, elected by direct popular vote for a five-year term. Most executive power lies with the head of government, the prime minister, who is usually the leader of the winning party, but he/she needs to form a majority coalition in the parliament. The prime minister is appointed by the president. The remainder of the cabinet is appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister. Slovakia's highest legislative body is the 150-seat unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic (Národná rada Slovenskej republiky). Delegates are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation. Slovakia's highest judicial body is the Constitutional Court of Slovakia (Ústavný súd), which rules on constitutional issues. The 13 members of this court are appointed by the president from a slate of candidates nominated by parliament.
Slovakia is subdivided into 8 krajov (singular - kraj, usually translated as "region", but actual meaning is "county"), each of which is named after its principal city. Regions have enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy since 2002. Their self-governing bodies are referred to as Self-governing (or autonomous) Regions (sg. samosprávny kraj, pl. samosprávne kraje) or Upper-Tier Territorial Units (sg. vyšší územný celok, pl. vyššie územné celky, abbr. VÚC):
(the word kraj can be replaced by samosprávny kraj or by VÚC in each case) The "kraje" are subdivided into many "okresy" (sg. okres, usually translated as districts). Slovakia currently has 79 districts. In terms of economics and unemployment rate, the western regions are richer than eastern regions; however the relative difference is no bigger than in most EU countries having regional differences.
Education in SlovakiaThe Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic is the central body of the state administration of the Slovak Republic for elementary, secondary and higher education, educational facilities, lifelong learning, science and for the state's support for sports and youth. According to the Act No. 245/2008 of Law Code the teaching in general secondary schools take place in agreement with the State educational programmes. Education in Slovakia consists of a free education system based on 10 years of compulsory school attendance. Most institiutons and especially universities are owned by the state, though since the 1990s there are also church-owned and private schools.  Pre-primary education is considered to be the first level of the education system and caters for children from 3 to 6 years of age. Primary and lower secondary education is organised as a single structured system, beginning at the age of six and consisting of nine years. The compulsory schooling takes ten years and pupils complete it by finishing the first year of upper secondary education at secondary school (gymnázium, stredná odborná škola, konzervatórium). Higher education is provided at the three levels - Bachelor, Master and PhD study programmes – in autonomy of universities and higher education institutions. Adult education includes the further professional education, the special-interest and civic education. Sources:
Slovakia education policyThe main goal of the Strategy of Lifelong Learning and Lifelong Guidance of Slovak republic (passed by the Government of the Slovak republic in April 2007) is the completion of the system of lifelong learning and the system of lifelong guidance in such a way that the system would make the access to repeated and flexible obtaining of new qualifications for the citizens easier through good-quality education obtained apart from formal also in non-formal system of education and in the system of informal learning with the assistance of complex counselling and guidance services during the entire life of the man and hence to help people to sustain highest possible employment level as well as to increase the participation of the population in lifelong learning. In a new governement manifesto approved by the National Council on 15 April 2012, special attention will go to enhancing citizens' digital competences in the area of lifelong learning. Sources: Download the Strategy of Lifelong Learning and Lifelong Guidance (DOC)
Schools in SlovakiaFor a list of some schools in Slovakia see Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Schools_in_Slovakia You can also find a list of schools on the Institute of Information and Prognoses of Education website or per region:
Further and Higher educationVocational secondary schools may organise postsecondary study in educational programmes designed for those who have received in previous education the vocational secondary education completed with school-leaving examination or secondary general education completed with school-leaving examination.
The Slovak term "vysoká škola" ("school of higher education", literally "high school", compare the German name Hochschule), which for lack of other expressions is also translated into English as "college", can refer to all schools of higher (i.e tertiary) education, or in a narrower sense only to those schools of higher education that are not universities. The first university on the territory of Slovakia was the Universitas Istropolitana (=Academia Istropolitana) founded in 1465. The main and largest current university in Slovakia is the Comenius University. The 2002 Act on Schools of Higher Education dinstinguishes public, state, and private schools of higher education (colleges):
Studies at the state and public universities is available free of charge for residents of Slovakia and of the EU. School fees are being planned, however. Other students have to pay from $2500 to $6500 for one academic year. Before entering any school of higher education for which there are more applicants than places offered, the applicants have to pass entrance examinations. These examinations take very different forms at particular schools. The "maturita" results of the applicant are usually also taken into account when evaluating whether he can become student of the school. Since the number of branches of study and of schools of higher education increased considerably in the course of the late 1700s (although at the cost of quality of the studies), the general percentage of those not being accepted to these schools decreased considerably over the same time period. Also, an increasing number of Slovaks study abroad, especially in the Czech Republic due to a low language barrier, a slightly better economic situation (and job perspectives) in that country, as well as similarities of the two educational systems. As a result, the percentage of Slovaks with higher education has increased considerably over the last decade.
Universities in Slovakia(Sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_Slovakia) Public schools of higher education
Polytechnics in SlovakiaPrivate schools of higher education
Education reformSlovakia has been carrying out systematic changes in the area of education since 2008. A resolution of the Government of the Slovak Republic No. 367/2008 dated June 4th, 2008 approved Modernization Program Slovensko 21 (Slovakia 21) (PDF). Some of the educational measures include:
Source: Institution for in Service Teachers’ Education and Training website SchoolsPost-secondaryHigher education reformThe Bologna ProcessAdministration and financeSchoolsThe Institute of Information and Prognoses of Education, the central information center for the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport, ensures operation of the state information system, a complex method of processing information from the field of education, care for youth and sport, including funding. It is the leading industry-based, methodical and comprehensive information of the Department of the Ministry, its automation and linking of information systems in Slovakia and abroad. Source: http://www.uips.sk/o-nas/vsetko-o-nas Post-secondaryQuality assurance, inspection and accreditationThe State School Inspection was established by law on 1 January 2000. Its inspection reports are publicly available at http://www.ssiba.sk/Default.aspx?text=g&id=3&lang=sk. The [National Institute for Certified Educational Measurements] is a state budget organization with a legal personality, founded by the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic on 1st September 2008. Its mission is to provide external part and written form of internal part of school leaving examination assigned by the Ministry of Education, provide external testing of pupils at primary schools Testing 9, and prepare international measurements in accordance with programmes where the Slovak Republic participates according to their rules.
The Accreditation Commission was established by the government of the Slovak Republic in the year 1990 as its advisory body. The Commission is accountable for its activity to the government of the SR, to which it submits a report on its activity every two years. Essential tasks of the Commission are to monitor and independently evaluate the quality of education, research, development, artistic and other creative activity of the universities. The Commission comprehensively reviews conditions under which these activities take place at individual universities. Based on independent evaluation, the Commission contributes to improving the efficiency and quality of the education provided at the universities and develops recommendations to improve the operation of the universities. The Commission's activity is governed by applicable provisions of the Act on universities.
SchoolsPost-secondaryInformation societyA draft of the Information Society Strategy in the Slovak Republic can be downloaded from the Ministry's website: http://www.minedu.sk/index.php?lang=sk&rootId=1159
One of the medium-term measures of the Modernization Program Slovensko 21 (Slovakia 21) (PDF) included:
Objectives: to make more effective the education and to improve its quality, to increase the abilities of pupils, students and teachers to use information and communication technologies (IKT, informačno-komunikačné technológie) Process of approaching the objectives: The Slovak society including the educational system is noticeably falling behind as regards the use of information and communication technologies in comparison with the EU average. The extensive use of IKT contributes to the growth of labour productivity, competitive strength of the economy and finally to higher quality of life. The enhancement of computer literacy at schools will contribute to the adaptation of pupils and students to present world trends and better readiness to requirements of the employment market. The informatization of schools is closely interconnected with the complex reform in the area of curriculum and educational curriculum reform in progress, including the use of qualitative new forms of training and education, and innovative study material and tools enabled by IKT. Implementation bodies: Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic Source: http://vedomostnaspolocnost.vlada.gov.sk/data/files/5601.pdf, Modernization Program Slovensko 21
ICT in education initiativesE-Learning Helps Slovak Students Prepare for Eurozone Entry In 2008, secondary school students ages 14 to 19 could take an e-learning course about the new national currency and the basics of banking and finance, developed by the Slovak Republic's Ministry of Education in cooperation with Slovenska Sporitelna Bank and Cisco. It was the first online curriculum developed for secondary schools in Slovakia. More than 9,000 students from 240 schools have completed the course. Source: E-Learning Helps Slovak Students Prepare for Eurozone Entry, Cisco, 2008, http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2008/prod_120108b.html, accessed July 2012
Virtual initiatives in schoolsVirtual initiatives in post-secondary education
Lessons learntGeneral lessonsNotable practicesReferencesFor more information see:
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