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51 Country Overviews

Slovakia  

Author(s)

  • Claudia Piovano, Galileo Progetti Nonprofit Kft.
  • Yassine Youlal, Galileo Progetti Nonprofit Kft.
  • Erika Klumbán, Semmelweis University, András Pető Faculty

Abstract

According to the study “Teachers’ perceptions of children’s Kindergarten readiness in Slovakia” (Stillerova et al., 2019), the main knowledge given to children by the Kindergarten teachers in Slovakia are the following: how to draw, communicate, sing, recite, geometric shapes with some emphasis on pre-writing, pre-reading and elementary mathematical concepts. In Slovakia, kindergartens are included in the pre-primary education, and their aim is to improve children’s intellectual, moral, social-emotional and physical skills. The compulsory Slovakian school begins with primary school (usually starting From 6 years of age), whereas kindergarten is not mandatory and is provided by the government from 3 to 6 years of age. Slovakian Kindergarten classes are divided from elementary school classes. Finally, a child who finishes kindergarten should not only have developed the above-mentioned skills, but they should have developed appropriate behaviours.“A standard curriculum could also be developed with social–emotional and early academic content for Kindergartens based on the international standards. Teachers would have to follow standard curriculum, which would result in fewer discrepancies among individual Kindergartens and thus lead to a reduction in learning inequality” (European Commission, 2021).

References

  • European Commission. (2021). Retrieved from: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/early-childhood-education-and-care-72_en
  • Second Step. (2010). Retrieved from: https://www.secondstep.org/success-stories/slovakia-ministry-of-education-accredits-second-step
  • Stillerova, L., Troxler, J., Curby, T., & Roth, A. (2019, 12 20). Teachers’ perceptions of children’s Kindergarten readiness in Slovakia. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology. doi:10.1080/21683603.2019.1700859
  • Upadyaya, K., Aunola, K., & Nurmi, J.-E. (2009, 02 28). Children's school performance and their parents' causal attributions to ability and effort: A longitudinal study. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology - J APPLIED DEV PSYCHOLOGY. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2008.10.002

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CO-203-Slovakia.pdf