What are the problems with the Czech education system? I interviewed 50 Czech university students (training to be teachers) to get their views on education in the Czech Republic and the improvements they would make.
What do you perceive the role of education to be?
Somewhat predictably, nearly all of the students said something like: “To prepare students for life, society and a future profession.” More interestingly, thirty percent said “the purpose of education is to get a degree title because in the Czech Republic you are nobody without it.”
***The importance Czechs place on ‘titles’ still surprises me; they splash it across their business cards, write it on office doors, and get angry if you forget to include it in an e-mail. Based on this ‘title culture’, I can understand why some students see it as more important than the education itself.
How would you describe the Czech education system?
Twenty percent described the Czech education system as: “extremely boring,” “old-fashioned”, “lacking in creativity”, and “putting too much emphasis on grades.” Over thirty percent perceived the Czech education system to be very good (it’s free and everyone has the opportunity to study). Forty percent mentioned an over-emphasis on learning facts, or, as one student put it: “Instead of forming their own opinions, students memorise everything teachers say like robots.”
***I wonder whether memorising facts is a bad thing. The British education system encourages students to build arguments and express their own point of view, but provides very little factual knowledge. Czech people know the names of all the different birds and trees. English children never learn such things at school, so it’s embarrassing when I’m asked what they are in English. But as a Czech friend once said: “The only time you need such information is for a quiz, and then you can just bring a Czech anyway.”
What are the best things about the Czech education system?
The most common response was “it’s free” (mentioned by over eighty percent of respondents). Forty percent said the Czech education system “gives pupils a wide spectrum of knowledge in various fields.” The benefits of “small class sizes” and “compulsory physical education” also came up a lot.
Elsewhere, some expressed delight that the Czech education system is changing: “It is starting to focus more on projects, teaching students to cooperate and come up with something original. In Prague, some high schools are bringing in a more ‘American style’ with interactive methods of learning.”
***I can understand why Czech students perceive foreign methods to be ‘better’, but in my experience Czech students tend to view the American and British education systems through rose-tinted spectacles. You only have to open a newspaper (or your annual student loans statement) in either of those countries to realise they have many education problems of their own.
What are the worst things about the Czech education system?
Thirty percent complained about a lack of focus on practice: “All we do is listen to theory and most of it is stuff we’re never going to use. If we want practical classes we have to pay for them.” A similar percentage said resources were outdated: “At secondary school our P.E. teachers marked us according to ancient charts.”
Twenty percent complained that education in the Czech Republic is too broad: “It would be better if students were allowed to focus on things they were good at, rather than trying to become the best in all subjects.”
Fifteen percent mentioned a lack of money and resources, citing teachers’ salaries and how universities tend to overpopulate classes so they can get more money from the state.
Other issues raised were: “no space for student creativity”, “older teachers don’t understand today’s students”, and “a lack of emphasis on student self-responsibility.”
***On the whole, the comments here were as expected and not specific to the Czech Republic.
Are you happy with the education you have received so far?
Over eighty percent agreed they were happy, and many added they had had some excellent teachers.
***The positive responses here were somewhat surprising, given the criticisms of the Czech education system in the previous section.
How would you change the Czech education system?
Seventy percent mentioned more practical classes and lessons in critical thinking. Others suggested the exam system needed a shake-up: “There ought to be tests throughout the year, so you don’t have to learn everything in a few weeks at the end of the semester.”
A similar percentage suggested new subjects: “We need more lessons on current events, particularly world politics. Students know about the Stone Age, but they know almost nothing about the Syrian civil war.”
Ten percent pointed to the attitude of teachers: “We need teachers without an inferiority complex. Too many old teachers present themselves as the enemy who enjoy giving bad marks.”
***This is a fair point, but you will find teachers like this everywhere. The only reference these teachers have for teaching is the way they were taught as children, so it becomes a self-perpetuating cycle.
Final thoughts on the Czech education system
Most of the issues mentioned can be found in educational systems worldwide (lack of creativity, too much emphasis on grades, outdated teaching techniques). As a teacher who encourages students to ask questions and form opinions, I’m often irritated by the stony silence I receive in return, so I can understand why other teachers avoid it.
That being said, the lack of lessons in critical thinking is having a negative effect. None of the students asked why they were completing this survey, they just dutifully filled it in. When it comes to what’s wrong with the Czech education system, perhaps this is the most telling result of all.
*First published in Milk & Honey, České Budějovice, Czech Republic