Upon completing the primary education stage, children proceed to the next phase. During the next five years they should master the requirements set for lower secondary education. Learners can achieve this level of education at various school types. The Slovak school system features a significant outer differentiation of education paths. The majority of pupils complete lower secondary education at primary schools in their so-called 2nd stage. Another group of pupils leave primary school upon completion of year 8 and proceed to 5-year secondary schools, usually bi-lingual schools. Finally, there are 8-year grammar schools, to which pupils proceed upon completion of year 5 at primary school. A significant group of pupils decide on their future at the age of 11. Qualitative data from the Learning Makes Sense survey indicate that it is not only the best-performing pupils who proceed to 8-year grammar schools. However, research findings show that the early tracking of students does not lead to significant gains for those being tracked into premium education, and causes huge losses for those remaining in the non-premium tracks. The remaining pupils lose positive models and the motivation to work harder, because the school environment deteriorates after the best performing pupils have left. The school environment is not ideal even in the premium tracks. In the survey, primary school principals indicated that the outflow of pupils to 8-year grammar schools causes several problems. Apart from deteriorating learning outcomes in  “T9” national testing, the attractiveness of the school diminishes, and the school environment in terms of learning and social profile in classrooms changes. Frequently, school principals have to merge classes and disrupt established student teams. Lastly, the fact that schools are competing for students in regions with an oversupply of 8-year grammar schools negatively impacts on the school-year planning process, because up until the last moment,  primary school principals do not know if all pupils come back in September or not.

Regardless of whether pupils stay at primary schools or they proceed to 8-year grammar schools, their learning environments should address their developmental needs. Only then can their potential be fulfilled and developed in line with their interests and abilities. During their transition to lower secondary education they enter adolescence, and this period has significant developmental characteristics. The selection of teaching methods by teachers is particularly important, because pupils at this age need more contact with their peers, and they need to discuss, philosophise, and analyse the world around them whilst adopting their own stance to it. The learning environment should take young adolescents’ desire for autonomy into account, together with their need to participate in decision-making on all issues that affect them.

The Learning Makes Sense survey findings indicate that there is a certain mismatch between these adolescents’ features and the actual teaching methods applied at the 2nd stage of primary schools. Survey respondents indicate that the potential for social and peer learning is not fully exploited by schools. Moreover, despite teachers in both types of schools claiming they often speak and discuss with their students, other responses they provided, combined with the secondary school students’ answers, cast doubt on whether  such communication really is a two-way discussion enabling all actors to think and express themselves. Responses by teachers also indicated that teaching methods developing cognitive functions are less frequently applied in instruction.  Memorising and one-way lecturing should have already disappeared at the 2nd stage of primary schools, but survey findings indicate that lecturing as a teaching method dominates both at the 2nd stage of primary schools and at 8-year grammar schools. In the questionnaire survey, students enrolled in 8-year grammar schools cited “dictating notes” among the most frequent teaching methods at their school, and reported that school does not develop them in terms of learning in context and across disciplines. The ability of our schools to address students’ desire for respect and participation in decision-making is signalled by the methods of assessment they apply. Teacher responses indicate that pupils in the 2nd stage of primary schools have fewer opportunities to influence their assessment than they had during the initial four years of their studies. In the survey, students at 8-year grammar schools also expressed their dissatisfaction. Half the students surveyed are not satisfied with the assessment methods applied, and the same proportion perceive that teachers at 8-year grammar schools do not apply fair assessment to all students. A positive finding is that a slightly higher proportion of students perceive their opinion to be accepted in assessment. Still, available data do not indicate that, after transition from primary schools, students enter an environment where they are commonly approached as partners. They experience humiliating or ridiculing here, just as they might have earlier. The adolescents’ desire for autonomy is limited by few opportunities to participate in decision-making about issues at their school. More than half the students at 8-year grammar schools confirmed this experience.

Analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data from the Learning Makes Sense survey are examined in more detail in the following sections:

Educational tracking at the start of lower secondary education.

At the start of lower secondary education, ill-judged educational tracking exists

Read more (available only in Slovak)

The streaming of pupils takes place too early

We start with streaming of pupils too early

Read more (available only in Slovak)

(In)ability of schools to address developmental needs of adolescent pupils.

(In)ability of schools to address developmental needs of adolescent pupils and to ease their transition to further educational levels

Read more (available only in Slovak)

Conclusions

Countries with early educational tracking of pupils experience an increasing gap between them later on. School choice is also affected by social status and the economic status of their parents. There is research evidence that the later the education tracking happens, the greater the educational opportunities are for all children. There is no reliable and incontrovertible evidence showing that students in premium tracks gain more advantages from their studies. Still, 8-year grammar schools in Slovakia are popular with the general public and receive systemic support. However, 8-year grammar schools pose a problem in terms of openness and permeability of educational paths. Upon completing lower secondary education, young people should have a wide choice of learning programmes. However, if they complete it at an 8-year grammar school, they may remain locked into an academic track started at the age of 11. Transition to a premium track does not necessarily entail a transition to a learning environment better addressing the developmental needs of adolescents and developing their cognitive and personal potential. The Learning Makes Sense research findings rather indicate that teaching methods applied at the 2nd stage of primary schools as well as at 8-year grammar schools only partially reflect the natural needs of pupils entering a new stage in their developmental journey towards being responsible adults.

Author:

Katarína Vančíková