Education reform in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton

Abstract

The reform of modern education is based on a paradigm shift in learning and teaching, focusing on placing students at the center of the teaching process and learning outcomes. This transformation requires changes in education policies, the role of students and teachers, teaching methods, professional development for educators, and the modernization and improvement of the teaching process. Over the past two years in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNK), the Pedagogical Institute Mostar has endeavored to make strides in these areas, especially in primary education.

This work highlights the importance of educational changes driven partly by students' low achievements in international assessments like PISA and TIMSS. Following analysis and testing conducted by the Pedagogical Institute Mostar, decisions were made to revise and supplement primary education curricula.

In addition, the work details the requirements of the reform process for primary education. A comprehensive analysis of the existing Curriculum and Program (NPP) was conducted, resulting in the creation of documents, methodologies for curriculum development, and guidelines used in drafting revised curricula. Based on identified needs, a selected group of 50 teachers from various subjects was involved in creating the updated NPP. Training sessions were continuously organized and implemented.

Simultaneously, teacher performance was monitored across three domains—linguistic-communicative, socio-humanistic, and natural sciences—within three primary schools that applied an experimental curriculum. Feedback was regularly gathered at group and individual levels, and theoretical tasks outlined in the curriculum were directly implemented in teaching.

The final assessment of the quality of these revisions to the primary education curriculum will come through external evaluations of students' achievements.