The Czech Curriculum in Primary and Secondary Schools
In 2004, the Education Act established a two level structure for educational programs (state and school levels). Since September 2007, instruction has followed the Framework Education Program for Basic Education (FEP BE). The FEP BE, produced at the central level, specifies the concrete objectives, form, length, and basic curricular content of education, as well as general conditions for their implementation.8 The program was revised partly in 2013, incorporating Foreign Language, Mathematics and its Applications, Financial Literacy, and the Standards for German and French Languages.9 The FEP BE defines nine main educational areas (consisting of one or more educational fields), cross-curricular themes, and supplementary educational fields.
School education programs provide the framework for implementing education in individual schools. Each school head devises a school educational program in accordance with FEP BE that is adapted to the school’s individual context (i.e., each school creates its own education program comprising the expected outcomes and topics taught in each subject). Primary education (Stage 1) content identifies outcomes for students in Cycle 1 (Grades 1 to 3) and Cycle 2 (Grades 4 to 5), and lower secondary (Stage 2) content identifies the expected outcomes for students at the end of Grade 9.