The aim of the research was to analyse the ways in which educational content is planned and taught in selected pre-school educational programmes in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with a focus on the topics, educational objectives, and different approaches to school curriculum design. Methods. The first part of the research consisted of a qualitative content analysis of the school educational programmes of 40 pre-schools in the Czech Republic and 40 reflective reports from the teachers of these pre-schools. The research focused on approaches to designing integrated educational blocks in these school educational programmes and on teachers´ preferences when implementing them in their teaching. The second part was undertaken in cooperation with the Faculty of Education of Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. Research data was obtained by a questionnaire survey among students of distance studies in study programmes preparing pre-school teachers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The results from the research sample indicated that the chronological approach of integrated educational blocks was the most popular type within pre-schools in both countries. The pre-schools designed the educational content according to the season and structured it into weekly themes. This approach might not necessarily fulfil the requirements of the Czech and Slovak national educational programmes in relation to the specified educational content according to the current needs and interests of children. Even though some teachers were often allowed to choose their own topics, the majority of teachers were still required to implement topics specified in the school educational programme. In conclusion, the paper provides a possible outline of the causes of this situation and suggests opportunities for further research. Keywords: pre-school education, educational content, school educational programme, curriculum, planning

Over the last three decades, there has been an increase in university level education for pre-school teachers in the Czech Republic. The aim of the paper is to present part of the results of a research study comparing the Bachelor's degree programmes in pre-school pedagogy at ten of the country's universities. Conducted between 2020-2022, the research found that although the national minimum qualification for pre-school teachers remains at secondary vocational level, tertiary level qualifications are much more common among more recently qualified pre-teachers. The democratic transformation of the Czech education system during the last 30 years introduced many improvements such as innovation in the conception, structure, content and organisation of Bachelor's degree programmes. Especially in the last decade, these mainly relate to greater integration of teaching theory, didactics and practical training of students. In some universities these initiatives have also resulted in modularisation of courses and cooperation between lecturers from different subject disciplines and departments. This article presents examples from two Czech universities to illustrate how these new approaches were successfully implemented and resulted in positive feedback from students.

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The paper deals with the issue of curriculum development in pre-primary education. The aim of the research was to find out what experiences and opinion student-teachers have to the development of school and class curricula. The data were obtained through a questionnaire conducted between 2020−21 among students of BA and MA part-time programmes of faculties preparing preschool teachers in the Czech Republic (N = 1001, response rate 35%). For this paper, data from respondents working as teachers in preschools (N = 224) were used. The results showed that the approaches of preschools are heavily burdened by the pedagogical tradition of the sociocentric paradigm. A chronological approach to the arrangement of educational content in school curricula prevails (63%). Almost a third of preschools create classroom curricula for the whole year ahead. Only 44% of respondents suggest educational topics during the school year. In contrast, more flexible approaches, justified by respect for the child, dominated respondents’ preferences. In spite of this, the lack of understanding of the current notion of designing educational content at school and classroom level were still very much present in the sub-statements.

The research study is devoted to the course of distance learning of reading and writing in the first years of primary schools during the closure of schools in the Czech Republic in the 2020/2021 school year from the perspective of the mothers of pupils. The aim of the survey was to describe the experiences and opinions of mothers related to the teaching of early reading and writing. As part of the investigation, interviews were conducted with the mothers of six pupils in the first years of primary schools. The results showed that distance education did not affect the quality of learning the reading and writing technique, it only slowed it down. However, there was a decline in pupils' interest in reading and a disruption in their relationship to education. Mothers found it difficult to motivate children to learn, help them in case of difficulties with reading and writing techniques and evaluate their learning results. Distance education, on the other hand, enabled individualization with regard to children's needs and deepened the cooperation between school and family. It placed increased demands especially on mothers, who had to be intensively involved in the teaching process. In the end, the contribution provides general recommendations that can be used for distance and face-to-face teaching of reading and writing.