The 21st century is an essential time for changes in the society. Development of technologies, globalisation and the fading of national boundaries all contribute to a change of the educational paradigm. The changes also affect the Latvian education system as the implementation of the project “Competency approach in learning content” is in progress. The implementation of the new learning content has began on September 1 of the academic year 2020/2021. To determine the Primary school teachers’ (Grades 1-3) readiness for putting the changes into practice, a survey was conducted. The survey data analysis shows that the teachers admit that changes are necessary; meanwhile they believe that the implementation of changes is chaotic. Likewise, teachers are not insecure about the new learning content that is added to the curriculum. Teachers discuss problems such as information fragmentation, lack of technologies and learning materials, insufficient amount of lessons intended for a particular content as well as its influence on qualitative preparation of lessons.

The primary task of the 21st century education is not anymore to transfer continuous information, but the skill to acquire independently and learn this knowledge during lifetime. In the future, the development of transversal skills plays an important role in the educational process. Transversal skills, such as critical thinking and problem-solving, creativity and innovation, self-guided learning, cooperation, civic participation and digital literacy, are raised in the framework of Education Reform in Latvia (Skola 2030, 2017). The beginning of the learning process during the stage of primary school is an essential step in transversal skills acquisition, particularly emphasizing the impact of the Classes 1-3 stage, on the further learning process. According to the outcomes determined in the standard of primary education to be achieved, it is necessary to develop significantly transversal skills in this stage, as well as observe carefully the changes in children’s age development that affect the possibilities of transversal skills development.The goal of the research:  analyse the development of transversal skills in primary school (Classes 1-3).Research method: content analysis of the education content regulating documents and scientific literature.

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Although in Latvia’s historical memory the period of authoritarianism is often associated with “good times”, it undoubtedly shows the features of an authoritarian dictatorship that affected all spheres of life, including education. In education the idea of national unity and love of the homeland is emphasized, which is closely linked to the concept of authority. The concept of authority is highlighted not only in the political context; also the importance of teacher’s authority in the teaching process is emphasized. The teacher must have a strong personality and must be an example to the students. The role of agriculture is further strengthened, linking it with the love of the Fatherland. In the society, the role of the collective is valued high and opposed to individualism.

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