DESCRIPTION OF THE ENTITIES (SLOVAKIA)

National Institute for Education, Bratislava

Structure:
Director of the institute: RNDr. Vladimír Repáš

Departments:

• department of management and policy
• department of educational measurement and information technology
• department of mathematics and natural sciences
• department of humanities and ethnic minority schools
• department of social science, physical, artistic education and lower primary levels
• department of special education
• department of foreign languages and international co-operation
• publishing department
• department of finance
  

The National Institute for Education (ŠPÚ) is responsible to the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic. It was founded on 1st January 1994 by the integration of the Research Pedagogical Institute and the Central Methodological Centre in Bratislava.

The mission of the National Institute for Education is to fulfil research tasks in the field of education and to provide pedagogical guidance to primary and secondary schools, (though mainly to grammar schools).

There are three main areas of activity fulfilled at the Institute: research, curriculum development and policy formation.

The National Institute for Education (ŠPÚ) is concerned with the conception of the content of education. It prepares portfolios for decisionmakers in education and guidelines for primary and secondary school practice. ŠPÚ co-ordinates and provides professional input on the work of other government departments in the field of education.

The style and direction of ŠPÚ are drawn from the function of the Ministry of Education and from the developing position of schools. Through its work the Institute contributes to the improvement of the educational process and to the development of pedagogical theory and practice.

When outlining and implementing its work, the Institute seeks to develop humanistic educational and moral values in line with the aims and requirements of a democratic educational system.

The activities of the National Institute for Education focus on:

• the area of preparation of educational policy in basic and secondary schools
  • the development of basic and strategic principles for the educational system in correspondence with the main aims of school systems in EU countries
  • research in and clarification of educational processes which help to build tolerance and mutual understanding
  • the solution of issues concerning democracy both inside and outside the school system
  • participation in the solution of issues relating to the education of the disabled young
  • assistance in the development of an alternative schools policy, and the monitoring and evaluation of their educational objectives
  • monitoring of the integration of disabled children into the unified school system
  • education of talented children
  • the solution of issues relating to the education of Roma children
• the field of development and verification of basic pedagogical documents
  • the development and experimental verification of basic pedagogical documents for pre-school education, basic and special schools, grammar schools and general educational subjects in secondary vocational schools
  • development and verification of educational standards and didactic tests
  • consultancy and advisory activities in the field of subject content adaptation for specific conditions in various schools, consultation in creating local educational systems
    
• the area of measurement of educational results
  • elaboration of methodological problems concerning evaluation of educational achievements in terms of national and international studies
• editorial and publishing sphere
  • publishing of the pedagogical magazine Pedagogic spectrum
  • publishing of books

National Institute for Education co-operates with Slovak and also international partners in the area of pedagogic research and in training educational specialists and administrators.