Since 1999 when the Bologna Declaration was signed, European institutions started to modernize and reform higher education. In Poland the year 2013 not only introduced the most basic assumptions of the reform of the university, but also allowed to finish work on the Polish Framework for Higher Education Qualifications. The Bologna Process attaches great importance to the question of employment, i.e. to the ability of graduates to find and maintain work in the changing labor market. Employers are looking for people with competences, knowledge of at least two foreign languages at the level of free communication and with certain skills which facilitate team work in multicultural and multiethnic teams. Institutions educating future teachers should take over the role of integrators learning through whole life (lifelong learning process – LLP). First of all, graduates of these courses should be better equipped with the most universal competence. The range of possibilities is virtually unlimited, especially that one can connect LLP activities with the process of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), which is supposed to help in the recognition of competences acquired outside the formal education process.
 

Upon the formation of the Slovak Republic, an independent model of teaching social sciences was created on the basis of the Czechoslovak educational system. The implementation of conceptual, procedural and methodological changes followed slowly after the radical ideological transformations in 1989. Teaching history at schools underwent gradual changes due to the amendments of national educational programmes and many recommendations. The extensive school reform of 2008 identified more precisely the criteria for the selection of curricula, nature and content
of knowledge, range of students’ competences, as well as the methodology of teaching and learning. Students’ creativity and active role within the modernizing school system became a priority. National Educational Programmes set the framework for the curricula and their content as well as performance standards for students, which schools individually specified on their own. The other aspect of modernisation of the education system involved the reduction of the number of history lessons per week for elementary schools. Currently, further corrections of the National Educational Programmes for all types of schools and all subjects take place, which are aimed at strengthening even more students’ competencies. Such amendment shall come into force as of 1st September 2015. The article provides analysis of the process of creation, modification and implementation of the Slovak models of history teaching since 1993 up to now.
 

The existing model of civic education within the school system in the Slovak Republic still bears an imprint of the traditions of various phases of the Czechoslovak educational system, which was roughly interrupted by the school system of the World War II Slovak Republic. At the same time it marks all the efforts made in order to adapt the system to motivations, trends and ambitions of the Europeanism and European education which has been promoted in the countries of the former Eastern Bloc in Europe for more than half a century. Since 1989, the Slovak civics passed several phases which worsened or improved its position within the country’s school system under reform. However, verification of its position within curricula is still rather complicated, which is caused to a certain extent by the fact that the functional methods of education for the 21st century have not been identified with respect to that subject yet. This paper contains detailed characteristics of individual changes in the model of civic education in the Slovak Republic after 1989, and provides the analysis of a possible solution to overcome its present low functionality – not only a formal one, but an actual outline of points of contact between civic education and history teaching.
 

‘Gymnasium’ as a school type became popular in Europe since the early nineteenth century. It developed and operated on the Polish territory for over a hundred years in the educational system under the occupation. Adopted as a basic school model, the Prussian model existed with minor changes since 1932. The reform transformed ‘gymnasium’ from the elite eight-year preparation for university studies into a four-year school giving students the possibility for further training or high school. This type of school was closed by the communist regime in 1948. Junior high school system was restored in Poland in 1999 when it became a mandatory three-year universal stage of general education curriculum.
 

Since Poland regained its independence in 1918, history has been an essential part of the curricula in all types and levels of Polish schools. Importantly, it has always been given a special role in shaping the patriotic attitudes of students. Until 2012 this subject had been taught in a concentric system, where the programme of history lessons for primary school covered the entire history, from ancient times to modernity. This programme could later be used as the basis for a continuation of historical education at vocational or secondary schools.
In the present study, we focus on the synthetic presentation of the place that history and civic education have had in the curricula. We outline the goals found in the teaching programmes of these subjects, also with relation to students’ general knowledge and their personal development. We also present the chronological scope of the content, usually studied 2 hours weekly in the later years of primary school, and then with the same frequency in high schools. The particular goals of the programmes reflected the political situation in the country, and the stance of the ruling party
or other authorities.
The programmes of primary and secondary historical education included ancient times and the history of Poland, also in the context of the history of the world. The chronology, depending on
the period in the 20th century, usually finished with an individual event from the history of Poland and one from the most recent history. Historical education was completed by civic education, found in the curricula of the highest classes of primary schools and later in secondary schools. After 1945, civic education became an individual subject, although its name was being modified over the years.
 

Today’s world is growing very rapidly and the 21st century school should be prepared for these changes by educating young people in a modern way that is open to contemporary challenges. Historical education is a very important part of school education, being a kind of manifestation of respect for the ancestors and their legacy which determines our present life. New core curriculum, which was introduced in 2008, has changed the way of teaching History in Polish schools. These changes affect not only the content and teaching methods, but also the educational goals. According to these assumptions the overall objective of education should be that of preparing students for active and effective learning, self-study, planning and organizing their own work. In this document the content of teaching and skills that students should acquire at subsequent levels of education are expressed in language requirements. In formulating these requirements the authors of the reform put a strong emphasis on educational objectives, recognizing the special role of history in shaping the attitudes of students. The analysis of educational objectives contained in the core curriculum for teaching history allows us to assert that in a vast majority of cases these objectives are relevant to the challenges of modernity. Nevertheless, there are many factors that determine their achievability and therefore, we cannot assess the possibilities of their implementation.
 

The core curriculum of general education for middle and high schools was introduced by the Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 23rd December 2008 and has been implemented in schools since 1st September 2009. The core curriculum is realized at the third (middle school) and fourth (high school) levels of education. In the assumption of the authors it creates a coherent unity; and common aims of education on both stages are a guarantee of the state of affairs. Coherence and complementarity of teaching content for the third and fourth stages of education in the field of history education have been described both in the content and learning objectives. The authors of core curriculum determined the fundamental knowledge and skills that students should master in middle and high schools. This article discusses in details the issue and confronts the opinions of history didacticians, history teachers and pupils, taking into account four years of experience of realizing the core curriculum in schools. The conclusion of the article is unfortunately critical for the authors of the reform of 2008 as it shows that in most cases doubts towards the provisions of the new core curriculum have been confirmed.
 

Following many years of efforts and convincing of benefits stemming from the adaptation of regionalism to curricula, regional education was introduced to schools pursuant to the educational system reform of 1999, in the form of an obligatory, inter-subject path throughout all stages of education. Its realization was handled by all teachers giving courses at a given educational level, who would incorporate relevant content to issues covered in their subjects. Although considered obligatory for all students, the regional subject did not play an overly privileged role – rather, it complemented the general content of individual subjects and blocks, constituting one of equally important elements of a wider concept of inter-subject integration. The new curricular reform, in force since 2009, brought a pivotal change to the situation of regional education and other paths. The change consisted in resignation from separating the education content in this scope, with regional subject matters being directly incorporated into individual subject, wherever possible and justifiable. The earlier, comprehensive concept of regional education was replaced with a new proposition, discernible only at the level of individual entries in selected subjects and educational stages, yet never described in a complete and systematic manner that would make its basic assumptions legible. This article attempts to answer the question of the direction of modernization of content in the scope of regional education in the new curricular reality, while drawing attention to binding this content with the comprehensive concept of subject-based education.
 

History textbooks intended for the lower secondary schools introduce the modern era in the second grade. The problem is that its chronological framework is too broad, which results in the use of numerous shortcuts as well as in superficial treatment of a variety of issues. With regard to the textbook structure, one can notice a certain unity and typicality. Standard chronological-problematic system was used. Source texts are a regular part of textbooks, usually accompanied by appropriate questions and tasks for students. Sources included in textbooks are generally well and aptly chosen. What is more, the books provide a chronological summary of major events in the form of tables or chronological tables, calendars, or timelines. We should appreciate the fact that it becomes a norm to include explanations of various difficult terms and concepts. Iconography is to be found in many textbooks and one can notice its diversity; outside illustrative function, it provides a lot of additional knowledge. All textbooks are characterized by a rich and varied graphic design. On the other hand, there may be some objections as to the illustrations used in the school books; this refers primarily to their size – often illustrations are simply too small and there is little to be seen on them. Similar objections can also be applied to the maps – they are either too small and illegible or contain too much information as well as cover a too long period.
 

In the lower secondary school teaching, development of students’ skills is significantly influenced by teaching aids. The objective of this study was to show the relationship between tools used in education and the effects obtained. It was indicated that an attractive package of educational materials offered on publishing market is not satisfactorily used in school practice. This was proven by the author’s observations and research conducted by the Centre of Education Development. In order to improve this situation one can utilize the modern media in a more efficient way, use methodological support of educational institutions. Finally, the teachers themselves should be open an creative, eager to use a rich set of didactic materials.
 

The national curriculum reform, introduced in the school year 2009/2010, not only standardized the content of history teaching, but also clearly emphasized the importance of students’ skills development. These assumptions lie at the basis of the middle school final exam. Unfortunately, the dominant model of history teaching at schools is still focused on gaining knowledge of the factual material, while the skills development is mostly limited to a simple analysis of a source text. As for the abilities connected to the analysis of chronology, iconography and statistical data, or other tasks that require complex skills, the situation is much worse. This stems from both the teachers’ preference for the older methodology and their lack of experience with the new methods which develop the above-mentioned skills. However, this model is gradually changing, due to the middle school final exam requirements, as well as due to the fact that many teachers notice the problems and wish to improve their instructional methods. Still, what is necessary is the methodological support on the part of the institutions responsible for providing it.
 

Effects of history and civic education teaching in junior high school are verified during both internal evaluation and external examination. After introducing a new core curriculum for general education, the junior high school examination was changed as well. In reference to History and Civics those changes were fundamental. A new separate part of the examination was created, which checks the level of knowledge and skills in the field of History and Civics classes. Now it is possible to analyze particular categories of skills more carefully as the number of tasks included in the paper has increased. Due to that fact, the analysis of History teaching results has become more objective. It is less applicable, however, to the results of Civics teaching. The paper analyzes categories of skills and individual skills from exams in the years 2012 and 2013 again. The objective of the research was to look for factors influencing the level of performance and the correlation between skills, knowledge and historical epochs which the tasks refer to.