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National Pedagogical Institute of the Czech Republic
Národní pedagogický institut České republiky (NPI CR)

UNEVOC Centre (National Body) since 1994

The National Pedagogical Institute of the Czech Republic (NPICR) is run directly by the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports, and prepares strategies for further development of general, vocational, art and linguistic education, continuing teachers education and the area of pedagogical-psychological, educational and career counselling together with the Ministry. Fourteen regional centres provide suppport to teachers, trainers and schools.

Mission

The mission of the National Pedagogical Institute of the Czech Republic (NPICR) is to enhance in various ways the continuing development of a general, vocational, art and linguistic education, and to support schools in the area of their pedagogical-psychological, educational and career counselling, as well as in the methodology used in the continuing education of teachers. All these services emphasize a general focus on lifelong education while maintaining close cooperation with the EU.

Objectives

All NPICR activities aim at providing support for the development of general, vocational, art and linguistic education, continuing teachers education and the area of pedagogical-psychological, educational and career counselling in the Czech Republic.

Regular tasks

Regular Tasks:

• NPICR is responsible for the development of national curricula and helps schools with creating their own educational programmes and their implementation.

• NPICR not only focuses on initial education at schools, but also on adult education courses.

• NPICR emphasizes innovative methods of teaching, an individual approach to each student and a general modernization of schools.

• NPICR works in the area of certifying qualifications and the issues concerning their acceptance not only in the Czech Republic, but also in the European Union.

• The communication among the creators of the educational programs, social partners, school deputies and other important institutions is supported by the project called Field Groups, functioning under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.

• NPICR focuses on the situation of those students who are in some manner disadvantaged. It strives to facilitate equal access to education and to support the necessary means for guidance and counselling.

• NPICR monitors the transition of graduates from schools to the labour market, the rate of their unemployment, whether they work within their fields of study, what motivates them towards enhancing their qualifications, and how successful they are in tertiary education. The institute also monitors the employers' expectations regarding the graduates' abilities and proposes changes in the education that could help graduates to be more successful on the labour market.

• NPICR provides support and training to school teachers and directors including the area of school management.

• NPICR offers both general and comprehensive information about schools and offered fields of education to both experts and the general public as well.

• NPICR monitors the quality of the offered education and of the graduates, for instance by implementing a new final examination for students of secondary vocational school. It also strives to raise the students' level of literacy.

• NPICR focuses on pedagogical-psychological, educational and career guidance and counselling, as well as on initial prevention of risk behaviour while constantly working to raise the quality of these services. It monitors qualifications and competencies of workers providing education and school counselling services and, based on these findings, fosters the development of programmes.

• Our organization implements a wide range of projects supported by the European Social Fund. Thanks to the help of the European Union, it has become possible to modernize the Czech educational system easier than before.

Focus and interest

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