Slovakia Lower Secondary Education - Ethics Curriculum

Slovakia's Ethics curriculum, a compulsory elective subject for lower secondary education (grades 5-9), aims to cultivate prosocial behavior and personal development within a framework of universal human values. It is offered as an alternative to Religious Education.

Historical Context and Development

The subject's development began in the 1990s, following Slovakia's separation from the Czech Republic in 1993. Initial experimental implementation occurred in 20 Slovak schools in 1990. The curriculum draws heavily from the prosociality concept developed by Spanish psychologist Roberto Roche Olivar, adapted to the Slovak context by Ladislav Lencz and Olga Kriova. Olivar's work, influenced by the Character Development Project and Child Development Program, emphasizes factors contributing to prosocial behavior, such as empathy, communication, and positive role models.

Curriculum Content

The Ethics curriculum falls under the educational area "Human and Values," focusing on personality formation, identity development, and value orientation. Key topics include:

• Open communication and understanding
• Positive self and peer evaluation
• Creativity in interpersonal relationships
• Ethical aspects of nature conservation
• Identifying and expressing feelings
• Cognitive and emotional empathy
• Assertive behavior
• Positive role models (historical and contemporary)
• Prosocial behavior
• Discovering personal uniqueness and identity
• Defending one's rights and opinions
• Prosociality as a component of identity
• Ethical aspects of family relationships
• Ethical aspects of sexual maturity and personal development
• Relationships with the sick, elderly, and socially disadvantaged
• Sources of ethical knowledge
• Life, physical, and mental health as ethical values
• Economic values and ethics
• Reputation and truth as ethical values
• Communication skills
• Healthy lifestyle and addiction
• Mass media influences

Challenges and Criticisms

Despite its aims, the Slovak Ethics curriculum faces several challenges:

• Underestimation of the Subject: The subject is often perceived as simplistic and less valuable than graded subjects, potentially impacting its effectiveness.
• Compulsory Elective Status: The choice between Ethics and Religious Education raises concerns about potential segregation based on religious preferences. Some advocate for a compulsory, multi-denominational ethics curriculum.
• Overlap with Other Subjects: Similarities with Civics and the cross-curricular theme "Personal and Social Development" raise questions about redundancy and potential for reinforcement.
• Teacher Qualification: The perception of Ethics as a simple subject can lead to underqualified teachers delivering the curriculum.
• Content-Related Issues: The emphasis on prosociality raises questions about the interpretation of altruism, the role of critical thinking, and the potential conflict between individual values and universal principles. The curriculum's treatment of values also requires deeper philosophical examination. Furthermore, the curriculum's limited scope in addressing diverse forms of otherness, including non-heterosexual relationships and individuals with moral impairments, presents a need for expansion and inclusivity.