COMBINED CLASSES – PEDAGOGIC CHALLENGE OF CONTEMPORARY EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM (How to preserve small countryside schools?)

Abstract

Village schools and combined classes are our reality to which, objectively speaking, unproportionally small attention is given in relation to objective difficulties of villages, sphere of interest, specifics and needs of school practices within. Fall of birthrate, on one hand, lead to migration movement of population from villages towards towns, on the other hand, lead to significant reduction of school population, which leads to the question of “existence of small village schools”, although there are serious reasons to preserve them. One of these is realistic expectation that their existence would probably slow down “empting” and existence of many villages, if it would, in line with scientific achievements in education, modernise schools, and move villages towards urban culture. This work is dedicated to finding motives and didactic-methodical concept which would make them “modern” and more efficient, or at least” possible”, in contrast to ordinary pedagogic inheritance of previous epochs, which proclaim that combined classes are “inevitable evil” and “ the most difficult school work” that is most likely to be avoided. Authors of this paper are convinced that combined classes are “pedagogical challenge” and that there are many innovative solutions which will enable that school classes become more comfortable and convenient and “the community that learns”, and that teachers must be prepared for them on a significantly different way.