History Education and Civics in the Context of the Education System of the Czech Republic

Abstract

The paper presents an analytical insight into history education at primary and secondary level schools in the Czech Republic. History education is analyzed in the context of the Czech educational system. Though not having a particularly strong formal position within teaching subjects, together with civics, history education is a socially widely expected field of education with somewhat excessive expectations regarding its impact on the creation of democratic culture. The domestic Czech discourse on history education is summarized using the perspective of teachers, scholars, and politicians. The main concerns include the fact that modern history seems to overshadow all other periods in terms of the preparedness of innovative teaching tools and the attention of the wider public, the gap between the largely traditional transmissive practice and contemporary theory, which is partially reflected in the National Curriculum, as well as the blurry lines of civics and history education due to lack of systematic studies with an insight into the practice on the ground. History education has the potential to become weaponized, and some attempts to exploit this potential have already appeared, although they are still not decisive.