North Macedonia
STRUCTURE OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEM
Source: Eurydice 2022/23
The education system of North Macedonia consists of preschool, primary (ages 6-14) and secondary (ages 15-17/18) education. Primary and secondary education are compulsory and free for all students. Secondary education is divided into four types: high school, secondary vocational education, art education and education for students with special educational needs. Vocational education can be of three or four years’ duration. At the end of a three-year vocational education, students take a final exam and are not eligible to enrol in university.
Students who complete a four-year vocational education can choose between an exam and a state matura, depending on whether they want to continue their education or not, while gymnasium students are required to take a state or school matura.
Primary and secondary schools are public, and are run by the state and local governments, but there are also a small number of private primary and secondary schools that are mainly based on existing international schools.
Of the current 124 high schools, 108 are public and the remaining 16 are private. Of the public high schools, 23 are high schools, 43 are vocational, 33 offer both high school and vocational education, 4 are for students with special educational needs, and 5 are art schools.
The educational work in primary and secondary school is organised according to a programme determined by the Minister of Education and Science, following the proposal of the Bureau for Development of Education. The curriculum for primary and secondary education contains compulsory and elective subjects, and the state is involved in the process of selection and authorisation of textbooks, as well as other learning materials. However, international schools, private schools, and religious or faith schools are relatively independent from state control and have their own autonomous curricula.
Despite the involvement of the state, teachers have autonomy in relation to the teaching methods they choose to use. They are encouraged to use active teaching, critical thinking and approaches that place students at the centre of the teaching process and that allow them to work both independently and in groups. However, teaching content is strictly prescribed by a centralised teaching curriculum, which does not leave teachers with much room for manoeuvre. The space that allows for more flexibility is in the so-called free student activities, which are additional classes provided by each teacher’s annual plan. In these classes (on average one class per week), topics chosen by teachers and students can be covered.*
For more information on the national education system in North Macedonia, please visit:
Ministry of Education and Science
*OHTE Thematic report on "Pandemics and natural disasters as reflected in history teaching"
HISTORY IN SCHOOL
Data are currently being collected
This section will host information on the space and time provided to ‘History’ as a subject matter within the three main levels of education (primary, lower secondary and upper secondary). It will also provide insights on the relationship between history and other school subjects.
HISTORY CURRICULUM
Data are currently being collected.
The curriculum specifies national standards corresponding to the competences that students are meant to acquire. These are divided into eight areas:
- language literacy;
- using other languages;
- mathematics, science and technology;
- digital literacy;
- personal and social development;
- society and democratic culture;
- entrepreneurship and artistic expression; and
- culture and multiculturalism.
“Society and democratic culture” includes competences related to knowing and understanding oneself, society, its history and organisation, economic and political concepts, structures and movements, as well as the skills and attitudes that enable students to behave democratically and responsibly and, in the future, to be accountable citizens and to participate actively in social and civil life.
The subject of history is one of the compulsory subjects in primary and secondary schools. In primary schools, it is taught from year 6 to year 9, with two classes per week. In secondary schools, history is taught in one to two classes a week, depending on the type of school. History curricula follow mostly a chronological approach rather than a thematic one. The focus is mainly on political and military history, with economic and cultural history, and the history of everyday life, less prominently represented. Unlike other teaching subjects that have undergone several curriculum changes in the recent past, the subject of history is still studied, according to the 2005 curriculum. At the same time, all history curricula allow teachers to skip 10% to 20% (depending on the class/year) of the prescribed teaching content.
With the aim of nurturing their critical thinking and awakening their historical consciousness, history teaching at high school level allows students to acquire essential, systematised and scientifically confirmed knowledge about the past and the present. It is hoped that students will develop a respectful and responsible attitude towards the people and the state, as well as towards other nations and states through history teaching. It also aims to spark students’ interest in further, more in-depth, study of historical events and processes.*
Curricula workstation by GEI (History curricula search by country)
*OHTE Thematic report on "Pandemics and natural disasters as reflected in history teaching"
LEARNING OUTCOMES AND ASSESSMENT
Data are currently being collected.
This section will contain information on the learning outcomes set for history lessons within the different levels of education and on the methods of testing and assessment used in history examinations.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES AND PEDAGOGY USED IN THE HISTORY CLASSROOM
Data are currently being collected.
This section will host data on the study material and teaching practices used for history teaching within the different levels of education.
International TextbookCat (GEI collection of Textbooks and Educational Media)
HISTORY TEACHERS
Data are currently being collected.
This section will provide an overview of the number of history teachers within the different levels of education, as well as relevant information on teachers’ initial training and in-service training available to them.
History Teachers’ Association of Macedonia (ANIM) (presentation by EuroClio)
THEMATIC DATA
The Observatory on History Teaching in Europe also provides thematic studies on given topics.
2022: Pandemics and natural disasters as reflected in history teaching
