The issue of eight-year secondary/high schools (the historical and theoretical context)

The study is a response to the present-day discussions concerning eight-year secondary/ /high schools and intends to give support to their factual and professional facet. It reminds us of historical facts concerning the schools’ development, of the change in social function of lower schools and the change of their role prior to WW2 in relation to Civic schools. The study presents the results of scientific psychological and educational psychological research in the areas of intelligence, abilities, talents, that saw an intensive boom after WW2. It states that a certain information vacuum, an absence of knowledge of our own traditions and experience, of the development of scientific understanding abroad from the 1950‘s onwards and of contemporary development tendencies in developed countries results in a misunderstanding - in certain readers - as to the ideas of the proposal of the National Programme of Education Development in the Czech Republic.