(CZ) K poznání struktury a funkce didaktického systému (na příkladu chemie)
(EN) A Study of the Structure and Function of the Didactic System

The new tasks of the didactics of individual subjects in view of the reconstruction of tne Czechoslovak educational system make it necessary to improve and further develop also these didactics themselves. It is a matter of a new conception of special didactics as heuristic instruments for increasing the efficiency of the educational system with regard to the planned objectives of education. This can only be achieved on the basis of the theoretical clarification of the questions, as to how this process is to be planned, directed and regulated so that its practical efficiency may be continually raised. It is therefore necessaty to proceed primarily from a theoretical elaboration of the given objectives of education, from an adequate pedagogical and psychological conception in die given subject, and from an analysis of the given scientific field. It is from this point of view that a new conception o f special didactics, particularly of the didactic of chemistry, is formulated. An assessment is made of fixing the significance, function and structure of the educational objectives of a subject at the given stage and type of education (the informative, methodological and formative components, the categories of knowledge, slcills and abilities), a detailed analysis IS made of the problem of selection and structuration of^ the curriculum (the analytico- synthetical method, the fund analysis method and the like). Special attention is to be paid to the study of effective transformation of the curriculum into the pupils’ consciousness, behaviour and activities (teaching processes and techniques, application of the theory of management and decision-making) and the problems of control and evaluation, ascertaining the efficiency and effectiveness of the educational process. On the basis of an analysis of these groups of problems a substantial contribution can be made towards understanding the theoretical and methodological problems of the structure and function of the didactic system as well as towards understanding questions concerning the making of tne curriculum, syllabuses and teaching media. These circumstances ought to oe taken into account when a universally oriented didactic and pedagogical research formulates its theoretical methodological principles.