(CZ) K problematice systému výchovných institucí v ČSSR
(EN) The Problem of Educational Institutions in Czechoslovakia

By a ≫system≪ we mean a complex of certain elements in any sphere of life, which influence one another and form, from a certain viewpoint, a closed unit. Education is a system of educational aims and educational media; it is being realized in a system of educational institutions (family, school, etc.). In this article the author has tried to characterize the problems connected with the development and present-day state of educational institutions in Czechoslovakia. In doing so, he has proceeded from an analysis of views published by individual authors and institutions. In the course of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, besides, official educational institutions and those loyal to contemporary society there also arose, as a result of the advancing emancipation of the working class, oppositionist educational institutions (proletarian P. T. organizations, children’s and youth organizations and the like). The educational theory and practice in those times do not seem to have given too much thought to the formation of a system of education. For various reasons it was even impossible in certain cases. In the 1948—1968 period, on the other hand, a number of attempts were made at forming a system of educational institutions. It was characteristic of that period that public educational media were used.in an effort to exercise a uniform influence on all children and the youth, and to influence their out-of-school life as well. It was implicitly assumed that if we chose a correct approach, the youth and children would respond to these influences positively. The leading place in the system of educational institutions was held by the school, which extended its existing functions and became a co-ordinating factor in out-of-classroom and out-of-school education. The school was to be assisted in its educational work by united youth and children’s organization. While too much emphasis was laid on public education, the significance of family education was underestimated and so as the significance of functional influences. In another part of the article each concept of the system of educational institutions is characterized in greater detail and its analysis is made. The existing system of educational institutions, mostly built from above, has become outdated. The basic pre-requisite, from which the formation of the system of educational institutions proceeds at present, is children’s and young people’s activity, to which the system is constantly adapting itself. As a result of the changes in the concept of the school’s role in education and the changes in the youth and children’s organization, present-day situation is characterized by the isolation of each of the educational institutions. The analysis that has been made indicates that a certain arrangement of the system of educational institutions and their relationship to functional influences is optimal from the viewpoint of certain aims. In order to form a system of educational institutions at present, it is necessary to analyse present-day situation and, taking it into consideration, to formulate presumptions to be verified in practice.