This chapter provides a concise overview of secondary education in the Republic of Croatia, its objectives, principles and types of secondary schools as well as their duration. An overview of the legal and regulatory framework governing secondary education is also given.
After completing compulsory primary education, students can continue their education in secondary schools. Secondary education enables the acquisition of knowledge and skills required for work and further education, however, it is not compulsory.
Secondary education is provided by secondary schools and student dormitories and other public institutions under the conditions laid down in the Primary and Secondary School Education Act (OG No. 87/08, 86/09, 92/10, 105/10, 90 / 11, 5/12, 16/12, 86/12, 94/13, 136/14 - RUSRH, 152/14, 7/17, 68/18 and 98/19). Another public institution may be an organisational unit of the ministry competent for the judiciary and an organisational unit of the ministry competent for internal affai rs, which provides education for the profession of police officer.
Secondary education in the Republic of Croatia enables everyone, under the same conditions and according to his or her abilities, upon completion of primary education, to acquire the knowledge and ability to work and continue education.
The objectives of education in schools include, among others, ensuring that students acquire basic (general) and vocational competences in a changing socio-cultural context to meet the requirements of a market economy, modern information and communication technologies and scientific knowledge and achievements. Furthermore, the aims focus on the students, enticing and enhancing their intellectual, physical, aesthetic, social, moral and spiritual development in accordance with their abilities and preferences. Responsible participation in the democratic development of society is promoted as well as the importance of empowering students for lifelong learning.
The principles of education at secondary level emphasise the equality of educational opportunities for all students according to their abilities. Emphasis is placed on the high-quality education and training of all direct educators – teachers, professional associates, headmasters and other workers, on the autonomy of planning and organisation and on the freedom of pedagogical and methodological work, on decentralisation and on the partnership of all educational actors at the local, regional and national levels.
Types of secondary schools
Secondary schools, depending on the type of education programme, can be:
- grammar schools,
- vocational schools,
- art schools.
Grammar schools are four-year general education schools that students graduate from by completing the state graduation exam. In grammar school programmes, students acquire general competences (knowledge and skills), which is a good basis for continuing their education at higher education institutions. There are five types of grammar school programmes, which differ according to the increase in a number of teaching hours per subject characteristic for the specific programme, and those are:
Education in vocational schools lasts from one to five years, and the duration depends on the type of education programme for a particular profession, i.e. the vocational curriculum for obtaining a qualification. After graduating from a vocational school, it is possible to enter the labour market or, subject to certain conditions, continue education at secondary or higher education institutions. Vocational education provides the competences (knowledge and skills) required at the labour market with the aim of recognising qualifications that also provide opportunities for advancement in further education.
A student who has attained a lower secondary education qualification, as well as a student who has completed an education programme which lasts three years, is entitled, in accordance with the needs of the labour market, to obtain a higher level of qualification by continuing education or passing the exam. A student who attains a higher level of qualification may continue his/her education as a full-time student within two years from the day he/she graduates from the vocational school.
Vocational skills are acquired through practical training and exercises. Practical training and exercises are carried out in school workshops and laboratories, which are as a rule equipped with modern didactic, and increasingly professional equipment, where educated vocational teachers work. In addition, part of the practical training is also provided by employers in real work settings. This kind of acquisition of competences enables students to be well prepared to engage in work processes.
Secondary art education is provided according to the art curriculum and it lasts four years. Through secondary art education, students acquire competences (knowledge and skills) to work and continue their education. Art schools are music, dance, visual arts and other schools that provide art programmes. Students who complete the art education curriculum at the secondary school level for a minimum of four years may also take the state graduation exam.
National minorities members have the right to education in their own language and script they use in accordance with the Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities (OG 155/2002, 47/2010, 80/2010, 93/2011). Education in schools in the languages and scripts of national minorities is provided in the communities in which minority members live, based on three models of organising and implementing instruction, namely:
Legal and regulatory framework