The Three Pillars of Slovak Curriculum Reform: Insights from Foreign Language Teachers

Natália Rozmanová, Prešovská univerzita v Prešove

Nowadays, the Slovak educational system is undergoing systemic transformation through a curriculum reform at the elementary education level. This particular reform extends beyond subject content to promote a more student-centred approach, strengthen key competences, and encourage innovative teaching practices. That is to say, teachers are the key actors in this process; however, acceptance of the changes remains uncertain. The present research explores the insights of foreign language teachers towards the ongoing curriculum reform in Slovakia, with a specific focus on its three key pillars, including the student-centred approach, the action-oriented approach, and the plurilingual approach. Furthermore, the given study investigates how foreign language teachers perceive these approaches and the extent to which they are ready to integrate them into their daily classroom practice. A qualitative method approach was employed, especially semi-structured interviews with a total of nine primary school teachers. The findings indicate that while primary school teachers generally acknowledge the relevance of the reform’s goals; yet, their attitudes remain cautious, particularly regarding the feasibility of applying the plurilingual and action-oriented approaches in everyday teaching. As a result, teachers expressed practical challenges such as limited resources, lack of methodological guidance, and time constraints. Overall, the research reveals that even though the curriculum reform is conceptually well aligned with up-to-date trends in foreign language education, the readiness and willingness of teachers to embrace its principles remain uneven. All respondents, however, highlighted the need for stronger institutional support and professional development opportunities if the three pillars of curriculum reform are to be successfully implemented in Slovak foreign language education.