The PISA study shows that there is a significant problem in Bulgarian education. It is not that we did not know it, but now we have data about this problem. This is discipline. It turns out that one of the big problems is that Bulgarian students do not go to school, but walk to school. And a large part of them do not attend the classes that are difficult for them - respectively mathematics, Bulgarian language and literature, English. This was stated in “The Day Begins“ on BNT by the expert at the Institute of Education of the Ministry of Education Georgi Staykov. According to him, about 40% of students indicate that, if possible, they do not attend the classes that are difficult for them.
Dr. Georgi Staykov, chief expert at the Institute of Education of the Ministry of Education: “There should be no children who do not have knowledge of mathematics or literature. Every child can cope with the learning material and every child can reach at least basic knowledge, and from there build on it. The essence of the education systems, which are the best in the world, is that they leave no child behind.“
According to Staykov, one of the main problems is inequality between schools.
Dr. Georgi Staykov, chief expert at the Institute of Education of the Ministry of Education: “If you are in a good school, you will receive a good education. If you are in a bad school, you will, of course, have big problems. The goal of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is for the school that is closest to the family to be the best school. That is, for there to be no such difference between individual schools and the results of children.“
He also drew attention to discipline in the classroom. 42% of Bulgarian students say that science classes are noisy and they cannot concentrate. According to him, the responsibility for education does not lie solely with teachers.
Dr. Georgi Staykov, chief expert at the Institute of Education of the Ministry of Education: “If once 70% of parents were interested in what their child was doing at school, now the percentage is 60%. So this is their responsibility - theirs as parents and that of teachers.“
He pointed out that according to Andreas Schleicher, one of the creators of PISA, just asking the child “What is he doing at school today?“ can improve his performance, and interest in the learning material and homework leads to even better results. According to the expert, Bulgarian education should move away from mechanical memorization.
“The facts are everywhere now. The question is how children interpret these facts, how they handle them and can they apply them in life“, said Staykov.
As an example, he pointed to tasks from PISA, in which students must use mathematical knowledge in a real-life situation.
“Children must put these facts through a life situation, create the connection between these facts and make a reasoned decision“, summarized Georgi Staykov.