The particular place of physics in Bulgarian secondary

The particular place of physics in Bulgarian secondary schools /Very short presentation/ Zhelyaska Raykova

Bulgaria • School system in Bulgaria is being reorganized. The reform involves school structure, curriculum, schoolbooks. • In 1998 a law has been passed on secondary education and since then a special commission is working on the new curriculum ( For more information: http: //www. minedu. government. bg/information/) This year /2001/ the education programs for 5 th, 9 th and 10 th grade have been changed. • The new school system in Bulgaria and in particular the place of physics is shown in the Zhelyaska Raykova table:

The new school system in Bulgaria and in particular physics: Age Grade /level/ Subject Hours per week 5 /4, 3, 2/ 18 12 17 11 16 10 15 9 and 2 14 8 Astronomy 1, 5 13 7 1, 5 12 6 2 11 5 The man 10 4 and 9 3 Nature 8 2 7 1 Physics as a chosen subject (every school different) Physics Zhelyaska Raykova 5 /4, 3, 2/ 2 2

• 7 -10 years old students /1 -4 grade/ Ordinary school; 11 -14 years old students /5 -8 grade/ Basic school; 15 -18 years old students /9 -12 grade/ High school. Ordinary school: · Physics knowledge is involved in subject “The Man and nature”. It is very simple and superficial. Basic school: *In 5 th ad 6 th grade physics is part of “ The Man and nature” too. *Physics shows up as a new course in 7 th and 8 th grade; *It including all areas of physics. Modern physics is included in a very simple way. Zhelyaska Raykova

High school: 9 th – 12 th grade · The physics studied in the new syllabus is on 2 levels. The first level covers the minimum of knowledge and is accessible for 80% of students. · In the second level the study of physics is deeper and extensive. · Particles physics is studied towards the end of 10 th grade. The topics include nuclear construction, kinds of fundamental particles and some interactions. Zhelyaska Raykova

The syllabus for 11 th and 12 th grade will change in 2002. The education on this grade will be more profiled. The profiles are – human sciences, natural sciences and mathematics, technology, arts and sports. Physics will be studied as a chosen subject. We hope that on this level particle physics will come back, but extended and with more details. Zhelyaska Raykova