Lower Secondary Education System in Albania, Challenges and Innovations

Abstract

Education and its vigorous reformative process has been generating interest among researchers over the last years in Albania becoming one of the most widespread topics of discussion. The reforms that the Lower Secondary Education System has undergone over the last decade have been intensive, quick and sometimes even chaotic highly influenced by other social developments. Due to the implementation of a new restructured school curriculum in the Albanian compulsory educational system, the managing process in this level of education has become a major challenge for the educators. The addition of another year (9^th grade) to the previous educational Albanian system has increased the difficulty of classroom management of the 9^th grade students. This study aims to analyze the current educational reality in Albania created after this structural and content reform made in the Lower Secondary Education System, changing it from 8^th grade system to 9^th grade system, pointing out the advantages and difficulties encountered by the teachers, as well as the adaptation of the pupils versus this new reality. The study is realized through four phases: firstly, the compilation of a general outline of the paper; secondly, the preparation of questionnaires for teachers and pupils; thirdly, the gathering of data and observations in the Lower Secondary Education classes; fourthly, the elaboration of the gathered information drawing certain conclusions and suggestions regarding this issue. The treatment of this topic served not only for the recognition of this transformation that the Albanian educational system underwent, but also for the recognition of the new challenges that teachers faced up with while trying to reach an efficient classroom management.