Fundamental Pedagogy Jana Doležalová

Terminological definition of the concept ‘school’ and its characteristics 
School is an educational facility localised in a building designated for this 
purpose and its internal organisation is subject to the determined rules, order 
and discipline (Walterová, 2004).
Educational effects at school: 

Education is carried out within defined time and space; 

Educational objectives are articulated in educational documents;

Education is independent of teacher and student fluctuation. 
During school education, students are provided with knowledge, skills, 
attitudes, values and experience during systematic instruction. 
School is part of the child’s environment. 
Complex school characteristics: 

School provides controlled and systematic education. (It is 
established for this purpose.) 

It performs the following functions: 
o It contributes to general development of an individual (educational 
function, acculturation function); 
o It forms human beings (personalisation and socialising function); 
o It is a protective facility (protective function – it protects from 
inappropriate influences from society); 
o Qualification function; 
o Integration function; 
o It is a social policy tool. 
(Průcha, 1997, Havlík, Halászová, Prokop, 1996, Walterová, 2004) 
E. Walterová sums it up by saying that school should prepare educated citizens 
as a human source in a prosperous society. It should provide such education 
which enables life-long education and full-fledged life in a changing 
sociocultural environment. At school, one should learn to understand the 
accelerating increase of knowledge produced by science and technology; school 
should further develop skills important for life in an over-mechanised world and 

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highly organised society. It should also support coherence and solidarity in the 
multicultural and individualised global world and also ensure maintenance of 
cultural and national heritage by new generations. 
School should also be a protecting institution, a place of safety, security and 
humanity in the social conditions. Its educational impact should be directed 
towards an ideal of norms and values which, however, cannot be realistically 
fulfilled and respected by the contemporary society. It should be a nice 
environment (Walterová, 2004, p. 82). 
School is a very sophisticated, relatively isolated social form (Prokop, 1996) 
affecting others and being affected by a range of factors. These factors 
influence its focus, course and outcomes of activities. There are external and 
internal factors.