University School
Ostrava
Ostrava, Czech Republic
University School Ostrava (UNISO) is one of the strategic projects of the University of Ostrava. The project is being developed in close cooperation of Faculty of Education, Faculty of Arts, and Faculty of Science – faculties that all have long-term experience with teacher education and since 2018 have run a joint teacher-training programme with a range of specialisations covering all subjects relevant for junior and senior secondary education.
Faculty of Education offers also degrees in pre-primary and primary education, and in educational science. Other faculties of the UO will also be involved: the Faculty of Medicine consulting healthy environment, lifestyle and well-being; the Faculty of Social Studies contributing to the creation of a parental community and monitoring the school’s influence
on the transformation of the social environment; the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music promoting the development of children’s aesthetic perception and fostering their creative activities.
A range of stakeholders and experts from outside the University are involved, particularly City Council, Regional Council, practising teachers and school directors, school psychologists, lawyers, experts from the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture – and the ecosystem
is growing.
Links and more
Contact Person
Renáta Tomášková
Vice-Rector for International Relations
University School Ostrava is envisaged to be a new type of public school, consisting of a kindergarten, primary, junior and senior secondary levels, and affiliated with the University, which is to be the founder and the main provider. The development of the concept, the curriculum of the school, and the feasibility study of the whole project is currently in progress with the support of a three-year funding from operational funds. The discussion of the curriculum is going on hand in hand with planning a new school building
UNISO is to be housed in.
A key principle the concept of the school is shaped by is inclusivity: the composition of the pupil and student population in the
school will correspond with the socio-economic structure of the population in the city. The diversity of children and their needs will benefit from a supportive educational environment and community work for students, teachers and staff to thrive.
The school is designed to be an innovative space open to new pedagogies, fostering evidence-based approach and action research, providing University researchers with research questions and applying and testing research results – a lab offering valuable experience and opportunities also to students in teacher-training programmes.
We are grateful for the opportunities to learn from university and laboratory schools in Europe and beyond and develop collaborations. We will translate international experience both into the curriculum and practices at school and into initiating new cooperation between schools at local, regional, and national level to get more of them on board.
