Elementary Teacher’s Perceptions of Education Reforms in Albania

Abstract

After the fall of the communist regime in 1991, Albania undertook a profound programme of reform to its education system, along similar lines to those reforms being undertaken elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe. These reforms were political, structural, and pedagogicalaltering both the curriculum as well as teaching methods. This article intends to analyse the manner in which these hugely ambitious reforms were received by teachers in Albania, emphasising that it is ultimately those aspects that affect their daily working lives which have caught their attention. The research is based on a qualitative approach discourse analysis of interviews conducted with a sample of 12 teachers in elementary schools in the Tirana region. The results underline the fact that teachers have a fairly accurate understanding of the modernization objectives of the reform; they are positive about the changes to the curriculum and to teaching methods, but their opinions diverge when it comes to the process of choosing textbooks. However, participants appeared to be barely able to remember the political and structural drivers underpinning the reforms.