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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1999  > August  >
Chemistry Everyday for Everyone
Experiential, Cooperative, and Study Abroad Education
Chemical Education in Bulgaria
Vladimir N. Garkov
Mary Baldwin College, Department of Chemistry, Staunton, VA 24401
Cover
August 1999
Vol. 76 No. 8
p. 1083
Abstract
The sociopolitical changes in Eastern Europe of the 1990s and the ongoing globalization of the chemical industry and chemical education prompted this analysis of the current status of chemical education in Bulgaria, which is not very different from the educational practices in the rest of Europe. The level of chemistry knowledge expected from all high-school graduates in Bulgaria is roughly equivalent to the general and organic chemistry courses for science majors at U.S. universities. The newly introduced four-year bachelor's degree curriculum (based on 15-week semesters) at the University of Sofia includes a core of 106 semester hours (labs counted as 1 hour each), 41 semester hours of electives, and 445 contact hours (11 weeks) of research, which ends with a thesis defense. The instructional techniques in Bulgaria are subject-centered and follow the hierarchical structure of knowledge in an integrated and unitary manner. In conclusion, the Bulgarian system of education in chemistry aims at preparing a scientifically literate citizenry and broadly trained chemists by imposing a very challenging and rigid curriculum with very few choices. It is speculated that the laissez-faire climate of free intellectual initiative seen only at American universities provides a more appropriate environment for talent encouragement and scientific innovation for overseas-educated undergraduate and graduate students than their home institutions.
More Information
*  Citation
 Garkov, Vladimir N. J. Chem. Educ. 1999 76 1083.
*  Keywords
 Curriculum; History / Philosophy; Public Understanding; Chemical Education Research; Teaching/Learning Theory/Practice
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 July 8, 1999
June 23, 2005
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