Requirements for reorganization of the first cycle of primary education in the Republic of Macedonia

As one of the two basic aims in the key fields of intervention in the National Program for Development of the Education in the Republic of Macedonia for 2005-2015, the issue of increasing the primary education, from 8 to 9 years, was posed. The requirements in this period are mainly initiated by the developmental characteristics of the children. The need for more intensive application of play and the activities of play has been shown to be the most appropriate approach in the process of acquiring of knowledge, abilities, skills and habits, and as an educational reform it should be respected in school conditions. The subject of scientific research refers to the didactic-methodic components of the activity of play in the first educational cycle. The methodology, methods and techniques that were applied during the course of the research are: the method of analysis (analysis of content and structural analysis), the descriptive method and the method of comparison, as well as the techniques of analysis of pedagogical documentation, observation and surveying. On the basis of the received results, it can be concluded that: the organization and realization of the activity of play partially depends on the professional training of the teachers; the majority of teachers believe that the syllabi are appropriate for the realization of the activity of play as a methodical concept; the necessity of appropriate didactic-methodical preparation of the teachers for realizing the activity of play.