Innovation of curriculum content in science subjects Hana Čtrnáctová Introduction The curriculum content is one of the basic educational categories; however its definition is far from being unambiguous. The meaning of the concept ‘curriculum content’ or ‘curriculum’ changes in relation to the changes in the educational content, which is generally understood as a tool cultivating the human, reflecting the level of knowledge and social experience, and ensuring the integrity and continuity of society development [Průcha & Valterová, Mareš, 2003]. It is determined by social functions and educational aims. Didactic transformation gives the educational content a concrete form - the curriculum. Therefore, based on the above, a contemporary concept of curriculum includes a complex of knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes, and interests, which the pupil/student should acquire in the teaching process [Vališová & Kasíková, 2007]. In the case of science subjects it means to transform the chemistry subject into the curriculum of science subjects of chemistry at the level of primary, secondary or tertiary education. What is, first of all, considerably influenced by the content of this curriculum: - Development and level of the science subject itself, - Development and level of pedagogy, psychology and subject-field didactics, - Requirements of society at regional, European and also world-wide level, - Scheduling and time demands of the subject, etc. In majority of cases the above-mentioned factors co-act, but in different extent according to the educational level. The present paper will try to find the answers to the question of how the curriculum content of science subjects should look like at the beginning of the 21st century at the level of primary, secondary and tertiary education mainly in terms of contemporary level and focus of the individual subjects. Development and level of science subjects One of the most distinctive features of the second half of the 20th century is, compared with the past, an enormous development of science and technology. Among the most important reasons is a large growth in human and financial potential of science and research. Every day a number of scientific findings increases and they are rapidly applied to various fields of human activity. On the one hand we are witnessing yet another differentiation of science subjects, on the other hand they are mutually integrated. Any new discovery has not only requires a cooperation of experts from various science disciplines but also of mathematicians, IT experts, etc. In the area of physics, progress is made on both the small and the large scale – as we delve deeper and deeper into the structure of matter, we’re also probing the mysteries of the deep cosmos. So far it’s not clear whether the string theory is the ultimate “holy grail” of physics that will allow us to answer the most pending questions. Physics, at this time, is a discipline of wonder, where major breakthroughs are to be expected in the near future. In the area of chemistry, studied and newly prepared compounds and materials usually have both an inorganic and organic component; their properties are identified by various instrumental methods of analytical chemistry with the aid of up-to-date computer technology. The latter is also indispensable for work in theoretical chemistry and computer modelling. Not only the well-known disciplines are developed such as organic and inorganic synthesis, coordination chemistry, polymer chemistry, biomolecular chemistry, nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry, new methods of analysis, etc., but also new disciplines such as supramolecular chemistry, chemistry of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies, environmental chemistry, etc. Also 18