Experts state that confusion among people who are finding their roots and looking for a sense of belonging is caused by the globalization. At the same time they stress the importance of our knowing where and to who we belong. Several topical questions on coexistence of Slovenian and European identity have been opened by the fact that Slovenia has been a part of the great European area for almost a decade. The school has an important role in developing a sense of national identity, culture and linguistic heritage. Promotion of tolerance towards those who are different is also a significant part of school. The theoretical part of the article discusses the relationship between civic and patriotic education, both of them taking place in school in various ways. Primary objectives of civic and patriotic education are defined and schools’ general approach to patriotic education is introduced. The importance of a teacher as an object of identification is highlighted since teacher’s views and beliefs affect students' perceptions and behavior. The results of research, which was based on casual sample of future teachers, are shown in the empirical part. Research focused on how future teachers perceive the Slovenian identity in coexistence with European identity. The study showed that future teachers feel connected with Slovenia and Europe, but they feel more connected with Slovenia than with Europe. Based on beliefs of majority of respondents, the Slovenian identity will play an enhanced role in the future, comparing it to the European one. Two-thirds of respondents feel that national identity is not threatened because Slovenia joined the EU and more than two-thirds of them expressed positive feelings about the national citizenship. The survey showed some differences in perceptions of identity between future class teachers and teachers of social studies and humanities.
COBISS.SI-ID: 20491272
In terms of social life, the question of multiculturalism is extremely important. The teacher always plays a major role. Pedagogical principle of multiculturalism, which is becoming a necessity of modern school, it is best, reflected in the teacher's approach. The teacher must become sensitive to multicultural differences in general. Integration of a child, who differs from the majority, can only succeed if the general pedagogical climate is in favor of diversity. Some studies suggest that teachers, who belong to the majority culture, are in general less tolerant towards minority pupils. Most of the teachers thus expect lower success from minority pupils and therefore do not offer sufficient support to them, are more critical towards them and gives them less confidence. In this paper we focus on the situation in the areas along the Slovene border. The results of empirical research, which was carried out on a sample of 118 teachers in schools in the areas where national minorities live along the Slovene-Austrian, Slovene-Hungarian, and Slovene-Italian border offers results which opened interesting questions. We the results suggest that the teachers at the Italian border give more attention to empathy and personality example, while the teachers along the borders with Hungary, and Austria link multiculturalism to developments in the context of schools and teaching. The authors have attributed this to the influence of neighboring cultures in different historical developments and differences in historical development of specific minorities in question.
COBISS.SI-ID: 20802568
The monograph highlights the findings of an empirical study on the knowledge and use of German and Slovene proverbs. The study was conducted between groups of Austrian and Slovenian informants (Austrian youths and adults, and informants representing three Slovenian dialect groups). The informants were surveyed on their knowledge of proverbs and the frequency of verbal use as well the frequency of proverb use in writing in their respective native languages (German or Slovene respectively – L1). The choice of proverbs included in the respective questionnaires was mostly identical (with individual exceptions). Extra-linguistic factors were also considered during the analysis of the answers. The data obtained from the empirical study between both speech communities are compatible for the following parameters: the level of knowledge and use of proverbs between informants from respective speech communities, the level of knowledge and use of proverbs based on gender, the level of knowledge and use of proverbs based on location (informants living either in a metropolitan or rural area), the level of knowledge and use of proverbs based on age, and the level of knowledge and use of proverbs based on the respective levels of education. In addition to providing various possibilities for comparison, the results of the empirical study also hint at additional options for further research.
COBISS.SI-ID: 77706497
The aim of this article is to present the evolution of the common European agricultural policy as a response to ever-emerging challenges of rural development. The EU started to tackle large regional disparities in rural development in an institutional way in the 1980s. Changes in the rural development paradigm in the European Union are the result of the effects of industrialization and enlargement of the EU to the Mediterranean countries. There was a shift from sectorial policy towards territorial policy which includes policies of different economic sectors at national, regional and local levels. Exogenous rural policy model, focused on the agricultural sector and farmers as its holders, was replaced by the endogenous model. With the new common agricultural policy, rural area is addressed as an integral space. Development initiatives are created in local environment. Networking the ideas that occurs includes policies by different economic sectors at multi-institutional level. The awareness and recognition of rural values, both ecological, cultural as well as social ones, is the key motivation factor for local communities when preparing development projects. Our survey aimed at understanding how these new approaches affected structural changes to the agricultural holdings in Podravje. The survey covered Podravje and Koroška statistical region (NUTS 3).
COBISS.SI-ID: 20796168
The chapter addresses an insufficiently researched aspect of education of the Roma population, using the example of their performance at foreign language learning in Slovenia. The theoretical foundations of language learning, the historical situation, and the current living conditions of the Roma support the thesis that foreign language learning success among the Roma is poorer than the performance of non-Roma. This affects their success levels in other subjects requiring language competence. After considering the importance of foreign language learning for each individual and the current didactic concept of foreign language learning, our empirical research for Roma pupils demonstrates that they tend to learn foreign languages pragmatically rather than in academic ways that are more abstract; that lifestyle circumstances force them to speak at least two languages; and that they are more successful with German, which they are more likely to use and learn than English. Such results require radical reflection, revision, and innovation of existing language learning didactics.
COBISS.SI-ID: 20753160