1

THE ROLE OF SCHOOLS AND

TEACHERS
IN THE PROMOTION OF HUMAN
RI ($HTS
IN SLOVENIA
:

Prepared jointly by representatives of the Ministry of Education and the

Education and Scientific Workers Union of Slovenia in cooperation with the
UNESCO National Commission.

A Monograph
on the application of Article 3 and other related articles
of the ILO/UNESCO Recommendations concerning the
Status of Teachers (1966)

Prepared for UNESCO by con tract with Education In terna tional

 -

.-

The original text of the monograph is in English. -

Cette publication est aussi disponible en franqais.
-

The opinions and the choice and presentation of data in this monograph are the
exclusive responsibility of the authors; they do not necessarily reflect the views
of UNESCO or Education International. The denominations used and the
presentation of facts, do not entail any taking of stand with regard to the legal
status of the countries or their authorities, nor in relation to the tracing of
national or territorial boundaries.
 THE ROLE OF SCHOOLS AND
TEACHERS
IN THE PROMOTION OF HUMAN
RIGHTS
IN SLOVENIA

b&l Authors:
Branimir Strukelj Secretary General of the Education and Scientific
Workers Union of Slovenia
Boris Lipuzic Associate expert of the Education and Scientific
Workers Union of Slovenia
Roman Lavtar Secretary General at the Ministry of Education and
Sport
Jelka Arh Counsellor to the Minister in the Department for
International Cooperation at the Ministry of Education
and Sport, coordinator of the activities and editor of
the text
Zofija Klemen-Krek Secretary General of the Slovene National Commission
for UNESCO

August 1996
II TABLE OF CONTENTS

II
II
I. GENERALINTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

II II. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . , . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Ill. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: THE COUNTRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

II IV. EDUCATIONALBACKGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

V. CONCEPTUAL, LEGISLATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

II
a) Conceptual Frame work
b) Legislative Frame work
II cl in terna tional Frame work

VI. CURRICULUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fj

II a) Curriculum Designing
b) Civic Education
Ethics and Society
II cl
d) History

VII. COOPERATION WITH NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

II AND EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

VIII. TEACHERTRAINING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

II IX. TEXTBOOKS, MANUALS AND INFORMATION MATERIALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

X. THE SCHOOL AS AN INSTITUTION FOR THE PROMOTION OF PEACE

II ANDDEMOCRACY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

a) Education in a Bilingual Context

II b) The Whole School Approach

XI. CONCRETE PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT IN THE CONTEXT

OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
II
a) All Different - All Equal
b) New Ways in Teaching History
II cl Seminars
Partnership
for Teachers Resources
with Schools Abroad
Persons in Establishing

II XII. HOW TO STRENGTHEN THE ROLE OF TEACHERS IN PROMOTING

THE IDEAS FROM ARTICLE 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

XIII. SOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
II .......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
XIV. PROCEDURE FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE DOCUMENT

II
II
 PREFACE

Discussions between UNESCO and Education International on ways to encourage

social dialogue at the national level between teacher unions and the Ministry of
Education resulted in a pilot project which produced this monograph. The UNESCO
National Commission, the Ministry of Education and the teachers’union formed a
working group to study the application of the 1966 ILOWNESCO Recommendation
concerning the Status of Teachers and, more particularly, Article 3 of the guiding
principles of the Recommendation.

The process that resulted in this monograph being written was the key to the
project. Representatives of Ministries of Education and teacher unions often meet
only in adversarial situations. This project was an attempt to bring the groups
together with UNESCO and Education International acting as interlocutors to help
begin discussions. The monograph is a first step in what we hope will be a
continuing process of dialogue that will enable Ministries of Education and teacher
unions to address issues of mutual concern.

The terms of reference for the project formulated in broad outline the method of
work and the content of the monograph. The focus of the monograph was to be
on the role of teachers and schools in the inculcation of deep respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms and on “teacher education programmes related
to the teaching of human rights and multi-cultural education in keeping with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” Furthermore the terms of reference
required that the monograph address “the extent to which teachers enjoy
professional or academic freedom according to paragraphs 60, 61, 63 and 79 of
Chapter VIII of the Recommendation”.

The monographs reflect the views of the organisations involved at the national level
and have been printed as presented by the working group. UNESCO and Education
International hope that each working group will now be motivated to continue the
promotion of human rights education and that the monographs will also contribute
to a broader application of the UNESCO-IL0 Recommendation concerning the
Status of Teachers.

The project was funded by UNESCO by contract with Education International which
undertook the technical work concerning translation, printing and publication of the
monographs.
I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION

On the occasion of the forty-fifth international Conference on Education (ICE)

entitled “Enhancing the Role of Teachers in a Changing World”, organised by
UNESCO, Education international - an international non-governmental organisation
in formal associate relations with UNESCO - nominated Slovenia as one of four
countries to prepare a special monograph on the topic “The Role and Function of
Schools and Teachers in the Promotion of Human Rights and Dignity, of Cultural
Understanding, Tolerance and Peace” in order to define and evaluate the role of
teachers in promoting the idea and the philosophy of Article 3 of the
Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers adopted in October 1966 by
the Special Intergovernmental Conference on the Status of Teachers, convened by
UNESCO in cooperation with the International Labour Organisation.

The monograph should provide information on the manner and extent of application
of Article 3 of the Recommendation.

Education International will assume the responsibility for publishing the monograph
and make it available at the 45th session of the International Conference on
Education in Geneva in 1996.

The monograph will be submitted to the special session of the joint ILO/UNESCO
Committee of Experts, proposed to take place in conjunction with the Conference.

II. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The following aspects of Article 3 of the Recommendation shall be discussed:

n “Education from the earliest school years should be directed to the all-round
development of the human personality and to the spiritual, moral, social,
cultural and economic progress of the community, as well as to the
inculcation of deep respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;
within the framework of these values the utmost importance should be made
by education to peace and to understanding, tolerance and friendship among
all nations and among racial or religious groups”;

n An assessment of the initial and continuing teachers education programmes

relating to the teaching of human rights and multicultural education, the
organisation of school/class activities in this regard;

m The role and function and the possibilities of teachers in the organisation of
school/community activities to promote respect for human values and
dignity, cultural understanding, tolerance and peace in keeping with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

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n The extent to which teachers enjoy professional or academic freedom
according to articles 61, 63, 79 and 80 of Chapter VIII of the
Recommendation;

n The examination of proposals to improve the situation.

Ill. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: THE COUNTRY

Since we assume that many of you may have difficulties in locating Slovenia
geographically, historically and politically a brief introduction is provided to throw
some light upon and help in understanding the data and analysis of the monograph.

Slovenia came into existence as an independent country in the beginning of 1992

when it was officially recognised by the member states of the United Nations.
Slovenia is a relatively small country bordering on Italy in the west, Austria to the
north and Hungary and Croatia to the north-east and south-east. The total area of
the country measures 20,256 square kilometres. Slovenia has almost two m illion
inhabitants, most of whom are ethnic Slovenians, speaking their own language.
Between 7 % and 8 % of the population are immigrants and members of the Italian
and Hungarian m inorities.

IV. EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Specific statistics on the population in schooling shows that all through the eighties
the number of one generation pupils has been diminishing from above 30,000 to
some 25,000 and is still diminishing. In 1992, Slovenia had only 21,720 newborn
children. In spite of the fact the decreasing population is typical for all of the
industrialised countries, it is of the utmost importance for a small country where
more than 8 0 % of those who complete eight years of compulsory primary
education enrol in secondary schools. Two universities enrol around 10,000
freshmen each year.

A small country like Slovenia is an organism with its own logic that decisively
affects also the whole of the educational sphere. Since knowledge has been
recognized as a crucial force of Slovenia’s progress, the socio-political changes in
the past few years have deeply e
V. CONCEPTUAL, LEGISLATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK

a) Conceptual Frame work

After gaining independence in 1992, Slovenia faced the need to change the system
of education. The new legislation which defines the structure, organisation and
methods of financing and management at all levels of education was passed by the
National Assembly in April 1996.

The underlying principles of the new system of public education stem from human
rights and the concept of the state of law. The fundamental goals are:

w to enable a pupil’s development according to his or her abilities and level of

development;

n to convey the fundamental knowledge and skills which ensure independent,

effective and creative contact with the social and natural environment, and
prepare for life-long learning;

n to redefine and give teachers the role of crucial element in implementing the
new philosophy as expressed in documents and enable it to be carried out
in practice.

b) Legislative Frame work

Constitution of the Reoublic of Slovenia

The following articles from the Constitution are especially valid for the educational
sphere and the implementation of Article 3.
-

Article 15 - The Exercise and Limitations on Rights:

The direct exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms shall be guaranteed
by this Constitution. The manner in which human rights and fundamental freedoms
shall be exercised may be regulated, but only by statute, whenever such a
regulation is authorized by this Constitution or wherever such a regulation is
necessary by reason of the particular nature of the individual rights or freedoms.
Human rights and fundamental freedoms shall only be limited by the rights of others
and in such cases as are determined by this Constitution.

Human rights and fundamental freedoms shall be guaranteed judicial protection. -

Moreover, this protection shall extend to the right to obtain redress for the abuse
of such rights and freedoms. It shall not be permissible to restrict any human rights
or fundamental freedom exercisable by acts which would otherwise be legal in
Slovenia, on the basis that this Constitution does not recognize that right or
freedom or only recognizes it to a limited extent.

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Article 39 - Freedom of Expression:

Freedom of expression of thought, freedom of speech and freedom to associate,

together with freedom of the press and other forms of public communication and
expression, shall be guaranteed. Each person may freely collect, receive and
circulate information and opinion. Except in such circumstances as are laid down
by statute, each person shall have the right to obtain information of a public nature,
provided he can show sufficient legal interest as determined by statute.

Article 44 - Freedom of Public Affairs:

Each citizen shall be entitled, subject to statute, to participate, either directly or

through his/her elected representatives, in public affairs.

Article 5 7 - Education and Schooling:

Education shall be free. Primary education shall be compulsory and shall be financed
from public revenue. The State shall provide the opportunity for all citizens to
obtain a proper education.

Article 76 - Freedom of Trade Unions:

The establishment of trade unions, their operation and membership thereof shall be
free.

Law on the Organisation and Financing in Education:

Chapter XIV (Staff in Education), Article 92:

Teachers and other professional staff of the educational institutions should carry
out the education programme in accordance with the state-approved programmes
in the way which ensures the objectivity, critical thinking and plurality whereby
they are professionally autonomous.

Teachers and other professional staff should master the Slovene literary language,
attain the professional qualification demanded by the law and have to pass a special
exam in pedagogical and professional knowledge according to the law.

cl In terna tional Frame work

Even before independence, Slovenia had been actively involved in the most
important multilateral international organizations in order to ensure - on the basis
of mutual cooperation - its professional credibility and bring the basic national
standards (legislative, professional and civilisational ones) closer to the international
ones. Keeping in mind the concrete application of Slovenia’s strategic orientation
in the field of international cooperation, Slovenia focused on the following concrete

5
aspects of international cooperation:

w curriculum design (in order to provide the basic compatibility at all levels of
education);
H in-service teachers training (to maintain professional communication on an
equal footing in individual activity areas);
n school links and exchanges;
n student and teacher mobility.

International cooperation has continued to be widely spread after independence. As

a full member of the Council of Europe and associate member of the European
Union, Slovenia has taken an active part in the following projects important for the
implementation of Article 3:

n Democracy, Human Rights, Minorities and the sub-project History and

Identity,
n Learning languages for European Citizenship;
n In-service Teacher training;
n School Links and Exchanges.

The following declarations and conventions have been used to get teachers
acquainted with the basic international orientations in the field of human rights and
fundamental freedoms:

n Vienna Declaration on Human Rights and Freedom;

n The Teaching and Learning of Human Rights - Recommendation 85 - passed
by the Council of Europe;
n European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Values;
w History Teaching and the Promotion of Democratic Values and Tolerance.

VI. CURRICULUM

a) Curriculum Designing
(decentralization of decisions relating to curriculum, authorities establishing
the curricula, the degree of autonomous decisions of educational institutions
and teachers).

Pursuant to the new legislation, decisions concerning the part of the curriculum
-
defined at the national level are made by three councils of experts appointed by the
Government of the Republic of Slovenia. The contents of subjects are defined at the
national level in a document called Education Programme. In addition to the
contents, the aims of the subject and staff and material requirements for carrying
out the education programme are defined.

6
Recently, a modern approach to subject design has been implemented; contents are
not regulated in detail, they can be adapted in a more flexible manner. Teachers are
responsible for carrying out the education programme; they design its flexible part
together with pupils who are free to express their interest in particular spheres.
Teachers are autonomous in choosing the manners, forms and methods of teaching.

In addition to the part of the curriculum which is determined at the national level,
the optional part of the curriculum is being introduced at all levels of the school
system. Gymnasium, and to a certain extent, vocational and technical schools are
most experienced as far as the forms and design methods for the optional part of
the curriculum are concerned. This is also valid for the subjects and subject areas
important for implementing the ideas from Article 3.

b) Civic Education

Civic education is part of the secondary school curriculum, practised in the 9th-13th
grades for one hour per week.

The contents related to this area of study are also carried out in the framework of
other subject areas (sociology, philosophy, history) in gymnasiums and in the
framework of social sciences in vocational schools.

As a subject field, civic education has been developed in the following manner:

n as a school subject included in the obligatory curriculum;

n as a dimension, a topic, included in a number of classical school subjects,

such as history and geography;

n as project work that is not obligatory: Pupils can choose topics according to
their special interests. Usually the project is designed as interdisciplinary
work; teachers work and design the themes to be presented in teams;

n in research camps for pupils that are organized by different organizations (not
just schools) and financed partly by local authorities, partly by the
participation of parents and other sponsors. These camps are organized
mainly during the summer. In practice, there are two forms of camps, one
is a research camp where pupils develop their knowledge and the ability to
interpret civic education topics and the second is a camp where the main
interest is to develop skills of communication and cooperation among the
members.

The following teaching aids are at teachers’ disposal: videos, official textbooks,
slides, diagrams, pictures, tape recordings.

7
cl Ethics and Society

The subject was introduced in all primary schools in 7th and 8th grades, in 1991.
The main topics are: myself and society, human rights, great world religions, family,
ecology. The pedagogical methods of work are mainly: group discussions, project -
work carried out together by pupils and teachers.

As a school subject, it is included in grades 13 to 15 in compulsory schools and is

called Ethics and Society. Teachers of these subjects are mainly historians and
teachers of mother tongue. It is important to underline that no special profile of
teachers have been trained and educated for these subjects so far.

To a certain degree, the topics dealt with or proposed by pupils usually concern the
family, human rights, socialization, religion, tolerance, humanism, mass media.

d) His tory

The present, renewed curriculum for history education has been passed by the
Council of Experts in June 1994.

The current curriculum, more than before, focuses on the content of history,
science, national and general cultural heritage. With this in view, the curriculum has
been closely linked with the general orientation and recommendations passed by the
Council of Europe at the occasion of the launching of the new history project
“Teaching in the New Europe”.

In order to keep in touch with the contemporary international trends regarding the
redefinition of some historical facts connected with the recent changes in Central
and Eastern Europe, the Ministry of Education and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia
and the Council of Europe organized, in June 1995, special seminars dedicated to
the implementation of the new approaches in teaching history in secondary
education. Besides the experts of the Council of Europe, a number of European
experts participated in individual themes covered by the seminar.

Together with the new curriculum, teachers of history have been provided with the
corresponding textbooks, pedagogical and didactic manuals prepared by the
curriculum expert groups.

History teachers are involved in the regular programme of in-service teacher training
which has been systematically developed for all Slovenian teachers.

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VII. COOPERATION WITH NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
AND EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

a) The complexity of the contents dealt with in this area of education demands
an open approach and is not limited to the school as an educational
institution. Joint projects have become a popular manner of working on
interdisciplinary projects where the items from Article 3 belong.

In this connection, the cooperation with Amnesty International and the Peace
Institute has become a very successful one. Through the development of
new approaches, the above mentioned organizations contribute to the
efficiency of the implementation of theoretical findings into everyday life. An
important range of activities and content supported by the Ministry of
Education and Sport, and carried out through the joint projects, are related
to the national programme for preventing suicide and all kinds of
dependencies.

Mechanisms through which we can influence the young are numerous, but
by and large, we can divide them into five categories:

w by providing all possibilities for personal growth (life skills, life styles,
health risk);
m by promoting a healthy way of life throughout the curriculum on an
interdisciplinary basis;
n by a systematic INSET teacher training;
n by the indirect communication with the young (special brochures,
distributed to all primary and secondary school pupils);
m by stimulating schools to take an active part in special events
organized on the occasion of health promotion.

It is important to underline that the members of non-governmental

organizations can involve far more dynamic approaches, complementary to
those developed by schools. In order to transfer new methods of pedagogical
work, we develop team work with non-governmental organizations also in
the field of teacher training.

b) Pursuant to the law, extracurricular activities form part of teachers’ non

teaching obligations; the law stipulates that such tasks include obligatory
tasks assigned by the principal.

The collective agreement stipulates that teachers can also perform

extracurricular activities which are not part of the school’s yearly plan and
are undertaken exclusively on their own initiative. A number of activities
related to the implementation of contents from Article 3 belong in this
segment of a teacher’s work.

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A number of these activities, as stated above, are carried out with the participation
of other organizations, parents and broader community.

VIII. TEACHER TRAINING

The concept of in-service teacher training is part of a continuing education and thus
a regulatory obligation and right of teachers, which is in more detail regulated by
a collective agreement. Every year, teachers can choose courses from catalogues
prepared by the Ministry of Education and Sport. Days of in-service training are
counted as working days and are paid as such. Until 1996, training expenses were
remunerated to teachers by the founders of their home institutions; after the
enforcement of the new legislation, the state recompenses such expenses.

The majority of such programmes are assigned points. By participating in these

programmes, teachers are awarded the points needed for the promotion to one of
the three possible categories :
mentor,
advisor,
councillor.

According to the law, the organization of in-service training is a responsibility of

public institutions active in the field of development and counselling in general,
vocational and adult education. The suppliers of in-service training are funded by
the state.

To date, the emphasis has been on content and certain formal aspects which can
be summarized as follows:

n further professional education;

n additional training in the field of philosophy of education;
n broadening the basic professional competences and getting acquainted with
the scientific branches and information that deal with the teachers’ basic
professional background;
w developing work in professional associations;
n developing new methods and forms of work;
n self-education;
n distance education.

All these aspects are of special importance for the implementation of non typical,
interdisciplinary content where initial training has not been a part of a regular
university programme.

For a couple of years, the non-governmental organizations were intensively involved

in the development of inset programmes for teachers of history, sociology, civic
education, ethics and society.

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The main topic of the INSET connected with the content discussed in Article 3 are:
human rights, peace education, family, culture, socialization, religion.

IX. TEXTBOOKS, MANUALS AND INFORMATION MATERIALS

It is impossible to develop new approaches in the field of civilization values without

the appropriate written materials. One of the main concerns has therefore been
devoted to this area. The logistics of a small market has been one of the main
constraints for further production of the materials. There is no commercial interest
in such materials, and so, information is published with state support. Recently, a
number of interesting materials have been published for use in workshops, teacher
training seminars, summer schools and camps. Some examples of such materials
are:

n “Ethics and Society” - prepared as a teaching material;

n “Human Rights” - the text was launched by the Council of Europe and
translated into Slovene, printed in 40,000 copies and distributed to schools
and other education institutions;

“Stories for Maci” - prepared in cooperation with the Peace Institute as a

result of the summer camp for teachers and pupils.

X. THE SCHOOL AS AN INSTITUTION FOR THE PROMOTION OF

PEACE AND DEMOCRACY

a) Education in a Bilingual Context

Special rights of the Indigenous Italian and Hungarian Ethnic Communities in

Slovenia are defined in Article 64 of the Constitution:

The indigenous Italian and Hungarian ethnic communities and their members shall
be guaranteed the right to freely use their national symbols and, in order to preserve
their national identity, the right to establish organizations, to foster economic,
cultural, scientific and research activities, as well as activities associated with the
mass media and publishing. These two ethnic communities and their members shall
have, consistent with statute, the right to education and schooling in their own
languages, as well as the right to plan and develop their own curricula. The State
shall determine by statute those geographical areas in which bilingual education
shall be compulsory. The Italian and Hungarian ethnic communities and their
members shall enjoy the right to foster contacts outside Slovenia, and with Italian
and Hungarian communities living outside Slovenia, and with Italy and Hungary
respectively. Slovenia shall give financial support and encouragement to the
implementation of these rights.

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In this sense, Slovenia has tried, as far as it has been able, to contribute to the idea
of plurality and multiculturalism with a complex approach to bilingual schooling,
even back in the days before Slovenia achieved statehood.
The Hungarian and Italian national minorities, in the bilingual school system,
intertwine with and differ at the same time from the majority population. Classes
where the lessons undergo a transition from language to language and from culture
to culture in an informal fashion, without having to especially stress them,
represent a valuable feature which, irrespective of its inherent problems, has a more
beneficial effect in promoting tolerance and respect between different cultures,
nationalities and peoples than classes of planned but abstract teaching of the
importance of mutual respect and multiculturalism.

b) The Whole School Approach

The best education for plurality is simply living plurally. This is valid for the world.
This is also valid for each individual school.

There are several elements that can contribute to a democratic, positive, creative
atmosphere of an institution in which young people spend an important part of their
lives. There is no doubt school as a social institution is a reflection of the state of
the general social environment. Nevertheless, it has been attributed one of the
leading roles in implementing the democratic values into concrete everyday life.

The whole range of activities, projects and actions has been more frequently
understood under the notion of intercultural education. Some time ago, it ceased
to be, among the young, merely a motto and it has become a way of life. The
school, the leading staff of the school and teachers have to offer the possibility for
pupils and students to take an active part in a number of activities and concrete
actions that have made the idea of “European citizenship” a part of practical school
and broader social life:

n the formation of the network of partner schools based on common projects,

research and field work, art and sports activities and competitions, launched
by important multicultural organizations like the Council of Europe, UNESCO,
and the European Union (especially in the future);

w active participation in the formation of a new value system, based on

European and national identity dimensions.

One of the main tasks of the school is to provide teachers with sufficient
information and education in order to enable them to cope with the demands of the
intercultural movement in all fields of educational work.

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Xl. CONCRETE PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT IN THE
CONTEXT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 3

al All Different - All Equal

Activities accomplished in Slovenia within the sphere of the European Youth

Campaign against Racism, Xenophobia, An tisemitism and In tolerance.

The National Committee of the European Youth Campaign against Racism,

Xenophobia, Antisemitism and Intolerance was founded at the end of September,
by decree of the Minister of Education and Sport, Dr. Slavko Gaber. At the
beginning of September, we obtained a recognized status on the part of the Council
of Europe and a place in the Steering Group.

The National Committee formed a Secretariat which guides and coordinates the
work and has created five sub-committees for the following segments: research
work, the legal system, care and education activities, sports, social and other
activities, media and publicity activities. The National Committee also prepared the
programme entitled “For Tolerance”.

In 1994, eight million Slovene tolars from the funds of the Office of the Republic
of Slovenia for Youth were earmarked for the European Youth Campaign. However,
in 1995, the National Committee has a special budget item totalling 23.5 million
tolars at its disposal. Moreover, some other contributions mostly in the form of free
or cheap services (TV Slovenia, Radio Slovenia, Metropolis Media, Kline&Kline) need
to be taken into account.

The activities accomplished so far were organized - either completely or by means

of cooperation with other organizations or institutions - by the National Committee.
Among the approximately 65 actions that have been carried out so far, we will
highlight those carried out in cooperation with schools:

n the organization of a public debate entitled “Refugees and Slovenia - where

do we go from here?” with the participation of the representatives from the
Ministry of Education and Sport, Office for Immigration and Refugees,
schools, various non-governmental organizations;

n the participation at the occasion of the Children’s Parliament on the subject

of human relations and mutual respect;

4 a large number of logos “vsi drugacni-vsi enakopravni” (“all different - all

equal”) have been distributed among schools and other institutions that use
them regularly on their correspondence;

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w the organization of a special conference for the teachers of Ethics and
Society; the themes included human rights, peace and environmental
education. Two classroom simulations were also performed;

n a Human Rights supplement to issue 2/95 of the magazine Education was

published - devoted to human rights, tolerance and the European Youth
Campaign;

w articles about the campaign and about the social phenomena with which the
campaign is concerned are being regularly published by magazines Ciciban,
Pil, and Sport M ladih, that are accessible to all of the primary and secondary
school population;

n the organization of competitions for best graffiti and fine arts on the theme
“Tolerance Among People”, the organization of the international competition
on the theme “Human Rights Education” for the primary school population -
both performed under the Council of Europe project “Democracy, Human
Rights, M inorities”;

n the organization of the competition “Pan-European banner against racism and

intolerance” in the theme “Picturing a Multicultural Europe” for kindergartens,
primary and high schools and universities.

b) New Ways in Teaching History

Slovenia has actively participated in the project “Democracy, Human Rights,

M inorities: Educational and Cultural Aspects”, which included the Pilot project No.
4 “History and Identity”, where Austria was nominated as the coordinator. Besides
Austria and Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia took part in the
project. On behalf of Slovenia, four grammar schools have been participating in the
project, with around 40 pupils and 4 mentors (teachers of history). The project will
be completed in November 1996 in Vienna.

The project was carried out in cooperation with the National Institute of Ethnic
Studies and the Faculty of Social Studies from Ljubljana.

The main topics covered by the project were:

n National identity and the “European Idea”;

n Sport as a factor contributing to the idea of national identity;
n Leisure time as a factor contributing to the idea of national identity.

As a continuation of the above project, the Draft Programme for 1997 of the
Council of Europe is preparing a new project: “Learning and Teaching about the
History of Europe in the 20th Century”. The project will focus on the learning and
teaching of the history of Europe from about 1900 to the present day, in secondary

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schools, in States party to the European Cultural Convention. It will :

H adopt a broad all-European approach to the subject;

n seek to cover all aspects of the period in question - political, economic,

social, spiritual, cultural, artistic, scientific and technological;

n place European history in a world perspective.

Following its past practice, Slovenia is going to participate in the preparation and
implementation of the project.

cl Seminars for Teachers Resource Persons in Establishing Partnership with

Schools Abroad

To complement the participation of Slovenian schools in a number of joint projects

promoting a form of school partnership cooperation, Slovenia is going to organize
special courses for teachers (mentors) in order to:

n encourage the exchange of information and experience between those who

are responsible for school links on the national level and to allow them to
develop new ideas and concepts concerning school links and exchanges;

w reinforce partnership projects between schools in Europe with the aim of

allowing students to confidently master life in a multicultural and diverse
society;

H train teacher trainers, head teachers and teachers for school links and
exchanges and for teaching in a multicultural society;

n publish working material and adaptable training modules.

XII. HOW TO STRENGTHEN THE ROLE OF TEACHERS IN PROMOTING

THE IDEAS FROM ARTICLE 3

1. To increase the efficiency of the actions by a coordinated action of all

governmental and non governmental organizations dealing with the problems
from Article 3.

2. To develop a corresponding information and documentation system in order

to keep teachers informed about all the general trends in this sphere of
educational work.

3. To formulate a core of contents and information (based on an

interdisciplinary approach) with the intention of integrating it into the regular

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 programmes of initial or inset teacher education and training.

4. To develop a resource centre or data base centre equipped with all the basic
information about the international conventions, recommendations and other
documents connected with this field of educational work.

XIII. SOURCES

White Paper on Education in the Republic of Slovenia, Ljubljana, 1995.

Information brochures on Pre-school, Compulsory Education and Secondary

Education, prepared by the Education Development Unit of the Ministry of
Education and Sport, 1995.

Civic Education in Slovenia, prepared by the Education Development Unit of the

Ministry of Education and Sport, 1995.

Materials used for the Questionnaire of the European Union, chapter 17, Ljubljana,
1996.

National Report on Development of Education, Ljubljana, 1994.

Activities accomplished in Slovenia within the sphere of the European Youth

Campaign against Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Intolerance: report prepared
by the Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Youth at the Ministry of Education and
Sport, 1995.

Information on INSET in Slovenia, prepared by the Board of Education of the

Republic of Slovenia, 1996.

Report on the activities accomplished in Slovenia within the fights against all sorts
of addiction, prepared by the Ministry of Education and Sport of the Republic of
Slovenia, 1995.

Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, Ljubljana, 1993.

Law on Organization and Financing of Education, Ljubljana, 1996.

Statistical Information, Ljubljana, 1995.

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XIV. PROCEDURE FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE DOCUMENT

Slovenia was asked, in November 1995, to participate in preparing a monograph

on the application of Article 3 and other related articles of the 1966 ILOWNESCO
Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers.

As discussed with Education International, a tripartite national working group was

nominated in order to coordinate the preparation if the monograph. The members
of the group were:

- Branimir Strukelj, Secretary General of the Education and Scientific

Workers Union of Slovenia;

- Boris Lipuzic, Associate expert of the Education and Scientific Workers

Union of Slovenia;

- Roman Lavtar, Secretary General at the Minis try of Education and Sport;

- Jelka Arh Counsellor to the Minister in the Department for

International Cooperation at the Ministry of Education
and Sport, coordinator of the activities and editor of the
text;

- Zofija Klemen-Krek, Secretary General of the Slovene National Commission

for UNESCO.

During the preparation of the document, the working group met twice:

n first, in order to discuss the outline of the monograph;

n second, in order to review the final version of the document.

The working group can express its deep conviction that the monograph answers all
the basic dilemmas covered by Article 3 and other related articles of the
ILO/UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers from the point
of view of the Slovene teaching practice.

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