Project title: CIVIC AND PATRIOTIC EDUCATION IN SLOVENIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
Principal researcher: assistant professor dr. Miro HAČEK
Research team: associated professor dr. Marjan Brezovšek and assistant Irena Bačlija
Period of the project: 1. 10 2006 – 30. 9.2008
Project goals: main goal of the research project was to analyse in which extend and on which levels of the educational policy are the programs and curriculums of elementary and secondary education contributing to the youth identity-building and to the evolution of patriotic consciousness of the Slovenian pupils.
Methodology: we haveimplemented several combining scientific methods and techniques (among other the analysis of relevant scientific and expert literature; the analysis of relevant legal sources (the composition of the concept of patriotic education); the analysis of current affairs on the field of youth education (civic education, education for democracy); the identification of patriotic elements in the current educational concepts (for elementary and secondary schools); several opinion polls on different elements of patriotism, civic and patriotic education (for elementary and secondary education); comparative study of different models of patriotism implementation into the educational system in several EU countries).
Results: we have a) analyzed various concepts of civic education and pedagogical programs, aimed at the construction of citizen’s identity, b) analyzed the significance of patriotism for democracy and on the bases of this analysis we have assigned the significance and the meaning of patriotic education in the elementary and high-school curriculums. One of the most important ascertainments of the project was the finding that according to the natural course the patriotic education precedes civil education, but most essential part of patriotic education is always the civil education. Civil education is important attribute in every democratic political system, there is no doubt about this, but civil education can only be drafted inside the framework of patriotic education. Fatherland, nation and national consciousness come first; the consequence of that is the birth of nation state as the most natural political formation. Patriotic education must be based on the qualitative civic education, the most basic prerequisite of patriotic education are humanity and tolerance. The subjects of patriotic education are concrete society and the nation with all positive and negative qualities; the goals of civil education on the other hand are shaping of responsible, tolerant and (politically) active citizen, who will strive for the enforcement of democratic and social standards in the public life. In our comprehensive empirical research we have among other thing ascertained, that among both in research included groups (elementary school and high school pupils) we can note high levels of both civic and patriotic consciousness, and also civil and patriotic literacy. A bit more problematic appears to be the group of high-school pupils with low levels of familiarity of certain elements of civil literacy and what in even more concerning, this group seem to be stagnating with regard to knowledge demonstrated by elementary school pupils. Also Slovenian institutions should devote more attention to the field of patriotic literacy among youth; for instance one of every ten 15-year olds and one of every ten 19-year olds do not recognize Slovenian flag, half of 19-year olds are not sure about most important Slovenian National Days and so on. On the basis of data, collected from empirical research we can make a conclusion, that the civic and patriotic education should be devoted with more (institutional) support and attention; and not only in the framework of narrow, specialized obligatory and/or compulsory subjects in elementary and high schools, but also in the entire complex of social sciences, though inter-subject approach and also in the out-of-curricular contents.