Enlarged partial agreement

Observatory on History Teaching in Europe

History teaching in Slovenia begins in the first grade with the multidisciplinary course “Getting to know the environment” (ages 6-8), followed by the multidisciplinary course “People and society” (ages 9-10). History then becomes a compulsory standalone subject, continuing through to the end of lower secondary education (age 14) and including a final assessment. At upper secondary level, “History” is a compulsory course for all four years (ages 15-18), but the final assessment is optional. Vocational education students take “Social sciences” for two years (ages 15-16) and “History” for one year (age 17); those in medium technical and professional schools take “History” for one year only (age 15).

Schools for the Italian and Hungarian minorities include in their history curricula more content on their respective histories, and some schools for the Hungarian minority teach bilingually. There are private schools in Slovenia which may follow a distinct history curriculum.

All types of schooling within the state system follow programmes confirmed by the Expert Council of the Republic of Slovenia for General Education. At both the primary and secondary levels, the history curricula have compulsory elements with some optional elements which are chosen by teachers according to students’ interests and their own professional judgment. They also allow for activities that may take place inside and outside the classroom. The history curricula are developed with the participation of both civil society organisations and minority groups.
 

The authorities report that minority groups (cultural, ethnic, linguistic, national, religious or sexual/gender) are included in the history curriculum, however these do not include Roma and Travellers.

 Curricula workstation by GEI (History curricula search by country)

The assessment methods teachers are required to use are portfolios, essays, oral presentations/exams, knowledge-based questions and source-based questions.

End-of-stage examinations are compulsory for the lower secondary course “History” and optional for the upper secondary course “History” (both courses are compulsory). The exams are set at the national level.

End-of-stage exams assess the following fields of knowledge: historical content knowledge, historical thinking competences (e.g., critical analysis and evaluation of evidence, formulation and justification of historical arguments, consideration of different perspectives).

End-of-stage examinations are written and consist of open-ended questions, closeended questions, source-based questions and multiple-choice questions.

The selection of resources to use for teaching takes place at the school level, and teachers are permitted to use materials not licensed by the authorities without any restrictions.

Policies on the use of different types of educational resources are as follows:

REQUIRED	ENCOURAGED	ALLOWED	NO POLICY
Historiographical  bibliography History textbooks Museums and other places of heritage interpretation Reports on historical topics in popular magazines Search engines and websites with historical content not necessarily validated by the education authorities	Apps for smartphones and tablets with historical content Artefacts (e.g., paintings, architecture, sculptures, contemporary art) Audio sources (e.g., music, the sound of a steam engine) Audiovisual sources (e.g., newsreels, private archives, commercials) Cinema and documentaries with historical themes Literature (e.g., historical novels, graphic novels) Local cultural heritage (e.g., costumes, food traditions, celebrations) Oral sources (interviews with grandparents, relatives, neighbours, etc.) Primary documentary sources Printed or digital press (newspapers and magazines) Visual sources (e.g., paintings, photographs, drawings) Websites and databases with historical content approved by the educational authorities	Local and regional festivals and traditions related to historical events Teacher notes	Video games

 International TextbookCat (GEI collection of Textbooks and Educational Media)

Initial teacher-training programmes are provided by universities, the National Education Institute and teachers’ associations.

At both primary and secondary school levels, teachers are trained to teach history and one or more other discipline(s).

In-service professional development programmes are optional. They are administered by experts from the National Education Institute and universities, and are partially financed by the Ministry of Education. Teachers have a maximum of five working days a year to attend training courses.

 Slovenian History Teachers’ Association (presentation by EuroClio)