The instruction of History and History Textbooks in Slovenian History 1

Transcription

1 The instruction of History and History Textbooks in Slovenian History 1 The instruction of history and the history textbooks from Austro-Hungarian times till the socialist Yugoslavia ( ) History is, or better should be, one of the main school subjects. It should help young people to find orientation within time and place, give them knowledge about the life in different historical periods and thus help them create their national awareness and selfconfidence, which is particularly important for small nations. The instruction of history, and especially history textbooks as the most tangible evidence of what is being taught, also reflects the political and ideological state of each respective society (including the relations between the nations in case of multinational formations). Throughout its history, Slovenia changed several systems and states, whereby gaining its independence and the transition into a multi-party parliamentary system had the strongest impact upon its social structure. The purpose of this paper is to show how these processes influenced the instruction of history and history textbooks. Following the reforms of Maria Teresia, history was introduced as a compulsory subject into Slovenian schools during the 1770s, however, it lost a great deal of its importance during the 19 th century when it was usually taught together with geography. The Austro- Hungarian authorities feared liberal ideas might enter the school through teaching of history, therefore the choice of historical subjects taught in schools was strictly controlled from the top. 2 During the time of the so-called Illyrian Provinces, history enjoyed a more important role: the first history textbooks, though in German, appeared (one of the very first authors was the Slovenian historian and dramatist, an adherent of the Slovenian circle of Enlightenment Valentin Vodnik who for some time taught history in the grammar school in Ljubljana). It was not until the mid-fifties of the 19 th century that the first history textbooks in Slovenian language were published. Until 1918, history was taught together with geography; its content was based on the history of the dynasty and glorification of the Habsburg monarchs, as well as on political and military history. The textbooks had to be approved by the imperatorial Ministry for the Worship of God and Instruction and were published by publishing houses and associations. 3 In 1918, when the short-lasting (only one month long) transitional state formation of Austro-Hungarian South Slavs, called The State of the Slovenians, the Croats and the Serbs was founded, the principle was introduced according to which the sole language of instruction in all primary and secondary schools is to be Slovenian. In case there are enough children of other nationalities required to attend school, minority schools will be established, with the state language as a compulsory subject. 4 A general network of the new educational system 1 The instruction of History and History Textbooks in Slovenian History (Studia Historica Slovenica, in print). 2 Janja Bizjak, Primerjava učbenikov zgodovine za osmi razred osnovne šolein četrti letnik gimnazihe (A Comparison of History Textbooks for the 8th Grade of Primary School and the 4th Grade of Grammar School during the Post-war Period ( ), Department for History, Faculty of Arts, Ljubljana, 1998) 3 The last textbook before World War II (and the disintegration of Austria-Hungary) for the senior classes of secondary schools was published by the Društvo slovenskih profesorjev (The Association of Slovenian Professors) (F. Komatar, M.Pirc: Zgodovina novega veka od westfalskega miru do današnjih dni - History of the New age from the Peace of Westfall till the Present Time), Ljubljana, A decree of the Commission for Education and Religion, Official Gazette of the National government of SHS in Ljubljana, Volume 1, No 20, November,

2 (and within it, the instruction of history) was formed in the Kingdom of the Serbs, the Croats and the Slovenes and later in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. A transition from lower elementary to either higher elementary school (leading to diverse vocational schools) or secondary modern and grammar school was possible. Secondary modern schools graduates were able enrol into technical faculties, whereas grammar school graduates were able to enrol into any faculty. 5 Established in 1919, the University of Ljubljana introduced history as one of its fundamental studies at its very beginning. This fact allowed for the scientific and professional development of history and a continuous education of numerous generations of Slovenian historians, which consequently led to a change of instruction of history in schools. The Constitution of the Kingdom of the Serbs, the Croats and the Slovenians laid down the general conditions for the culture and education and among others determined that all schools were to give moral education and develop civil awareness in the sense of national unity and religious tolerance and that throughout the state, the instruction is to be based on the same foundations, whereby it should be adapted according to the local circumstances.. 6 This way the authorities of the Yugoslav kingdom attempted to create a uniform Yugoslav nation. The attempt failed in spite of the strong centralist pressure. 7 Slovenia managed to acquire a kind of informal cultural and to certain extend educational autonomy. In spite of that, the new ideological issues (Jugoslavphilia and the new dynasty of Karadjordjević) had to be celebrated by the school system and instruction of history in schools too. The former Germanophilia was replaced by the Jugoslavphilia; history (and geography) in schools paid a lot of attention to the history of the South-Slav nations. Within this framework a rise of the Slovenian (often mythological) history which followed the development of Slovenian historiography between the two wars could be observed. The most noticeable foreign influence was that of France (with emphasis on sociological issues); the consequence was that more information on economy and social circumstances was included in the instruction of history. It was also modernised didactically; a number of new history textbooks appeared which could be compared to those from other, more advanced European states. Brotherhood and unity, the class awareness and Yugoslav socialist patriotism through the instruction of history and history textbooks in the People s and Socialist Republic of Slovenia ( ) During World War II, two of the three occupying forces (the German and the Hungarian) attempted to carry out a quick magyarisation, whereas the Italians allowed the use of Slovenian language for instruction for a transitional period, yet its contents had to be adapted to the Italian fascist system. During the war, the partisan authorities started to build up a new educational system, including a new assessment of history and its instruction. The post-war education was based on the partisan tradition. 8 Not only did history become one of the basic universal education subjects, it was also the most important subject apart from Slovenian Language influencing the formation of national awareness, as well as the formation of 5 Ervin Dolenc, Bojan Godeša, Aleš Gabrič: Slovenska kultura in politika v Jugoslaviji (Slovenian Culture and Politics within Yugoslavia), Historical Resources, Modrijan, Ljubljana 1999 p Constitution of the Kingdom SHS (adopted on St. Vitus Day on June 21, 1929, Official Gazette of the provincial government for Slovenia, No 87/ For more information see: Charles Jelavich., South Slav Nationalism, Textbooks and Yugoslav Union Before 1914, Columbus, Ohio: OSU Press, 1990 (the Serbo-Croat edition by Globus, Školska knjiga, Zagreb 1992) and Ervin Dolenc: Kulturni boj : slovenska kulturna politika v Kraljevini SHS (The Cultural Battle: Slovenian Cultural Politics within the Kingdom SHS ). Cankarjeva založba, Ljubljana Aleš Gabrič: Slovenska agitpropovska kulturna politika (The Slovenian Agitprop Cultural Policy) , Borec 7/8, p

3 the new Yugoslav socialist patriotism, most frequently expressed through the slogan brotherhood and unity. Not only the instruction of history, the entire school system, as well as the Pioneer and the Youth Organisation as a part of it were used to create the personality cult of the new Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito. So for example the first letter to be taught to children in the post-war reading books was T for Tito, which was only then followed by vowels. The entire concept was based on presenting the national liberation fight, the suffering and heroic deeds of the children during the war. A new ideological orientation was only given to the contemporary history, whereas the instruction, the curricula and the textbooks for older periods of history remained unchanged until the beginning of the seventies. 9 Until the mid-seventies, a lot of attention was also paid to the social, economic and cultural issues. 10 During the seventies, after the defeat of the party liberalism, the winning political forces increased the pressure on the school; they needed the instruction of history to prove the correctness of Tito s way since the end of the war on. Ideologisation of instruction and of history cannot be proven only by the textbooks and the curricula, it is also evident from the school celebrations and the established school rituals (the Relay of the Youth, the Mail of the Little Courier), further from the names of schools which were called after important events or personalities from the national liberation war and revolution and who all the pupils had to know well. 11 According to Dr. Peter Vodopivec, the Yugoslav and the Slovenian authorities were more than ever before changing the history in schools into an instrument of ideological and political indoctrination with the consequence that discrepancy between the quality standard of history in schools and professional historiography was bigger than at any other time after World War II. 12 The teaching contents was generalised beyond recognition into sociologised patterns and definitions about the battle between social classes. The underlying principle was the theses according to which one should in advance identify the laws of the society to be then able to change the society accordingly (theoretical foundations came from the classics of Marxism: Marx, Engels and Lenin, history was being changed by the working class and its avant-garde, the Communist Party). On the other hand, history as a unique and unrepeatable story about a certain time and place with all its coincidences and controversies was almost completely neglected. Directed education in the eighties, failed attempts of centralisation of Yugoslav education, reduction of the Slovenian and an increased amount of the Yugoslav topics in the programmes of school history At the beginning of the eighties, the so called directed education was introduced into Slovenian schools (after the war, extensive school reforms or reforms of the reforms were quite common, virtually every generation experienced at least one in the course of their schooling). The purpose of directed education was to reduce the differences between the schools, particularly between vocational and technical schools and grammar schools, which had a kind of bourgeois stigma. Through the reform, the former two were united into one type of school. Among other measures aiming at equalisation was also the abolishment of the secondary school final examination (the Matura). These changes also affected the instruction of history. Towards the end of the eighties and at the beginning of 9 Roman History for example was covered by an excellent textbook by Leopold Petauerj (History I for Grammar and Similar Secondary Schools, Državna založba Slovenije, Ljubljana 1969) 10 Božo Repe: Nekaj pogledov na prenovo kurikulov pri pouku zgodovine (Some Observation on the Renovation of History Curriculum), Zgodovinski časopis, 1996, No 2, p Franc Rozman, Vasilij Melik, Božo Repe: Zastave vihrajo. Spominski dnevi in praznovanja na Slovenskem od sredine 19. stoletja do danes, (The Flags are Fluttering, Memorial Days and Celebrations in Slovenian Territory from the mid-19 th Century till Present Time) Modrijan, Ljubljana Peter Vodopivec: Ob predlogu novega programa pouka zgodovine v gimnazijah (Comments on the Suggested Curriculum for History in Grammar Schools), Zgodovinski časopis 1994, No 2., p

4 the nineties, a draft for a new history syllabus designed by the academician Bogo Grafenauer was rejected. Based on the classical grammar school curricula, it promoted a more neutral and balanced presentation of history in schools. The whole scope of consequences of this reform for the grammar schools and also for other levels of education became evident at the beginning of the eighties. Due to the introduction of new subjects into the curricula, as well as because at that time a five day week was introduced into schools, the number of hours for history was reduced. In vocational schools, the number of hours for history was reduced too. A further reduction of hours for history and also for other humanistic subjects happened in 1990, when secondary technical schools and vocational schools were separated again. History as a separate subject completely disappeared from vocational schools; instead an integrated subject social studies was introduced. The new subject was an extremely awkward combination of selected (mostly political) topics and was taught by teachers with different qualifications. In education, the eighties were characterised by a huge conflict between Slovenia and Yugoslavia, caused by the renewed attempts for centralisation of educational system. This was the second attempt (after the one in the sixties) for uniform regulation of the Yugoslav school system. There were several reasons for that: one was the wish of a part of Yugoslav political leadership (particularly the Serb one) to reinforce the Yugoslav idea, particularly in view of the fact, that the 1974 Constitution granted more competences to individual republics and common education lent itself for this purpose most suitably. Another reason was that through the common educational foundations, the Serb authorities tried to get the education in Kosovo under their control again (in 1987, when the common educational foundations were partly or completely adopted by other republics, they partly succeeded in this attempt). The third reason was completely rational and was supported by the most influential Yugoslav scientists (i.e. the world-famous physicist Pavle Savić who publicly attacked the Memorandum of the Serb Academy of Sciences and Arts): according to them, a somewhat transparent and unified school system allowing greater mobility of pupils between the republics and modernisation of instruction should be set up. However, according to Leopoldina Plut Pregelj, 13 the pedagogical aims, the needs of the children, the transformation of traditional schools into modern ones, individualisation of instruction, the development of critical thinking, and encouragement for permanent learning were neglected. In the introduction to the draft of the common core curriculum, the following aims were stated: education for brotherhood and unity and for a life together within the self-managed, socialist Yugoslavia, Marxist-based education whose result was to be a many-sided developed socialist personality; the development of the Yugoslav socialist patriotism; the care for the revolutionary traditions of the national liberation fight and also the regard for the cultural heritage of the Yugoslav nations and nationalities. Many of the above stated objectives were to be implemented through the instruction of history in schools, but there was hardly any discussion on this issue. It was the instruction of literature that caused opposition against the common core curriculum. The common core curriculum was based on the views of the ZKJ (Union of Communists of Yugoslavia), particularly the 11 th congress held in A newly established Conference for Advancement of education in SFRJ (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) started to prepare the common core curriculum through the republic and provincial Institutions for Education and diverse boards and commissions. The common core curriculum was to be prepared for the pre-school education, for the primary school and for the first two years of the secondary school. The corresponding activities started in November 1980, when the 13 Leopoldina Plut-Pregelj, et.al, The Repluralisation of Slovenia in the 1980s, The Donald W. Treadgold Papers, The Henry M. Jackson School of International studies, University of Washington, Seattle 2000, p.66 (in further text: The Repluralisation of Slovenia in the 1980s) 4

5 proposal was discussed by the Board of Education of SRS (Socialist Republic of Slovenia), and were finished in In the meantime, five different proposals for the common core curriculum (of which not all have been entirely preserved) were prepared. 14 Up to the forth version, the proposals were mainly discussed by the experts; the corresponding articles were published in specialist journals. In 1983 however, the fourth version became a subject of public discussion in Slovenia which was then followed by a heated polemics in the rest of Yugoslavia. The public discussions carried out on the common core curriculum so far showed there were some reservations about it, yet, neither the experts nor the specialist bodies refused it explicitly; they were willing to agree to it if certain corrections were undertaken. 15 In April and May of 1983, the daily papers reported on the topic, including the negative standpoints of individual commissions. 16 In spite of the reservations, the interrepublic/provincial commission for the education reform adopted the proposal for the common core curriculum on 8 July (whereby there was no explicit opposition of the Slovene representative in the commission). A report about that, which was brought by the daily newspaper Delo, 17 caught the attention of two eminent Slovenian poets, Ciril Zlobec and Janez Menart. Whereas Menart started to gather information and materials, Zlobec reacted immediately by criticising the common core curriculum for literature for not including enough Slovenian literature. According to him, the proposal was anti-cultural, anti-educational and anti-ethical 18 (in the journal Sodobnost he later published the entire syllabus with the titles of literary works the pupils were supposed to learn about). After Zlobec, another Slovenian author Tone Partljič publicly announced a discussion about the common cores in the Slovenian Association of Authors (DSP); in September Menart presented an even more critical analysis of the common core curriculum for literature and compared it with the then existing curriculum. His analysis showed that 70% of available time would be spent for teaching Yugoslav literature and only 30% for Slovenian literature what he named forced assimilation. 19 The article provoked violent reactions and polemics. On its gathering in September 19, the DPS (Association of Authors of Slovenia) addressed a protest statement to the Central Committee of the ZKS (Union of Communists of Slovenia) and the representatives of the media. The authors assessed the proposal as an expression of centralist and unitarian tendencies whose purpose was to interfere with the rights lying within the exclusive jurisdiction of individual nations and republics, thus presenting the first step towards further centralisation of education. They demanded The Republic Committee for Education should break off the negotiations and the process of harmonisation of the common core curriculum; instead, special interdisciplinary commissions for the areas covered by the core curriculum should be established; further they demanded Slovenia should call off its cooperation in the Conference of Institutions for Advancement of Education within SFRJ For more information on this topics see Leopoldina Plut-Pregelj in the chapter Slovenia's Concerns About the Proposed Yugoslav Core Curriculum in the 1980s ( The Repluratization of Slovenia in the 1980s); Nevenka Sreš, Skupna programska jedra (Common Educational Core (Graduation theses, University of Mariboru, Faculty of Pedagogics Maribor, Department of History), Maribor 1996 (further: Sreš, Skupna programska jedra Common Core Curriculum); Janez Menart, Slovenec v Srboslaviji (A Slovenian in Srboslavia), Knjižna zadruga, Ljubljana 2001 (further Menart, Slovenec v Srboslaviji). 15 It was not until March 1983 that the Expert Board of SRS for Education expressed a more negative attitude, saying it would not agree to the common cores if its suggestions would not be considered. 16 Naših razgledi (24 June 1983, p ) published a negative opinion of the subject comissiona and of the evalvation commission for the Slovene language and literature for the primary and secondary schools. 17 There are still a number of open issues regarding common education 8, Delo, 9 July, 1983, p My breath was taken away too, Delo, Književni listi, , p Skupna programska jedra in slovenstvo (The Common Core Curricula and the Slovenian Identity), Delo, , p. 7-9; Menart, Slovenec v Srboslaviji (A Slovenian in Srboslavija). 20 Protestna izjava (Protest Statement), enclosed to: Sreš, Common Core Curriculum, also published in Menart: Slovenec v Srboslaviji A Slovenian in Serboslavia), p

6 Other associations of specialists and artists (ranging from i.e. Association of Archaeologists to diverse institutions and organisations including the University expressed their protest. At the end of September, also the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SAZU) adopted a protest statement, but according to Menart it was so moderate that people hardly noticed it. 21 In spite of that the SAZU declared that it completely rejects the proposed common core curriculum in its present form. 22 On 10 September, the Slovenska matica (Slovenian Literary Society) called in a special meeting, although it also had other topics on the agenda. 23 As a consequence of the protest of authors and of the general public, as well as of diverse polemics (in the following months about 250 articles on the common core curriculum appeared, a number of round tables and meetings were held on different levels), but also due to severe attacks on Slovenia from other Yugoslav settings, the Slovenian official policy gradually started to change its initially favourable and later neutral position. At the beginning there was another inconvenience regarding the relations with Belgrade. The impression Zlobec gained in a discussion with a member of the Presidency of SFRJ Sergej Kraiger shortly after the publication of his letter was, that the politicians became somehow reconciled with the common core curriculum. Allegedly, the latter said to him: Why are you raising this issue? As if Belgrade didn t condemn us as nationalists because of the finances and the economy anyway! 24 Following the statement of the authors, the meeting called in by the member of the Central Committee Andrej Marinc adopted a statement, according to which the warnings against the impending centralism expressed by the authors were justified. The meeting also suggested the discussions between the republics were to be continued, but they were to be tolerant and conducted in such a way that it would not cause misunderstandings and doubts regarding constitutional rights of each individual nation regarding education. 25 In an interview for the Belgrade TV in November, Marinc defended the right of each republic to control its educational system, in particular as regards history and literature. A Similar viewpoint was taken by the president of the Republic Committee of the SZDL (Socialist Association of the Working People) Franc Šetinc. 26 The Slovenian Executive Council assured it would persist on the standpoint according to which education was in charge of each individual nation (yet it did not oppose a further discussion on the common core curriculum and at the same time assured it would not allow any nationalistic outbreaks). Slovenian politics obviously accepted and to some extend approved of the policy towards Belgrade, yet it also regarded it as being too emotional; at the same time it was against the removal of Slovenian representatives from the discussion on the common core curriculum. In May 1984, the other republics and provinces declared their views on the common core curricula. They all approved of them (except for Kosovo, where the curricula for mother tongue with literature and music were refused). Only in Slovenia, the Board for Education refused them on the grounds it had no legal basis to adopt them. In spite of that it was concluded that the work would be continued in the fields where no agreement could be reached, which particularly applied to the group responsible for mother tongue and 21 Menart, Slovenec v Srboslaviji (A Slovenian in Srboslavia), p The SAZU standpoint on the common core curriculum for education in the SFRJ. The Archives of the Republic of Slovenia, dislocated unit II (the fund of RK SZDL). 23 Tine Hribar, Slovenci kot nacija (Slovenians as a Nation), ČZP Enotnost, Ljubljana 1994, p. 246, Menart, Slovenec v Srboslaviji (A Slovenian in Srboslavia), p Informacija s pogovora o problematiki programskih jeder vzgoje in izobraževanja v SFRJ, (Information on the discussion on common core curriculum in SFRJ). The Archives of the Republic of Slovenia, the dislocated unit I (fund: CK ZKS Central Committee of the Union of Communists). 26 A Discussion by Franc Šetinc in the meeting of the Presidency of the federal conference SZDL (Socialist Association of the Working People) of Yugoslavia on 3 November 1983,when the common core curricula for the primary and secondary (directed) education were discussed. The Archives of RS, the dislocated unit II (the fund of RK SZDL). 6

7 literature. 27 As it proved, the story about the uniform educational system (uniform instruction and within this context also the patriotic education and instruction of history) ended as a failure, as did the one between the two world wars. Seven years prior to the disintegration of Yugoslavia it showed how little the Yugoslav nations had in common. Paradoxically, it was history in schools which in spite of the failure of the common core curriculum implemented its main aims (education for the brotherhood and unity and life together within the self-managed, socialist Yugoslavia, Marxist oriented education, development of the Yugoslav socialist patriotism, preservation of the revolutionary traditions of the national liberation war) most faithfully. As will be proven later, the authors of history textbooks also implemented the concept of reduction of Slovenian history for the benefit of the Yugoslav. History textbooks and their contents Following the publication of history textbooks from World War II till the 1980s it can be established, that until the end of the eighties, the system of publishing textbooks in Slovenia used to be similar as in other parts of Yugoslavia and also in other socialist countries. The concept was: one textbook for one subject. The textbook was more or less a practical implementation of the curriculum; the number of the hours in the class matched the number of the topics the teacher was supposed to discuss in one lesson. Special bodies appointed by the expert councils for education 28 assessed the suitability of a textbook according to the professional, ideological, and other aspects. The main difference between Slovenia and the other republics of former Yugoslavia lied in the fact, that in Slovenia even in that time the textbooks were published by several different publishing houses, however, most of them by the publishing house Državna založba Slovenije. 29 In the 1980s, the publishing houses gradually started to take over the incentive regarding the contents of the textbooks, but on the other hand there were suggestions according to which such development was to be stopped, and the publishing of the textbooks centralised and supervised. Even the then Assembly (the Parliament) of the Republic of Slovenia discussed this issue in 1987 but refused the centralistic suggestions. Immediately after World War II, no textbooks for contemporary history of the nations of Yugoslavia were available at all (the textbooks covering earlier periods were not as problematic for the authorities, so they were only gradually replaced by newer ones some of them were used until the beginning of 1960s when the last of those were finally replaced too). The authorities considered the pre-war textbooks on contemporary history as useless; in spite of that the temporary materials produced after the war were based on the pre-war textbooks, though the ideological concept was a different one: the stress was on equality of all Yugoslav nations and not like before the war, on the three different tribes of the same nation (the Serbs, the Croats and the Slovenians). For the general history, translations of the Russian textbooks were used. The first translated textbook was The History of the New Age (A. V. Jefimov, Državna založba Slovenije, Ljubljana, 27 Branimir Nešović, Jedra lahko razumemo tudi drugače 8 (The common core could be interpreted in a different way), Delo, , str The parameters assessed included the»compliance of the textbook with the curriculum, scientific accuracy of the contents, ideological aspect in the interpretation, methodical-didactical presentation, appropriate language and terminology; in Pravilnik o pripravi in potrjevanju učbenikov in učil (Regulations on preparation and approval of textbooks and other means of instruction), Uradni list SRS, (Official Gazette SRS No 36, September 19, 1986) 29 Apart from Državna založba Slovenije, the textbooks were also published by the publishing houses Mladinska knjiga, Cankarjeva založba, Obzorja, Tehniška založba Slovenije and possibly by some others. 7

8 1946). The textbook deals with the history of Europe and Northern America towards the end of the 18 th and the beginning of the 19 th century, the period around the Vienna Congress until the March Revolution of 1848, as well as the political development of Europe (including its colonies) in the second half of the 19 th century. According to the criteria of general historiography, the book is not bad at all, yet it cannot be classified as a typical textbook. After the introduction of the eight year compulsory school 30, the first complex textbook for general history for the 8 th class of primary school appeared only in Within the range of one hundred years, the general history was dealt with in chronological order: the revolutionary year of 1848 in Europe and the Yugoslav nations, the revolutionary era of , the era of imperialism and the Yugoslav nations, the time between the two world wars, the national liberation fight of Yugoslav nations and the building of socialist Yugoslavia. The textbook ends with a chapter on the formation of the socialist Yugoslavia, the nationalisation, the first five-year economic plan, the Inform biro and the description of the role of Yugoslavia in the world, particularly in view of its endeavour for peace. More than 70% of the textbook is devoted to Yugoslav history and the national liberation fight of the Yugoslav nations (of which 19, 6% was devoted to Slovenian history). 32 Based on the amended syllabus, the second version of the textbook was published a decade later. It dealt with the 1950s (though the last decade was handled very briefly). 33 The textbook had five chapters (The Storm of World War I, In the Shadow of the Paris Treaty, Fascism Getting Ready for a New War, World War II, and In the Sign of the Nuclear Force). The concept was the same as in the first textbook (chronological order of events, and a combination of the world, the Yugoslav and the national history, ending with anti-colonial and non-aligned movements, and on national level with the adoption of the 1963 Constitution). 65% of the contents was devoted to Yugoslav and only 5, 4% to the Slovenian history. 34 The first comprehensive textbook for contemporary history for the 4 th grade of grammar school was only published in the second half of the 1960s, although the draft materials 35 were used several years earlier. Its concept was similar to the textbook for primary schools, yet with somehow greater emphasis on the general history of (34% was devoted to Yugoslav history, out of which 14% dealt with Slovenian topics). All of the textbooks mentioned above were rather boring; their emphasis was mainly on political and military history, and even more on the history of national liberation fight. 30 In 1946, a uniform seven year compulsory school was introduced in Jugoslavia. For most Yugoslav republics this was a progress, but not so for Slovenia who had an eight year long compulsory school though not a uniform one before the war. They only gained what they already had before in the 1950s. 31 Ferdo Gestrin, Jože Hainz, dr. Metod Mikuž, Zgodovina za VIII. razred osnovne šole (History for the 8th Grade of Primary School), Mladinska knjiga, Ljubljana 1958 (The cover of the book showed a picture of the partisan painter France Mihelič, titled the Partisan Camp). 32 Janja Bizjak, A Comparison of History Textbooks fort he 8th grade of Primary School and the the 4th Grade of Grammar School in the Post-war Period ( ), Department of History, Faculty of Arts,Ljubljana 1998), p Dr. France Škerl Zgodovina 8 (History 8), Državna založba Slovenije, Ljubljana 1966 (the picture on the cover shows a painting by the partisan painter Andrejević Kun Đorđe from 1946, titled Kolona) 34 Janja Bizjak, Primerjava učbenikov zgodovine za osmi razred osnovne šole in četrti letnik gimnazije v povojnem obdobju ( ) (A Comparison of History Textbooks for the 8th Grade of Primary School and the 4th grade of Grammar School in the Post-war Period ), Department of History, Faculty of Arts, Ljubljana 1998), p Dr. Metod Mikuž: Zgodovina za četrti razred gimnazij (History for the 4th Grade of Grammar School), Ljubljana 1967 (picture on the cover: Božidar Jakac: Slovenski delegati odhajajo v Jajce (Slovenian delegates leaving for Jajce)). 8

9 During the seventies, a new textbook Zgodovina 8 (History 8) appeared. It was also used during the 1980s. 36 The textbook covered the October revolution, as well as the world and Yugoslav issues until the 1970s. The proportion between the history of Yugoslavia (and within it that of Slovenia) and the general history was approximately 60% to 40%; the emphasis was evidently on the common Yugoslav history. Didactically, the textbook was far more advanced than the one from the sixties (it had marginal notes, illustrations underlying the text, glossary of terms), but the print was black and white. The textbook was divided into subchapters, one for each lesson. The well-worn concept of ideologicalpolitical history emphasising the labour and revolutionary movement, the national liberation fight and revolution reached its peak. The textbook for secondary schools published in the 1980s was written in a similar way, 37 the difference being that the move towards Yugoslav history was even more obvious, since it contained only about 7% of Slovene history. 38 Instruction of history and textbooks after the introduction of multi-party system and attaining of independence of Slovenia After elections in 1990, the new Demos authorities were also inclined towards centralisation and supervision of the textbooks through one or at most two publishing houses 39, yet it was not possible to stop the process started in the eighties, among others because of the pressures from the existing publishing houses and the quick emergence of some new ones, which saw a good opportunity to earn money through publishing textbooks. Yet in spite of that, it still took»five years for the Slovenian textbook market to develop.«for the first time, the supply of the textbooks exceeded the demand in 1986,»when for a change no article could be found in Slovenian newspapers, complaining about the fact that the textbooks for some subjects were sold out even before the beginning of the academic year. Only two years earlier, the publishers publicly swore it did not pay to reprint the textbooks in September for the few hundred pupils who remained without them. «40 In the past academic year most teachers could choose between at least two alternative textbooks for each subject and class; some subjects even had more than two to choose from. The changes in the field of textbook publishing followed the school reform which started in the first half of the nineties. Even after the changes were introduced, the textbooks had to (and still have to) be approved by a special body: the Council for General Education, which has special commissions for textbooks. 41 The expert council is not a state body, it is the highest expert body for education in the country and it includes representatives of all institutions concerned with education. Before they are approved, the textbooks have to undergo a reviewing procedure in order to establish whether they comply with the curricula, whether they are didactically suitable and illustrated accordingly. 36 Branko Božič, Tomaž Weber, Zgodovina za osmi razred (History for the 8th Grade), Državna založba Slovenije, Ljubljana 1977 (the painting on the cover: Ismet Mujezinivić: Vstaja the Uprising). 37 Marija Kremenšek-Štefan Trojar, Zgodovina 4 (History 4), Državna založba Slovenije, Ljubljana The textbook had a neutral cover, however, this fact did not reflect its true content. 38 Janja Bizjak, Primerjava učbenikov zgodovine za osmi razred osnovne šole in četrti letnik gimnazije v povojnem obdobju ( ) (A Comparison of History Textbooks for the 8th Grade of Primary School and the 4th Grade of Grammar School between ), Department of History, Faculty of Arts, Ljubljana 1998, p Ranka Ivelja: Šola - velike in pomembne spremebe (School - Big and Important Changes); an interview with the Slovenian Ministry of Education Dr. Peter Vencelj, Dnevnik, September 17, Dr. Miha Kovač, Dr. Mojca Kovač Šebart: Učbeniki v globalni družbi: nekaj nastavkov k metodologiji primerjalnega raziskovanja (Textbooks in Global Society: Some Thoughts on the Methodology of Comperative Research), typescript, p The last regulations on approval of textbooks came into force in

10 The school reform brought an end to the principle of the subject teaching orientation and introduced the principle of aim orientation. The teachers and also the textbook authors were given a greater freedom regarding the extend and the emphasis they wanted to give to individual topics. Pluralisation in the field of the textbooks was followed by the emergence of numerous small and middle large publishing houses, which started to publish textbooks. Apart from the textbooks, a series of additional materials were produced (i. e. diverse teaching aids, additional exercises, transparencies, video cassettes, atlases, teacher handbooks, etc.), which were according to certain criteria included into the list of the so called recommended literature. Some of them did not get any formal approval and just tried to gain their place in the market. 42 With the introduction of the secondary school leaving examination (Matura), the publishing of textbook literature and handbooks started to expand. Not only publishing houses, also the pupils themselves and individual schools started to publish them. At the moment we can speak about a real hypertrophy of the textbooks in Slovenia. A keen competition in this market is above all to the detriment of smaller publishers, since the big publishers, which arose from the former state publishing houses used to have a monopolistic position and still possess a network of bookshops which presents a big advantage for them. In spite of the price limitation, the textbooks are still very expensive. The Ministry of Education tries to relieve the financial pressure for the parents by introducing the so called textbook funds, first for the primary and then for the secondary schools. The Ministry thus finances the purchase of textbooks for schools, which in return lend them to pupils for a small fee. The advantage of such book funds is that the financial burden of the parents is reduced, and the disadvantage that the textbooks in such funds are not replaced fast enough, i. e. after five years or even at longer intervals. The consequence is that the textbooks of lesser quality remain in use for a long period of time although better ones exist in the market. Another disadvantage is that the pupils have to return the textbooks after the end of the academic year, which does not allow them to make use of one of the basic pedagogic principles, namely putting additional notes in the textbooks, underlining, etc. As to the changes in the contents of the textbooks, I will try to illustrate them on the example of the subject history since I took part in the process of changing the curricula for primary and secondary schools as the head of the corresponding commission. In addition I am the author of some history textbooks. In terms of ideological pressures by the new political forces which came into power after 1990, history was probably the most exposed subject of all. Also the experts themselves displayed a strong will for change; so the reform was started as early as in However, the pressure from the outside, also from the teachers themselves, was strongly simplified: the former class contents (the history of labour movement, the history of the liberation war and of social revolution) were simply to be replaced by a story on»slovenian national rise«, a story about the tortured Slovenian nation, oppressed by everyone, always striving to establish its own state, yet prevented to do so until Another pressure was to replace the former»partisan«truth by the»home-guard«truth, without any attempt to balance the historic account of what happened in the past. The third pressure came from the Catholic Church (when preparing new history textbooks, we had some wearisome meetings with its representatives; till the last moment they tried to prevent the approval of the new history curriculum for the grammar schools, which 42 The approval by the Council of Experts also means a set price determined by the state. Some publishers try to avoid this regulation 10

11 followed the principle of lay school). This pressure was a result of the Church s aspiration for the recatolisation of Slovene society, in accordance with the belief that only a Catholic can be a good Slovenian and that the Church is to have a special role in state schools. Consequently, the history is to be interpreted as the Church sees it. The fourth pressure from the side of the public and some teachers was to expunge or at least restrict the»unpleasant«episode of the Yugoslav idea and state, to reduce the contents on the history of other South Slav nations and Russia, which should bring Slovenia back to the»civilised«environment of the Middle and Western Europe, where Slovenia had allegedly belonged in the past. My personal view is that none of the above mentioned tendencies prevailed, although several other interest groups (the home-guard, The League of Combatants, members of the revolutionary organisation TIGR, survivors of the concentration camps and others) tried to influence the contents of the textbooks. After the break-through with the new curricula, the situation became easier for the textbook authors too, although they were often subjected to public criticism, even in the Parliament. There are no major differences between diverse textbooks, apart from different stresses in the contents (in some of them cultural issues are more emphasized, in others there is more stress on political and military history, etc.). The first textbook of contemporary history based on the new syllabus and modern concepts was published in It was printed in colours and luxuriously produced; following the syllabus, it brought more life and culture, also humour (for example caricatures). For the first time the issues of collaboration during the war, the revolution and post-war events (particularly the liquidations of home guards, which the earlier textbooks did not mention at all) were treated in a more differentiated way. Other textbooks adopted a similar approach. 44 A comparison with the textbooks of western European countries and USA textbooks show, that Slovenian history textbooks (and textbooks in general) do not lag behind them. Another interesting point is that we managed to move into the markets of former Yugoslavia, both as renovators of the curricula and as printers of the textbooks. A question remaining open is to what extend the textbooks influence a better quality of instruction. According to researches conducted about the formation of historical conscience, not very much: most influential is the oral (family) tradition, which is followed by the word of the teacher, and then by diverse biographic books and films and then finally by the textbooks. It is our estimation that after ten years of changes and the new 43 Branimir Nešović, Janko Prunk, Zgodovina za 8. razred osnovne šole (History for the 8 th Grade of Primary School), Državna založba Slovenije, Ljubljana 1993 (By that time DZS had already been transformed into a joint-stock company with private capital, yet it still retained its former priviledged status at publishing textbooks). 44 Božo Repe, Naša doba (oris zgodovine 20. stoletja) (The Present Time An Outline of History of the 20 th Century), history textbook for the 4 th grade of grammar school, DZS, Ljubljana 1995 (reprinted in 1996); Božo Repe: Sodobna zgodovina: zgodovina za 4. letnik gimnazij (Contemporary History: history for the 4 th grade of grammar school) Modrijan, Ljubljana 1998 (second edition in 2000, third edition in 2002); Ervin Dolenc, Aleš Gabrič. Zgodovina : učbenik za 4. letnik gimnazije (History: textbook for the 4 th grade of grammar school), DZS, Ljubljana 2002; Ana Nuša Kern, Dušan Nećak, Božo Repe:Naše stoletje: zgodovina za 8. razred osnovne šole (Our Century: History for the 8 th Grade of Primary school), Modrijan, Ljubljana 1997 (six reprints until 2003, the last one for the nine-year primary school); Ervin Dolenc, Aleš Gabrič, Marjan Rode, Koraki v času : 20. stoletje : zgodovina za 8. razred. DZS, Ljubljana, 1997 (Steps in Time: 20 th Century: History for the 8 th grade). (reprint in 1998, 1999, 2002 for the nine-year primary school). 11

12 generation of textbooks and other resources, the quality of history instruction has improved, though not very much. Conclusion: In spite of the strong centralistic tendencies, Slovenia managed to secure its own educational system. Giving most emphasis to the socialist patriotism, brotherhood and unity, the national liberation fight and the revolution, the instruction of history and the textbooks followed the general Yugoslav patterns; due to its self-managed socialism and non-alignment, Yugoslavia was presented as the state with the allegedly best system in the world. The consequence was the pupils were instilled with a biased view of the world. It was not that Slovenian history was not neglected, but some issues were not given enough emphasis. In the ten odd years of Slovenian independence, the instruction of history and history textbooks came closer to the more developed European states. However, a tendency towards an uncritical and isolated presentation of the Slovenian history as a continuous yearning for its own state, the Slovenian national rise which reached its culmination with attainment of independence could be observed. By joining European Union, Slovenia is facing a new question which the school historiography has not yet thought about much, namely how after the Austro-Hungarian, the Royal Yugoslav, the socialist Yugoslav and finely the pure Slovenian identity to impart the new European identity to pupils. 12