PATRIOTISM AND CITIZENSHIP IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA

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1 PATRIOTISM AND CITIZENSHIP IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA HAČEK, Miro & Marjan BREZOVŠEK * Modern democratic societies are encountering many demanding challenges such as decreasing political participation in the democratic societal sphere. In most European countries one can detect an almost annual drop in citizens political participation at local, national and European levels. Due to the dramatic changes in political, security and societal conditions in Europe in the last twenty years, today s youth is being brought up in a fundamentally different spirit. In the pursuit of creating more participative citizens for the future in Slovenia, for quite some time there has been an ongoing debate regarding civic and patriotic education. Differing opinions may be found on how to realise this education, and what forms and methods should be involved. In general, two different concepts are at odds. The first one is the discipline of patriotic education, while the second one attempts to cultivate a sense of taking responsibility and of the acceptance of democratic culture while simultaneously maintaining a critical stance on the very political system civic education. A key question related to this article is Is there a real need for patriotic education? The article focuses on the analysis of Slovenian attempts of introducing various forms of patriotic education into the Slovenian educational system and tries to find out whether patriotic education is really needed in Slovenian primary and secondary schools and which patriotic elements are already there. 1 INTRODUCTION Readers of this article have probably already heard the story about the Inuit people and the many words they use to describe snow since, in their reasoning, a single word does not account for the variety of forms that frozen condensed water can take. Similarly, patriotism is a far more diverse concept than might seem at first glance. Political scientists, sociologists and pedagogues may find the Inuit concept of snow quite useful as only a group of words can suitably serve to describe various forms of knowledge, persuasions and actions which are nowadays described by the word patriotism. Hence some attention must be paid to the concept of patriotism prior to proceeding with a study of patriotic education. Patriotism is described by most authors as a positive emotional attitude to the country to which an individual belongs. Archard (1999: 158) describes patriotism as a genuine love of and deep respect for one s own country and its heritage. Love for the homeland is most commonly referred to as an incorrupt inclination of an individual to his/her own often sacrificing oneself action for the benefit of his/her own country. Patriotism and nationalism share the same values nations exist, the existence of one s own nation has a special moral value for an individual, and therefore a nation is worth (our) special affection and action for the nation s benefit. Thus every nationalist is surely a patriot as well. A patriot is committed to the allegiance to his/her own country and nation, yet not every patriot is a nationalist in the sense of searching for congruence between the nation and state. A patriot does not necessarily have views on the political status of his/her own nation, although it is probable they do. Patriotic feelings are thus expressed in the sense of affiliation, connectedness, fidelity and the feeling of a cause fed by acting in the role of an individual-citizen. The socio-political conception of citizenship is easier to understand if some other terms, e.g. civic conscience and patriotism, are explained simultaneously (Janowitz 1983: 8). Janowitz defined patriotism as the primordial attachment to a territory and society; a deep and straightforward sense of belonging; a sense of adherence, similar in its foundations to that of religious, racial or ethnic affiliation. Patriotism is developed unconsciously, almost * Miro Haček, PhD, associate professor, and Marjan Brezovšek, PhD, associate professor, Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Contact: miro.hacek@fdv.uni-lj.si.

2 automatically and in this sense it resembles ideology, whilst containing no precisely defined way of behaviour, but a generalised determination for a specific way of action instead. According to many authors, patriotism currently represents the most incorrectly used term in the field of education (Levine and Youniss, 2006: 8). Very often teachers confuse the notion of patriotism and patriotic love of homeland with militaristic chauvinism, applied by some dictators of the 20 th century. In doing so, they fail to recognise it was the very patriotic resistance against such authoritarian movements that contributed to their demise. Many writers even explicitly question whether patriotism is already an obsolete concept; a concept not to be passed on to younger generations. One of the most important debates on the role and meaning of patriotism in the modern education and cultural system is the one between Eamonn Callan and William Galston (in Archard, 1999). Both authors emphasise a deep need for civic education in the modern education system that should build a patriotic adherence of the young to a uniform national identity. Both recognise the need for or a strategy of citizens integration, i.e., that there is a need for a way of ensuring the fidelity and loyalty of citizens to the democratic political institutions within liberal society. And both perceive civic education as being intertwined with the elements of patriotism as a means to these ends. Both expressed worry about the care for disinterested, objective thinking which persistently reappears whenever there is an attempt to introduce whatever form of patriotic education, especially within the system of compulsory education. This is a frequent dilemma stressing the tension between demands for the inclusion of elements of patriotism into the system of education on the one side, and awareness of the often corrosive effects of care for impartial, objective thinking for the circumstances of implementing such an education, on the other. The belief about patriotism as a positive value is often endangered by worry for the wellbeing of impartial, objective thought. 2 CITIZENSHIP, PATRIOTISM AND EDUCATION: CHALLENGES, QUESTIONS AND DILEMMAS Since antique times, the notion of citizenship 1 has simultaneously characterised the allegiance of an individual to a specific political community and the normative ideal of an individual within the political community. The problematic nature of debates about citizenship is thus represented by the fact that it needs to be understood and studied as a mosaic of identities, obligations and rights, and not as an uniform concept (Heather 1999: 114), as every political and social theory presupposes a certain aspect of citizenship as well as the different dimensions thereof, e.g. legal, socio-economic or cultural. Nevertheless, it must be stressed that, even in modern plural and democratic societies, part of the answer to this problem has a contextual character as, in the introductory paragraph of the 8 th book of Politics, Aristotle already reminded us of the fundamental interconnection between the notion of citizenship and the form of political community in which one lives: A citizen ought to be formed in a manner consistent with the form of government he is subject to. Since a specific form of personality is formed and preserved by every authority. The character of democracy creates democracy, a character of oligarchy creates oligarchy; [ ]. (Aristotle 1996: 195) As evidently put forward by William Galston, since Plato and Aristotle first debated about this topic it has remained clear that civic education is always connected to the form of political system (Galston 2002: 217). Every form of political community hence needs an institutional framework and a corresponding understanding of civic virtues, enabling its security and stability. 2 The issue of civic virtues, including love for the homeland [ amore di 1 A considerable part of modern thinking about citizenship relates to the ideas of T. H. Marshall, namely his fundamental essay on this topic Citizenship and Social Class (1992 [1950]), where he discussed the historical development of the modern notion of citizenship and the related conceptions of civil, political and social rights. 2 In the context of the issue about civic virtue cultivation and education, John Rawls (2000) stresses that, in terms of the education of its children, society must pay special attention to their role as future citizens, and thereby 2

3 patria ] or patriotism, is especially pertinent at times of conflict. 3 The security and stability of modern democratic societies can be negatively influenced by other social phenomena like the democratic deficit, the ever more frequent appearance of various forms of racism, xenophobia and other forms of discrimination and intolerance and the ever greater pluralism and variety within modern democratic societies. Modern democratic societies face problems unparalleled in history which are connected with increasing cultural, linguistic and religious diversity and pluralism (Galston, 2002; Macedo, 2000; Reich, 2002 and Spinner-Halev, 2000). In the context of this debate, the harmonisation of unity and variety, representing one of the most important questions of the contemporary citizenship and civic virtues theory, has special priority. This harmonisation within plural modern societies represents one of the fundamental challenges that democratic institutions face. As emphasised by Bhikhu Parekh, plural modern societies must ensure a balance of the unifying and diversifying forces and, at the same time, find ways for... the settlement of legitimate demands for unity and diversity, attainment of political unity without cultural uniformity, the achievement of inclusiveness without violent assimilation. A sense of affiliation must be cultivated among the citizens, their legitimate cultural divergence has to be simultaneously respected and plurality of cultural identities has to be developed without the weakening of the accepted and important identity of the common citizenship (Parekh, 2000: 343). The reconciliation of unity and variety in modern democratic societies and the determination of the level of a moral consensus necessary for ensuring the safety and stability of the democratic political system which is built on the universally accepted basis of human rights and freedoms also concerns implementation of the long-term goals of the public education system. Among them the development of a conscience about appurtenance to the state and national identity can be found, which invigorate knowledge of the history of one s own country and its culture, as well as encouraging tolerance as one of the common cultural and civilisation values. One of the basic tasks of the public education system as a common public good is hence the provision of a common space for the formation of citizens, since public schools rejoin future citizens through their joint experience and the inclusion of values that ought to be common to all children of a certain democratic community. Public schooling thus remains one of the most important modern social institutions as it significantly contributes to the formation of a common civic identity. A modern democratic political system must therefore first answer two basic questions: (1) How to justify and maintain a stable political structure of the system and its institutional framework? ; and (2) What legitimises and justifies an individual political structure? The first question refers to the motivation of citizens political action, and the second to the justification of these actions. Based on the answers to these two questions, two different approaches to the theory of citizenship and civic education can be discerned. The first one bases its two answers to a great extent on tradition, symbols, rituals and myths. The second one, like the former, offers a single answer to both questions but, unlike the first one which emphasises motivation, it concentrates itself on the aspect of rational justification and includes universally accepted values such as freedom, equality, democracy etc. Despite the fact that, in most modern democratic societies, there is wide acceptance of the legitimacy of the public education system serving fundamental civic intentions, including the development and teaching of literacy and mathematical skills, tolerance and mutual respect, there remains a fundamental discord about what the scale of the civic and homeland objectives of the public education system provided by the state should be. Each of the abovementioned approaches has a unique way of dealing with these interconnected issues. to things as important as their gaining of capabilities to comprehend the public culture and to participate in its institutions [ ], and to their development of political virtues [ ]. 3 A typical example are the 9/11 events (11 September 2001) in the USA and the related national security strategy based on the Patriotic Act. 3

4 At first glance, it seems that the second approach, based on universally accepted democratic values such as human rights and freedoms, is not only a political necessity but a theoretically justified one. It is based on the presumption that the interconnection between political identity and basic democratic principles assures the binding foundation or the necessary condition for the existence of democratic societies, as well as for the unity and solidarity within it. The basic task of the public education system should therefore be the equal opportunity of education, the cultivation of tolerance and individual freedom, thus enabling the preservation and security of democratic societies and the development of a feeling of mutual adherence to both the community and its members. However, loyalty to the basic democratic principles can also be as controversial as loyalty to an ethnic group. This is illustrated by the case of the hijab prohibition for Muslim girls in French primary schools, justified by the proponents of secularisation on the principle of laicism or the separation of the Church and state. Hence, there remains the fundamental question of whether common adherence to the institutions and procedures of modern democratic societies makes for a sufficient condition for the preservation of the latter and of their institutional framework, or why democracy requires patriotism, as the basic paradox of the second approach or universal values lies in the fact that, despite its inclusiveness and emphasis on tolerance and non-discrimination, it lacks the fundamental element of motivation or social unity required by individual social situations. The most important problem faced by different modern theories of citizenship and civic education is thus how then to proceed? How to articulate a theory of civic education that recognises and respects individual cultural differences and is at the same time attentive to the demand for cultivating the common political values of future adult citizens? How must public schools respond to the ever increasing multicultural character of modern societies? Should patriotic education and civic education cultivate cosmopolitan or patriotic worldviews among pupils? How then to modify patriotic education within the public education system so that it would be based on the fundamental democratic principles of nondiscrimination and non-exclusion and simultaneously develop fundamental civic virtues such as love for the homeland, bravery and tolerance that are important for the unity of a certain political community? 4 The model of patriotism or civic education which successfully surpasses the abovementioned approaches and also rejoins the question of unity and legitimacy is the best tradition patriotism, reducing democratic discord among citizens regarding the fundamental aims of the public education system. This form of patriotism, unlike organic patriotism the intimate connection of people and constitutional patriotism based on common democratic values, puts forward the compatibility of patriotic education with civic education (Taylor 2000, Gutmann 1999), enables teachers to develop adolescents moral obligation to be patriotic, without rendering themselves to support the existing political regime and at the same time encourage critical thought and other educational aims. Differing from the approaches mentioned above, the proposed model of patriotic education acknowledges the differences in our moral ideals of education and therefore does not view democratic debates solely as a means for overcoming these differences but as an important part of civic education. The basic intention of the democratic theory of education is not to offer a panacea for all the troubles our education institutions are plagued with but to reflect on the various ways of resolving these problems which are compatible with a devotion to democratic values. 2.1 Inclusion of the elements of patriotic and civic education in the Slovenian school curriculum 4 It is the status of patriotic education or of the cultivation of patriotism within the public education system and patriotic education s nature and the teaching of it within the school curriculum which comprise one of the most important debates being paid special attention by political theory and pedagogy among the proponents of democratic education (Gutmann 1999; 2001), liberal political theory (Callan 1997, Tomasi 2001), multiculturalism (Kymlicka 1999, Feinberg 1998), cosmopolitanism (Nussbaum 1996) and patriotic or homeland education (Galston 1991; 2002). 4

5 Within the ( state prescribed ) obligatory curriculum for primary education and for secondary education in the public education system of Slovenia, educational topics referring to patriotic education and civic education can be incorporated in various subjects: a) Primary education: - Civic Education and Ethics (7 th and 8 th grades of primary school 5 ); - Facultative subject Civic Culture (9 th grade of primary school); - History (6 th -9 th grades); - Geography (6 th -9 th grades); - Slovenian (1 st -9 th grades); - Society (4 th -5 th grades); and other compulsory and facultative subjects at primary school. b) Secondary education: - Slovenian (years 1-4); - History (years 1-4); - Geography (years 1-4); - Civic Culture (years 1-4 ); - Sociology (years 1-4 ); and other compulsory and facultative subjects in secondary education. The incorporation of educational elements of patriotic education into the school curricula of primary and secondary education brings important novelties of both a contextual and didactic character. At this point, the formation of a framework of topics within the school curriculum deserves special attention; in this context, pupils are to learn about the role and meaning of national identity in a modern democratic society, about community life and about the basic principles of democratic political order, human rights, tolerance etc. This aspect is particularly important as the faulty co-ordination of educational policies, curricular level and the level of schools organisational culture, plus the inappropriate transfer of educational policies into the practice of pedagogy represent one of the fundamental problems of the wider setting of patriotic and civic education as is corroborated by the Pan- European Study of the Council of Europe about Educational Policies concerning Education for Democratic Citizenship, the study of the Eurydice network entitled Citizenship Education at School in Europe and by the analysis of strategic documents undertaken in the field of education. As far as the incorporation of elements of patriotic and civic education, and the related teaching and learning into the school curriculum, are concerned both policy-makers of educational policies as well as teachers face two questions, to which existing comparative analyses of educational policies and curricular solutions as well as the many examples of good practice do not offer a straightforward answer: 1) what should the range, level and conditions of the inclusion of educational elements from the area of patriotic and civic education in the school curriculum (at both the curricular planning and implementation levels) be; and 2) how to improve the quality of implementation of educational policies in this issue area in the practice of pedagogy? Each question demands the argumentation of fundamental principles enabling both the implementation of minimum and basic standards of this issue area as well as the provision of quality whilst maintaining the possibility of evaluation and assessment of the incorporation of elements of patriotic and civic education in the school curriculum. The approach to include elements from the wider domain of patriotic education in the school curriculum (e.g., as a compulsory or facultative subject or as an interdisciplinary topic integrated into several school subjects) calls for the formation of a comprehensive programme of patriotic education at various levels of the education system: 5 Slovenian primary school education lasts nine years. 5

6 1) the establishment of individual goals and standards for these contents within individual educational programmes; 2) the distribution of the planned topics across the school curriculum; and 3) the identification of the fundamental competencies in this educational area. 2.2 The establishment of fundamental aims and standards of this content within individual educational programmes The establishment of basic goals and standards (both basic and minimum) for patriotic and civic education must take into account four fundamental aspects of patriotic and civic education theory: the political dimension (participation in the processes of democratic decision-making and active inclusion in the civil community); the legal dimension (the knowledge and implementation of fundamental civil rights and responsibilities); the sociocultural dimension (respect for the basic democratic values, national history, language and cultural heritage) and the socio-economic dimension (the development of solidarity). Among the fundamental goals of patriotic and civic education, which take account of all four fundamental aspects of this subject matter, one can find: - the development of political literacy (gaining knowledge about the theory of democracy, about the performance of political and social institutions, understanding of cultural and historical diversity etc.); - the development of attitudes and values needed for a responsible citizen (respect for oneself and others, listening and the peaceful resolution of conflicts, a contribution to the harmonious co-habitation of people, the development of values of a plural society, of fundamental allegiance to the Slovenian state etc.); - the development of goals referring to the encouragement of the active participation of pupils in the school community and society at large which enable them to be included in the life of the school and local communities, as well as to gain the skills necessary for a responsible contribution to public life in a democratic society. As the field of patriotic and civic education plays an important part in realisation of the longterm goals of the public education system in the Republic of Slovenia (i.e., the enforcement of the school s socio-integrative role and the development of an awareness of allegiance to the state, national identity and knowledge of Slovenia s history and culture), the basic tasks involved in implementing these elements within the public education curriculum include the formation of common directives, delimiting a comprehensive and integrated approach to policies and practice in the wider issue area of patriotic education, the formation of efficient strategies for including these contents in the different levels of education and the coordination of various forms of education (formal, informal and occasional). 6 3 EMPIRICAL DATA ANALYSIS OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT CIVIC AND PATRIOTIC EDUCATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA In the context of the Target Research Project Civic and Patriotic Education in the Republic of Slovenia 7, one of the largest empirical research projects undertaken so far in Slovenia, dealing with the importance of patriotism for democracy and analysing the significance of patriotic education within the school subject Civic Education and Ethics taught in the Slovenian 9 th year of primary school, the empirical research analyses the possibilities and the necessity of a special subject within the primary or secondary school curriculum, that would concentrate solely on patriotic education. Researchers carried out the project in three separate stages, namely by virtue of separate questionnaires for each of the three target (young) populations. Research among students of the University of Ljubljana (in their senior 6 Article 2 of the Primary School Act states that the aims of primary school education in Slovenia are the development of an awareness of adherence to the state and national identity and of knowledge about Slovenia s history and culture; cultivating common cultural and civilisation values deriving from the European tradition; and education for mutual tolerance, respect of differences and co-operation with others, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and thereby the development of capabilities for living in a democratic society (Primary School Act, Art. 2). 7 This project took place within the research programme Knowledge for Security and Peace ( Znanje za varnost in mir ), led by Miro Haček, PhD, during the period. 6

7 year) was undertaken in November 2006 on a representative sample of 200 students 8. In November and December 2006, two far more extensive empirical research surveys were performed on two representative samples: one of Slovenian secondary school students in year 4 (701 students) and one of Slovenian primary school pupils in the concluding grade (598 students). In the following sections, we intend to analyse and present the most important and interesting findings emerging from the abovementioned research. School culture, social integration and human rights This part of the research focused on the attitudes of pupils/students (hereinafter: respondents ) towards individual elements of school culture, social integration and human rights. All three groups of the survey respondents answered the given statements using a five-level scale reflecting the level of agreement with individual statements. The total average for all three categories of respondents shows that agreement with the statements is more positive than negative in all three cases, with the most positive attitudes being for feelings concerning the school atmosphere, tolerance of others and regarding the recognition of national symbols. Table 2: School Culture, Social Integration and Human Rights PRIMARY SECONDARY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS Our school is a place where we pupils/students feel safe If disputes arise either in our school or class we try to resolve them without violence and with participation Pupils and other members of the school community are not discriminated against because of their lifestyle, outfit or socialising with other peers Teachers pay great attention to an emphasis on the facts when 3.71 presenting history or political events The best way to get a good mark in social science subjects is to 3.39 remember as much information, dates etc as possible At school, I have learnt the Slovenian national anthem and to recognise all national symbols of the Republic of Slovenia At school I have learnt to co-operate with other students from various social settings and cultures At school I have learnt to contribute to the resolution of problems within the school community and society at large At school I have learnt to become a patriotic and loyal citizen of the Republic of Slovenia At school I have learnt how to preserve the natural and cultural heritage of my homeland At school I have learnt to understand people who think differently or are different from me At school I have gained knowledge about the process of the Slovenian state gaining its independence At our school the feeling of adherence to our school community is being developed At our school the feeling of adherence to Slovenia is being developed. Management Koper, 2007). N (primary schools) = 598; N (secondary schools) = 701; N (students) = 135. Survey respondents estimated their agreement with the statements on a scale from 1 to 5, whereby 1 means not at all, 2 a little, 3 in part, 4 quite and 5 completely. As the table above shows, the average values for the answers increase with growing age only for the first three statements describing the safety and non-discrimination of pupils/students within the school environment. However, as for statements six and onwards, which represent the set of statements regarding tolerance of others, allegiance to the state and the role of the school in developing patriotism, the higher the age, the lower the level of agreement. The greatest differences between the average values of the answers can be seen in Statement 9, Statement 10 and Statement 14, showing that the socio-integrative role of 8 The sample realisation reached 67.5 per cent. 7

8 education institutions diminishes with the growing age of young people. A comparison of the averages for the answers reveals that the socio-integrative role of the school is most important for primary school pupils since their answer averages tend to be the highest. As a rule, the greatest discrepancies between answer averages are to be found between the primary school pupils and the students, showing a considerable difference between the two young generations as far as the school s socio-integrative role is concerned. Answer averages tend to reveal the smallest differences in statements referring to the pedagogical aspect of the educational process (statements 4 and 5). Trust in institutions This part of the research focused on an analysis of youth s trust in the political and administrative institutions of the Slovenian state (the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, municipal authorities, courts, the police, the military, political parties, the Parliament, the Ombudsman, schools), civil society institutions (the Church), information sources (TV, radio, press) and trust in people living in Slovenia and trust in Slovenians. We were interested in which institutions young people trust the most, as well as what are the differences between the different youth categories. Diagram 1: Trust in Institutions Management Koper, 2007). N (primary schools) = 598; N (secondary schools) = 701; N (students) = 135. Survey respondents estimated their trust in the stated institutions on a scale from 1 to 5, whereby 1 means never, 2 sometimes, 3 often, 4 always and 5 do not know (the latter is excluded from the analysis). The greater the value in the far-right column, the greater is the respondents trust in an institution. When analysing the differing levels of trust in institutions between the different groups of young people one can establish that the differences are smallest with trust in the media, people living in Slovenia and all Slovenians. The analysis of trust in politico-administrative institutions reveals that trust in these institutions is relatively low, especially among secondary school pupils, who express even less trust in some political institutions (the Government, the Parliament and political parties) than primary school pupils and students. The least trusted are political parties, followed by the Government and the Parliament. 8

9 Among political institutions, the Ombudsman enjoys the highest expressed trust, yet this decreases as respondents become older. The same holds true for trust in the Church, which is relatively high with primary school pupils, but decreases abruptly and reaches the overall lowest level with students. The Church is also the institution where the standard deviation for primary and secondary school attendants is the highest, meaning that the survey respondents answers were the least harmonious; interestingly enough, the standard deviation is smallest for the estimation of trust in political parties. The highest trust, however, is enjoyed by both institutions whose importance for patriotic and civic education is by far the greatest, namely the school 9 and the Slovenian Armed Forces. Somewhat higher trust is noted for the Slovenian Armed Forces, where a sharp decline in trust with growing age can be seen; here, students also express the highest standard deviation for all the institutions under scrutiny, which can be interpreted as a difference of estimation within the group. On the contrary, trust in the school as an education institution increases with age and, in the group of students, reaches the peak level of all institutions included in the survey. It is evident that the generation of secondary school pupils is the one that should become the target group for an increase in a civic and patriotic conscience and that the intermediate education level is the one paying insufficient attention to patriotism and civic education. A patriotic citizen In the following section we attempt to find an answer to one of the main research questions, i.e. the question of what a patriotic citizen should look like in the eyes of the respondents. We were interested in those characteristics of an individual that makes them a patriot. According to the respondents, the characteristics that best define an adult patriotic citizen are their readiness to respect the Constitution and the laws and a respectful attitude to the Slovenian language. Regarding these two characteristics, all three groups are as unified as possible (the lowest standard deviation was found exactly with these two properties). All the remaining characteristics (works hard, knows the text of the Slovenian national anthem and national symbols etc.) that should define a patriotic citizen (see Table 3) can be placed in the second group one of moderate importance for a patriotic citizen. Table 3: Attitudes of Different Groups of Youth to Patriotism and Patriotic Deeds AN ADULT PATRIOTIC AVERAGE AN ADULT AVERAGE CITIZEN... VALUE PATRIOTIC CITIZEN VALUE... respects the Constitution and the law is unconditionally loyal to his/her homeland PRIMARY SCHOOL 3.49 PRIMARY SCHOOL 2.92 SECONDARY SCHOOL 3.36 SECONDARY SCHOOL 2.65 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 3.49 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 2.45 works hard does not embarrass his/her homeland PRIMARY SCHOOL 2.94 PRIMARY SCHOOL -- SECONDARY SCHOOL 2.82 SECONDARY SCHOOL 3.02 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 2.55 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 2.99 knows the text of Slovenian national anthem and other state symbols has a respectful attitude to the Slovenian language PRIMARY SCHOOL 3.17 PRIMARY SCHOOL 3.55 SECONDARY SCHOOL 2.97 SECONDARY SCHOOL 3.43 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 2.99 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 3.50 knows the history of his/her country takes part in activities which help all Slovenians PRIMARY SCHOOL 2.95 PRIMARY SCHOOL 2.85 SECONDARY SCHOOL 2.88 SECONDARY SCHOOL 2.75 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 3.20 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 2.73 votes at most elections takes part in all activities that help all citizens of Slovenia, regardless of their national 9 We deliberately avoided any clear denotation of a precise form of school; therefore a school as a general education institution is meant. 9

10 origin PRIMARY SCHOOL -- PRIMARY SCHOOL 2.83 SECONDARY SCHOOL 2.85 SECONDARY SCHOOL 2.62 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 2.96 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 2.74 is ready to serve the military in order to defend his/her country participates in activities aimed at preserving natural and cultural heritage PRIMARY SCHOOL 2.85 PRIMARY SCHOOL 2.81 SECONDARY SCHOOL 2.78 SECONDARY SCHOOL 2.65 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 2.60 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 2.68 hangs out the Slovenian national flag for all state holidays PRIMARY SCHOOL 2.58 SECONDARY SCHOOL 2.23 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 2.31 Management Koper, 2007). N (primary schools) = 598; N (secondary schools) = 701; N (students) = 135. Survey respondents estimated the importance of various patriotic deeds of an adult citizen (the importance of each of the described deeds entailing what is a patriotic citizen and what does a patriotic citizen do, whereby 1 means unimportant, and 4 means very important. No do not know answers were included in the analysis and computation of the average value. The only characteristic considered by the young as relatively unimportant is the hanging out of the national flag for state holidays; it is of course one of the key patriotic deeds, therefore such a stance of the young creates some surprise. Maybe this deviation can best be explained by the relatively short history of Slovenia s own statehood and national symbols; however, further research into the topic is needed. It is exactly this characteristic about which the young are least unified (the highest standard deviation). From the standpoint of patriotic and civic education research, two properties were naturally especially importance to us: An adult patriotic citizen... is unconditionally loyal to his/her homeland, and: An adult patriotic citizen... does not embarrass his/her homeland. Both support so-called authoritarian patriotism, especially the characteristic of the contemporary socio-political reality of the USA. It is interesting that both attributes were rated as more important for a patriotic citizen than e.g. the hanging out of the Slovenian national flag; at the same time, it is interesting that the attribute of unconditional loyalty to the homeland witnesses a significant decrease in importance as the age of the respondents increases. The same is true for the attributes works hard and (maybe less surprisingly) readiness to serve the military. In sum, the patriotism of an adult citizen is explicitly linked to respect for the Constitution and laws and to a respectful attitude to the Slovenian language, yet hanging out the national flag for state holidays has, in the view of the respondents, the least to do with patriotism. Civic literacy The next part of the questionnaire presented here was designed to study knowledge of national symbols (the flag of the Republic of Slovenia), state holidays, for a definition of a patriotic citizen and awareness of the role of the Slovenian Armed Forces. As for the question where the respondents had to discern the flag of the Republic of Slovenia from two others, only 1.05 % of the answers were wrong, whereby 0.56 % chose the flag of the Republic of Croatia and 0.49% the flag of Slovakia. We can conclude that knowledge of the flag of the Republic of Slovenia is very good in all three groups of respondents. However, the distribution of answers to the question about what a patriotic citizen is like is somewhat different. Among all three groups of respondents, the prevailing answer is casts a vote at elections and is faithful to his homeland, yet a smaller proportion opted for the response opposes the authorities when they violate the fundamental human rights of their citizens. This answer or its variant have been repeated in the questionnaire and has already proven to be very important. According to these results, the conception of a patriotic citizen among primary and secondary school pupils differs to that expressed by the students, as the element of a critical stance towards the authorities usually figures higher for the latter. Table 4: Civic Literacy I. (in per cent) 10

11 What is a patriotic citizen like? A patriotic citizen... RESEARCH PRIMARY RESEARCH SECONDARY RESEARCH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS N= (532) (666) (129)... casts a vote at elections and is faithful to his homeland. disregards the opinions of those thinking differently than him.... helps others in need opposes the authorities when they violate the fundamental human rights of their citizens Management Koper 2007). N (primary schools) = 598; N (secondary schools) = 701; N (students) = 135. Respondents answered the question What is a patriotic citizen like? A patriotic citizen... Table 5: Knowledge of Holidays among Different Groups of Youth (in per cent) Share of Correct Answers RESEARCH PRIMARY RESEARCH SECONDARY RESEARCH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS N= (598) (694) (135) Slovenian Cultural Holiday Statehood Day Reformation Day Christmas Independence and Unity Day Management Koper 2007). N (primary schools) = 598; N (secondary schools) = 701; N (students) = 135. Respondents had to connect five given dates with the names of five different national holidays. Different from the previous questions referring to so-called civic literacy, the respondents had more trouble identifying national holidays as the percentage of wrong answers compared to other questions from this section turns out to be high. The share of correct answers is highest in the identification of Christmas and the Slovenian Cultural Holiday, whereas it is barely 50% for identification of Statehood Day and the Independence and Unity Day. Based on these answers, we conclude that knowledge of national holidays that are closely linked to and important for the country and patriotic emotions is low. It is surprising that students possess the lowest knowledge of these holidays as they usually responded more correctly to other questions of this section than the primary and secondary school pupils. Attitudes to the inclusion of patriotic education in the curriculum In the last section of the questionnaire dealt with in this article, all three groups were asked about their attitudes to the incorporation of homeland education in lessons, about this topic s inclusion as a compulsory school subject and about the extent of the substance of homeland education. Table 6: Attitudes of Various Youth Groups to the Incorporation of Patriotic Education in the Curriculum What is your opinion on the inclusion of patriotic education in the curriculum? RESEARCH PRIMARY RESEARCH SECONDARY N= (584) (698) (135) RESEARCH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS POSITIVE PARTLY POSITIVE NEITHER POSITIVE, NOR NEGATIVE PARTLY NEGATIVE NEGATIVE N= (587) (698) (135) YES

12 NO DO NOT KNOW Management Koper, 2007). N (primary schools) = 598; N (secondary schools) = 701; N (students) = 135. Survey respondents answered two questions What is your opinion on the inclusion of patriotic education in the curriculum? AND Do you think Slovenian schools should introduce a compulsory subject called Patriotic Education? Table 6 shows the share of positive answers ( Positive and Partly positive ) is similar for all three groups of survey respondents, since there are no significant differences. The share of neutral responses ( neither positive, nor negative ) is between 20% and 30% for all three groups. The joint share of negative answers ( partly negative and negative ) is lower than 11% for all three groups. Based on these results we conclude all three groups of young people have a partly positive stance to the inclusion of patriotic education in the curriculum. Despite such a finding, support for the possible introduction of patriotic education as a compulsory subject among the respondents is low. Table 7: Attitudes to various forms of inclusion of patriotic education in the curriculum How should patriotic AVERAGE How should patriotic AVERAGE VALUE VALUE education be included in the education be included in the curriculum? curriculum? As a special subject Included in all subjects taught at school PRIMARY SCHOOL 2.53 PRIMARY SCHOOL 2.44 SECONDARY SCHOOL 2.60 SECONDARY SCHOOL 2.20 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 3.01 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 2.18 In the context of subjects related to social science and humanistic disciplines Included in activities undertaken at school as special projects PRIMARY SCHOOL 2.99 PRIMARY SCHOOL 2.86 SECONDARY SCHOOL 3.10 SECONDARY SCHOOL 2.98 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 3.66 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 3.25 Management Koper, 2007). N (primary schools) = 598; N (secondary schools) = 690; N (students) = 135. Survey respondents estimated their agreement with the various forms of including patriotic education in the curriculum on a scale ranging from 1 to 5, with 1 meaning not at all, 2 a little, 3 in part, 4 quite and 5 completely. All three respondent groups support the incorporation of patriotic education within the wider framework of social science subjects and special projects. No group supports the inclusion of patriotic education in all subjects taught at school (see Table 7). Support is equally low for the incorporation of these elements into an independent school subject. We can conclude that all three groups perceive patriotic education as a special part of the social science curriculum and less so as a wider topic to be included in all school subjects. It is evident from Table 8 that, in the respondents opinion, most of the listed elements of patriotic education are important as the average values do not differ much. Knowledge of what national holidays mean, as well as learning about national symbols, are put forward by the respondents as the most important part of patriotic education; however, learning about the rights of the child and human rights and about the foundations of the democratic form of government are less important in their opinion. Table 8: Attitudes of Respondents to the Inclusion of Various Elements of Patriotic Education in the Curriculum As for lessons, the following topics regarding patriotic education should be included... AVERAGE VALUE As for lessons, the following topics regarding patriotic education should be included... AVERAGE VALUE teaching about the rights of the child and human rights teaching about the foundations of the democratic form of government PRIMARY SCHOOL 3.28 PRIMARY SCHOOL 2.71 SECONDARY SCHOOL 3.67 SECONDARY SCHOOL 3.12 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 4.06 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

13 development of a sense of knowledge of the meaning affiliation to the state of Slovenia of national holidays PRIMARY SCHOOL 3.12 PRIMARY SCHOOL 3.41 SECONDARY SCHOOL 3.24 SECONDARY SCHOOL 3.44 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 3.49 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 3.56 teaching about Slovenian history teaching about national symbols PRIMARY SCHOOL 3.26 PRIMARY SCHOOL 3.45 SECONDARY SCHOOL 3.51 SECONDARY SCHOOL 3.55 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 4.04 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 3.59 teaching about how Slovenia gained its independence teaching about the important personalities who did much in the past for our country PRIMARY SCHOOL 3.17 PRIMARY SCHOOL 3.33 SECONDARY SCHOOL 3.42 SECONDARY SCHOOL 3.44 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 4.05 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 3.61 Management Koper, 2007). N (primary schools) = 598; N (secondary schools) = 695; N (students) = 135. Survey respondents estimated their agreement with the given elements on a scale from 1 to 5, whereby 1 means not at all, 2 a little, 3 in part, 4 quite and 5 completely. 4 INSTEAD OF A CONCLUSION: THE POSSIBILITIES OF INCLUDING VARIOUS ELEMENTS OF PATRIOTISM IN SLOVENIA S PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM Fragile post-socialistic systems, like the Slovenian one, undoubtedly carry different burdens of their recent (non-democratic) past. Offering our youth an example of patriotism in these circumstances is a hard task; should we implement patriotic elements in the education system at the early age and groom them (sometimes forcefully) like done in previous, nondemocratic regime or should this path be significantly different from the previous regime with patriotic elements being left aside? Based on the results of individual expert tasks within the conducted research 10, the inclusion of various elements of patriotism in the public system of education in Slovenia could be feasible especially through softer activities. One possibility could be the development of multidisciplinary and innovative approaches to the implementation of patriotic elements in the education system; similarly the development of in-school, parallel and out-of-school activities offering students the ability to recognise the importance of active participation in modern democratic society (i.e. within the school community, contemporaries groups or local communities) could be welcomed. Another way to encourage patriotic emotions is through overall school activities like visiting monuments of national heritage and public celebrations of national holidays (especially those connected to the country and nation). Many practitioners (teachers) encourage the formation of an interdisciplinary model of teaching about elements from the wider area of patriotic education within the remaining subjects from the social science and humanistic part of the primary and secondary educational curriculum, via History, Geography and Slovenian language [the so called civic related subjects ]. Within this, also encouraged is the development of new connections between the knowledge of pupils and their attitudes since research from the wider field of patriotic education proves that civic literacy significantly contributes to the solidarity and coherence of a democratic society. All of these approaches are feasible and could make a difference in the perceptions of youth regarding patriotism. 10 The research was conducted in several different stages: [1] a comparative analysis of the contents of strategic documents in the field of education in Slovenia and of the documents and recommendations of international organisations in the area of education of the young for patriotic and civic education; [2] an analysis of the available existing research projects undertaken in Slovenia, the EU and the countries of the OSCE, international comparative studies of educational policies from the wider domain of youth education for patriotic and civic education; and [3] an identification of the fundamental principles of the inclusion of elements of patriotic education in the school curriculum, the argumentation of the basic aims and standards of this topic within individual educational programmes and the proposal for the distribution of the planned contents within the school curriculum. However, for the purposes of this article we have limited our findings regarding the topic. 13