Teaching and Learning in Upper Secondary Education

Curriculum, subjects, number of hours

The Minister of education adopts the upper secondary education programmes on the recommendation of the competent council of experts. Then the Ministry publishes the instrument of adopting programmes in the official gazette Uradni list Republike Slovenije, and the content of the programmes (general and special parts) on the websites of the Ministry.

The National Education Institute Slovenia is responsible for developing the gimnazija programmes and the matura course programmes. The programmes proposed are then discussed by the Council of experts of the Republic of Slovenia for general education (sl). The Council defines the special part of the programmes and proposes the general part.

The Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for vocational education and training is responsible for developing the programmes of upper secondary technical education, and upper secondary and short upper secondary vocational education. In part (academic subjects), it is the responsibility of the National Education Institute Slovenia. The programmes proposed are then discussed by the Council of experts of the Republic of Slovenia for vocational and technical education (sl). The Council defines the special part of the programmes and proposes the general part.

The programmes have to be developed based on shared background documents as defined by the competent council of experts and agreed by the Minister.

Programme of upper secondary general education indicates:

• name of the programme
• objectives and goals
• duration of education
• compulsory assessment and grading
• entry requirements
• conditions for progression and completion of education
• timetable with the annual number of lessons in individual subjects or other educational content
• subject-curricula/catalogues of knowledge
• standards of knowledge of matura, vocational matura and final examination, and
• knowledge and competence of staff giving lessons in individual subjects.

The general part of the upper secondary vocational and technical education programmes includes the name of the vocational or technical educational qualification.

Upper secondary general education

Four-year gimnazije

The timetables of gimnazija programmes differ somewhat from each other, but the division into a compulsory and optional part is common to all. The scope of the first and the second part depends on the type of programme.

The compulsory part makes for 81 percent (general gimnazija) to 93 percent of total hours (in some courses of arts gimnazija); the rest is up to the student to choose. The least flexibility is in year one, and the most in year four when students prepare for matura.

Compulsory subjects in gimanzije:

Slovenian (or Italian or Hungarian in ethnically mixed areas of Slovenian Istria and Prekmurje), mathematics, foreign language, history, sports education, music, fine art, geography, biology, chemistry, psychology, sociology, philosophy, and informatics.

The programme of Classical gimnazija includes a compulsory Latin, and optional ancient Greek.

The programmes of technical gimnazije include compulsory technical subjects:

• Gimnazija of Economics – entrepreneurship and compulsory options: business informatics, economic history and economic geography through practical instruction with ICT.
• Gimnazija of Technics – optional technical matura subjects: biotechnology, electrics, materials, mechanics and computing, as well as optional technical subjects: electronics, construction, agriculture, forestry, microbiology, descriptive geometry, computer systems and networks, machinery and laboratory practical instruction.
• Gimnazija of Arts, music (modules musical movement, singing-instrument, Jazz – popular music) – solfeggio, music history, musical movement, piano, singing-instrument, and other forms of solo and group activities (piano, jazz -piano, choir, choir-orchestra, chamber play, group play, basics in improvisation, theory of jazz with basics in arrangements, musical technology).
• Gimnazija of Arts, ballet and modern dance – classical ballet, an instrument, modern dance techniques, applicable anatomy, history of dance and stage arts, and other forms of solo or group activities (classical ballet – group activities, period dances, character dances, and creative workshops).
• Gimnazija of Arts, fine arts – arts history, interpretation technics, fine arts theory, living culture, plastic design, and other forms of sole and group activities (drawing and painting, basics in heritage protection).
• Gimnazija of Arts, theatre and film – history and theory of theatre and film, optional technical subjects (student’s choice or making theatre or making film), and other forms of solo or group activities (theatre workshops, film workshops).

In some gimnazija programmes, timetables are adapted to students athlets so to help them achieve best results in both sports and school.

Students choose among a variety of matura subjects, optional subjects and optional content (compulsory for schools to provide). They may opt for problem research, field works or interdisciplinary project work, and other activities: excursions, sports and research camps, project week, and so forth. The optional content includes intercurricular and common topics:
education for family, peace and non-violence, environmental education, health education, entrepreneurship, as well as sports, cultural and arts activities, voluntary social work, translation, citizenship education, course of efficient learning, and a course of first aid and traffic rules.

The gimnazija programmes tend to have a connection between core subjects and non-core subjects, namely as to content, implementation and learning targets.

In all gimanzija programmes, students learn at least two foreign languages:

1. First foreign language is the one students took in basic school. The most common is English, sometimes German.
2. Second foreign language: German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian and Russian.
3. Third foreign language is an option, and it is exercised mainly in a general gimnazije with extended lessons in optional subjects.

Italian and Hungarian (for Slovenian students) and Slovenian (for Italian and Hungarian students) are part of the programmes in ethnically mixed areas, namely as the language of milieu.

In addition to regular lessons, students may decide to pursue additional interest activities (choir, arts workshops, debate and literature circles, school radio and newspaper, etc.) and take extracurricular lessons in foreign languages, lessons for talented students, or lessons to prepare for a competition.

Upper secondary techical education

Four-year upper secondary technical education

Programme timetable:

• Core academic subjects – Slovenian (Italian or Hungarian ethnically mixed areas of Slovenian Istria and Prekmurje), mathematics, foreign language (some two foreign languages), arts, history, geography, psychology or sociology at choice, physics, chemistry, biology (or at least two science subjects) and sports education: roughly 40 to 50 percent of all hours.
• Technical modules related to the discipline of the programme; some modules are compulsory and other optional: up to 15 to 30 percent of all hours.
• Practical education, in part at school as practical instruction, and in part, in the working process with the employer as practical training: roughly 10 to 20 percent of all hours.
• Interest activities that are different to subjects in the way of implementation and in which students learn and acquire skills in their individual preferences: roughly 7 percent of all hours spent.
• Open part of the programme defined by the school, in cooperation with the trade associations or with the social partners in the region: roughly 10 to 15 percent of all hours.

Two-year vocational technical education and one-year vocational course

Two-year vocational technical education programmes are intended for students who, at the end of a three-year vocational programme, want to complete their knowledge and skills. The entry requirements are most often specific programmes of upper secondary vocational education in the same or a related field. In some vocational technical education programmes are open also to candidates who acquired vocational qualification in a particular field or who have experience of at least three years in a particular activity. The structure of the relevant timetables is identical to the structure of those in the four-year programmes.

One-year vocational course programmes are intended for students who have completed a gimnazija and want to acquire qualification for a particular vocation, or who have completed a upper secondary technical education programme and wish to acquire qualification for one more vocation.

Programme timetables:

• Technical subjects: 55 to 90 percent of all hours (depending on the programme), and
• practical education, in part at school as practical instruction and in part, in the working process with the employer: 10 to 45 percent of all hours.

Upper secondary vocational education

Three-year upper secondary vocational education

Programme timetable:

• Core academic subjects – Slovenian (Italian or Hungarian ethnically mixed areas of Slovenian Istria and Prekmurje), mathematics, foreign language, arts, science, social studies, and sports education: roughly 28 percent of all hours.
• Technical modules related to the discipline for which the programme provides education; some of the modules are compulsory and other are choice: 28 percent of all hours and over half of it is dedicated to practical instruction at school.
• Practical training in the working process with the employer: roughly 25 percent of all hours – primarily, schools organise practical training and enter into joint learning contracts for their students, but students or their parents can sign individual learning contracts on practical training with the employer and in this case, the practical training is extended for further 9 weeks in all years.
• Interest activities that are different to subjects in the way of implementation and in which students learn and acquire skills in their individual preferences: roughly 4 percent of all hours spent.
• Open part of the programme defined by the school, in cooperation with the trade associations or with the social partners in the region: roughly 15 percent of all hours.

Two-year short upper secondary vocational education

Programme timetable:

• Core academic subjects – Slovenian, mathematics, social studies, science, and sports education; approximately 30percent of all hours.
• Technical modules related to the discipline for which the programme provides education; some of the modules are compulsory and other are choice: 40 percent of all hours and over two thirds are dedicated to practical instruction at school.
• Practical training in the working process with the employer: roughly 6 to 7 percent of all hours; schools organise practical training and enter into special learning contracts for all their students.
• Interest activities that are different to subjects in the way of implementation and in which students learn and acquire skills in their individual preferences: roughly 4 percent of all hours spent.
• Open part of the programme defined by the school, in cooperation with the trade associations or with the social partners in the region: roughly 20 percent of all hours.

Teaching methods and materials

The teaching methods are different – lectures, practical activities, seminars, workshops, outreach activities, research camps, seminars, etc. Methods are largely left to the autonomy of teachers.

Textbooks and other teaching materials (geographic and historical atlas, resource collections, exercise collections, exercise books, etc.) are used. According to the relevant law, public schools may only use textbooks. All textbooks have to approved by the Council of experts of the Republic of Slovenia for general education or the Council of experts of the Republic of Slovenia for vocational education and training. They may approve a number of textbooks by various authors for a single subject. The choice is left to the school. The relevant Rules adopted by the Minister of education govern the procedure of approving textbooks. The rules specify the method and procedure for approving textbooks and related standards.