Indicator history

In Slovenia, the notion "migrant" is often used, even in official documents, for two groups: first, people holding Slovenian citizenship (gained after the dissolution of Yugoslavia) with ethnic background in other republics of former Yugoslavia, who had a status of migrant workers in 1970s, but the prevailing discourse keeps categorizing them them and their children/grandchildren as migrants rather than minorities. The second group are residents of Slovenia with actual status of migrants; they are again in wast majority belonging to nations of former Yugoslavia and to working class.

Children and students from both groups face some obstacles in advancing through the educational system in Slovenia, although those having actual status of migrants are in a more specific situation and as such are subject of actual inclusion policy measures.

The obstacles include poorer comand of Slovenian language, which influence also success in other subjects; disadvantaged socio-economic domestic situation (beloning to working class in most cases), inadequate inclusion of parents in the school environment and  in society, stigmatization and intolerance in society,  lack of instruments, skills and tools that would enable schools and teachers to work with children with migrant background, etc. Poorer educational performance of disproportionally high number of children with migrant background a make lot of them unable to be enrolled in grammar schools and at university programs which, once completed,  would make them able to achieve highest educational degrees and to advance within the structure of power in the society.

Sources:

A study on situation with "second generation" of migrants from former Yugoslavia in Slovenia published in a book  written by authors B. Dekleva, Š. Razpotnik: "Čefurji so bili rojeni tu: življenje mladih priseljencev druge generacije v Ljubljani", Faculty of Education and Institute for Criminology at the Law Faculty, Ljubljana, 2002.

Strategy for inclusion of children and students with migrant background in the educational system in Slovenia, Ministry of Education, 2007, http://www.mss.gov.si/si/solstvo/razvoj_solstva/projekti/enake_moznosti/#c843. Date of access: 10.9.2012.

Assessment of the situation with inclusion of children and students with migrant background in the educational system in Slovenia, Slovenian Philantrophy-Association for the Promotion of Volunteering, http://www.filantropija.org/library/includes/file.asp?FileId=79. Date of access: 10.9.2012.