Education Policy Outlook 2018

Slovenia

Context

Slovenia scored higher than the OECD average in science in PISA 2015, with a mean score of 513 points, compared to the OECD average of 493 points. Performance in science remained stable across PISA cycles with an average score change of -1.5 score points, while performance in reading and mathematics has stayed the same. Although there were significant changes between cycles in reading, the overall average of these changes up to 2015 is not significant. Socio-economic and cultural status had an average impact on science performance in PISA 2015, explaining 13.5% of the variance in performance (the difference with the OECD average of 12.9% is not statistically significant). The impact of ESCS on performance in science has declined since 2006. Gender differences in science performance were 6 points in favour of girls, compared to the average difference across the OECD of 4 points in favour of boys. Immigrant students make up 7.8% of the student population of 15-year-olds in Slovenia, a lower proportion than the OECD average of 12.5%. Performance differences between immigrant and non-immigrant students are higher than the OECD average. Immigrants scored on average 45 score points lower than non-immigrants in science in PISA 2015, compared to the OECD average of 31 score points.

Enrolment of 3-year-olds in ECEC and preschool education was higher than the OECD average in 2015, at 82.8%, (OECD average: 77.8%). Slovenia has an integrated preschool system that combines education and care for children from age 1 to age 6. Preschool education in kindergartens is provided in two age groups: children age 1-3 and children age 3-6 or until they start school. Preschool education is covered by the Kindergarten Curriculum, a national curriculum in place that provides a framework for education and care for 1-6 year-olds. Compulsory education in Slovenia is organised in a comprehensive structure called basic school that caters to students from age 6 to age 15. Students are first tracked into different educational pathways at age 15, later than the OECD average of age 14. Upper secondary education in Slovenia consists of general education and vocational-technical education, and schools can offer both types of programmes. General education is provided in four-year gimnazija programmes. Transfers between vocational and general education tracks are enabled by special one-year courses (Matura courses and vocational courses) funded by the state. General upper secondary programmes lead to the general upper secondary leaving certificate (Matura), which provides direct entry to tertiary education. All tracks lead to qualifications to enter the labour market in specific occupations, to the vocational upper secondary leaving certificate (vocational Matura), or to a school leaving exam.

VET is offered in three tracks at upper secondary level. All tracks lead to qualifications to enter the labour market in specific occupations, to the vocational upper secondary leaving certificate (vocational Matura), or to a school leaving exam. Students with a vocational Matura can pass additional exams in general Matura subjects to access academic higher education. In the OECD Survey of Adult Skills in 2012 and 2015, adult literacy scores in Slovenia were lower than the OECD average, at 256 points, compared to the OECD average of 268 points. The gap in literacy skills between older adults (age 55-65) and younger adults (age 25-34) was close to the OECD average. The proportion of the population aged 25-64 with lower secondary education as the highest level of attainment in Slovenia is lower than the OECD average, with an attainment rate of 11.8% in 2016, compared to the OECD average of 14.3%. NEET rates (the proportion of those aged 18-24 that are not employed or in further education or training) are lower than the OECD average, at 10.6%, compared to the OECD average of 15.3%. The percentage of the population aged 25-34 with a tertiary-level qualification is close to the OECD average, at 43.0% in 2016, compared to the OECD average of 43.1%. Employment rates for 25-34 year-olds with tertiary education are lower than the OECD average. In 2016, 81.4% were employed, while the OECD average rate was 82.9%.

Figure 7.22. Selected indicators compared with the average: Slovenia

Note: For each indicator, the absolute performance is standardised (normalised) using a normative score ranging from 0 to 220, where 100 was set at the average, taking into account all OECD countries with available data in each case.

Sources: OECD (2016), PISA 2015 Results (Volume I): Excellence and Equity in Education, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264266490-en; OECD (2016), Skills Matter: Further Results from the Survey of Adult Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264258051-en; OECD (2017), Education at a Glance 2017: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2017-en.

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Evolution of key education policy priorities

Table 7.22. Evolution of key education policy priorities, Slovenia (2008-17)

Identified by	Equity and quality	Preparing students for the future
Selected OECD country-based work, 2008-171	OECD findings have shown a need to ensure the availability and quality of childcare places and to decrease inequities within the education system. A further policy priority identified by the OECD is for Slovenia to help its people to develop a portfolio of cognitive, socio-emotional and discipline-specific skills that equip them to learn throughout life, interact effectively with others, and solve complex problems. [2011; 2013; 2015; 2017]	The OECD identified a need to raise the employment rates of youth and reduce barriers to entrepreneurship, as the lack of entrepreneurship education may also affect entrepreneurial activity. In regard to VET, OECD evidence shows a need to make vocational secondary school education more attractive to students and more relevant to labour-market conditions. OECD evidence also shows a need to improve accessibility of adult education, as the labour-force participation rate of older population is still very low by international comparison, despite some recent improvements. Participation in adult education programmes is relatively high, but it is concentrated in the best-educated and prime-age workers. Evidence also shows that there is scope to increase tertiary education attainment of students whose parents have low education. According to the an opinion survey of employers, the tertiary system does not produce workers with the skills in demand. [2009; 2011; 2014; 2015]
Evolution of responses to EPO Surveys, 2013 and 2016‑17	Slovenia reported a need to address achievement gaps between sub-groups of the student population. Key targets are access and quality in the education system in a globalised society of the 21st century, enhancing excellence and raising the level of general competencies of students. Another focus is the integration of children and students with special education needs in mainstream classes in kindergarten and schools. Due to increased migration flows to Europe, Slovenia faces challenges in assuring successful integration in the education system of children and students with international protection and those seeking international protection. [2016-17]	A challenge is to improve the responsiveness of the education system to the changing needs for skills of the labour market, the economy and society. [2016-17]

1. See Annex A, Table A A.3 for the list of OECD publications consulted for this snapshot.

Selected policy responses

In Slovenia, the Kindergarten Act (2008) and the Exercise of Rights to Public Funds Act (2012) grants payments to parents with two or more children enrolled in preschool education in order to improve access to ECEC. Parents only pay 30% for the second child and no fee for younger siblings. The amount of the fee is determined according to a grid of nine levels of income, with no fees for those with the lowest income and no parents who pay the full fee. Parents with the highest level of income in the grid (99% of the net average salary) pay 77% of the fee. Municipalities can also further reduce these fees according to their policies in this area. An amendment to the Kindergarten Act (2010) allows municipalities to provide ECEC in buildings not constructed for this purpose. Further Amendments to the Kindergarten Act (2017) allow for increased flexibility in providing a public network of kindergartens, which might include units or sections of a public kindergarten in enterprises. The amendments also provide for new types of short, entirely state-funded programmes to be organised by kindergartens for children not enrolled in preschool education one year before entering primary school.

• Progress or impact: Evidence has found that the Kindergarten Act has allowed making ECEC more affordable, with enrolment rates above the OECD average (OECD, 2015d). The 2010 amendment has enabled municipalities to solve spatial issues rapidly with relatively little funds (MIZS, 2015). However, it has since been advised that excess teaching resources could be transferred into locations facing stronger demand (OECD, 2015d).

In 2008, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports in Slovenia, with the help of the European Structural Funds, implemented the Project for the Successful Integration of Roma Students in Schools (2008-15). It aimed to share national best practices of inclusive teaching among kindergartens and schools and teachers in areas with little or no such experience. One of the most important measures was providing a Roma assistant in Roma settlements and schools attended by Roma pupils. Following promising results of this policy, the government later implemented a series of projects to expand support to Roma communities. The project on Raising the Social and Cultural Capital in Areas Inhabited by Members of the Roma Community (2011-13) aimed to work with Roma children, youth and parents in Roma settlements to increase the participation and success of Roma children in education. More recently, the Together for Knowledge (2016-21) programme aims to supply educational support in preschools for Roma communities through the inclusion of Roma parents in educational activities, as well as coaching sessions and after-school activities for children (Council of Europe, 2017).

• Progress or impact: The Project for the Successful Integration of Roma Students in Schools was identified by the Council of Europe as a demonstrated good practice (observing the Municipality of Murska Sobota). As reported by the Roma Union, results achieved by the end of 2010 included higher attendance of Roma children in educational institutions, improved co-operation between Roma parents and educational institutions, increased awareness among Roma of the importance of learning and education, and more successful co‑operation between teaching assistants, teachers and Roma parents in the education of Roma children (Council of Europe, 2011). The Council of Europe also identified the importance of the project on Raising the Social and Cultural Capital in Areas Inhabited by Members of the Roma Community (2011-13), particularly its contributions to the design of innovative and creative educational practices in Roma communities (Council of Europe, 2017).

In 2015, Slovenia implemented a special model to enhance the integration of refugee children and students in the Slovenian education system. The main objective is to assure adequate professional support for the integration of children and students (those with international protection and those seeking international protection) into their new linguistic and cultural environment, by enhancing activities in social, linguistic and cultural domains. This policy was developed to advise kindergartens and schools on application of a model providing introductory or preparatory classes (pripravljalnica) before children enter school and continuing or advanced classes (nadaljevalnica) after that. The continuing classes take place during the school year, and children have an individual programme or plan of activities, receive additional learning support for lessons in Slovenian and may also join remedial and supplementary classes, morning care and after-school classes. Students are integrated into mainstream classes with their peers. The state also funds supplementary language lessons at upper secondary and university level, where a special protocol has been developed to facilitate the integration of non-documented students.

• Progress or impact: According to Slovenia’s survey responses, the policy, more widely introduced in 2016, has not yet been comprehensively evaluated. Nevertheless, according to national sources, there are individual cases that demonstrate successful integration of children and young people from immigrant backgrounds into the Slovenian educational system by the achieved standards of knowledge. One of the important achievements of the process is the establishment of good co-operation and links between the various actors to ensure the protection of children’s rights and an inclusive school environment.

The Placement of Children with Special Needs Act (2013) in Slovenia applies to: 1) children who are blind and partially sighted, deaf and hard of hearing; 2) children with speech, language and movement impairments, chronic diseases, deficiencies in individual fields of learning; and 3) children with mental development and behavioural disorders. With support from the European Social Fund, the Ministry initiated a set of projects to support implementation of the Act. These include: 1) the Network of Professional Institutions for Support to Children with Special Needs and their Families, which aims to create contact points of professional (special pedagogical) support for parents and professional staff in schools (EUR 4 million for the period of 2017-20, with an additional EUR 1.8 million earmarked for professional training); 2) enhancing a comprehensive approach in working with children with emotional and behavioural disorders to support development of new programmes and adapting or upgrading existing methods and forms of work in special educational institutions (EUR 2.8 million for 2017-19; and 3) enhancing social inclusion of SEN children and youth in the local environment, aiming to develop modular and other forms of education and training, targeting in particular children and youth who are completing or leaving formal education (EUR 2.8 million over the course of 2017-22). At the higher-education level, the Student Regulation Act (2017) defines students with special needs and students with special status and their rights.

• Progress or impact: A child qualifies for placement in specific educational settings after undergoing relevant activities co-ordinated by the Special Education Needs Guidance Commission in Slovenia. In the 2014/15 school year, there were 117 461 children with special educational needs in primary education in Slovenia and 55 362 in lower secondary education. Almost all of these students were enrolled in mainstream education with their non-disabled peers for at least 80% of the time (EASIE, 2018). At the upper secondary level, final state (matura) exams were made more inclusive in 2015, as a result of legislation guaranteeing special conditions for children with autistic spectrum disorders and visual impairments (EC, 2015e).

As part of the reform of VET (2008-11), Slovenia introduced a competence-based approach in VET curricula (2008/11), with a modular structure in teaching and learning, and increased the share of practical training. The updated subject curricula in general upper secondary schools (gimnazija) (2008/09) and the updated curricula in basic schools (2011/12) also introduced core competencies in general education. Following the reform of vocational education (2008-11), practical training in the workplace increased, and 20% of the curriculum can now be designed in co‑operation with social partners, particularly local companies.

• Progress or impact: The overall results of the Practical Training with Work programme in the period from 2008 to 2015 were positive. More than 26 000 students participated, and around 12 000 employers provided work placements. This all contributed to improved links between education institutions, employers and students, as well as better quality of training and matches between labour market needs and supply (Public Scholarship, Development, Disability and Maintenance Fund of the Republic of Slovenia, 2018). The total number of upper secondary students in VET increased above the EU average in 2015, and pilot apprenticeships were planned for 2017 (EC, 2017j).

In Slovenia, the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities set up the Youth Guarantee (YG, 2014) to guarantee a job, formal education or a training opportunity to any 15-29 year-old registering in Slovenia’s Employment service. Slovenia allocated EUR 87.7 million for the YG programme for 2014-15 and plans to allocate EUR 300 million for 2016-20. This policy targets those who are currently unemployed, as well as the 37 000 people in that age range who register annually for this service. In 2016, Slovenia adopted a second Youth Guarantee Action Plan for the period 2016-20. It includes new measures to combat age segmentation in the labour market, based on the proposal of youth representatives (e.g. information and guidance activities and strengthening the capacities of supervisory authorities). In addition to fast activation, another new element is a special focus on long-term unemployed youth. Moreover, the lifelong career orientation has been strengthened within the Public Employment Services (PES), not only for those registered as unemployed, but also in primary and secondary schools, with the aim of offering them early career guidance.

• Progress or impact: A European Commission study found that youth unemployment decreased the most when compared to other age groups in Slovenia. Thanks to the Youth Guarantee programme, outflows from unemployment to employment increased. Compared to those who did not participate in this programme, participants were found to receive 40% more referrals for job vacancies, ten times more meetings with employers and 70% more involvement in training (EC, 2017k). The 2016 Youth Guarantee Action Plan (2016-20) was adopted based on an update of the 2013 PES analysis, Youth on the labour market 2015. In co‑operation with the working group for monitoring, the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities prepared a report on the results of the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan for 2014-15 (Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, 2018).

In 2016, Slovenia adopted the Strategy for the Internationalisation of Slovenian Higher Education (2016-20) with five key areas: international mobility; quality international co‑operation in research and development; promotion of intercultural competences; targeting priority regions and countries; and promotion, support and monitoring of implementation of the Strategy.

• Progress or impact: According to government information, the implementation action plan covers 25 goals and over 50 measures, with a total budget of EUR 57 million, of which EUR 18 million is dedicated to international co-operation in research and development. An example of the measures is the Study in Slovenia webpage (www.studyinslovenia.si), which aims to promote Slovenia as a study destination.

In Slovenia, the Creative Path to Practical Knowledge initiative was carried out with the support of the European Social Fund from 2007 to 2013. It encouraged students to become team members in small interdisciplinary research projects to develop creative and innovative solutions to practical challenges in the corporate sector. Mentors from the education and corporate sectors offered support to each team during implementation of the projects. The teams carried out projects in various working environments, such as medical and chemical laboratories, classrooms and production facilities. By directly participating in the work process, students gained specific professional and generic experience, as well as social competences, which are important for employability.

• Progress or impact: From 2013 to 2015, more than 3 400 students and over 500 organisations participated in this programme. Co-operation between education institutions and employers improved, as did students’ employability. The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport will invest an additional EUR 11.7 million in a similar programme and EUR 7.3 million to further strengthen co-operation between higher education institutions and local communities from 2014 to 2020.

Additional education policies of potential interest to other countries

• For students with special educational needs, Slovenia has adopted the Act on Comprehensive Special Treatment of Preschool Children (2017). This model for early treatment is being tested with the support of a pilot project entitled “A comprehensive early treatment of children with special needs and their families and strengthening the competencies of professionals", in line with the guidelines of the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (EASIE). The project will help establish professional centres (for multidisciplinary teams and assistance in kindergartens) within child development units (razvojne ambulante).

• CroCooS (2014-17), financed under the Erasmus+ Programme, aims to identify means to prevent early school leaving in Slovenian VET schools, with emphasis on cross-sectorial co-operation and early warning systems. Further VET modernisation measures (2016-21) in Slovenia focus on the development and implementation of adequate models of practical (work-based) training. The Apprenticeship Act (2017) combines regulations on VET, the labour market and adult education regarding work-based learning, and sets the legal framework for the implementation of the apprenticeship system (CEDEFOP, 2017d). Overall, it aims to facilitate relations between education systems and the labour market, better matching the needs of employers and bringing more young people into VET. To assure the possibility of transitions between different tracks, at least 50% of the education is to be completed in the workplace and at least 40% of education programmes are to be reserved for general subjects,. Also, Slovenia made amendments to the Vocational and Technical Education Act (2017) (Eurydice, 2018). Slovenia will support the introduction of apprenticeships in upper-secondary vocational education through European Funds. In 2017, the Ministry of Education decided to start trial apprenticeships in four VET programmes at seven upper secondary vocation schools, for a trial plan to widen the scope of VET programmes. The first pilot started in 2017/2018. An important reference for the Slovenian work-based learning model in VET was the CEDEFOP Thematic Country Review (CEDEFOP, 2017d).

• The Slovenian Qualifications Framework Act (SOK, 2015) entered into force in 2016. It is the legal basis for the implementation of a comprehensive national qualifications framework, based on learning outcomes, that covers all types and levels of qualifications.

More information available at: www.oecd.org/education/policyoutlook.htm.