In 2007, the Ministry of Education and Sport in cooperation with the National Education Institute and the Ministry of Culture adopted the following aims:
- to increase awareness about the role of cultural education in the education system;
- to raise the level of cultural literacy; and
- to establish links between the education and culture sector.
Aims specified in the Elementary School Act ( Official Gazette No 12/96, 33/97, 59/01, 71/04, 23/05, 53/05, 70/05– UPB2 60/06, 63/06 – corr. 81/06 – UPB3, 102/07, 107/10, 87/11, 40/12 – ZUJF and (63/13) for the whole curriculum include cultural and creative aims. The compulsory school subjects are determined by the law. But, schools have a statutory duty to offer a list of subjects as options pupils must choose in the higher grades (in Years 7-9). Schools are autonomous only to some extent in the selection of optional subjects. There is a statutory requirement that a certain number of social sciences / humanistic subjects and natural sciences / technical subjects, a second foreign language, non-confessional religious education and rhetoric lessons must be available. Usually, the schools offer a much more extensive selection of optional subjects with cultural contents.
Slovenia is among those countries that encourage cross-curricular links between the arts and all other subjects as part of the aims for the whole curriculum.
The subjects that are included in the curriculum are:
- Visual arts – as a separate compulsory subject;
- Music – as a separate compulsory subject; and offered also through the parallel system of music schools;
- Drama – included in the home language (compulsory subject); and offered also as an optional subject;
- Dance – included in physical education (compulsory subject); and offered also through the parallel system of music and ballet schools;
- Media arts – as an optional subject; and as cross-curricular contents; and as didactical means;
- Crafts included in technologies (compulsory subject); and offered also as an optional subject;
- Other – please specify: cultural heritage included in history.
Table 24: Weekly timetable of the 9-year compulsory school (2007/08), arts school subjects in compulsory core curriculum subjects (compulsory for all pupils)
| Subject / No. of lessons per week | 1.r. | 2.r. | 3.r. | 4.r. | 5.r. | 6.r. | 7.r. | 8.r. | 9.r. | Total No. of lessons per subject |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visual arts | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 487.0 |
| Music | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 452.0 |
Source: Ministry of Education, Science and Sport,
The curriculum also prescribes among activity days the number of days of culture; in the first three years of the 9 year basic school cyle, there are 4 days per year, and 3 days per year in all other classes. Time, design and cultural activities are left to the autonomous choice of each school, but it must be planned in advance of the annual work plan. Usually a visit is organised to performances, exhibitions, museums, concerts, cultural workshops, celebrations, etc.
The extended curriculum of basic school comprises – among others – extra-curricular activities and cultural activities in after-school education and care. The most popular among extra-curricular activities are various cultural activities. In the framework of after-school classes, which must be provided for pupils from 1st to 6th class, the cultural activities are planned autonomously by schools in their annual work plan. Furthermore, the school must plan the work of the school library, and collaboration with the institutions in wider environment, such as higher education institutions, research institutions, cultural institutions, etc.
The Ministry for Education, Science and Sports finances 6 hours per week of choral activity in all nine-form primary schools; they are approved as regular working hours of the teacher, but for the children this is an activity of interest. A school has to organise a one-voice choir in the first triad and a two or three-voice choir in the second and third triads. In secondary schools, the choirs are considered an activity of interest which is financed by the Ministry upon a contract of 4 hours per week. In secondary schools there are few choirs; mostly they are mixed or girls’ ensembles.
The arts school subjects at upper-secondary level have been revised for the school year 2008/09. A proposal for integration of a text, specifying the role of culture education in the chapter “Cross curricular links” has been agreed. Special attention is placed on the cultural content in pre-elementary education (nursery, kindergarten), in school curricula and in the teaching programmes of cultural institutions. One of the main goals is to link cultural and educational sub-systems and to re-establish mechanisms for a systematic and organised network of both. “Cultural days” continue as part of schools’ extra-curricular programmes.
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