The Influence of the Disintegration of Yugoslavia on Slovene Curricula for History

Abstract

In this paper the author tries to determine the influence of the disintegration of Yugoslavia of 1991 on the implementation of the subject of history in elementary and secondary schools in Slovenia. By analysing the curricula for elementary and secondary schools that were in force until 1990 and those that were issued immediately after Slovenia attained independence, the author has determined that significant changes occurred in these history curricula. Prior to the disintegration of Yugoslavia, the curricula above all emphasised familiarisation with and understanding of the development of human society and the labour movement, as well as the history of the Yugoslav nations. They stressed the importance of the liberation struggle of the Yugoslav nations during World War II and the post-war socialist development of Yugoslavia. After the disintegration of Yugoslavia the Slovene curricula for elementary school no longer included the history of Yugoslav nations, while the secondary school curricula preserved the history of other Yugoslav nations for a few more years. The novelty in all history curricula after 1991 was the fact that Slovene history was included in special units or separated from European or world history and in later years gained an even greater role and scope in the Slovene curricula. The subject of history in elementary and secondary schools in Slovenia belonged to those sociological subjects that had undergone greater changes in content precisely due to the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the beginning of the 1990s.