Page 113 - Štremfel, Urška, ed., 2016. Student (Under)achievement: Perspectives, Approaches, Challenges. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut. Digital Library, Documenta 11.
P. 113
oriented, the expected results have replaced standards of knowledge (e.g. 113
altered curricula for primary/lower secondary school, 2011). This raises a num-
ber of issues in relation to the concrete definitions of learning content in par-
ticular curricula and also a subjective assessment of achievement of standards
of knowledge and competencies in testing and assessment (Štefanc, 2012: 183).
Knowledge and education thus no longer have a formative function within in-
dividual development, but an instrumental function with the aim of training
for the labour market (Autor, 2013).
The aims of education, centred around gaining competencies, do not re-
main at the level of education-related political and strategic documents in in-
dividual countries, but are also entering the school sphere in a non-formal way
and changing the implicit curriculum. Orientation towards achieving ‘new’
learning goals may change the learning and teaching process, which can in
turn - based on the changes in conceptions of knowledge and the standards
of knowledge evaluation - also change the results of learning, i.e. knowledge,
and result in students adopting a different attitude to knowledge, education
and learning. Education centred around acquisition of competencies may lead
to a pragmatic value orientation in education and – in view of the emphasis
being placed on the applied knowledge - to gaining partial, surface knowl-
edge and procedural knowledge instead of knowledge that is complex and
in-depth (Gril et al., 2012). Equating knowledge to skills and personal attitudes,
which is anticipated by the concept of competencies, may lead to a decrease
in the significance and value of knowledge (ibid.)
With reductions in the number of jobs and a rise in the number of high-
ly educated graduates, personal competencies are increasingly becoming cri-
teria for employment. Changes in the labour market have increased the need
for retraining, additional training and lifelong learning. Formal education thus
no longer guarantees individuals’ competitive advantage and is losing its so-
cial value, in a way similar to education losing its former significance and role
in society.
Attitude to Knowledge among Youths in Slovenia
The attitude to knowledge of Slovenian students who are enrolled in upper
secondary schools (and have previously completed elementary education), in
programmes that are fundamentally defined through ‘new’ aims of education
in a knowledge society, was researched in a study conducted in 20121 (Gril et
1 The study sample consisted of 455 students from three types of upper secondary educational pro-
grammes (general upper secondary schools – general and professional gymnasiums, profession-
al-technical schools and vocational schools – lower and upper secondary). Sampling was con-
ducted according to the principles of random two-stage cluster sampling (schools were chosen
randomly in twelve statistical regions of Slovenia, and within schools, one Year Two or Year Three
class was selected randomly). In the analysis, student data was weighted according to propor-
attitude to knowledge and adolescent´s learning achievement
altered curricula for primary/lower secondary school, 2011). This raises a num-
ber of issues in relation to the concrete definitions of learning content in par-
ticular curricula and also a subjective assessment of achievement of standards
of knowledge and competencies in testing and assessment (Štefanc, 2012: 183).
Knowledge and education thus no longer have a formative function within in-
dividual development, but an instrumental function with the aim of training
for the labour market (Autor, 2013).
The aims of education, centred around gaining competencies, do not re-
main at the level of education-related political and strategic documents in in-
dividual countries, but are also entering the school sphere in a non-formal way
and changing the implicit curriculum. Orientation towards achieving ‘new’
learning goals may change the learning and teaching process, which can in
turn - based on the changes in conceptions of knowledge and the standards
of knowledge evaluation - also change the results of learning, i.e. knowledge,
and result in students adopting a different attitude to knowledge, education
and learning. Education centred around acquisition of competencies may lead
to a pragmatic value orientation in education and – in view of the emphasis
being placed on the applied knowledge - to gaining partial, surface knowl-
edge and procedural knowledge instead of knowledge that is complex and
in-depth (Gril et al., 2012). Equating knowledge to skills and personal attitudes,
which is anticipated by the concept of competencies, may lead to a decrease
in the significance and value of knowledge (ibid.)
With reductions in the number of jobs and a rise in the number of high-
ly educated graduates, personal competencies are increasingly becoming cri-
teria for employment. Changes in the labour market have increased the need
for retraining, additional training and lifelong learning. Formal education thus
no longer guarantees individuals’ competitive advantage and is losing its so-
cial value, in a way similar to education losing its former significance and role
in society.
Attitude to Knowledge among Youths in Slovenia
The attitude to knowledge of Slovenian students who are enrolled in upper
secondary schools (and have previously completed elementary education), in
programmes that are fundamentally defined through ‘new’ aims of education
in a knowledge society, was researched in a study conducted in 20121 (Gril et
1 The study sample consisted of 455 students from three types of upper secondary educational pro-
grammes (general upper secondary schools – general and professional gymnasiums, profession-
al-technical schools and vocational schools – lower and upper secondary). Sampling was con-
ducted according to the principles of random two-stage cluster sampling (schools were chosen
randomly in twelve statistical regions of Slovenia, and within schools, one Year Two or Year Three
class was selected randomly). In the analysis, student data was weighted according to propor-
attitude to knowledge and adolescent´s learning achievement
