Page 41 - Šolsko polje, XXX, 2019, št. 5-6: Civic, citizenship and rhetorical education in a rapidly changing world, eds. Janja Žmavc and Plamen Mirazchiyski
P. 41
m. banjac ■ knowledge on political participation among basic school pupils
The course addresses a number of topics, among others the politi-
cal system of the Republic of Slovenia, social principles and rules of pub-
lic and political, human rights, European Union and globalisation. In
terms of political participation as a topic, the syllabus clearly states that
the aim of the course is to raise the political literacy via equipping pu-
pils with knowledge about basic principles of democratic decision-mak-
ing and democratic institutions at local and national level and also in the
European Union as well as at the global level (Ministrstvo za šolstvo in
šport, 2011, p. 6).
Not just in the curricula of the above mentioned subject but also
at the level of education policies there is a strong emphasis, among other
things, on promoting active participation and learning for the democrat-
ic participation of individuals in political life within their local commu-
nities and in other wider socio-political contexts. That is why it is neces-
sary to address, continually reflect and analyse, and by this, make sense
of pupils’ knowledge about these themes and skills connected with them
(Kerr et al., 2010).
This article contributes to the above mentioned need by analysing
and interpreting the knowledge of Slovenian pupils at the end of the low-
er secondary level of education (Year 9) about political participation via
different means and at different levels.
The article offers the interpretation of pupils’ achievements (n =
3849) in selected questions from the National Assessment of Knowl-
edge (NAK; Nacionalno preverjanje znanja – NPZ) in Patriotic and Cit-
izenship Culture and Ethics subject. The NAK is a special assessment of
knowledge procedure within the formal education system, in which all
pupils (Year 6 and 9) in the country, on the same day, complete the same
tests under the same conditions. The basic purpose of the NAK is to pro-
vide pupils, their parents, teachers and principals an insight into achiev-
ing objectives and standards as determined by curricula, uncover strong
and weak areas in pupils’ knowledge and thus reflect the quality and effi-
ciency of the primary education system (RIC, 2015b).
The Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics subject was select-
ed for the NAK in 2019 as the so-called third subject and covered twenty
tasks with a total of 43 questions. In this article’s analysis, eight questions
from five different tasks that tested pupils’ knowledge and understanding
of political participation were selected and included. The selection crite-
ria for the inclusion of specific questions from the NAK 2019 test in the
analysis is based on the understanding of conventional and unconvention-
39
The course addresses a number of topics, among others the politi-
cal system of the Republic of Slovenia, social principles and rules of pub-
lic and political, human rights, European Union and globalisation. In
terms of political participation as a topic, the syllabus clearly states that
the aim of the course is to raise the political literacy via equipping pu-
pils with knowledge about basic principles of democratic decision-mak-
ing and democratic institutions at local and national level and also in the
European Union as well as at the global level (Ministrstvo za šolstvo in
šport, 2011, p. 6).
Not just in the curricula of the above mentioned subject but also
at the level of education policies there is a strong emphasis, among other
things, on promoting active participation and learning for the democrat-
ic participation of individuals in political life within their local commu-
nities and in other wider socio-political contexts. That is why it is neces-
sary to address, continually reflect and analyse, and by this, make sense
of pupils’ knowledge about these themes and skills connected with them
(Kerr et al., 2010).
This article contributes to the above mentioned need by analysing
and interpreting the knowledge of Slovenian pupils at the end of the low-
er secondary level of education (Year 9) about political participation via
different means and at different levels.
The article offers the interpretation of pupils’ achievements (n =
3849) in selected questions from the National Assessment of Knowl-
edge (NAK; Nacionalno preverjanje znanja – NPZ) in Patriotic and Cit-
izenship Culture and Ethics subject. The NAK is a special assessment of
knowledge procedure within the formal education system, in which all
pupils (Year 6 and 9) in the country, on the same day, complete the same
tests under the same conditions. The basic purpose of the NAK is to pro-
vide pupils, their parents, teachers and principals an insight into achiev-
ing objectives and standards as determined by curricula, uncover strong
and weak areas in pupils’ knowledge and thus reflect the quality and effi-
ciency of the primary education system (RIC, 2015b).
The Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics subject was select-
ed for the NAK in 2019 as the so-called third subject and covered twenty
tasks with a total of 43 questions. In this article’s analysis, eight questions
from five different tasks that tested pupils’ knowledge and understanding
of political participation were selected and included. The selection crite-
ria for the inclusion of specific questions from the NAK 2019 test in the
analysis is based on the understanding of conventional and unconvention-
39
