Back to school!

The first step towards compulsory education

The education of youth of both sexes is the most important fundament for the true happiness of nations.

These are the words from the 1774 general regulation for schools, when Empress Maria Theresa introduced compulsory education in the Habsburg Empire for children between the ages of 6 and 12 regardless of class, religion or gender. Can you imagine that, at the time, only 100 people in Carniola where Slovenians lived could read and write?

The development of the teaching profession

The beginning of teaching was heralded by the 1777 Book of Methods (Metodna knjiga), a collection of teaching instructions.

Already then, the view was that students should understand the materials, not just learn them by heart.

Teaching was initially practiced only by men, usually sextons and organists. The golden age of the teaching profession was during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, when teachers were more educated. In 1869, the profession was opened to women, and a year later a teachers’ college for both sexes was established. The prevalence of women in this profession happened gradually; most primary school teachers today are female.

Since 1947, teacher training is carried out at the Teacher Training College in Ljubljana, and since 1961 at the Teacher Training College in Maribor.

Teachers as authority figures

For centuries, teachers were considered unquestioned figures of authority. The rod and the staff were part of daily routine in schools, and students had to be grateful for receiving a fitting punishment.

While corporal punishment was officially prohibited in 1870, it took around one hundred years more for it to truly disappear from school life.

Are you familiar with the expression donkey desk?

This was a desk reserved for undisciplined students. The name dates back to the 16th century, when the punished student had to go home with the image of a donkey on their back, keep it overnight and bring it back to school the following day. Sounds very unpleasant, right?

Favourite time in school? Lunch!

Slovenia is one of the countries that devote special attention to school meals for children.

Schools are obliged to provide lunch to all students who apply. Organised school meals developed after the Second World War. Before that, the headmasters’ wives would prepare a hot meal for the children who lived further away from the school. Most children brought with them a simple lunch, such as dried fruit and black bread, while white bread was only available to a select few.

School subjects and grades

At first children learned letters, reading, writing, calculation and religious education. In 1869, the Third Austrian Law on Primary Education expanded the syllabus and introduced subjects that we know today: mathematics, physics, geography and history. It also introduced physical education, which first encountered resistance, being seen as not valuable, especially for girls. There were also concerns about clothes tearing during exercise.

Grades have been part of the education system since the very beginning, and even major public grading events used to be organised at the end of the school year. The highest grade was 1 and the lowest 5. The grading scale changed in 1920 during the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

Under the current system in Slovenia, 1 is the lowest and 5 is the highest grade.

Holidays and school-free days

In the beginning, school adapted to the majority farmer population. Due to home chores, children often skipped school.

Have you heard of potato holidays?

This is what autumn holidays are still called in Slovenia. It refers to a time when children would take a few days off from school to help harvest potatoes and grapes and do other chores. During that period, Empress Maria Theresa ordered the planting of potatoes as part of her many reforms.

It was not until after World War One that 1 September truly established itself as the first day of school.

In addition to summer and autumn holidays, the school calendar now includes New Year, winter and First of May holidays.

Learning can be fun

At the beginning, students used stones to write on slates. The first turning point came around 1900 with the notebook. First quills, then metal pens and finally fountain pens were used for writing.

The first secular primary school reading book, Reading Practice (Vadenje za brati), was translated and adapted in 1796 by Blaž Kumerdej. The first Slovenian book of calculation, Bukuvze za rajtengo by Marko Pohlin, was published in 1781. The time of the Illyrian Provinces in the early 18th century was marked by the first text books written in the Slovenian language by Valentin Vodnik.

Abacus, a Russian calculating tool with wooden balls, was used to help with calculation, and alphabet blocks with reading. The boom of education after 1869 introduced new learning tools in schools.

The fast technical development in the second half of the 20th century brought slides, films, records, radio and television into the education system, and the first classroom computers made their appearance in the 90s. Today, digital technology is an indispensable part of school life.

Knowledge grows, education advances

After the war, the 1958 education reform introduced a uniform eight-year primary school and a single educational system. Today, children from the age of six attend a nine-year primary school programme, which was gradually introduced after 2000.

Specialised education started with the spinning school (1765) and midwifery (1754). After primary school, students continue their education in vocational and upper secondary programmes. At the end of secondary school, students must pass the matura, a maturity school-leaving exam with a long history.

Another significant milestone was the foundation of the University of Ljubljana in 1919, the first Slovenian university and still the most important university institution.

The 1949 law introduced the division and expansion of the university to new faculties, higher education and short-cycle colleges, and an academy.

Even though education has changed and developed over the centuries, its essence remains the same – broadening knowledge and changing the world for the better.