engleski

Right to Education in Minority Language and Script in the Republic of Croatia - Perfect Democracy or Perfect Segregation Policy?

In the Republic of Croatia, the minorities are given right to education in their language and script as defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia, constitutional law on the rights of national minorities and the law on education in the language and script of national minorities. These rights are practised through three basic education models, where the first one is entirely conducted in the language of the minority group, the second one is conducted bilingually, and in the last one students can opt to nurture their language and culture in up to six lessons a week. The aim of this study is to conduct an analysis of the way these models are implemented in Eastern Slavonia (a region ravaged by the 1990s war, but still known for the richness of its minority landscape), particularly with respect to the first model, where the students have the whole classes in their respective language. Expert analyses show that this model supports an argument in favour of language maintenance, but, that it can also lead to the detachment from the rest of the community. As far as methodology is concerned, we are going to draw on previous studies that provide some analyses of the models of minority education (mostly referring to language maintenance), but we are also going to use the data from semi-structured interviews with students who attend these models and policy makers from various public spheres, as we believe that qualitative data can reveal many hidden agendas which are often overlooked in standard quantitative research. We expect that the results will address some important but overlooked issues in terms of the impact these models might have on matters of integration/segregation in the society.

minority education models; Croatia; segregation

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