Curriculum, subjects, number of hours

The Minister responsible for education adopts the upper secondary education programmes on the recommendation of the competent council of experts. Then the Ministry places a notice of the instrument of adopting programmes in the official gazette Uradni list Republike Slovenije, and the content of the programmes (general and special parts) on the Ministry's websites.

The National Education Institute Slovenia is responsible for developing the gimnazija and the matura course programmes. The programmes proposed are then discussed by the Council of Experts of the Republic of Slovenia for General Education. The Council defines the special part of the programmes and proposes the general part.

The Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational Education and Training is responsible for developing the programmes of upper secondary technical education, and upper secondary and short upper secondary vocational education. In part (academic subjects), it is the responsibility of the National Education Institute Slovenia. The programmes proposed are then discussed by the Council of Experts of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational and Technical Education. The Council defines the special part of the programmes and proposes the general part.

The programmes must be developed based on shared background documents as defined by the competent council of experts and agreed upon by the Minister.

Programme of upper secondary general education indicates:

• Name of the programme
• Objectives and goals
• Duration
• Compulsory assessment and grading
• Entry requirements
• Requirements for progression and completion of education
• Timetable with the annual number of lessons in individual subjects or other educational content
• Subject-curricula/catalogues of knowledge
• Standards of knowledge of matura, vocational matura and final examination, and
• Knowledge and competence of staff giving lessons in individual subjects.

The general part of the upper secondary vocational and technical education programmes includes the name of the vocational or technical educational qualification.

Upper secondary general education

Four-year gimnazije

The timetables of gimnazija programmes differ somewhat, but the division into compulsory and optional part parts is common to all. The scope of the first and the second part depends on the type of programme.

The compulsory part makes up 81 per cent (general gimnazija) to 93 per cent of total hours (in some courses of the arts gimnazija); the rest is up to the student to choose. The least flexibility is in year one, and the most in year four when students prepare for matura.

Compulsory subjects in gimanzija programmes: Slovenian (or Italian or Hungarian in ethnically mixed areas of Slovenian Istria and Prekmurje), mathematics, foreign language, history, sports education, music, fine art, geography, biology, chemistry, psychology, sociology, philosophy, and informatics.

All gimnazija programmes include compulsory elective content. It consists of activities offered by the school to students with a high degree of autonomy and is usually conducted in an intensive format. It must not be a subject, substitute for regular lessons, or activity restricted by a strict timetable. It accounts for 6 per cent or 300 hours over four years of schooling of topics that are either underrepresented or not included in the timetable:

Compulsory elective content is divided into:

1. Content compulsory for all students (cultural and artistic content, health-related programs, active citizenship, education for family, peace, and non-violence, library and information literacy)
2. Content compulsory for a specific type of gimnazija
3. Content chosen freely by the student.

The Classical gimnazija programme includes a compulsory Latin, and optional ancient Greek.

The programmes of the technical gimnazija include compulsory technical subjects:

• Gimnazija of Economics – entrepreneurship and compulsory options: business informatics, economic history and economic geography through practical instruction with ICT.
• Gimnazija of Technics – optional technical matura subjects: biotechnology, electrics, materials, mechanics and computing, as well as optional technical subjects: electronics, construction, agriculture, forestry, microbiology, descriptive geometry, computer systems and networks, machinery and laboratory practical instruction.
• Gimnazija of Arts, music (modules musical movement, singing-instrument, Jazz – popular music) – solfeggio, music history, musical movement, piano, singing-instrument, and other forms of solo and group activities (piano, jazz -piano, choir, choir-orchestra, chamber play, group play, basics in improvisation, theory of jazz with basics in arrangements, musical technology).
• Gimnazija of Arts, ballet and modern dance – classical ballet, an instrument, modern dance techniques, applicable anatomy, history of dance and stage arts, and other forms of solo or group activities (classical ballet – group activities, period dances, character dances, and creative workshops).
• Gimnazija of Arts, fine arts – art history, interpretation technics, fine arts theory, living culture, plastic design, and other forms of sole and group activities (drawing and painting, basics in heritage protection).
• Gimnazija of Arts, theatre and film – history and theory of theatre and film, optional technical subjects (student’s choice, making theatre or making film), and other forms of solo or group activities (theatre workshops, film workshops).

In some gimnazija programmes, timetables are adapted to student-athletes to help them achieve the best results in both sports and school.

Students choose among various matura subjects, optional subjects and optional content (compulsory for schools to provide). They can opt for problem research, fieldwork or interdisciplinary project work, and other activities: excursions, sports and research camps, project week, and so forth. The optional content includes inter-curricular and common topics:

Education for family, peace and nonviolence, environmental education, health education, entrepreneurship, sports, cultural and arts activities, voluntary social work, translation, citizenship education, efficient learning course, and first aid and traffic rules course.

The gimnazija programmes often link core subjects with non-core subjects relevant to content, implementation and learning targets.

In all gimanzija programmes, students learn at least two foreign languages:

1. The first foreign language is the one students take in basic school. The most common is English, in certain regions, German.
2. The second foreign language: German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian and Russian.
3. The third foreign language is an option, generally with extended lessons in optional subjects.

Italian and Hungarian (for Slovenian students) and Slovenian (for Italian and Hungarian students) are part of the programmes in ethnically mixed areas, namely as the language of the milieu.

In addition to regular lessons, students can pursue additional interest activities (choir, art workshops, debate and literature circles, school radio and newspaper, etc.) and take extracurricular lessons in foreign languages, lessons for talented students, or lessons to prepare for a competition.

Upper secondary technical education

Four-year upper secondary technical education

Programme timetable:

• Core academic subjects – Slovenian (Italian or Hungarian ethnically mixed areas of Slovenian Istria and Prekmurje), mathematics, foreign language (some two foreign languages), arts, history, geography, psychology or sociology at choice, physics, chemistry, biology (or at least two science subjects) and sports education: roughly 40 to 50 per cent of all hours.
• Technical modules related to the discipline; modules are compulsory and some optional: up to 15 to 30 per cent of all hours.
• Practical education, in part at school as practical instruction, and in part, in the working process with the employer as practical training: roughly 10 to 20 per cent of all hours.
• Interest activities that are different from subjects in the way of implementation and in which students learn and acquire skills according to their individual preferences: roughly 7 per cent of all hours spent.
• Open part of the programme defined by the school, in cooperation with local trade associations or social partners: roughly 10 to 15 per cent of all hours.

Two-year vocational-technical education and one-year vocational course

Two-year vocational-technical education programmes are intended for students who want at the end of a three-year vocational programme to extend their knowledge and skills. The entry requirements are often specific to upper secondary vocational education programmes in the same or a related field. Some vocational-technical education programmes are open to candidates with qualifications in a particular field or experience of at least three years in the relevant activity. The structure of the relevant timetables is identical to those in the four-year programmes.

One-year vocational course programmes are intended for students who have completed a gimnazija programme and want to qualify for a particular vocation, or who have completed an upper secondary technical education programme and wish to qualify for one more vocation.

Programme timetable:

• technical subjects: 55 to 90 per cent of all hours (depending on the programme), and
• practical education, in part at school as practical instruction and in part, in the working process with the employer: 10 to 45 per cent of all hours.

Upper secondary vocational education

Three-year upper secondary vocational education

Programme timetable:

• Core academic subjects – Slovenian (Italian or Hungarian ethnically mixed areas of Slovenian Istria and Prekmurje), mathematics, foreign language, arts, science, social studies, and sports education: roughly 28 per cent of all hours.
• Technical modules related to the discipline for which the programme provides education; some modules are compulsory, and others are choice: 28 per cent of all hours and over half is dedicated to practical instruction at school.
• Practical training in the working process with the employer: roughly 25 per cent of all hours – primarily, schools organise practical training and enter joint learning contracts for their students, but students or their parents can sign individual learning contracts on practical training with the employer and in this case, the practical training is extended for further 9 weeks in all years.
• Interest activities that are different to subjects in the way of implementation and in which students learn and acquire skills for their individual preferences: roughly 4 per cent of all hours spent.
• Open part of the programme defined by the school in cooperation with local trade associations or social partners: around 15 per cent of all hours.

Two-year short upper secondary vocational education

Programme timetable:

• Core academic subjects – Slovenian, mathematics, social studies, science, and sports education; approximately 30 per cent of all hours.
• Technical modules related to the discipline for which the programme provides education; some modules are compulsory, and others are choice: 40 per cent of all hours and over two-thirds are dedicated to practical instruction at school.
• Practical training in the working process with the employer: roughly 6 to 7 per cent of all hours; schools organise practical training and enter special learning contracts for all their students.
• Interest activities that are different from subjects in the way of implementation and in which students learn and acquire skills according to their individual preferences: roughly 4 per cent of all hours spent.
• Open part of the programme defined by the school in cooperation with local trade associations or social partners: roughly 20 per cent of all hours.

Teaching methods and materials

The teaching methods are different: lectures, practical activities, seminars, workshops, outreach activities, research camps, seminars, etc. In most cases, the teachers decide on the methods within their autonomy.

Textbooks and other teaching materials (geographic and historical atlas, resource collections, exercise collections, exercise books, etc.) are used. According to the relevant law, public schools may only use textbooks. All textbooks must be approved by the Council of Experts of the Republic of Slovenia for General Education or the Council of Experts of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational Education and Training. They may approve several textbooks by various authors for a single subject. The choice is left to the school. The relevant rules adopted by the Minister responsible for education govern the procedure of approving textbooks. They specify the method and procedure for approving textbooks and related standards.