Acceso usuarios
Sonja Novak, David Limon
The two different models of bilingual/multilingual education that have been developed in Slovenia since the 1950s in the regions of Prekmurje (minority language Hungarian) and Slovene Istria (Italian) are the result of international agreements, education and language policies, social and demographic factors. The basic aim in both cases is to help ensure the equal rights of the minority community, their language and their culture. In this paper, we shall present the historical and social background to the development of these two models, and describe the way in which language and education policies are applied in these two mixed areas. Drawing upon empirical research, we shall also consider how successful the models have been in achieving their stated goals. Finally, we shall present the results of research into attitudes and perceptions among parents and children toward multilingual and multicultural education in these two Slovene regions, using the collected data to compare the relative success of the two different models in the eyes of the local communities.
