Education System in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Authors:
Adila Pasalic-Kreso, Department of Education, Faculty of Philosophy, Sarajevo
The educational system in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) is at one of its most important turning points. Like most post-socialist countries, BiH is going through a transition process. Education as one of the most suceptible subsystems in every society, suffered not only from physical destruction, but also from political, ideological, and nationalist pressure compounded by the war.
Although education is regulated by law, FBiH often runs into many dilemmas and obstacles in implementing its education policies. One dilemma concerns the question of whether to organize the public education system into special national schools with separate curricula. There is still political abuse of education at the national level that skillfully avoids each attempt toward sincere democratization and respect for cultural differences in the education system.
Because political and nationalist ideology dominates education, there are some educational experiment than universal solutions to the problems. When a problem is addressed partially, or approached one-sidedly, or led by daily-political interests and not approached from a universal-humanistic or an academic and professional starting point, the effect become cyclical.
Mass destruction, killing, ethnic cleansing, and other misfortunes of wartime brought about much national and social shifting. The education system in BiH is currently swaying between two extreme concepts that other European countries have left far behind.
The educational reality in BiH is strongly affected by nationalist forces threatening to implement unacceptible pedagogical solutions. The presence of nationalistic and ideological interest is registered on an everyday basis in the BiH educational system as they use education for political purposes. Time after time, in certain regions, the representatives of these forces insist on separating children into special national schools to follow different curricula and to be taught by teachers of the same nationality. Any attempt to create a common legislature, as well as attitudes and principles toward common education, schools, classes, as well as attitudes and principles toward common education, schools, classes, texbooks and curricula cause, as a rule, an increase in national tension, passions, and intolerance.
Education reform in BiH today must be a process of creating classrooms and schools with the integration of various cultures, languages, religions, abilities, and experiences, which are practically expressed through common schools, common classrooms, common curricula, and textbooks. Creating a common learning environment for all students is an necessary step towards sociocultural inclusion.
Other sources:
Apple, M. W. 1993. Official knowledge. New York: Routledge.
Apple, M. W. 1996. Cultural politics and education. New York: Teachers College Press.
Banks, J. A. 1994. Multiethnic education: theory and practice. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Boudon, R. 1973. L'inegalite des chances; la mobilite social dans les societes industrielles. Paris: A. Colin.
Bourdieu, R., & Passeron, J. C. 1970. La reproduction: Elements pur une theorie du systeme d'enseignement. Paris: Minuit.
Adila Pasalic-Kreso, Department of Education, Faculty of Philosophy, Sarajevo
The educational system in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) is at one of its most important turning points. Like most post-socialist countries, BiH is going through a transition process. Education as one of the most suceptible subsystems in every society, suffered not only from physical destruction, but also from political, ideological, and nationalist pressure compounded by the war.
Although education is regulated by law, FBiH often runs into many dilemmas and obstacles in implementing its education policies. One dilemma concerns the question of whether to organize the public education system into special national schools with separate curricula. There is still political abuse of education at the national level that skillfully avoids each attempt toward sincere democratization and respect for cultural differences in the education system.
Because political and nationalist ideology dominates education, there are some educational experiment than universal solutions to the problems. When a problem is addressed partially, or approached one-sidedly, or led by daily-political interests and not approached from a universal-humanistic or an academic and professional starting point, the effect become cyclical.
Mass destruction, killing, ethnic cleansing, and other misfortunes of wartime brought about much national and social shifting. The education system in BiH is currently swaying between two extreme concepts that other European countries have left far behind.
The educational reality in BiH is strongly affected by nationalist forces threatening to implement unacceptible pedagogical solutions. The presence of nationalistic and ideological interest is registered on an everyday basis in the BiH educational system as they use education for political purposes. Time after time, in certain regions, the representatives of these forces insist on separating children into special national schools to follow different curricula and to be taught by teachers of the same nationality. Any attempt to create a common legislature, as well as attitudes and principles toward common education, schools, classes, as well as attitudes and principles toward common education, schools, classes, texbooks and curricula cause, as a rule, an increase in national tension, passions, and intolerance.
Education reform in BiH today must be a process of creating classrooms and schools with the integration of various cultures, languages, religions, abilities, and experiences, which are practically expressed through common schools, common classrooms, common curricula, and textbooks. Creating a common learning environment for all students is an necessary step towards sociocultural inclusion.
Other sources:
Apple, M. W. 1993. Official knowledge. New York: Routledge.
Apple, M. W. 1996. Cultural politics and education. New York: Teachers College Press.
Banks, J. A. 1994. Multiethnic education: theory and practice. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Boudon, R. 1973. L'inegalite des chances; la mobilite social dans les societes industrielles. Paris: A. Colin.
Bourdieu, R., & Passeron, J. C. 1970. La reproduction: Elements pur une theorie du systeme d'enseignement. Paris: Minuit.