Between equity, quality and learning achievements in primary school One of the features of Slovenian primary school system is the parallelism of two groups of schools – regular ones and those for certain groups of students with special needs. This makes us one of the few countries (EASIE, 2018) to still have completely separated schools for just over 2% of students with special needs. Despite the fact that both types comprise the same educational system, which is, in most aspects, regulated by the same law, some groups of students with special needs do not have the possibility of schooling under the same roof. However, this is only a part of the topic we are going to discuss. The other one tackles the question of equity of schooling in regular schools – besides all other students, this mostly concerns those with special needs, those with mild intellectual abilities, Roma students as well as those with low socio-economic standards (SES). The equity of the Slovenian school system will be discussed in a wider context, not only in the case of gender, SES and nationality comparing learning achievements. The article is based on the assumption that the regular school of today is not adjusted to the developmental needs of most students. For the purpose of discussion, elements which comprise the school system, must be defined: some are either of systemic or curricular, or conceptual or pedagogic nature, such as: curriculum, standards of knowledge, different forms of internal and external assessment, placement of children with special needs etc. Despite all of these elements compromising to make a stable schooling system, they are not all coherent with the needs of today’s modern society and are, even more so, in contrast with the results of the neuro-science in education. Another category of equal opportunities within the question of school equity would, besides the SES, nationality and ethnicity, have to be that of different capabilities of students, regarding the unified (official) standards of knowledge. All of these elements also make it difficult for today’s school to become a school of diversity. A school which will support different students, regardless of their learning achievements, SES and other characteristics. A school where all the students could be successfully educated, those who are already in the regular schools as well as those who are still part of the segregated forms of education. The article will depict why the present school system is no longer suitable for the majority of students and will point to possible solutions. The key solution touches on the changes of curriculums and the concept of assessment, the changes of which also have an impact on all the other elements. The assumptions will be clarified by studying the connection of stated elements and data of the international studies such as the TIMSS and PISA study from 2018 and earlier as well as using other actual Slovenian studies. Key words: equity in education, children with special needs, curriculum, minimum standards of knowledge, assessments, learning achievements, cognitive science
Med pravičnostjo, kakovostjo in učnimi dosežki v osnovni šoli
