OBJECTIVE
This study intends to provide a collection of data and an analysis of formal educational policies in primary education in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) from bottom up. The goal is to engage in a two-part study. First part will research promotion of ethnic political agendas and national ideologies of three majority ethnic groups in BiH thus concentrating on history, language, literature, geography, and social studies. Second part will focus on how democratic and civic values are being promoted, thus concentrating on the issues of human rights, tolerance, and respect of “cultural” differences and diversity in BiH primary education. The objective of this research is to study the learning and teaching experience in the classrooms of BiH elementary schools, specifically, the ideologies and values that are being promoted through primary education in elementary schools within the Federation, Bosnian Croat community, and Republika Srpska. Furthermore, a comparative analysis will be made with similar policies, experiences, and implementations in the BiH schools that are part of Step by Step program as well as some elementary schools of the European community countries that are multi-ethnic. It will also be necessary to make a comparative analysis with the educational system of Bosnia and Herzegovina prior to 1992 as such system catered toward the multi-ethnic population, diversity, and tolerance.
Ravaged through war, nationalism and ethnic conflict, Bosnia’s educational system dilapidated rather quickly during early 1990s. Seven years after the war, Bosnia and Herzegovina is still not integrated internally and remains divided by ethnic politics of its three major ethnic groups: Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs.
The signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, created Bosnia as a state of two entities: Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. There are further regional and cantonal divisions. Local, cantonal (out of ten cantons in the Federation, only two are mixed), and regional entities are ethnically divided allowing each ethnic group to experience, structure, and implement fractional autonomy over its own ethnic and educational agenda. This current structure is making it almost impossible for Bosnia to integrate into a unified and functional multi-ethnic state and/or to create an ethnically depoliticized systems and society.
The name of the official language in Bosnian state, although resembling approximately 5% of differentiation from one group to the next (less than between American and British English) goes by three names: Bosnian, Serbian, and Croatian. Linguistic diversity needs not stand in the way of educational and state integration, but in the Balkans, language along with religion, has often been used as a symbol of national identity (as it has been the case with the formation of any nation state in Europe in the 19th century in the spirit of the nationalist romantic movement which romanticized the autochtonous and innate spirits of individual nations as to justify the importance of their survival in their pristine state). When controlled entirely by politicized nationalistic policies (through curricula, textbooks, etc.), education is easily an object of ethnic political agenda, as well as a very loud vehicle that communicates that exact agenda, thus reaching out to the whole society and molding its youngest members in the earliest years of their development. Bosnia has three such systems. There is no one single standard, but rather different curricula and textbooks. The three educational systems communicate and create separate ethnic/national/cultural identities. The real danger here is that such structure intensifies inter-ethnic tension, endangering return and reintegration process. It further supports mono-ethnic systems, disregarding the respect and promotion of the most basic human rights. In a nut shell, it offers no alternative to having one unified state that cherishes its multi-ethnicity, tolerance, and diversity.
Each entity has its own Ministry of Education. For the Federation there is the Federal Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport. For Republika Srpska, there is the Ministry of Education of Republika Srpska. Additionally, each canton has its own ministry. There is no one single unified Ministry, although having such a Ministry would seem extremely necessary. Additionally, it is important to note that education in cantons is decentralized as the cantons have a constitutional right to provide education and that Federal Ministry only oversees and coordinates their activities while in fact it does have an executive role.
Although the international community is putting pressure on Bosnia to transition into a democratic state and although on the surface Bosnia promotes and implements protection of human rights, equality of genders, tolerance and diversity, in praxis this implementation, too, is colored with ethnic political agendas and continual erosion of multi-ethnic and religious tolerance and trust. UN OHR and Council of Europe proposed and pressured the Federal Government into signing the May 10, 2000, Declaration and the Implementation Plan to create a parallel education system. This work has been placed in the hands of the Ministries of Education, representing all three entities. It has, however, yielded very different interpretations of the actual Declaration making it harder to draft a plan or a law concerning one/parallel education system.
Numerous local and international non-governmental organizations work in BiH on developing and promoting educational policies as well as promoting values of a democratic and civic society. Step by Step-Center for Educational Initiatives is one such program covering kindergarten and elementary education in 26 countries. Their programs are being implemented in 44 kindergartens and elementary schools across BiH. Step by Step in Bosnia is an organization of parents, teachers, and professionals whose goals are to organize and support various activities and initiatives in the area of education with a strong basis on the values of democratic and civic society.
It is of utmost importance that this research analyses education vis-à-vis national agendas, discrimination, tolerance and diversity in elementary schools in Bosnia through a proposed two-part study. It is very likely that although each group teaches its own version of history and language, that they try to implement general values of tolerance and diversity (albeit only in theory).
Educational system in Bosnia and Herzegovina prior
to the war in 1992 was based on multi-ethnic values of tolerance and diversity.
Many similar and greatly improved educational systems exist in the world
today. It is of outmost importance to find constructive ways to implement
such kind of policies into current educational situation in BiH and apply
them through various models with speed and understanding of a post-conflict
Bosnian society.