Page 118 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 11(2) (2023)

lies, accompanied by increasingly stable econom- lot of effort in language education and inculcat-
ic development and the urbanisation of the area. ing new ideas during the post-war years because
Within a few years, the construction of another it had to deal with a very complex cultural and
7
school in the town was deemed necessary (Sluga linguistic reality. The pupils’ insufficient knowl-
and Jelen Madruša 2006, 10). edge of Slovene had a negative impact on their
The new settlers in the city of Koper came learning progress. There were problems with im-
mainly from Slovenia, but many also came from migrant children of other Yugoslav nationalities,
the Croat part of Istria, especially from around as well as with children from the Slovene part of
Buje which had also belonged to Zone B of the Istria. As regards the latter, the difficulties were
FTT before 1954. The social and national com- attributed to the mother tongue having been ne-
position of Koper and the coastal region as a glected and a lack of Slovene national conscious-
whole underwent a radical change in a very short ness due to the persistent assimilation process-
118 period of time. The proportion of the population es and fascist education, which meant Italian
that had been born in the urban coastal towns was frequently used in everyday communica-
9
fell from 85% in 1948 to 33% in 1956. Meanwhile, tion at home and in general . There was also an
studia universitatis hereditati, letnik 11 (2023), številka 2 / volume 11 (2023), number 2
the Italian population shrunk to 10%. Its age attachment to the Slovene Istrian dialect, which ti
structure rose sharply, while the immigrant pop- was full of words borrowed from Italian or Cro-
ulation was dominated by younger, demograph- atian. Towards the end of the 1950s, school re-
ically active generations. Slovenian Istria and es- cords mention the positive effects of schools on
pecially its urbanised coastal zone, which had language skills and learning abilities. Children ta
been predominantly Italian, thus acquired a Slo- learnt Slovene faster, their reading culture im-
venian and partly Yugoslav character (Kalc 2019, proved and they became more involved in school
155–156). and extracurricular activities. Visits to theatre
The school increasingly became a social lab- performances, educational excursions, participa- di
oratory for this new urban reality, which consist- tion in events and celebrations, additional cours-
ed of people of different origins and also social, es in Slovene and local history and geography all
cultural and ethnic backgrounds. In the social- paid off. Special credit for mastery of the Slovene
ist social order, the school as a basic education- language was given to the ‘hard-working pupils
al institution was one of the key elements in the from Yugoslavia’ who spoke beautiful Slovene
10
renewal of social values and relations to form and became role models for the locals .
a people’s democracy. The programme of the here
League of Communists of Slovenia emphasised The Political Situation and Education
how schools were connected with socio-eco- In order to understand the school’s role and
nomic reality and were bound to express the cul- work in the turbulent 1940s and 1950s, it is also
tural needs of the pupils and to conform them to necessary to take into account the political sit-
8
the needs of society . The special task of schools uation. The opening of Slovene schools in Ko-
in northern Istria, which became part of the So- per and other coastal towns meant the redress-
cialist Republic of Slovenia, was to help integrate ing of fascist attempts to assimilate and destroy
the region into the Slovenian national and cul- the Slovene identity. At the same time, it meant
tural space. In order to achieve this, it was neces- eliminating the historical ideological-nation-
sary to transform the cultural environment and al dichotomy between the Italian town and the
establish the Slovene language. As can be seen Slovene countryside. Under Austria-Hunga-
from the school records, the school invested a ry, the Italian local authorities had used this di-

7 PAK, 936_2, Osnovna šola Janka Premrla Vojka, Šolska 9 PAK, 936_2, Osnovna šola Janka Premrla Vojka, Šolska studiauniversitatis
kronika 1957/1958. kronika 1945/46.
8 PAK, 936_2, Osnovna šola Janka Premrla Vojka, Šolska 10 PAK, 936_2, Osnovna šola Janka Premrla Vojka, Šolska
kronika 1958/59. kronika 1950/51.