Interethnic violence and principles of intercultural education in schools: The case study of Slovenia

This paper discusses the main findings of a study on interethnic violence carried out in the school environment in Slovenia. It examines the occurrence and perception of different forms of violence and the role of educators and the commitment of schools to promote nonviolence and the wellbeing of pupils, which is reached mainly by applying principles of intercultural education. The quantitative and qualitative findings take three perspectives into account: (1) pupils’ opinions and experiences, (2) perceptions of educators and (3) perspectives of experts in the area of (interethnic) peer violence. Special emphasis is placed on the informants’ perceptions of the school environment, their experiences of interethnic violence and interventions in cases of violence in schools aimed at its prevention. The paper argues that despite the general acceptance of principles of intercultural education in Slovenian schools and the recurrent self-initiatives of individual educators, a coordinated and integrated approach is needed both for dealing with (interethnic) violence and for promulgating values of intercultural coexistence in schools.