3.3 Religious Instruction

Transcription

1 97 Focus groups and interviews 3.3 Religious Instruction Religious Instruction The subject of Religious Instruction has the status of an elective subject in primary schools. At the beginning of the first grade parents fill in a questionnaire and choose the subject in accordance with their own religious beliefs. On behalf of their children, parents may also choose to exempt them from studying Religious Instruction at school. Once the subject has been chosen it becomes obligatory. Schools are supposed to organise other activities for those pupils who do not attend Religious Instruction lessons. Unfortunately, it frequently happens that nothing is organised for them and they spend the time in the schoolyard or roaming through the school corridors. There are two opposing approaches to the organisation of religious education in school. The first one advocates a concessional model of Religious Instruction. In our primary schools the teaching of Religious Instruction takes on a religious character and aims to familiarise and educate members of its faith truthfully, safely, comprehensively, dialogically and ecumenically in the truths of that faith (Pavlovic. 2005, p. 89). Supporters of the other approach believe that a common, multi-religious and neutral form of Religious Education should be introduced into schools: suitable for all pupils and labelled as religious culture, culture of religions, history of religions and the like. This approach also advocates that the concessional aspect of religious education belongs exclusively to the religious realm. One of the questions for pupils was intended to ascertain whether they attended Religious Instruction lessons and if so why? We also asked them whether they would prefer some other subject to Religious Instruction and we asked their parents and teachers about attendance at alternative lessons to Religious Instruction. Pupils Do you attend Religious Instruction lessons?

2 98 The vast majority of the pupils surveyed attended Religious Instruction lessons. All respondent pupils at the Dositej Obradovic (Hambarine-Prijedor), Kiseljak 1 (Kiseljak), Brestovsko (Kiseljak) and Alija Isakovic (Prozor-Rama) primary schools did attend. Almost all respondent pupils attending the Stanko Rakita (99%) (Banja Luka) and Marko Marulic (98%) (Prozor-Rama) primary schools also attended Religious Instruction lessons. The percentage reported at the Sarajevo primary school Osman Nuri Hadzic was somewhat lower (83%). If YES, could you please specify why? The largest number of pupils reported that they attend because they want to. The percentage of such pupils varied in the different primary schools: from 66% at Osman Nuri Hadzic (Sarajevo) to 39% at Alija Isakovic (Prozor-Rama). A significant number of pupils attending Religious Instruction classes did so because they believed subject to be obligatory for all. This percentage of such pupils varied from 46% at the Dositej Obradovic Primary School (Hambarine-Prijedor) to 7% at the Osman Nuri Hadzic Primary School. A significantly lower number of pupils pointed out that they attend this lesson because their parents want them to.

3 99 Focus groups and interviews If you could attend an alternative subject, what would that be? The largest number of pupils felt that Religious Instruction is the best choice. The percentage of such pupils varied from 79% at the Marko Marulic Primary School to 37% at the Kiseljak 1 Primary School. The highest numbers of pupils who opted for Religious Instruction were those in schools with a Croat majority population, while the lowest were in schools attended mainly by Bosniak children. A significant number of pupils said that they would attend some other subject rather than Religious Instruction. From the subjects suggested to them they opted most frequently for Culture and History of the Great World Religions. The lowest numbers of pupils who choose to attend an alternative subject to Religious Instruction were those in schools with a Croat majority population. Thus, 21% of pupils at the Marko Marulic Primary School and 25% at the Brestovsko Primary School reported that they would rather attend some other subjects. At the same time, 63% of pupils at the Kiseljak 1 and 60% at the Osman Nuri Hadzic primary schools would rather attend some other subject lessons than Religious Instruction. The issue was about schools attended mainly by Bosniak nationality children.

4 100 Teachers If there was an opportunity for children to attend some other subject instead of Religious Instruction, what would that be? In comparison with pupils, teachers were more ready to accept that pupils could attend alternative lessons instead of Religious Instruction. The least ready to accept this were the teachers in Croat majority schools. Thus, 27% of teachers at the Marko Marulic Primary School (Prozor-Rama) and 40% of teachers at the Brestovsko Primary School (Kiseljak) opted for an alternative subject instead of Religious Instruction, while the teachers working in Bosniak majority schools chose other subjects more frequently. As a result, not less than 96% of teacher at the Osman Nuri Hadzic Primary School (Sarajevo) opted for some other subject, as did 86% of teachers at the Dositej Obradovic (Hambarine-Prijedor) Primary School and 80% at the Alija Isakovic (Prozor-Rama) Primary School. Parents If your child could attend some other subject instead of Religious Instruction, what would that be?

5 101 Focus groups and interviews The majority of parents felt that the best solution is for their children to attend Religious Instruction lessons. The number of such parents varied in the different schools and ranged from 85% at the Marko Marulic Primary School to 21% at the Kiseljak 1 Primary School. The highest numbers of parents who opted for Religious Instruction were those of pupils attending schools with a Croat majority population, while the lowest were reported in schools with a majority of Bosniak schoolchildren. A significant number of parents reported that they would prefer that their children attend some other school subjects instead of Religious Instruction. Schools with Croat majority populations had the lowest numbers of parents opting for some other subject instead of Religious Instruction. Thus, 15% of parents at the Marko Marulic Primary School and 25% at the Brestovsko Primary School said that they would prefer it if their children could attend some other lessons instead of Religious Instruction. At the same time, the parents of pupils at the Kiseljak 1 (89%), Osman Nuri Hadzic (47%) and Dositej Obradovic (42%) primary schools would like their children to be able to attend an alternative subject. The issue was about schools attended mainly by Bosniak nationality children. Taken as a whole, we can say that, compared to parents and pupils, teachers are more ready to accept pupils attending some alternative subjects to Religious Instruction. The highest level of readiness was reported among teachers working in Bosniak majority schools and the lowest in Croat majority ones. There was a huge similarity in the responses of parents and pupils with respect to their readiness to attend some other subject with a higher level of readiness in Bosniak majority schools than in Croat majority ones. Focus groups and interviews Pupils, teachers and parents In the course of the discussions most parents stated that their children should have Religious Instruction in schools, but that parents and pupils should have the freedom to choose whether pupils will attend the lessons or not. Moderator: And when the issue is about Religious Instruction in schools, what is your opinion? Do you feel that Religious Instruction should be taught in schools? Parent: I am not against it. This is also specified by the European Convention on Human Rights and they have had it in the West for quite some time, and it can only bring about good things. Parent: I would like things to remain as they are. It is optional whether a child wants to attend or not. That it divides children, well it doesn t; I can t see why it would divide them.

6 102 There are parents that belong to the majority population in a certain area who believe that Religious Instruction as a school subject is not desirable. This way of thinking is more prevalent among parents living in Bosniak majority areas and much less common among parents in Croat majority areas. Moderator: And when it comes to Religious Instruction, you ve mentioned it already, what about it? Parent: It should be eliminated from school totally. Those who want to believe can believe without the school as well. In my opinion, Religious Instruction in school is total nonsense. Parent: There are mosques in every place, so if a child wants to go let him, but in school what s the purpose? Parent: Religious Instruction in school? No way! Religious Instruction should go to places of worship. You see, as soon as a Religious Instruction teacher appears in school that s it: divisions among children are inevitable. If children are divided during one lesson then what next. Faiths and places of worship should come after school. Is it going to be Catholic or Islamic or Orthodox Religious Instruction? It doesn t matter; it has to take place after school. Not in school. I am against it. As a rule, minority parents rejected the idea of having Religious Instruction in schools, because they believe that it divides children and places their own children in an unfavourable position. Parent: I don t know, but my opinion is, if I were asked, I wouldn t bring Religious Instruction into school. There are other places for that. Parents who feel that it is not good to study Religious Instruction at school opted for subjects such as Ethics, Culture or the History of Religions. Moderator: If an alternative to Religious Instruction were to be requested, what would that be? Parent: Something such as general religion. Parent: A subject where children would be taught about all religions. There are also parents who think that none of these subjects are needed. They explained this view by the fact that their children are already overloaded by the huge number of subjects. Compared to parents, teachers were more critical with respect to Religious Instruction as a concessional subject in schools and opted more frequently for studying an alternative

7 103 Perception of interethnic relations subject. This was particularly evident during the focus group discussions and interviews conducted with teachers working in Bosniak majority schools. Moderator: Is school a place for Religious Instruction? Teacher: I don t know. But I believe that this should be turned over into time for studying religions, or culture of religions, because everywhere, here as well, children attend Religious Instruction in churches, mosques and carry out all that regularly. That is how things are now. I have no idea of what the programme is like over there, is it like in schools, what is taught there. Is it all the same in school and the madrasah (Islamic religious school) or do they learn something different there, I don t know. But maybe children should learn more about all religions, all cultures of the world. Teacher: Of course, that s the way in which children would develop understanding, respect for each other. We would learn those values, we would learn how others see that, religion for example, faith, God, how they learn that, what they learn if we studied every religion. That s my opinion. Moderator: What are the positive and negative features of studying Religious Instruction? Teacher: I think that every person has the right to gain knowledge about his/her own faith. Now, I am not quite sure as to whether school is the place where that should be done. I can t say, but as it is an optional subject, as it is now, which means it is not obligatory, then it s ok in my opinion. If one wants to study it let him have it, if not, no one can force him. Everyone should have what he/she wants, without imposing anything on anyone. Moderator: And if an alternative were requested, what should that be in your opinion? Teacher: Well, the culture of religions or something like that. Let them get familiar with all, exactly because of that. Let children broaden their horizons. Teacher: Ethics. Teacher: Ethics and religion. I d do it like that. Teacher: To learn about all religions. It is nice to know things about Islam and about all.

8 104 In focus group discussions, the teachers working in Croat majority schools quite often opted for the organisation of Religious Instruction in church, because they believe that much better results could be achieved in this way. Significant factors for such an option were their positive personal experiences and childhood memories of attending Religious Instruction classes in church. Moderator: Do you think that school is the place for studying Religious Instruction? Teacher: I think that it is better to bond children with the church here for example, rather than with teaching and with school desks. I talked to my pupils about the Religious Instruction lessons and asked them where they would like to have it and they said, In church. Because I remember when I used to go to church that meant something to me: I am going to Religious Instruction classes now. Something more beautiful happens there (in church) than in schools where children equate nuns with teachers, you know. It seems to me that a nun is equated with a teacher: the one that teaches. When I used to go that was some special person, which we were going to experience nice things from, be friends with, in that ambience and so. That is my opinion. In the course of the interviews conducted with minority pupils in school a strong feeling of discomfort emerged due to their separation from their classes during Religious Instruction lessons. Interviewer: It means that if you could choose between having and not having Religious Instruction at school you would chose not to have it? Pupil: Yes, and most of my schoolmates would too. Interviewer: There s so much discussion going on now about replacing Religious Instruction by some other subject, as well as on what that subject might be. One of the suggestions is the history of religions. It means that you all sit together in the classroom, regardless of who or what you are and all religions will be studied equally, where the main principles of all religions will be implemented. Would you like to have such a subject? Pupil: Yes, I would. Interviewer: Do you think it would be pleasant to sit and listen to all those things together with all others? Pupil: Why not. I attended Orthodox Religious Instruction a couple of times. I went

9 105 Perception of interethnic relations to see how it looked like. My girlfriend attended Islamic Religious Instruction classes. It means, well, I don t feel different from the others. Basically, I don t mind. I never did. School authorities and the representatives of political and religious groups Religious workers from all three faiths in BiH believe that Religious Instruction as a school subject is needed in schools and they pointed out its value in relation to the upbringing of children. The majority of them felt that it is good that parents have the possibility to choose whether their children will attend Religious Instruction lessons or not. Religious worker: Of course, I support the idea of Religious Instruction having its place in schools, in a way in which it belongs to school, and I think that it should remain that way. Some religious workers believe that Religious Instruction should be made an obligatory subject and thus become equal to other school subjects in terms of its status. Religious worker: therefore, when the issue is about schools that I am familiar with, Religious Instruction is still an elective subject. It should not be, in my opinion. It should be equal to all other subjects, because I find religion very important and getting to know those national and religious orientations of the child exactly, because I find religion just one kind of making human personality dignified. And I think that Religious Instruction lesson implemented in schools should go in that direction and that it is unjust towards Religious Instruction that it is not represented seriously in schools, because a possibility is therefore left to choose whether a child would attend Religious Instruction or not, which points therefore to its lack of seriousness in relation to other subjects in school. Religious workers accepted the possibility of introducing a subject that would explore all religions, such as the History of Religions or the Culture of Religions and such like; however, not as an alternative to Religious Instruction but as a subject that would be studied in parallel to Religious Instruction. Religious worker: You see, that alternative is not there. An alternative for one subject, what does that alternative mean now? Religious Instruction is Religious Instruction. If there would be Culture of Religions that should be, perhaps, another subject or we could put that Culture of Religions into Civic Education. And Religious Instruction should be dealt with by religious instruction you know.

10 106 Religious worker: The subject of Ethics could be on one side and the subject of Religious Instruction on the other. Some religious workers emphasised the great importance of the quality of the teachers of Religious Instruction in terms of achieving the tasks placed before the subject. Religious worker: Religious Instruction is very good, very positive. It depends who is teaching the subject. Some pointed to the negative effects that occur when children of other faiths joined the teaching of Religious Instruction in order to avoid exclusion. Religious worker: We used to have and still have examples of parents that don t dare exempt their child and declare that the child of this or that faith should attend. But they think like this: Let him/her attend the lessons so that he/she does not stick out in the crowd. Therefore, all these problems are important. In some schools all is fine because of the school management, principals etc. tell parents not to be afraid; that should be understood as well. If you have a minority child attending a majority population class you can t expect him/her to stand up and say, I have my principles. It is enough if some other child sneers at him; it s a very complicated situation. The term school authorities refers to school principals and staff of the education ministries. In the course of our discussions, the representatives of school authorities most frequently opted for keeping the subject of Religious Instruction in schools, pointing to its significance related to upbringing and acknowledging that parents should have the right to decide whether their child will attend Religious Instruction lessons or not. School Principal: Personally, I think that Religious Instruction or religion is a private affair of any individual, the most personal one, and it should be respected as such. I think that something else, something like Culture of Religion, would be much better and much more appropriate. And everyone should have some basic knowledge about all religions: pupils should know about mosques and churches and synagogues. I think that the Culture of Religion would be good, because there is no religion that promotes something bad, to the contrary, only good things. Ministry Representative: I think that a network of religious institutions and their accompanying facilities is well developed and that Religious Instruction should be taught there, and at home within the family as well. The children would be disburdened of course. Whenever new things are introduced in schools, and psychologists know this very well, children are getting burdened bit by bit. I am afraid that this might cause some counter effects. Therefore, we as legalists, we provided everything in accordance with the law.

11 107 Perception of interethnic relations Freedom of choice for parents on the one side and on the other, I have to say that freely, the proper place for religious institutions is in their accompanying facilities. From time to time the representatives of school authorities answered that it would be easier to organise Religious Instruction lessons within religious institutions, due to practical difficulties related to their organisation within multiethnic communities. Interviewer: Do you think that Religious Instruction has its place in public primary schools? School Principal: I think it shouldn t be there. I have to comply with the Law, but personally I think it shouldn t be there. There are technical problems as well, for example, there are 4 to 5 pupils of other faiths and they can t attend those lessons. We can t organise Religious Instruction for all faiths at the same time. Children who don t attend Religious Instruction lessons just roam around the school and that s not good. Political representatives at the municipal and local community level and representatives of political parties were mainly in favour of having Religious Instruction in schools and of respecting the parents right to choose. Interviewer: When it comes to Religious Instruction, is it possible to keep it in this way in schools? Political representative: I think no one is bothered by Religious Instruction. In our school we ve had it for a number of years now, we have all three peoples represented here and I think they are all satisfied with the arrangement. Interviewer: And that s all right. It shouldn t be changed, right? Political representative: I think that if both the parents and the child want to have Religious Instruction this is pure democracy. If you wish here you are, if not no one will force you. I think that we all respect that. In the course of discussions some respondents accepted the idea of introducing Ethics or Culture of Religions into schools (as subjects that all children would study regardless of their religious affiliation) and relocating Religious Instruction to religious institutions. Political representative: Well, Ethics, Morals or Religious Instruction, I think that, and you mentioned it rightly, maybe a subject called Morals or Ethics might be an adequate substitute for Religious Instruction, but all children should feel happy with that, regardless of their ethnic background. It would be good for all children to get familiar with some basic principles and major characteristics of every religious community, that is, the great world religions. Let me tell you, as a sec-

12 108 ondary school student I used to attend Religious Instruction classes out of school. In practical terms, this may be a more acceptable solution and I can tell you that it was a quality education at the time, when it came to obtaining initial knowledge and facts about important elements of religion, and the process was implemented adequately. Therefore, at any time and wherever, it was not a problem for me to go to Religious Instruction classes after school; usually they took about an hour and a half. I believe that also today children who have been brought up in the proper religious spirit don t find it difficult to go to Religious Instruction classes after school; it takes place once a week. In this way we might disburden our children in terms of the school programme and school activities. Perhaps we would make them more interested by going to a place that is different in terms of the facility and educators in relation to the school building and school teachers. Perhaps this could make them interested in studying Religious Instruction and perhaps, at the end of the day, they would have higher-quality lessons and study Religious Instruction more efficiently. Here are the conclusions drawn on the basis of an analysis of the qualitative and quantitative indicators pertaining to the views of the respondent categories in regard to Religious Instruction in schools. Conclusions The largest number of pupils attend Religious Instruction classes because they want to, while the number of those who attend Religious Instruction because they think it is an obligatory subject cannot be considered as negligible. Although they have a positive attitude towards the introduction of other subjects related to different cultures and religions when offered the possibility to choose between these subjects and Religious Instruction most of them opted for the latter. The majority of parents expressed a positive attitude towards the existence of Religious Instruction in schools and emphasised the advantage of having the freedom to choose whether or not their children should attend the subject lesson. As a rule, parents belonging to minority populations rejected the idea of having Religious Instruction in schools as they felt that the subject divides children and brings their own children into an unfavourable position. To the suggested possibility of being able to choose other subjects instead of Religious Instruction a significant number of parents estimated the possibility as acceptable. Teachers, when compared to pupils and parents, were much more critical in regard to the existence of Religious Instruction in schools and they frequently opted for the

13 109 Perception of similarities-differences Discrimination between the peoples in schools of BiH study of an alternative subject. This was especially pronounced among teachers working in Bosniak majority schools. Religious workers (representatives of all three faiths) felt that Religious Instruction as a school subject is needed in schools and emphasised its educational value. They accepted the possibility of introducing a subject based on other religions and cultures but not as an alternative subject to Religious Instruction. Representatives of school authorities and political representatives, in the main, did not have a negative attitude towards Religious Instruction in schools and pointed out its educational significance and the right of parents to decide whether or not their child should attend Religious Instruction.

14 Perception of Interethnic Relations The perception of interethnic relations was one of the categories that we included in the study, because it relates to the level of knowledge pertaining to the peoples living in Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely their traditions, cultural and social customs, history as well as the perception of their similarities and in terms of the differences between one s own people and the others, as well as the forms and manner of obtaining this knowledge or information. Responses to these and similar questions were obtained through questionnaires for pupils and interviews conducted with parents, teachers and religious, political and school representatives. Pupils Knowing the Other Where did you gain your knowledge about the other peoples? We can see that about 50% of pupils get their information about the other peoples through the mass media, such as TV, Internet, radio, etc. Although we cannot see what kind of information was received through the media, this data, once again, confirmed the importance and influence that the media exerts on the creation and or confirmation of perceptions, attitudes and even prejudices. Other important sources of information were parents (about 30%), school and teachers (10-20%).

15 111 Perception of interethnic relations The following views of a parent from Banja Luka well illustrate the influence and importance of the media. Surveyor: Do children of different ethnic backgrounds hang together in your community? Parent (Banja Luka): I don t know that they exist, although it is obvious that there are differences. Surveyor: The differences between children or the differences? Parent: They know something about some division. Surveyor: Children know? Parent: Yes children and they know a lot. Surveyor: And where do they get that from? Parent: The media, newspapers I buy them. And my children listen to the news, watch TV. It is a surprising fact that about 15% of children in the Municipality of Bilalovac reported that they know nothing about the members of the other peoples. This information can serve as an initial indicator of the lack of communication and contact between the members of different ethnic groups, which in the long run is one of the most important factors for the reconstruction of the distorted inter-ethnic relations. As an example, we can quote a political representative who feels that there is not enough communication between the peoples. Surveyor: What about the situation when it comes to the Kiseljak 1 and Brestovsko primary schools? Are there any bad relations at the moment? Political representative: Well you see, regarding the relations, as far as I know, both schools principals say the relations are very correct; however, relations between teachers and communication is on a very low level. The data points to the need to create conditions that will not only enable but encourage communication between the teaching staff and thus pupils. For example, activities related to joint projects and objectives would necessitate the need for contact, communication, dialogue and joint work. Pupils

16 112 What are relations like between the peoples of BiH? Although the majority of pupils believed that inter-ethnic relations were either bad or something in between good and bad, 20% reported that these relations were quite good. Of course, we have to take into account the fact that pupils who took part in the study come from the so-called divided communities with the two-schools-under-oneroof phenomenon. Yet in spite of this fact, a significant number of pupils, parents and representatives of local authorities believe that inter-ethnic relations are not so bad. Were inter-ethnic relations better before the war? Based on the data shown in the chart above we can draw the conclusion that more than

17 113 Perception of interethnic relations 50% of pupils feel that the relations in BiH were better before the war, while 30% believe that the current relations are bad and 50% believe that they are either good or somewhere in between good and bad. The perception of so-called turbulent relations prevails. In order to illustrate the quantitative data we will quote a few self-explanatory views. Surveyor: What makes you different from the other children? Pupil A: Faith. Pupil B: Parents Surveyor: What do you mean when you say parents? Pupil B: I mean when the war was going on then, how I should put it, everything changed somehow. Pupil A: Because there was war between Croats and Moslems: a civil war. Pupil B: There were no rivalries before, but now many things have changed. School Principal ( Kiseljak 1 ): In our community people feel and accept one another more. Things are going on gradually, maybe we don t notice it but things are getting better. And it would be better if this could be unified, to be joined, but how? Experts should sit together and design some sort of a programme. Surveyor: Do your children hang around with children of other ethnic backgrounds? Are there such friendships? Parent (Z): Yes there are; you know that he said so the other day. Parent (M): My children are brought up in a way that they have never hated anyone. I am such a person myself. I hate no one. We had the war here, all kinds of stuff were going on, some Bosniak detainees were staying at my place and they come to my house regularly today, to visit. I have never been like that, I mean, to hate anybody. Surveyor: It means that the relations are good? Parent (M): Sure, sure. Surveyor: Who do your children hang around with? Parent (M): With everybody when it comes to that; children play together.

18 114 Surveyor: Do you have friends of different ethnicity? Parent: Yes I do. Surveyor: And all is fine? Parent: All is fine. My friend is Serb his wife is Croat and so on. That is not a problem for me, not at all. Surveyor: And how is the situation now? What are relations like between people of different ethnic backgrounds? Parent (BL): We cooperate, work, communicate, talk to each other, but we don t touch history, because one can hurt somebody, he s got his own views and I have mine. Surveyor: What is the situation regarding cooperation between the two ethnic groups in your community? Religious Official (Prozor-Rama): Not ideal. By saying that I have in mind some relations from before and it is not ideal. But it is not too bad either. We communicate, exchange views and there are some friendships among adults and among children as well. I think that things can be better, more concrete, but in general the cooperation, coexistence and mutual relations are not bad. We can see that, in spite of the division of schools, the community in the wider sense has not yet been truly segregated. As we can see from the views above, the members of different ethnic groups still get together, communicate and cooperate as they did before. This observation can serve as an indicator that the division of schools and the education system does not stem from the actual social situation, but rather, perhaps, that it has been imposed. Based on a certain amount of data, it could be said that the division in schools does not necessarily reflect the true state of the community. Such a phenomenon could be imposed, politically driven and supported by one section of the social community. Perception of Similarities-Differences

19 115 Perception of similarities-differences Discrimination between the peoples in schools of BiH between the Peoples of BiH Pupils To what extent are Serbs and Croats similar? As we can see from the above chart, pupils largely perceived similarities between the three constituent peoples of BiH. Of course, the perception of the similarities is extremely variable and inconsistent. The greatest similarities were perceived between Serbs and Croats (on average 60% - 70%) and the smallest between Bosniaks and Serbs (about 30% on average). In any case, the qualitative data obtained through focus groups and interviews confirms that the perception of similarity is far more significant than the perception of differences. Surveyor: Do you get together with children who are different from you? Pupil: Yes I do. Surveyor: How they are different from you? Pupil: Both in faith and colour. Surveyor: How important is that to you, anyway? Pupil: That s not important at all, what is important is that we are friends. Surveyor: And how do your children react when, for instance, children from a Croat majority school speak the Croatian language? Parent A: Well, in my opinion, that is the same language, there are no differences.

20 116 Parent B: Those are small differences. Surveyor: And how do you tell or show them that they are different from other children according to certain characteristics? How do you teach them who they are and what they are in relation to others? Parent (BL): Well, they are children as you are children, it is just that they are of a different religion and they learn and study this and that: all that is the same. You also study maths, physics, chemistry and the same is waiting for you in life. Everything has to be done and you have to work hard as they do. And that s the only difference, there s no other. Not only here, everywhere in the world. Surveyor: How do you notice the differences between children? Pupil (BL): At least in our class there are not so many differences, the Religious Instruction only, only in Religious Instruction. There is no difference otherwise. Here we can also see that the perception of similarity dominates the perception of differences, which does not always have to be detrimental to the current social relations. This data, although obtained through a small sample, points to the existence of good or favourable conditions for the renewal of that which has been distorted and the creation of new inter-ethnic relations. Namely, the perception of similarity between the different peoples may serve as a good starting point for the creation, renewal and upholding of social relations. Contact with Others The quantity and quality of contact between the members of the peoples of BiH is one of the most important and efficient socio-psychological factors for the renewal and establishment of new relations. However, for the purpose of establishing the conditions required for this type of contact it is necessary that both sides express their readiness for communication and dialogue. On the other hand, that is not always the case, as can be seen through the following example: I have been saying all the time: Respect the other, because if you don t respect what belongs to the other it means that you don t like and you don t appreciate what belongs to you. However, I get the impression, and I can t run away from it, that there is no interest on the other side. Here are some ordinary examples: there is no communication between us religious leaders here in the local community. This means that this is very problematic. I cooperate with the Guardian from Scit, he s a very nice man. I just expressed my wish, as we live together here, we work here, we lead our religious communities, we advocate and talk to people about tolerance and dialogue and we are the ones who don t communicate, which is not nice, and then, of course, he immediately accepted my suggestion and now we have very good cooperation, whereas I have absolutely no contact with my colleague

21 117 Perception of similarities-differences Discrimination between the peoples in schools of BiH here in town. I have tried. I was inviting him to get together to meet each other but, basically, there is no answer, no wish, no intention on the other side. I think that this is damaging because he can keep talking about the need for coexistence but if he does not communicate with me those are only empty words. I can speak about the need, about living together and all that, but if I am not the one who behaves like that then this whole storytelling has no meaning at all. To summarise then, we, religious leaders in the local community, can do so much, but this process has to be shared by both sides as this local community has two ethnic groups. There will be no major effects without that. On the other hand, some respondents did feel that conditions are present for the establishment of contact with members of the other peoples in BiH, even in those communities with a divided education system. Surveyor: Do you think that, in terms of their psycho-social development, it is an advantage or disadvantage for schoolchildren, in such communities and in schools where they don t have the opportunity, to have friends of different ethnic backgrounds? Assistant to the Head of the Social Affairs Sector (Prozor-Rama): You mean children who don t have contact with other children? Surveyor: Yes. Assistant to the Head of the Social Affairs Sector (Prozor-Rama): Well, it certainly is a disadvantage. I think that it is always better to get to know someone through a personal contact rather than through what you heard on the radio or saw on TV. I mean personal experience is crucial, but we have no situations like that. This was a multiethnic community before the war and it still is. We have two schools here, children meet one another and their teachers meet as well. They see one another after school when they wait for the bus, this way or the other. But, in fact, that is separated in the classroom. Surveyor: Do those children hang around together. Assistant to the Head of the Social Affairs Sector (Prozor-Rama): Well, I think they do. Bosniak children attend the secondary school as well, not only our children. Tomorrow we have a Small Olympic Games competition, we organised that. I think that this process can, but since there was this separation things can t happen at once, but there shouldn t be any problem there. The data obtained by the study (both qualitative and quantitative) shows that the respondents perceive the state of distorted inter-ethnic relations as a consequence of the past war. Although the study did not encompass the factors that could have influenced the creation of such a perception, it is a known fact that there are a series of social factors that may have had a significant influence on the receipt, interpretation and conclusions of the obtained information. Thus, for example, the factors that could have influenced the fact that children largely feel that the inter-ethnic relations were distorted are the factual or current situation within both the narrower and wider social context, their own

22 118 positive and negative experiences and the influence of the views of their parents, peers and teachers, as well as that of the mass media: TV or the Internet for example. Conclusions The main sources of information about the other peoples for the pupils who participated in the study were TV, radio and the Internet (50%), parents (30%) and schools and teachers (10-20%). The study was not oriented towards the type and quality of information that pupils received from the above-mentioned sources, yet it is evident that the media played the most important role in formulating their ideas about the others and that its influence over the creation of their views, as well as potential prejudices, was enormous. The fact that approximately 15% of pupils in one of the municipalities encompassed by the study did not have any information about the members of the other peoples is indicative. This highlights the complete lack of communication between the members of different ethnic groups and a lack of action on the part of the school authorities within the context of their role and responsibility to promote tolerance and understanding of other and differences, as well as its dynamic partnership with parents and the local community. The majority of the pupils surveyed estimated that relations between the peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina are somewhere in between or neither good nor bad, while 20% felt that the relations are quite good. More than 50% believe that relations between the peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina were better before the war. However, it cannot be concluded explicitly if they perceive the current relations as bad in general or whether they perceive the quality of these relations only within the context of better or worse in relation to something else. The vast majority of respondent pupils perceived the similarities between the three constituent peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This perception was far more noticeable and significant than the perception of the differences. Even when they noted certain mutual differences, in terms of religion, culture, language, etc., most pupils, as well as parents, did not see the differences as barriers to their daily contact and getting together. Although certain focus group categories assessed the level of contact with the others differently, the joint view was that the success of these contacts depends on a mutual willingness for dialogue and better cooperation. 3.5 Discrimination in Schools Understandably, an important segment of the study was related to schoolbased discrimination against children, which, unfortunately, is not so rare. These are some

23 119 Discrimination in schools of more significant data that we obtained in the course of the study implementation process. Pupils Have you ever been offended on ethnic or religious grounds at school? The pupils responses to this question confirmed the fact that insults based on ethnic or religious grounds are not rare phenomena in schools. It is a frightening fact that every Brestovsko Primary School pupil who participated in the study had experienced insults on religious or ethnic grounds. A somewhat different, yet equally alarming situation existed at the Kiseljak 1 and Alija Isakovic primary schools. Responses obtained from pupils from the Prozor area showed that the feeling of safety is linked to belonging to the dominant ethnic group in a local community. Namely, that children belonging to the majority population in the local community feel safer than the children from a minority population. There are quite pronounced differences in respect to the children s perceptions of safety between the above mentioned schools and those school located in the context of a dominant majority population. The responses suggest that the feeling of safety can again be linked to the ethnic context. Some pupils spoke about their feelings with respect to safety in their schools.

24 120 Z: I haven t been here since the first grade. I attended Safet beg Basagic school near the 1 st Gymnasium and I was the only Catholic child there so they used to tell me: You are a Catholic, you don t believe in God and so on. Facilitator: How did you feel? Z: Well, I was in first grade so I did not understand what they were telling me. I do now. Facilitator: But I will ask you in this way now. Have you been in a situation similar to M, that you were different somehow; did you feel bad, or something similar to that? A: Well, yes we have. They sometimes insult us when we approach school. Because we have two-schools-under-one-roof and many times they swear at us, throw insults based on ethnic grounds, sometimes on the basis of appearances rather than ethnicity. Facilitator: How often does that happen? A: Not so often, but it does happen. Facilitator: Not every day, right? A: No, not every day. They treat us in the way we treat them. Facilitator: Who starts first then? A: It depends. Most frequently they insult our faith and the Romany people. It has always been like that. Moslems were always getting together with Moslems and Croats were always getting together with Croats. We have never had anything together in the same way as our parents used to have. Facilitator: And when you say that they call you names and when you re in such a situation do you return the insults? In what way, what do you tell them? A: We swear at them too, because if we remain silent they start swearing more and more and that is how we sort that out, we swear at one another. On several occasions they threw stones at one of our girl friends, they hit her and it was not done by boys but by a girl. Facilitator: How do other kids behave? A: It s not that they provoke me or anything like that, it s just the feeling when I enter the classroom after Religious Instruction lesson. It feels that we are a sort of surplus there. These are just a few comments, yet they send a very strong message to anyone connected with education in any way. They obligate us to do whatever is possible and that which

25 121 Discrimination in schools should have been done so that we can help our children to grow up and learn without these feelings of anxiety. Have you been offended on religious or ethnic grounds outside of school? The responses demonstrate that, within the context of ethnicity and religion, the school surroundings are even more insecure for pupils and that significantly higher percentages of respondent pupils had experienced being insulted on the basis of their ethnicity or on religious grounds. Again, every pupil at the Brestovsko Primary School who participated in the survey responded that they had experienced such insults. This is how our pupils described the situation: Facilitator: How often does it happen that you get hurt, sworn at or experience conflict, every day? M: Usually when we start going home. Facilitator: After school? W: And, we don t have our own school kitchen. When we go in there, it happened to me once when I went there they spat at me. M: They jostle and push you. W: They do, and they can hit you.

26 122 Facilitator: How do they know who goes to what school? W: They know. We have been going to the same school for a couple of years now. There are not many of us and we know one another. Facilitator: Do you feel safe when you go out? M: I feel safe when I am near my own house. W: There are pupils with different experiences, which means that we have something that we should stick to and start from. Facilitator: All ready to get together and to A: We congratulate them on their holidays and they return congratulations. We respect their holidays and we don t disturb them. For example, we don t destroy their Christmas trees, we respect their faith and they respect ours. A: But again, there are some children who go and destroy and the other children feel hurt and then they avoid us, although we are not guilty for that. A: Yes, and we don t hang around with those children. We avoid them. We are in the eighth grade now and they also have eighth grades upstairs. When we have English or computer science lessons we talk to them and get together nicely, but with some of them you can t even communicate. When they see you they go mad. It is interesting that, according to the pupils statements, no one has tried to seek ways and paths to construct positive communication and relations among pupils. Facilitator: When situations like that occur, do you strike back and you re even? Have you ever tried to talk to teachers, to those children and have you told them, let s discuss a little bit in a more normal way? Why do you insult me? Have you tried to discuss and resolve the problem in that way? A: Well, we haven t. Girls try, but with men Have you noticed somebody treating children of a different ethnic background badly?

27 123 Discrimination in schools The children s responses to this question are worrying. Although we can speak about conditions and how the ethnic context characterises the schools attended by the respondent children, it is impossible to imagine what it is like to grow up and study in an environment in which 74% of schoolchildren have witnessed violations of the basic rights of the child and ill-treatment of other children simply because of their ethnic background or faith. A lack of safety is a feeling more prevalent among minority children in the local or school community, which is understandable as they were the victims who received the maltreatment and insults. Teachers Have you noticed somebody mistreating children from another faith or ethnicity at school? Pupils responses to the previous question and the teachers responses to this one provide

28 124 the foundation on which we can base our concerns. Just for the sake of illustrating this, we will compare the responses provided by pupils and teachers at the Brestovsko Primary School. Namely, all pupils pointed out that they had experienced being insulted according to ethnic or religious grounds or were witness to the ill-treatment of other children merely because those children belonged to other ethnic groups, whereas all of the teachers surveyed reported that they had not noticed anything like that. There may be a variety of reasons behind these completely different responses, yet if we turn a blind eye or deny any form of discrimination the question then is how are we going to work to stop it from becoming a part of the school context and the main feature of our pupils lives? In order to graphically describe the situation in schools, that is the feelings of the children on one hand and denial of the ill-treatment of children of different ethnicity and faiths on the other, we have quoted some of their statements below. School-girl: There are different schools you know, but this is not happening because of the colour of one s eyes you know, but because of different Facilitator: Because of what, then? School-girl: Well, for example, because the others are of a different faith and they are the majority. You know, for instance, I don t go to Orthodox Religious Instruction lessons and it means they already single me out in a certain way, but it is not so visible. But still, you know. Facilitator: Can you feel that? School-girl: I do feel that, but not all of them behave like that. Some individuals, you know. When I have to leave the classroom and go for my own Religious Instruction lessons or go for some other subjects. Facilitator: How do you feel? School-girl: If I were to be asked, I would like that Religious Instruction didn t exist in school at all. You know, I feel somehow sad, rejected. Facilitator: What about the other children? How do they behave? School-girl: There are no problems, they do not provoke me or anything, but simply you can feel it. When I enter the classroom after the Religious Instruction lessons it feels that we are a sort of a surplus there. Facilitator: You feel different in relation to other children? School-girl: Yes, yes.

29 125 Discrimination in schools Facilitator: How do you feel about it? School-girl: Simply, I am confused. School-girl: For example, they talk about their parents how they, you know, that politics, then about Kosovo. I simply don t want to get involved in that. I am simply not interested in that. You know, they start with some topics that I am not interested in and in a way it insults me so I simply avoid that. They know that I avoid that and simply if they don t want my company they start talking about that and it means I will leave. Facilitator: I mean, when you leave does your best friend leave too or do you go alone? School-girl: No, not only my best friend, there are lots of us in my class. They all want us to get together but there are maybe two or three of them who talk like that. It means everybody leaves. I leave and everybody leaves after me. We are like that, you know. As she pointed out some children feel empathy for her. Here is how the teachers and school authorities saw the issue: Teacher: I haven t noticed any form of ill-treatment. I ve had children of other ethnic backgrounds and I took two generations of pupils to school trips and children of different ethnic backgrounds were going with us always. These pupils were even more tolerant, they did not want other children to feel rejected and they treated them like they usually treat children of the same ethnicity as their own. Principal: As I said there is no religious discrimination and I haven t heard of such examples. Now, the rights of the child, I can t see any violations, they are not violated significantly. We have none and we haven t got any apparent cases. If the rights of children had been violated the parents would have reacted and some institutions as well. For the time being, we have no drastic problems in schools too, we have no problems whatsoever, some violent groups, this and that; no, we don t have them really. It is very interesting to compare these two perceptions of the school climate. Of course, things are not and cannot be black and white, but if we are aware that things such as those we were told about do exist then something has to be done. Perhaps this is yet another example of taking a superficial approach to a problem without actually tackling it and getting to its essence? Have you noticed somebody mistreating staff members due to their different ethnic background?

30 126 With the exception of teachers from the Alija Isakovic and Brestovsko primary schools, the polled teachers reported that they had not noticed the mistreatment of staff members on account of their ethnic background. Yet it is interesting how a certain percentage of teachers at the Brestovsko Primary School reported noticing maltreatment of their colleagues belonging to different faiths or ethnicity, while at the same time claiming that such things did not happen when it came to children. In the other schools though, according to teachers statements, there are no serious examples of the mistreatment of staff members on account of their different religion or ethnicity, in spite of the fact that relations between teachers in some of the schools are as described in the statements below. Facilitator: What are your relations with your colleagues? Do you cooperate? Teacher: It s fine, we say hi. Teacher: We greet each other politely, but I have the impression that they don t dare to stop and chat. Facilitator: OK, certainly. We will talk to them separately on the same topic and we ll hear their opinion as well. Teacher: And so we offer one another cakes for religious holidays, we bring cakes to them for Eid ul-fitr and they return the treat on Christmas, Easter, etc. Teacher: When there are problems between children teachers resolve them. Teacher: But we don t sit together and we don t have coffee, just this.

31 127 Discrimination in schools Parents Has your child been insulted at school because of your ethnic background or religion? Responses provided by parents were very similar to those provided by pupils. Parents also noticed frequent cases of insults being thrown at their children at school on account of their religion or ethnic background. There again appears to be quite indicative data that confirms the previous responses of the Brestovsko pupils. More than 70% of parents said that their children had experienced insults on account of their religion or ethnic background. In addition, parents had a different perception of this occurrence compared to that of teachers. Has your child encountered insults outside of school because of your ethnic background or religion?

32 128 Similar to the perceptions of pupils, parents pointed to a considerable lack of safety in the out-of-school environment when observed within the ethnic and religious context. In relation to the in-school environment parents saw it as being even more unsafe in terms of their children s lives, especially in those communities with considerable refugee return rates, such as Kiseljak and Prozor-Rama. Have you noticed somebody mistreating other children at school because of their religion or ethnicity? Unlike teachers, parents were witness to the mistreatment of some children by others merely because these children were of a different faith, but, as can be expected, in a somewhat smaller percentage when it came to their own children. Conclusions The majority of respondent pupils and parents pointed out that it is not such a rare phenomenon in schools for children to suffer insults and mistreatment on account of their belonging to a different faith or as a result of their ethnic origin. A large number of pupils were victims of insults and mistreatment solely due to their religion and ethnicity or had witnessed other children being mistreated and insulted. Insults against and ill-treatment of children on account of their faith and ethnic background was even more prevalent out of school, in the immediate vicinity of the school. The vast majority of teachers, almost 90% of them, had not noticed that children of different ethnic backgrounds and faiths had been insulted or maltreated in their schools. 3.6 Views about an Integrated or Divided Education System

33 129 Views about an integrated or divided education system The teaching process within the educational institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina is implemented in accordance with curricula approved by the relevant education authorities: the ministries of education at the entity level in Republika Srpska, the canton level in the Federation of BiH and the Education Department of the Government of Brcko District. This means that, in practice, 12 curricula are being implemented across the country for each level of education. Pursuant to the provisions of the Framework Law on Primary and Secondary Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina the curricula content should include the content of the Common Core Curriculum and the content of the so-called School Curriculum, which is developed and implemented by individual schools in accordance with the specific requirements of their pupils and local community. At the moment, the practice of education, teaching processes and everyday communication mainly refers to the three main curricula, written in the Bosniak, Serbian or Croatian language, while special emphasis is given to the so-called national group of subjects : mother-tongue, history, geography and the Arts. The following examples clearly illustrate how this situation reflects on pupils and the school atmosphere, especially in schools implementing two curricula. PROZOR-RAMA Facilitator: two-schools-under-one-roof and I would like to hear your opinion about that type of functioning of the education system; what do you think about it? W: There are no contacts between the two shifts. Pupils do not socialise or play together and conflicts occur. For example, we have lower grades pupils who are afraid to go to the rest room because of the higher grades pupils. All in all, the climate is not quite normal. We are in good relations with our colleagues but there are no friendships there, just business. We have business-like relations but there is no friendship, no socialising. Everything is separated. Facilitator: What is your impression? W: When I came to the second shift it was so ugly. At the beginning exactly, for example, we have our coffee they have theirs, we don t offer or invite one another. But for the two years since I have been working in the second shift so I got used to this atmosphere. We respect one another, but there is no cooperation. There is a concrete relation, but purely business-like. I don t think it is right either that the children have frequent conflicts; I don t know. Pupils Should all children study from the same textbooks or should all the different peoples have their own?

34 130 What do you think? There were considerable differences among the pupils that participated in the survey in regard to their views related to the usage of textbooks. Opinion was divided in most schools participating in the survey: in five schools the majority of pupils were in favour of common textbooks, while in two schools they thought that all of the peoples should have their own textbooks. It is interesting to note that not a single pupil at the Brestovsko Primary School expressed a positive attitude towards common textbooks. On the other hand, during the course of a focus group session at the Kiseljak 1 Primary School pupils mentioned the possibility of having joint mother-tongue lessons. Facilitator: Do you think is it possible to have one joint subject of mother-tongue and that we all study our own language at the same time, both Croatian and Bosniak at the same time? W: I think it is. There s not much difference, but Facilitator: And how would you name that language? For instance, if we all studied one language what would it be called and would everybody be happy? Do you have any suggestion? M: Bosnian-Croatian. A: We don t have to study strictly Bosnian or strictly Croatian or any other language, something common might be derived from that.

35 131 Views about an integrated or divided education system School Q24. Children of different ethnic backgrounds should attend the same school.. Q24. Serbian, Bosniak and Croatian languages are so different that it is not possible to organise instruction in the same class for children of different ethnic backgrounds Q24. Children should become familiar with the culture and traditions of all of the peoples living in BiH through the teaching process. Q24. Teaching should further develop the sense of belonging to BiH. Q24. There is enough subject content about the peoples living in BiH. Q24. Children of different ethnic backgrounds should socialise only within the framework of xtracurricular activities. Q24. The instruction would be better if children of different ethnic backgrounds were to be in the same class. Q24. I would always attend a mono-ethnic school rather than one attended by children of different ethnic backgrounds. Q24. I would like to take part in pupil exchange programmes organised with the other Entity Q24. Only bad things are written about some of the peoples in our textbooks. Stanko Rakita Dositej Obradović Kiseljak Brestovsko Osman Nuri Hadžić Alija Isaković Marko Marulić TOTAL The majority of pupils who participated in the survey believed that children of different ethnic backgrounds should attend the same school. The primary school in Sarajevo had the highest percentage of positive views, while Brestovsko schoolchildren had the most negative attitude towards this issue. In general, this school sticks out as a result of its negative attitude towards an integrated education system. It is interesting that these two schools have inversely proportionate attitudes regarding joint lessons, the differences between the Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian languages and the possibility of organising joint teaching for children of different ethnic backgrounds. This type of attitude was also evident when the respondents were asked whether the teaching process would be better if there were children of different ethnic backgrounds in the same class and whether they preferred mono-ethnic or multiethnic schools. As was the case regarding common textbooks, the primary schools Marko Marulic and Brestovsko were very similar in their views: the majority of pupils felt that it is good to learn in school about the cultures, languages and traditions of all of the peoples of BiH and that this type of education is already present in schools. It became evident through the discussions with pupils that there is a great desire to study together in school but that barriers are still present, linked mostly to the past war and its consequences.

36 132 SARAJEVO Facilitator: those schools are not divided? M: Right, that they are not divided according to race and that these pupils from East Sarajevo do not travel so far, that they can come to this school because this school is nearer to them and that they don t see our school as a threat or that there is huge violence here. I think that this is a huge problem in our country and that it is necessary to resolve it. That would be the most important thing I think. KISELJAK Facilitator: Well, since in fact there are two schools in your school, would you like that to be changed? A: Well, why wouldn t we? Facilitator: How, in what way? What would you do? A: Well, just one. Facilitator: One school, right? A: Yes. Textbooks could be, well, the language is always a problem for all. And Religious Instruction subjects, no need for all of us to attend Religious Instruction for Moslem children or for Catholic children. Everybody should go to his religious classes and we could go together in all other subjects. A2: I wouldn t like that. Facilitator: Why not? That s OK, we have different views and that is quite all right, but I would like to hear why? A2: Because our parents now know what happened and lots of people were killed.

37 133 Views about an integrated or divided education system Teachers Should a teacher teach subjects that belong to the national group of subjects if he/she does not belong to that particular ethnic group? For the majority of teachers surveyed it is not a problem if a teacher who does not belong to a particular ethnic group teaches a subject from the so-called national group of subjects. Yet teachers from the Brestovsko Primary School were explicit in their position that teachers should speak the language of the people whose subject from the national group of subjects he or she is teaching. Would you support an initiative for the integration of the three separated BiH education systems into one? The majority of teachers would support an initiative for the integration of the three separated education systems in BiH, in particular the teachers from the Banja Luka

38 134 and Sarajevo schools that participated in the survey. The majority of respondent teachers and pupils from the Brestovsko and Marko Marulic primary schools were against this possibility. In the course of discussions, teachers gave various arguments both in favour and against an integrated education system, dependant on what school was in question. We noted that teachers in Banja Luka already implement the teaching process according to a single curriculum that does not deprive minority pupils of the right to be educated in their mother-tongue. SARAJEVO W: The biggest mistake is that such schools have been approved at all. It seems to me that they have taken root somehow and it is difficult now. In my opinion, it will be difficult to integrate them as they have already started functioning, they work already, maybe they already think that this is good. No, they don t think, they are convinced that it should be like that. BANJA LUKA: Facilitator: And what is not good, what makes you dissatisfied? W: A lot can be said, but you will hear it during the discussions: everybody will speak separately. I wrote in my questionnaire that I speak Serbo-Croatian or Croatian-Serbian, because I do speak like that. It was not easy for me during the war when I had to speak the Ekavian (Slavonian) dialect. The same as it was difficult for somebody out there to speak Croatian. I am a Croat, a Catholic, but I don t know what language that is now, as I have never divided it. It is difficult for me today and that is why I wrote in the questionnaire that I speak that language, because I really do. And when my children say lobanja or lubanja (a skull) it s all the same to me and it s all the same to them. Facilitator: Different curricula are implemented in BiH schools, in the Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian languages, which imply the teaching of mother-tongue and the so-called national group of subjects (history, geography, the arts). Do you think that it is possible to have a single curriculum in the whole of BiH? W: Then how is it possible here? If it is possible here why can t it be possible elsewhere? I don t know why someone is sticking strictly to his or her own and thinks that God himself has given it. Facilitator: Then what to call the language? W: Let s call it Mother-Tongue. Facilitator: The question then is how to teach the content, how to design it so that every child in that class has the feeling that his or hers is being taught as well?

39 135 Views about an integrated or divided education system W: Well, it doesn t matter, the grammar is also the same in the Bosnian language, it is wrong in all languages to mix and ć, dž and. Facilitator: Then there is h as well. W: There are some different words yes and some archaic forms, forgotten a long time ago, in both Croatian and the Bosniak language. Then some coined words. I think, as a teacher of Serbian language, that a lot of time will pass by until we have one curriculum and I think it is not going to happen soon. Therefore, as our interlocutor implied in her concluding statement, it is difficult to reach a solution and exercise the basic right of children of all ethnic backgrounds to have their lessons in their mother-tongue. Nonetheless, the feeling that something should be changed did not prevail. Facilitator: I am interested in your perception, because you think that those 50 pupils are disadvantaged, namely that they are deprived of their right to their mother-tongue and the national group of subjects. W: I don t think so personally, because those people have come here. When they were in Sanski Most or I don t know where they were able to speak their mother-tongue. They came here willingly; no one forced them to come here. I simply believe that we are not in such a situation at the moment and we won t be able to do that in the near future. We cannot create a school here for 50 Bosniak children and in Sarajevo for 50 Serb children. I would be the first to welcome a school organised in that way, that we go and visit, attend at least one class, see how it looks like. If together, if separated I don t know, those are small classes; I have no vision right now. I have no vision of what it would look like. Facilitator: But different curricula are delivered in BiH and within them there are those national groups of subjects, so we have istorija, historija or povijest (history), then geografija or zemljopis (geography)? M: I think that s the same, because all those words are our words. The following example, describing a teacher s reaction, demonstrates to what extent people accept the idea that each constituent people have the legal right to education in their mother-tongue: Facilitator: We understand each other when we talk about languages, but there are three official languages and there are parents who find it very important that their child goes to a school which ensures the constitutional right of the child to speak in his or her own language and to get marks for that language. Then the question is how to implement this in the practical teaching process?

40 136 M: To be exact, this name Bosnian bothers me. There! That is what bothers me. I am speaking right now as a man who tries to make children see a brighter future by their own eyes. That label Bosniak is what bothers me. Everyone has the right to call themselves as they wish. If, and here I tackle history a little bit, in the seventies our Moslems got nationality on the basis of their religion, before then they were labelling themselves as Serbs or as Croats of Islamic religion, was that politics? Yes, it was. But again everyone has the right to label himself as they wish. They changed their name into Bosniak, I accept that too. Call yourselves whatever you want. What is the difference between Bosniak and Bosnian in the name of the language? If I am a Serb my language is Serbian. If I am a Croat my language is Croatian. If I am Bosniak then what, what is the name of my language: Bosnian or Bosniak? That s the problem. I wouldn t mind if here in RS the name of the language was written on school certificates one can buy in the bookshop: please give me the school certificate printed in Bosnian language. Give me the certificate in Croatian language. I don t mind that at all. In other communities, such as Kiseljak for instance, there are different programmes and even if this is sometimes seen as a problem (in the Kiseljak 1 Primary School for example) it seems that any change at this moment would be a too big step forward. Facilitator: what are the other major problems? W2: Division: two-schools-under-one-roof, different curricula, the lack of mobility if children go from one school to another. Facilitator: In case of a joint curriculum and integration of the education system, what do you think, to what extent it is possible to organise such instruction when the issue is about the national group of subjects? Let s start from the mother-tongue, do you think that instruction could be organised in mother-tongue in such a way that it would be a joint instruction process for members of all three constituent peoples, and we speak about the constituent peoples only, in your opinion is it possible to implement that in practice? W4: It is possible, because we have always worked with all three expressions, in Croatian, in Serbian and in Bosnian language. So I think, from our side, there are no essential differences. M2: Those who are afraid for their language should take a look at the period from 1945 to the 1990s, regardless of where those have been eliminated. W1: Yes, but all expressions were within the framework of that language. There was Ekavian and Ieakvian dialect. W4: To enable every child to speak in its own language. And the teacher should speak in his or her own language, which he or she uses in his or her speech, but children should un-

41 137 Views about an integrated or divided education system derstand him or her, normally they do. W2: There would be divisions again. Which means when we give the child an opportunity to speak freely, division is created again. W3: It s not division. W4: It s not division; that is accepting the diversity. Facilitator: What is your opinion, or what do you think about divided schools, because our topic is Divided Schools? Do you support this way of functioning: two-schools-under-one-roof? Workshop: To be honest, I got used to this division and I am satisfied. Honestly. If you want an honest answer! You know what, I used to work in a school in Visoko and I was not happy. I was not satisfied with the relations of my colleagues. I am very satisfied here. There is the Bosniak side here as well. I say hello to them as well: excellent, perfect. Facilitator: You have correct relations? W: Absolutely, correct relations. I am satisfied. I am satisfied to speak my mother-tongue. We don t receive textbooks from Zagreb; out textbooks are printed in Fojnica: quite normal. I am satisfied and I speak my language. In fact, what I graduated from. M: Well I think that this is the only good solution for the time being. That, simply, the solution related to integration, forcefully, wouldn t work out now. In one Sarajevo school though there were examples of attempts to find a compromise solution. Facilitator: Do you think that it is possible to write, to design a textbook for mothertongue which would be common for all and which would be used? And finally, do you think it is possible to practically hold joint instruction in mother-tongue? Basically, imagine you were in a situation where you had a mixed class and you had to respect, because the Law specifies so, every child s right to mother-tongue and we have three official languages, no matter how strange that may sound to us. W: Of course, well those subjects Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, for instance. I know, we were told that we have to have three spelling dictionaries in front of us when we assess pupils tests. If a child speaks Ekavian I acknowledge that and I mustn t correct that as being wrong. Facilitator: So it means that you already do in a way?

42 138 Z: Yes, in a way we do that already. Both alphabets are used even-handedly regardless of how I myself write on the blackboard, which means if I keep writing in Latin alphabet my pupils do not have to follow. If a pupil feels that it is more beautiful, simple to write in Cyrillic I never object to that, which means that we already do in a way. Facilitator: And the language is called Mother-Tongue that is all three Z: In our name it is concrete: Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian Language. Facilitator: And how is it written in school certificates, all three or just the one that the child is using? Z: For instance, I write all three and the child can ask: Please teacher, write in Croatian only, or Bosnian only, or Serbian only. And I do.

43 139 Views about an integrated or divided education system School Q27. Children of different ethnic backgrounds should attend the same school. Q27. The Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian languages are so different that it is not possible to organise instruction in the same class for children of different ethnic backgrounds Q27. Schools should be organised in a way that children of different ethnic backgrounds attend the same classes but preserve their language and culture. Q27. Children should become familiar with the culture and traditions of all peoples living in BiH through the teaching process. Q27. The teaching content should develop further the sense of belonging to BiH. Q27. The existence of three curricula reflects negatively on the quality of primary education in BiH. Q27. Ethnically-based curricula do not prepare children adequately for living in our society. Q27. Curricula should be modified so that they speak more about all three peoples rather than only one. Stanko Rakita Dositej Obradović Kiseljak Brestovsko Osman Nuri Hadžić Alija Isakovićć Marko Marulić Total With the exception of teachers at the Brestovsko and Marko Marulic primary schools, all teachers agreed that children of different ethnic backgrounds should be taught together. Moreover, the opinion held in those two schools that the Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian languages are so different that it is impossible to organise joint lessons prevails. The majority felt that, It is important to study the cultures, languages and traditions of all of the peoples living in BiH in school and that The feeling of belonging to BiH should be further developed through school instruction. The above mentioned schools were also the only schools in which the teachers did not think that The existence of three curricula has a negative impact on the quality of primary education or that the current curricula, based on ethnicity, Do not adequately prepare children for living in our society. In the other schools the common opinion was that it is possible that there will be consequences as a result of this form of education in the children s future. PROZOR-RAMA Facilitator: That s what I thought exactly. What will be the consequences? W: Children learn from an early age. Perhaps, if they didn t have such direct contacts at school, if they were not in the same school building, maybe they wouldn t feel animosities against one another. I don t know. I think that the effects of the war are much, much more severe than people think. This can t be overcome so easily. People can t say it s over just like that.

44 140 School Q27. There should be one curriculum for primary schools, based on the promotion of equity and tolerance. Q27. An education system with three curricula is too expensive for the citizens of BiH. Q27.The subject of Religious Instruction should have its place within the public primary school curricula. Q27. It is the parents right to choose where to enrol their children, regardless of the catchment area. Q27. Joint education of children of different ethnic backgrounds would enhance the quality of primary education. Q27. Insisting on mono-ethnic classes will have negative effects on the possibilities for coexistence in BiH. Q27. I believe that it is possible to design a joint curriculum for the whole of BiH. Stanko Rakita Dositej Obradović Kiseljak Brestovsko Osman Nuri Hadžić Alija Isaković Marko Marulić Total On average, teachers agreed with the opinion that there should be one curriculum. In this case the primary schools of Brestovsko and Marko Marulic were the only exceptions. Unlike the others teachers, those at these two schools did not think that this kind of organisation of teaching constitutes an additional financial burden for the citizens of BiH. In addition to this, it was only in these two schools that teachers did not consider that the Insistence on mono-ethnic curricula could have a negative effect on the possibility of living together or that It is possible to design a common curriculum for the whole of BiH. All teachers believed that Religious Instruction should have its own place in the curricula and that parents should have the right to choose the school for their children regardless of the catchment area. Concerns regarding the existence of divided schools were frequently expressed during the discussions. SARAJEVO Facilitator: How much do you know about this problem of divided schools or about twoschools-under-one-roof and how do you feel about it? W: I do know, of course, and this is a catastrophe in my opinion. Facilitator: You mean it s bad and you don t support it? W: Yes, it s bad and I don t support it, absolutely not! Facilitator: I have to ask you why not? It is very important to us to get your explanation; no matter if the question sounds as unnecessary, we have to ask you why?

45 141 Views about an integrated or divided education system W: Well if we are single, one country and one people, and we have lived together for centuries then it is incomprehensible to me that my child and a child of some other ethnicity are under the same roof but work separately, because in that way a gap is being created between those generations and it means that we educate our children in that way, that they are separated permanently, there s no community there. School Q28. Disappearance of linguistic and cultural characteristics is an inevitable consequence of joint education of children of different ethnic backgrounds. Q28. Mainly those teachers of the same ethnic background as their pupils should work in schools. Q28. If a teacher does not belong to the majority ethnic group in school he/she should speak in the language of the group. Q28. I would agree to work by any of the three curricula. Q28. I would never work in a school where the teaching is not implemented in my language. Q28. Conflicts occur frequently when children of different ethnic backgrounds attend the same school. Stanko Rakita Dositej Obradović Kiseljak Brestovsko Osman Nuri Hadžić Alija Isaković Marko Marulić Total Again with the exception of the two aforementioned schools, the teachers stated that they do not think that A joint education system would lead to the disappearance of linguistic and cultural characteristics and they did not believe that Teachers should be of the same ethnic background as the children attending that school. The opinion in the two schools referred to above was that Teachers should speak the language of the majority, even if he or she does not belong to that ethnic group. SARAJEVO Facilitator: How would you comment, in principle, on the opinion that is brought out as fact and as the main rationale for the existence of divided schools which says that the integration and cancellation of the national group of subjects and all that would lead to a loss of national identity for certain peoples, be it Bosniaks in a certain area or Croats? In fact they see these divided schools in a way that they nurture their culture through them, their language, their customs and their traditions as members of a certain ethnic group of people. W: There s no need for that. The curricula should be adjusted so that they are not. I don t know, maybe it could be said that they are not offensive for anyone: basically, to adjust them. And I think that this preserving of identity and culture should be organised in some other places perhaps, not in schools.

46 142 Facilitator: Their reasoning is that this is just a way of preserving their national identity and to build the language too, to preserve the family, to keep their traditions. W: In my opinion, it is possible to do that through cooperation and with willingness, first of all with willingness. Because we have experts here who can sit together and design a curriculum that gives enough space to everyone. That s it. Like we did with the Common Core Curriculum; therefore, we teach about all authors from all three peoples and others as well. It is possible in my opinion; people should just sit together and agree. However, there are fears that integration would lead to the disappearance of linguistic and cultural characteristics. PROZOR-RAMA Facilitator: We saw that it s quite difficult when it comes to mother-tongue, but what is your opinion when the issue is about history is that possible? W: That s also a difficult question. Facilitator: Do you think that it is possible to write a joint textbook? M: Every people must have its national group of subjects. No doubt at all. No attempts should be made ever to unite that. Facilitator: Right. We ve come to the point. Why? M: Because each of the peoples is unique. We have our traditions, our cultures and all that. W: And they should not be suppressed. M: A small people, such as, let s say, the Croatian one, to be precise, if we were with the Bosniak people we would be lost in a couple of years. Facilitator: You are afraid of assimilation? M: Yes, exactly. PRIJEDOR Facilitator: You suggested that the textbook be called Our Language? W: Yes, Our Language. To have peace at home! And when you ask people what do you

47 143 Views about an integrated or divided education system study they say our language. And the speaking area of all peoples would be represented, as well as the texts of all writers. M: When a practice is put in place you can suggest whatever you wish, but it will remain that way. Facilitator: And when it comes to the history textbook? M: That s the most difficult one. W: That s the most difficult question, more difficult than the language one. M: That is the most difficult because everyone has their own truth. W: And everyone is right. And there will be lots of discussion there. HAMBARINE Facilitator: It means the factual only? W: Yes, the factual, with dates and period. It means some of the most basic things. There was a referendum in 1991, citizens were asked whether they wanted or not, what they wanted and that s it. It means that the war ended in 1995 that the Dayton Agreement guarantees this and that. The Dayton Agreement was signed, peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, period! We are the people who lived here and ethnicity was the last thing we thought about, I can t tell this person is like that and that person is like this. This is not me, you see, to tell children that we fought because of this and that; presidents are guilty for all that and those on the top. We are common people and simply we are people who should do their job and tell children facts, simply facts. Some things, rather than be uncomfortable, basic things that they should know. Facilitator: Without interpretation from three sides? W: Without interpretation from three sides. Facilitator: Right, is it easier when the issue is about geography? W: Well, in geography borders are a known thing so there s nothing there. I mean, this is a standard thing. True they turned things upside down, for example, in the Grades 7, 8 and 9 when books have been designed. What was at the beginning of the new book? Well I say they should use the old textbooks still.

48 144 BANJA LUKA Facilitator: Just one question for the end. So you re basically saying who should do that if joint textbooks are to be developed? W: No, nor foreigners, our people, from all three peoples, unbiased, unemotional and not oriented towards ethnicity and who will see the values again. I say there are no problems for my subject, for Bosniak, Croatian or Serbian, call it what you like, because a literary work is good or not good, it doesn t matter. And now I don t know how relevant those historical facts are, whoever wrote the history. Will there be problems? They say that winners write history. One truth is for the Federation of BiH, let s take the example of Srebrenica, one fact is for Serbs, another fact for Moslems, or the conflict in Sijekovac, one fact for Croats, another for Serbs. There will be problems there whoever it will be. The problems here are the smallest ones. We in Serbian language, under the condition that those basic principles remain, that we use synonyms as we used to do, there will be no problem at all. W: History should be cancelled. W: No, history should not be cancelled; we should only wait for 50 years for a writer to appear. Parents Should mother-tongue instruction be organised jointly? The highest percentage of parents thought that mother-tongue instruction should be organised jointly and the majority of them believed that the issue is about one language.

49 145 Views about an integrated or divided education system However, the percentage of parents who were against such kind of mother-tongue instruction cannot be neglected. This is especially true for the Brestovsko and Marko Marulic primary schools, where they explained their position by the fact that all of the people s language are connected to their national identity and that the differences between the three languages present a barrier to this kind of integration. These two arguments were also present to a significant percentage at the Stanko Rakita Primary School. A number of parents in most of the schools that participated in the survey believed that the idea of the joint organisation of mother-tongue instruction is acceptable, but under the condition that all three peoples languages and cultures are taught even-handedly. Such views were most prevalent in the Kiseljak 1, Osman Nuri Hadzic and Alija Isakovic primary schools. BANJA LUKA Facilitator: How to hold classes of what is, in the most beautiful way, called mothertongue? W: That s the problem, again, somewhere high up, because if there is the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska we are in two states now. Facilitator: Two entities. W: They should agree about the language, rather than separate; so that it is equal for all, rather than to separate in this way. Or they should separate: the Federation has Bosnian language and here we have Serbian language, so who lives where. What can you do, he has to live there and has to learn that language, you see. W: And why would we not return to the past and have Serbian-Croatian language, as it used to be before. Basically, there used to be three ethnic groups here in the past as well and people went to school. Now Bosnian is invented, or this and that language. Something has been lost, too much I think. Basically, when I used to go to school we had Serbian-Croatian language, everything was normal. Did Croats, Moslems and Serbs go to school together? Why shouldn t people bring back everything, but now the language has been changed! Facilitator: Now, in different parts of the country different solutions have been made. I want to know if you think whether it would be possible to design mother-tongue instruction as joint teaching for all. At the same time, this implies both Croatian and Serbian and as added Bosnian. Basically, if we used to have Serbo-Croatian before could it become Serbian-Croatian-Bosnian language now? Do you find it possible? That was in fact what I wanted to ask. M: It does seem possible, certainly. It was possible in the past too. If mother-tongue is in-

50 146 troduced and if the works of Mesa Selimovic are introduced into Literature, for example. Facilitator: Of all authors? M3: No, no! I wanted to say the works of one nation, for instance of Bosniaks only and other children feel neglected. The same is if we teach about our Branko Copic or Vuk Karadzic, children of Bosniak ethnicity and Catholic ethnicity will feel neglected as they consider it a part of their history. Therefore, mother-tongue teaching is politics again. It is difficult here, things get disentangled, very tight W5: Not only that, but the grammar itself. Word formation, some words, hiljada or tisuca (a thousand), some child will say I am right, this is my mother-tongue, that s very difficult. It s another thing that we understand one another in daily discussions, but language means studying. On the other hand though, there are arguments against this kind of organisation for the instruction for mother-tongue. PROZOR-RAMA Facilitator: You think it is not possible to organise joint language instruction? M: Difficult. Things have gone too far, too far. Consequences of the war are huge. Consequences of the war are painful. Too far! And that was the essence, to make things so that How could a BiH history textbook be written? According to the majority of parents surveyed the most acceptable way of writ-

51 147 Views about an integrated or divided education system ing the BiH history textbook would be to establish a commission composed of experts coming from all three peoples of BiH. Parents of pupils attending the Brestovsko and Marko Marulic primary schools disagreed with this opinion because they felt that every people should have its own history textbook. A small percentage of parents in all schools felt that international experts should be contracted to write the textbook or that three interpretations should exist for all disputable events and that the war period and its events should be removed from the textbooks completely. Here are some examples of parents views. BANJA LUKA Facilitator: Do you really believe that it is better not to tackle the period from 1992 onwards in textbooks? ALL: Yes! W: That would not be the solution but would result only in more separation. KISELJAK Facilitator: In your opinion, who should sit and write that textbook? M1: Experts. F: What experts? M1: Well, every profession has its own: history or language or any other it doesn t matter. PRIJEDOR Facilitator: How to organise teaching of history and how to develop history textbooks for all three peoples? What would be the most acceptable solution when it comes to the history textbook? A: Truth, simply the truth should be written. If things happened in Prijedor and Srebrenica they happened near Mostar and Kravice too, all that should be shown, children should know everything. It would not be a problem for me if my kid is taught that the BiH Army committed some crimes that they committed. That is not problematic at all, why? One shouldn t hide one s head in the sand. Everyone who did something will answer for that. Over time everyone will answer for his own deeds, if not before the people then before God for sure. Only the truth can bring us into some balance, into something that is being written in books.

52 148 Facilitator: So the problem is? A: The truth. Facilitator: We have three interpretations of the same events and one of the options, please go on. A: In this way history would be a textbook for those three truths. In principle, those four, five years should not be a taboo topic and should not be deleted. Even if those things were written about harm would be done to many. Bosniaks would be angry with those Bosniaks up there who took part. Why have some things been pushed under the carpet and why have some things have been given preference, the same with Serbs and Croats. This is a very tricky subject, sensitive subject. I know that every truth, no matter how it looks like, is painful for someone but it is up to parents to explain to their child what happened somewhere, but in a tolerant manner. Do subjects from the national group of subjects have to be taught by a member of that people? For the most part, parents did not insist upon this. The exceptions were the Brestovsko Primary School, where 75% of the respondents surveyed believed that the teacher should be a member of that particular people, and the Marko Marulic Primary School, where 63% of the respondents thought that teachers should be members of the people whose subject they teach. Would you support the idea of the integration of the three separated education systems in BiH?

53 149 Views about an integrated or divided education system In spite of the significant percentage of parents who were against the idea, the majority of parents at the Kiseljak 1 Primary School would support the integration of the three education systems in BiH. The largest number of parents in the Marko Marulic and Brestovsko primary schools opted for keeping the current separated education system, although the same percentage of parents stated that they were not sure with respect to this question. In general, many parents were not sure as to what the best solution would be in this case. PRIJEDOR Facilitator: Basically, you all agree that children should attend multiethnic schools and that there should be an integrated curriculum in place. In your opinion, how would it be possible to make that change and in what way? A: One curriculum has already been developed. A: A single curriculum is necessary for the whole of Bosnia, which would be imposed by law. A: More parents should agree upon that. A: I say, everything should be made according to the law and they should develop textbooks and curricula to have one textbook rather than buy one in the Federation of BiH and the other here in RS. In your opinion, who should have the leading role in the integration of the education system?

54 150 Responses to this question indicated that, on the one side, the parents of children attending the Stanko Rakita, Dositej Obradovic, Brestovsko and Marko Marulic primary schools, with one quarter of the votes, confirmed the position that the education system should not be integrated. On the other hand, 60% of parents in favour of integration felt that the ministries of education should have the leading role in the integration of the BiH education system. About 15% of the total number of respondent parents believed that teachers should have the main role in the integration process. BANJA LUKA Facilitator: Is that not up to children to choose? W: Here, for example, these teachers have coffee together in the teachers room and they cannot bring children together. W: Politics, politics, for sure! W: Politicians. M: 99%. W: I am 100% sure that it s been politics. BANJA LUKA Facilitator: You re saying that this (parents councils) does exist, but that it cannot be said that it s functioning? W1: Right. Why should I fight with the school Principal and Pedagogue, we are nothing,

55 151 Views about an integrated or divided education system we can t do anything. KISELJAK Facilitator: But you are here, have you tried to change anything or launch an initiative; you as the parent, have you tried to change some things? M3: It is very difficult, I guess. W3: We haven t tried at all. I don t know, these people on behalf of the Grade, parents representatives, I don t know how those things function. When I was a parents representative two years ago, when that was first established, because we did not used to have a Parents Council before, I was never invited to their meetings. I came here now formally, they appointed me on behalf of the class and I have never attended those meetings and no one ever invited me. It is simply on paper that there is such a body, that it does exist. No one asks you anything. Who decides? I can t tell. Facilitator: What do you think, what would be the best way to make the change so that one single education system is created for all and the members of all national minorities? W3: The first thing would be to chase all politicians away. Solutions would be found immediately among the peoples. M3: Good suggestion. A strategy should be created and we ll have 5 to 10 years to implement it. And it takes nice words too: agreement among politicians, simple! PRIJEDOR Facilitator: But how and who would be responsible? W: The Government. M: In Republika Srpska we have to buy one textbook, in the Federation of BiH another. When you buy some textbooks it turns out they re not valid. Why not? It means that it is the best solution to stay at home and teach your kids. Go to Federation and buy one textbook and then go to Republika Srpska to buy another.

56 152 Q24. Children of different ethnic backgrounds should attend the same school. Q24.The Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian languages are so different that it is not possible to organise instruction in the same class for children of different ethnic backgrounds. Q24.Schools should be organised in a way that children of different ethnic backgrounds attend the same classes but preserve their language and culture. Q24. Children should become familiar with the culture and traditions of all the peoples living in BiH through the teaching process. Q24. The teaching content should further develop the sense of belonging to BiH. Q24. The existence of three curricula reflects negatively on the quality of primary education in BiH. Q24. Ethnically-based curricula do not prepare children adequately for living in our society. Stanko Rakita Dositej Obradović Kiseljak Brestovsko Osman Nuri Hadžić Alija Isaković Marko Marulić Total Q24.Curricula should be modified in a way that they speak to a much larger extent about all three peoples rather than just about one. Q24. There should be one curriculum for primary schools, based on the promotion of equity and tolerance. Q24. An education system with three curricula is too expensive for the citizens of BiH. Q24. The Religious Instruction subject should have its place in the public primary schools curricula. Q24. It is the parents right to choose where to enrol their children regardless of the catchment area. Q24. Joint education for children of different ethnic backgrounds would enhance the quality of primary education. Q24. Insisting on mono-ethnic classes will have negative effects on the possibilities for coexistence in BiH. Q24. I believe that it is possible to design a joint curriculum for the whole of BiH. Q24. I would rather enrol my child in an ethnically homogeneous school that one attended by children of deferent ethnic backgrounds. Stanko Rakita Dositej Obradović Kiseljak Brestovsko Osman Nuri Hadžić Alija Isaković Marko Marulić Total

57 153 Views about an integrated or divided education system Most parents believe that their children should attend one school regardless of their ethnic background. This opinion was not shared by the parents of pupils at the Brestovsko and Marko Marulic primary schools, which is connection to their position that it is not possible to organise joint instruction for children of different ethnic background due to the insurmountable differences between their languages. The other parents felt that It would be possible for children to attend the same classes while still preserving their own language and culture. Parents agreed with the view that children should learn at school about the languages and cultures of all of the peoples living in BiH, while a large percentage of them agreed that A sense of belonging to BiH should be development through the teaching process. Again with the exception of the above mentioned schools, where parents held defensive views, the majority of parents surveyed shared the opinion that The existence of three curricula has a negative effect on the quality of teaching and that this kind of separation could compromise the successful integration and the preparation of children for life in our society. BANJA LUKA - Advantages and shortcomings of an integrated education system. Facilitator: Let s talk about belonging to an ethnic group or mixed ethnic background, there are pupils of different ethnic backgrounds at school and teaching staff also of different ethnic backgrounds. I would like to hear your opinion on what are the advantages and shortcomings when a child lives in such an environment? W: There are advantages, for sure and more of them; children learn about differences and customs, therefore they learn something. W: But a shortcoming could be if a child feels hurt at any moment, because someone says something with that respect, which can be the shortcoming, if we may call it that. Whether it s deliberate or not, that s a different story. Facilitator: I understand all that, but what I m trying to see is whether you re happy about it. If you could choose between two schools; I ll reduce this to a very simple question, if you could enrol your child in a school and the issue was about the same quality of education, but the only difference was that one of the schools was attended by children belonging to the same ethnic group as your child, and the other by children of different ethnic backgrounds, where would you enrol your child? W: I would enrol my child in the multiethnic one, because we live in such a community. And after school, when they grow up, those people would live together. It means yes, I would. They will get together in the future and go to work; I don t see any reason now why they should not go together, when we live in such community. I can t isolate him for ever. I can isolate him in one school now but later on when he starts working he ll meet them so it s better to get used to that in childhood and to respect and appreciate others. Rather than hate anyone, just respect them. He doesn t have to love them simply we may live

58 154 side by side and respect one another. That s what I think. W1: I ll tell you straight away. Now, in this situation, I am in favour of the multiethnic schools. I think it s better for her to know all cultures and all peoples. I can t see any reason for going to some school that is mono-ethnic. She has not been brought up that way and neither was I. She is a child that was born into a mixed marriage. W3: I would opt for a multiethnic school again. The child can meet other cultures, different customs and even the ways of living. There is no country in the world that is monoethnic, that denies other cultures, skin colour, race and faith. With the exception of the Marko Marulic Primary School, parents mostly welcomed the idea that the curricula should be changed in order for them to speak to a larger extent about the three peoples. They even welcomed the idea that there should be a single curriculum that would promote equality and connections between the peoples in BiH. Among other things, this was because the current system costs BiH citizens too much. The majority of them felt that the teaching of Religious Instruction should have its place in the curricula and they were unified in their position that parents should uphold their right to choose the schools for their children. The majority of parents also believed that the joint education of pupils of different ethnic backgrounds would contribute to the higher quality of education; they would not enrol their child in a mono-ethnic school and believed that the joint form of education would enhance the possibility for living together in BiH. BANJA LUKA - Choice of schools and catchment areas. Facilitator: Another question, most of you are Serbs and if the nearest school delivers the Federal curriculum, regardless of whether it is Bosnian or Croatian, what would you do? Most parents cannot afford buss fares to the nearest school where Serbs are the majority. And if you lived here and you had the possibility to choose, would you enrol your child in the nearest school or would your child go to the farthest school by buss? W: I would enrol my children in the school where I live, for example, if my home was in the Federation of BiH I would enrol my child there, period! W: So would I. But I also think that there must be a reason why they take children there. Parents have to pay for the bus tickets and why would they do that if there were no problems there? If I had problems here, regardless of the fact that Serbs are the majority here, if my child had a problem here, with some teachers, I would take my child away.

59 155 Views about an integrated or divided education system Representatives of school authorities and political and religious communities Discussions with the representatives of school administrations and political and religious communities indicated a unified position when the issue was about an education system that would include children independent of their ethnic background. However, there were differences in their views regarding the extent to which the prospective curriculum should be identical or different and the realisation of the right to education in their mother-tongue for all of the three constituent peoples. Solutions should be found through amendments to the laws and the majority of interlocutors saw politics as the only real, possible, factor of importance for making such changes. The majority of respondents expressed their willingness and at the same time their inability to change anything; regardless of their disagreement with the current solution they are obliged to implement that which is specified under the law. Sometimes this appeared more like an excuse for keeping the status quo and was contradictory to other closely related topics, such as, for example, the choice of school regardless of the catchment area. There are numerous examples of children that travel to schools that are not the closest to their homes in order for them to have lessons in their mother-tongue, while, on the other hand, almost as a rule, parents (in this case the representatives of schools and political and religious groups that we interviewed) claimed that they would choose the nearest school. It is clear that the divided education system has consequences and the majority agreed with this fact, yet they continue to insist upon it. In spite of some divergent examples, the issue of the endangerment of national identity was frequently put forward when attempts were made to discuss a single education system. Regardless of the existence of the Common Core that has been incorporated into certain school subjects it is obvious that it will be difficult to reach a unified position on what should be taught in the case of a common curriculum for all. KISELJAK Facilitator: Would you, for instance, support an initiative to harmonise and unify the current curricula? M: Well of course I would. Our school s position is in favour of this and I told you that we would support anything recommended by our Ministry of Education. PRIJEDOR Facilitator: What is your opinion about divided schools? M: I am against it. Facilitator: Against?

60 156 M: Yes, I am against it. I have always been a man who was happy to sit together with anyone, regardless of their ethnic background. Facilitator: In general, are you in favour of the education system integration process to unify it and have a single curriculum for the whole country, which would be harmonised and be valid for all three peoples? M: I would do that today if I could. KISELJAK (Advisor to the Minister) Facilitator: And, what about your opinion, do you support the existence of divided schools or not? W: As I said, I can t tell you my individual opinion of whether I do or not. They did this to us. The Dayton Agreement has produced the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina that produced divided schools. I mean, the very language, if we are to talk about the language, Bosnian language, how could we define that? What language should we speak then? Why Bosnian only? I said experts should do that, language experts should pay more attention to that. BANJA LUKA (Principal) Facilitator: What is your opinion regarding the Common Core that has been introduced for some subjects? M: That s a positive thing. That is something common and all of us will add something of our own and let it be; if some things are common we will appreciate one another more. Facilitator: I mean, do children of different ethnic backgrounds have separated national programmes? M: No they don t. No, no. All children learn, if here, that we have Mesa Selimovic; they learn about him and his works and they learn about Copic as well. Facilitator: Would you support the idea of the harmonisation of education policies for the purpose of the integration of the education system in Bosnia and Herzegovina? M: I told you, they can have joint ones, because of their future education and the curriculum should be harmonised and everything, everything. Facilitator: It means that you would support that?

61 157 Views about an integrated or divided education system M: I would, it can be like that. We don t have to unite one hundred percent, but if my child wants to study in Sarajevo, I mean if he wants that, or if a child from Sarajevo wants to come here to Banja Luka, it means there are no problems related to those curricula, in that sense. I don t deny anyone anything, either cantons or Republika Srpska or this and that. That s not a problem. No one probably asked you to show your ID when you were coming here. You entered here, the Entity, without problems. It seems that these things are more in peoples heads. Facilitator: And, in your opinion, what are the biggest obstacles to achieving that integration? M: I ve just told you, the blockade in many heads. I told you, it means that they are not simply administrative, you know. I had many opportunities to talk to people who had never come here to Banja Luka. Their opinion is a catastrophe. They think, I don t know, how do you feel coming here? Has anyone asked you who you are, what you are and what is your nationality in that sense? Facilitator: In your opinion, what are the priority issues that have to be resolved in relation to the divided education system and its integration? M: Nothing should be imposed on anyone. Practically we are going back to the same story. It simply means that things should go slowly. It means no one should be excluded, no one talked into anything, it means everything should be done through talks and all that. All can be happy in that way. Any imposition, whoever it comes from, leads to rejections and a negative response. Facilitator: Do you have any suggestions that could be written down as a note? M: Nothing comes to my mind. The following example illustrates the denial of any changes pertaining to the realisation of rights, but also to the need to undertake some action. BANJA LUKA (Adviser to the Ministry) Facilitator: What is your opinion about the education of children in the divided schools? W: For the beginning, what is important is that there were no and there are no divided schools right now in Republika Srpska. Therefore it is difficult to comment from the point of view of the Ministry staff. We have never had such a problem. There were no divided schools in Republika Srpska. The point is that RS does not have a mono-ethnic school, the school created in that way.

62 158 Facilitator: Would you support the idea of the harmonisation of education policies, which would ensure the integration of the education systems in BiH? W: First of all, such initiatives are not a novelty, so there s nothing to support. That is something that has been happening for the past fifteen years. When it comes to the education systems I am of the opinion that a high degree of integration has already taken place. That high degree of integration is the Common Cores of Curricula. Facilitator: Right, thank you. And, in your opinion, what would be the role of political leaders in the education system integration process? W: You keep talking about that integration persistently. We have just asserted the fact that, firstly, there is a high degree of what is common. And the process of further integration, I don t understand, where does this idea lead, what is the education integration process? What is an integration process for you? KISELJAK (Principal) Facilitator: And what do you think about the fact that the education system here has been divided according to the ethnic principle? M: Well, in any case, that s not good. Not good. And just for example, I and the Alija Isakovic Primary School Principal, we, have been in contact permanently. However, it is not up to us two to agree upon things. It is not us who will agree upon that, but there is still someone who should agree how and in what way things should be done. The content of the subjects of language and history is another issue, i.e. how to integrate or reconcile the different perceptions of the recent history of BiH, if that is possible at all. PRIJEDOR (political representative) Facilitator: Now we have this national group of subjects how would you deal with that, when you would start with the language issue first? M: I think that everything could be sorted out, language is not the problem. It s not the problem to write textbooks; they have the right to their mother-tongue. The problem is what s written in there, in the content. There should be authors from the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina and there should be something that would teach children to love this Bosnia and Herzegovina. Facilitator: What should that language be called then?

63 159 Views about an integrated or divided education system M: That is Bosnian language. Not Bosniak, but Bosnian. Facilitator: You mean Bosnian language for all three peoples? M: For all three peoples, we all speak the same and I can t see any difference. Facilitator: Yes, but other peoples want their national languages. How would they feel in that situation? M: All right, they should call it Bosniak-Serbian-Croatian, no problem at all. They should include all three and everything s sorted out. BANJA LUKA (Principal) Facilitator: And, when it comes to the national group of subjects history? M: Well, history. History is a little bit odd, so to say. History is written by the winners, right? I was even a part of the history, yet mine is somehow very different from the others, as they say. Facilitator: And how should children learn here in the school? M: They shouldn t learn anything for a period of time. Let s leave it up to time, I think. As you ve seen, everyone interprets it in their own way. Time will show what the cause was, what the consequences are, you know. BANJA LUKA (Ministry Adviser) Facilitator: Well, let s say the joint education for all children. I think that s how it was presented? W: What do you think that joint education is? Facilitator: The same curriculum. W: Identical curriculum? Facilitator: Yes. W: Well tell me something, people have spent five years developing the Common Core Curriculum, it was such hard work it is impossible to describe that: to find a degree of com-

64 160 mon content in all curricula implemented in BiH. What do you think? What should the new one look like? The Common Core Curriculum was not approved until as late as What should the Common Curriculum look like? Tell me, in what language it should be written? Facilitator: I am not familiar with that, I mean I don t know. I have to ask you. W: I would just like to hear from the person who wrote the question to tell me what language should the integrated education system be implemented in, what language? M: I would like to ask you, what do you think? If a joint solution is found that would be accepted by all three sides W: And it could hardly be found. M: by three peoples and it could hardly happen. It is really difficult, because no one wants to give up his national rights and the democratic right. Even if some solution is found do you think that they would stick to that solution or, perhaps in a year s time, only keep asking for more? Or if, for example, there is an agreement reached to implement the teaching by all three constituent peoples languages, which would turn out to be impossible to do, then a solution would be sought. This is a bit complicated, everything is complicated and everything has been placed here on a very complicated basis. Then there would come a question why do we need this, why do we implement the teaching in all three languages if we can do it in one only? The question is which one; in some artificial one or in the one that has existed for thousands of years? W: If we would be asked to choose one out of the three languages, which would be completely impossible, which one of the other two peoples would agree to give up its language? Do you think that Croats or Bosniaks would accept to learn Serbian language? Do you think this could happen? Facilitator: I can t say really. W: Well, it s totally illusory, it s impossible. The full-scale war happened here, the full-scale movement of peoples and life, because they couldn t reach an agreement. So do you think we could now, seven years after? KISELJAK (political representative of the SDA) Facilitator: We already touched on the issues of language and history; how would you organise the teaching of language and the very subject of language so that there s only one and everybody is satisfied, is that possible? M: No, it s not. Although our languages differ in some 5%, it is not possible. Here you will

65 161 Views about an integrated or divided education system find a concrete example: if a Bosniak says tisuca (a thousand) other Bosniaks will start laughing at him and if a Croat there says hiljada (a thousand) his fellows will sneer at him as well. I think that languages and teaching should be separate, to have Croatian, Bosnian and Serbian. We used to have Serbo-Croatian, how should I say this, we considered it neither Serbian nor Croatian, but something in between. Now we have, sort of, accepted Bosnian; however, none of those two will accept it and, in fact, it was divided into Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian. Facilitator: What should be the role of political leaders when it comes to the process of integrating the education system in the country? M: Well, I don t know. There s a strong interference of politics here, although it shouldn t be the case. Politics should go to parliaments, where it belongs and basically it should not interfere, no it shouldn t. The majority of our interlocutors agreed that the role of politics is omnipresent and determining, although a passive attitude was evident in terms of the implementation of the Law without re-examining its functionality or the effects that it produces; this initiative is missing. PRIJEDOR (Islamic Religious Worker) Facilitator: In your opinion, who should launch the initiative for something like that, and who should be the most responsible person and also who should the initiative start from? M: Well, we know who makes laws. It s neither the Islamic Community, nor the Orthodox Church, nor the Catholic Church. We know who. And now the question is how much it is in somebody s interest that the situation gets better, that this country could get back on its feet and how much the situation suits somebody. We can see that every day. Facilitator: You mean politicians? F: Of course, politicians who tell the people one thing and do other things, maybe in their meetings. Politicians who belong to one party in one election and to another in the next election, to me, that s not quite In regard to the consequences that the current form of education could have for future generations in terms of their ability to function in a society such as BiH and the threat of an education system integrated to national identity: KISELJAK (Adviser to the Minister)

66 162 Facilitator: What do you think, what consequences could education in divided schools leave for the children? W: Well, consequences for children definitely. C, children get their main upbringing in the family and family is the foundation for everything. It is difficult now to talk about some concrete consequences, as children of that age don t understand those spheres and about children who, in fact, have no idea that the war took place here. I mean, they are not aware of the meaning of the war at all, of the war and of historic and cultural facts that happened. Just that they found themselves in Bosnia and Herzegovina owing to circumstances and that it is their country. And also, children are not guilty for that. That s why, I repeat, authorities at the State, Federation and cantonal levels should take care of that. I can t comment that definitely. BRESTOVSKO (Principal) Facilitator: And what is your opinion, can the joint education of children lead to the eradication of national identity? M: God forbid. Something common to eradicate my national identity, God forbid! If it happened that someone eradicated my national identity, because I were attending a joint school with somebody else, I would give up that school then. I want national identity and I simply want to recognise myself with national identity. I simply want to be that, just the same as my colleague wants to be what he is. But, while respecting what s mine I develop it. Basically, my national identity should not, simply should not be put out, if I was to, I myself don t know what, with someone. Facilitator: And would you support an initiative for the harmonisation of education policies, if there was such an initiative of harmonising education policies and Common Core Curriculum integration? M: I would support that as long as it does not start to dominate, that is that someone stands out, we cannot suppress either of the two. PROZOR-RAMA Facilitator: Do you think that the loss of national identity is possible through a joint education system? M: National identity cannot be lost in that way. National identity can be lost if there is no new generation, if people are leaving or moving to another country. National identity cannot be killed by a second language. It can be killed by turbo-folk music. It can t be killed by some outdated words, words that my grandma was using. She had those words,

67 163 Views about an integrated or divided education system but she spoke Croatian and also had some words from the Turkish language. The same like Hungarian words in use in Croatia. Language is a live category. It is constantly changing. It will never stop changing. It will never be constant, there s always a new expression, a new word. Conclusions Not one school held an absolutely uniform position by pupils in regard to common textbooks. In five schools the majority of pupils were in favour of common textbooks, while in two schools the overwhelming majority of them (about 80%) felt that the idea about common textbooks was unacceptable. The quantitative indicators of pupils responses to nine key questions about an integrated education system generally spoke about their highly positive views regarding this issue. Thus, the majority of pupils surveyed felt that children of different ethnic backgrounds should attend the same school. The percentage of such responses was higher in urban schools compared to rural ones. However, the indicator on their responses to the question of whether they would rather go to a mono-ethnic rather than multiethnic school was quite indicative and contradictory in relation to the previous one. It would be very interesting to explore the reasons behind this contradiction in the pupils views. High percentages of pupils in almost all schools had positive views with respect to the statements that, Through the teaching process they should become more familiar with the cultures, languages and traditions of all the peoples living in BiH and that The sense of belonging to Bosnia and Herzegovina should be developed. The majority of pupils had positive views regarding participation in exchange programmes for pupils with schools in the other entity. While pupils had quite positive views when it came to most issues related to the integrated education system there was also a high level of agreement in regard to the statement about the differences between the Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian languages as an obstacle to the organisation of teaching in the same class. In the case of a number of schools these indicators were to some extent inversely proportionate to their responses that children of different ethnic backgrounds should attend the same school. In most schools teachers supported the idea of an integrated education system and in this regard the urban school teachers took the lead. However, in two of the schools participating in the survey the teachers were overwhelmingly against this possibility. With the exception of these two schools, teachers mainly shared their pupils opinion in regard to the majority of statements concerning the integrated education system. They believe that children of different ethnic backgrounds should attend the

68 164 same school, that through the teaching process pupils should become more familiar with the cultures, languages and traditions of all the peoples living in BiH and that the sense of belonging to BiH should be enhanced in pupils. Teachers had a somewhat different opinion to that of their pupils concerning the statement regarding the differences between the Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian languages being an obstacle to the organisation of joint classes. With the exception of the aforementioned two schools, the majority of teachers did not see this as an obstacle to working in the same class with children of different ethnic backgrounds. The teachers believed that schools should be organised in such a way that would allow for all children to attend the same classes, but at the same time to preserve their language and cultural identity. The teachers thought that joint education would not lead to the disappearance of linguistic and cultural characteristics, which corresponds fully with their previously noted opinion. Again, these views of the majority of teachers were not shared by the two schools referred to above, which have certain reservations in regard to the integrated education system and a single curriculum in BiH. According to the opinion of the majority of teachers any insistence upon mono-ethnic classes would reflect negatively on coexistence in BiH, while they believe that joint education for children of different ethnic backgrounds would raise the quality of primary education in the country. Most teachers supported the right of parents to choose the school for their children regardless of the school catchment area. For the most part, teachers had a positive opinion about the possibility to work in a school in which the teaching process is not implemented in their own language. They also accepted the possibility to teach in accordance with any of the three curricula and that the so-called national group of subjects could be taught by a teacher who does not belong to that particular people. Teachers in all schools expressed a high level of agreement with the statement that curricula should be modified in a way so that they speak to a much larger extent about all three peoples rather than just one of them. The high level of agreement of teachers in most schools with the statement that school curricula based on ethnic grounds do not adequately prepare children for living in our society was decreased to some extent by the disagreement of teachers from two schools that, as in the previous responses, expressed certain reservations in regard to the integration of the education system. Generally, teachers expressed a high level of agreement regarding the statement that there should be one primary school curriculum based on the promotion of equity and that it would be possible to develop it. Their rationale, among other things, was that the education system with three curricula costs BiH citizens too much.

69 165 Views about an integrated or divided education system The teachers views on the place of the subject of Religious Instruction in schools were interesting as they did not correspond with their previously expressed opinion that they would rather introduce the Culture of Religions or Ethics into school curricula as opposed to Religious Instruction. The highest percentage of parents had no opinion in regard to initiatives for the integration of the education system. In some schools nearly 50% of parents responded that they would support the idea, yet other schools had the same or even higher percentages of parents who did not support it. In general, most parents were not sure whether such an initiative would be the best solution. If the initiative were to take place, parents viewed the ministries of education as the leading actors in the integration process of the education system. Most parents felt that their children should attend the same school and the same classes regardless of their ethnic background, but under the condition that they would preserve their language and culture. This opinion was not shared by the parents of children attending two of the schools that participated in the survey. Parents views on the organisation of joint mother-tongue lessons were divided. Although the highest percentage of polled parents felt that mother-tongue lessons should be organised jointly, claiming that it is one language, the quantitative data showed quite a high percentages of parents who were against the idea, claiming that the language differences are insurmountable and that language is linked to national and cultural identity. Most parents in most schools did not insist that the teachers who teach subjects from the so-called national group of subjects should necessarily belong to that particular people. However, nearly 70% of parents of children attending the two previously mentioned schools did not accept this possibility and neither did they accept the idea of joint textbooks. The majority of parents shared the teachers opinion that the existence of three curricula has a negative reflection on the quality of teaching and the adequate preparation of children for work and life in our society. Parents agreed with teachers in respect to the statements that the three curricula increase the cost of education in BiH, that it is possible to develop a common curriculum for the whole of BiH and that they should have the right to choose the school for their children. According to the opinion of the majority of parents, the most acceptable way of writing the history textbook of BiH would be to establish a commission that would include experts from all of the three peoples. Most parents in the two aforementioned schools did not agree with the idea of joint textbooks.

70 166 Representatives of school authorities and political and religious communities mainly demonstrated a consistent attitude when it came to an education system that would includes pupils irrespective of their ethnic background. However, differences were evident when the issue concerned the extent to which the curricula should be identical or different and to what extent their function could ensure the right to education in the mother-tongue of all three peoples. 3.7 Ethnic Distances Social distance, as a measure of social attitudes and relations, has been used in social studies since the very beginning of empirical research in psychology (Kuzmanovic. 1994). It usually implies different levels of understanding and closeness that occur in various social situations and relations. Therefore, for the purpose of measuring the social distance a certain number of adequate interpretations and grades of the feeling of closeness were formed. Classic studies often use seven different types of social relations that are mutually dissimilar with respect to the level of closeness prevailing in those relations. Starting from the closest, the relations are: 1) close kin by marriage, 2) membership in the same club, as an expression of close friendship, 3) neighbourhood, living in the same street, 4) working within the same profession 5) citizenship, permanent residence of the same country, 6) just a visitor to the country and 7) exclusion from the country. Formulated as questions requiring yes and no answers, these relations constitute the renowned Bogardus Social Distance Scale. The social distance is usually used as an indicator of an attitude towards a certain social group, but for a number of reasons the distance cannot be reduced solely to attitudes. Firstly, the high-level distance is not always a sign of enmity or of negative attitudes, but rather a sign of how much the respondent finds the group exposed to the distance to be unknown and unrelated, how little he/she does know, but also how much he/she does not want to know about the group. On the other hand, social distance is also determined by social norms within a certain environment and can be seen as a specific characteristic of the social community. The following chart shows average levels of the acceptance of certain social relations with members of some peoples. Acceptance grades vary from 0 (rejection) to 1 (total acceptance). The marks may also be viewed as proportions of acceptance within a specific sample, with 0.5, for example, indicating that 50% of respondents accept the relation. Pupils Acceptance of relations with Bosniaks

71 167 Ethnic distances We can see that the lines indicating various possible relations match to a large extent. We can also see that the acceptance levels with respect to relations with Bosniak are the lowest at the Brestovsko (Kiseljak) and Marko Marulic (Prozor-Rama) primary schools. These are schools with a Croat majority population of schoolchildren from mixed Bosniak-Croat communities. As expected, relations with Bosniaks are mostly accepted by pupils from Bosniak majority schools and medium acceptance levels are found in the communities with a Serb majority sample of pupils. Out of the suggested relations, the least accepted are the relation marked as to be president of my country, to marry him/her and to be my child s school teacher. It seems that social division, but also closeness, influenced the highest level of Croat children s non-acceptance of social relations with Bosniaks. Acceptance of relations with Serbs Relations with Serbs were mostly accepted by the Banja Luka and Sarajevo primary schools of Stanko Rakita and Osman Nuri Hadzic, whereas the lowest levels of acceptance were

72 168 noted in the Alija Isakovic (Bosniak majority, Prozor-Rama) and Marko Marulic (Croat majority, Prozor-Rama) primary schools. The least accepted relations were to be the president of my country and to marry him/her. Acceptance of relations with Croats The highest levels of acceptance of relations with Croats were shown by the Brestovsko (Croat majority, Kiseljak) and Marko Marulic (Croat majority, Prozor-Rama) primary schools. Somewhat lower levels of acceptance were found in pupils from the Bosniak majority primary schools Kiseljak 1 and Osman Nuri Hadzic, while the pupils of the Alija Isakovic (Bosniak majority school, Prozor-Rama) Primary School expressed the lowest levels of acceptance. Just like in the case of relations with Bosniaks, we can see here as well that pupils from the so-called divided schools expressed the lowest acceptance levels. Generally, the lowest acceptance levels were linked to the relations: to be the president of my country and to marry him/her. Acceptance of relations with Romany people

73 169 Ethnic distances When the issue concerned relations with Romany people the highest acceptance levels were found in the Kiseljak 1 (Bosniak majority, Kiseljak) and Osman Nuri Hadzic (Bosniak majority, Sarajevo) primary schools. There are an unspecified number of Romany children in these communities, who mainly identify themselves with the Bosniak majority. This was evident from their questionnaires where they claimed that they are members of the Bosniak group. It could be said that the higher acceptance rates in this case reflect the common faith. At the same time there was medium or low acceptance of relations with Romany (below 50% of accepted relations). The least accepted were the relations marked as to be president of my country and to marry him/her. Acceptance of relations with British people The highest acceptance levels were found in the Osman Nuri Hadzic and Kiseljak 1 pri-

74 170 mary schools. Pupils from the remaining schools showed medium levels of acceptance. The least accepted relationships were to be president of my country, to marry him/her and to be my child s school teacher. Acceptance of relations with Chinese people When it came to Chinese people it was evident that pupils from the Kiseljak 1 and Osman Nuri Hadzic primary schools showed the highest levels of acceptance. Pupils at the Stanko Rakita, Dositej Obradovic and Alija Isakovic primary schools showed medium acceptance levels, while the lowest ones were found at the Brestovsko and Marko Marulic primary schools. Again, the relations to be the president of my country, to marry him/her and to be my child s school teacher received the lowest levels of acceptance. Table: General acceptance of relations School AS N Stanko Rakita Dositej Obradović Kiseljak Brestovsko Osman Nuri Hadžićc Alija Isaković Marko Marulić Total In general, the highest number of suggested social relations with members of different ethnic groups was accepted by the pupils of the Osman Nuri Hadzic and Kiseljak 1 primary schools, followed by the Stanko Rakita, Dositej Obradovic, Alija Isakovic and Marko Marulic primary schools, while the lowest number was accepted by Brestovsko primary schoolchildren. However, it should be noted that the Brestovsko primary school

75 171 Ethnic distances sample was quite small, which limited our ability to draw conclusions. To be my friend and to live in the same country were the most easily accepted and to be the president of my country, to marry him/her and to be my child s school teacher the least easily accepted relations. Teachers Acceptance of relations with Bosniaks We can see that relations with Bosniaks were least accepted by pupils at the Brestovsko (Kiseljak) and Marko Marulic (Prozor-Rama) primary schools. As expected, these relations were most accepted by teachers in Bosniak majority schools. Among the suggested relations with Bosniaks, teachers least accepted the relations to marry him/her (we assume that this was due to the fact that the majority of teachers are married already) and the hierarchical relation to be the president of my country. Acceptance of relations with Serbs The teachers at the Stanko Rakita, Dositej Obradovic and Osman Nuri Hadzic primary

76 172 schools expressed the highest levels of acceptance of relations with Serbs, while these relations were the least accepted in the Marko Marulic, Brestovsko and Kiseljak 1 primary schools. The relations to marry him/her and to be the president of my country were the least accepted among primary school teachers. Acceptance of relations with Croats The highest, practically absolute, levels of acceptance of relations with Croats were found in the Brestovsko and Marko Marulic primary schools, where teachers at these two schools accepted all of the suggested relations. A somewhat lower level was expressed by teachers at the Dositej Obradovic (Hambarine - Prijedor) and Stanko Rakita (Vrbanja - Banja Luka) primary schools. The lowest level was found at the Alija Isakovic Primary School (Bosniak majority, Prozor-Rama). Acceptance of relations with Romany people The chart shows that the acceptance levels were highest among teachers at the Stanko

77 173 Ethnic distances Rakita, Kiseljak 1 and Osman Nuri Hadzic primary schools. An unexpectedly low level of relations with Romany was accepted by teachers in the Marko Marulic Primary School. When it came to individual relations, the least accepted were to marry him/her and to be the president of my country. Acceptance of relations with British people Teachers from the Osman Nuri Hadzic, Brestovsko, Kiseljak 1 and Stanko Rakita primary schools expressed the highest levels of acceptance, while the lowest levels were found in the Marko Marulic and Dositej Obradovic primary schools. Among the suggested relations the least accepted were to be the president of my country and to marry him/her. Acceptance of relations with Chinese people The chart shows that the highest acceptance levels were found in the Stanko Rakita, Os-

78 174 man Nuri Hadzic, and Kiseljak 1 primary schools, while the lowest ones were expressed by teachers at the Marko Marulic and Dositej Obradovic primary schools. When it came to individual relations the least accepted ones were to marry him/her and to be the president of my country. Table: General acceptance of relations School AS N Stanko Rakita Dositej Obradović Kiseljak Brestovsko Osman Nuri Hadžić Alija Isaković Marko Marulić Total The largest number of suggested relations with members of different ethnic groups were accepted by teachers at the Osman Nuri Hadzic, Kiseljak 1 and Stanko Rakita primary schools, followed by teachers at the Dositej Obradovic, Alija Isakovic and Brestovsko primary schools, whereas the lowest number of relations were accepted by teachers from the Marko Marulic Primary School where, after relations with Croats had been deducted, this number was even smaller: approximately 39% of relations with members of different ethnic groups were accepted. Parents Acceptance of relations with Bosniaks The chart above shows levels that are almost identical to those expressed by pupils. We

79 175 Ethnic distances can see that relations with Bosniaks were the least accepted by the parents of pupils attending the Marko Marulic (Prozor-Rama) and Brestovsko (Kiseljak) primary schools. As expected, relations with Bosniaks were the most accepted by parents of pupils attending the Bosniak majority primary schools Kiseljak 1, Alija Isakovic, Dositej Obradovic and Osman Nuri Hadzic, while median levels were expressed in those communities with a majority of Serb schoolchildren: Stanko Rakita. Among the suggested relations the least accepted were to be president of my country, to marry him/her and to be my child s school teacher. Acceptance of relations with Serbs Relations with Serbs were, logically, most accepted by parents of pupils attending the Banja Luka primary school Stanko Rakita, followed by the Sarajevo primary school Osman Nuri Hadzic. Relations with Serbs were least accepted by the parents of pupils attending the Alija Isakovic and Marko Marulic (Prozor-Rama) primary schools. Among the suggested individual relations the following were the least accepted: to marry him/ her and to be my child s school teacher. Acceptance of relations with Croats

80 176 The highest acceptance levels were shown by parents of children attending the Brestovsko and Marko Marulic primary schools. Somewhat lower levels of acceptance were expressed by the parents of children in the Bosniak majority schools Kiseljak 1 and Osman Nuri Hadzic, while the lowest levels were found at the Alija Isakovic (Bosniak majority, Prozor-Rama) and Stanko Rakita (Serb majority, Banja Luka) primary schools. Generally speaking, the least accepted relations were to marry him/her and to be the president of my country. Acceptance of relations with Romany people It is evident that the relations with Romany people were most accepted by parents of children attending the Kiseljak 1 and Osman Nuri Hadzic primary schools; median accept-

81 177 Ethnic distances ance levels were found in the Dositej Obradovic, Brestovsko and Stanko Rakita schools and the lowest ones at the Marko Marulic Primary School (Prozor-Rama). In Regard to the individually suggested relations the least accepted were to marry him/her and to be the president of my country. Acceptance of relations with British people These relations were most accepted by parents of children attending the Osman Nuri Hadzic, Brestovsko and Kiseljak 1 primary schools, while the lowest acceptance levels were shown by parents of pupils at the Marko Marulic, Alija Isakovic and Stanko Rakita primary schools. Among the suggested relations the least accepted ones were to marry him/her and to be the president of my country. Acceptance of relations with Chinese people The chart above shows that relations with Chinese people were most accepted by parents