Development Trends in the Fields of Education and Care for Vulnerable Groups in Slovenia

Abstract

This paper presents the main developments in education and care for vulnerable groups of children and youth in Slovenia over the past twenty years. It describes the education system and provides an overview of the development of social pedagogy as a discipline and the practice of working with some groups of vulnerable young people. The trends can be described briefly as moving toward expanding the goals, methods, and models of the entire range of work with users. Further improvements in professionalism are needed to enhance the quality of practical work.Slovenia is by no means excluded from the processes of political, economic, social, and cultural changes taking place today. On the contrary, this country has witnessed numerous changes over the past twenty years, strongly reflected in the development of all levels of education, from nursery schools to university study programs. In the twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)-a period encompassing the formation of an independent Slovene state (1991) and its accession to the European Union (2004)-the fields of education and care for young people have undergone dynamic development.Dr. Alenka Kobolt is a professor in the . Her focus is diagnostics in social pedagogy, theory and practice of social skills, and mentoring as a support for disadvantaged groups.