We feel Europe: approaches for improving positive attitudes towards the European Union in Slovenia

December 1, 2014

Author: Urška Štremfel, Meta Novak, Damjan Lajh

The European Union (EU) is increasingly faced with the problem of a lack of positive attitudes of its citizens towards its institutions and processes. Consequently, the EU pays careful attention to the various activities and projects that contribute to the development of the concept of European citizenship, especially among youth. These activities gain a high priority on the EU policy agenda and also the agendas of member states, and they challenge political science and educational research to provide the best approaches for implementation of the EU dimension in national education policy and practice in a quality and effective manner. The article discusses how the previously elaborated theoretical discussions (e.g. community-based learning, multicultural learning and non-formal learning) and empirical evidence regarding effective EU civic education have been considered when developing innovative approaches for improving knowledge about and positive attitudes towards the EU among Slovenian youth in the two Jean Monnet projects “EU at school” conducted in the last two school years at the University of Ljubljana. Based on the project results, the article concludes with implications for successful implementation of the EU dimension in the educational policies and practices in EU member states.

Key words: EU, knowledge, positive attitudes, education practice, Sloveni