engleski

Minority language policy in primary schools of Croatia – a comparative case study

In this paper the authors explore the minority language policy in primary school education in Croatia with the example of Serbian as a minority language. In the Croatian primary and secondary school systems there are three models of minority language education (A, B and C). The object of exploration of this paper is the implementation of models A and C in two multilingual communities situated near the urban centre of Osijek and their impact on the knowledge of that minority language, the intensity of its usage and the attitudes of its speakers towards it. The research is based upon a questionnaire conducted on a rather small sample of pupils taking part in the minority language education programmes of the primary schools in the villages of Tenja and Darda. The former is mostly inhabited by the Serbian national minority, and the latter by Croats, Serbs, Hungarians and Romas. The main objective of this case study is to establish which similarities and differences have occurred between the two communities concerning the knowledge of the Serbian language, its usage in different domains and the attitudes of its speakers towards the position and the future of the language in Croatia. This comparative study showed that there is a close correlation between the model of education, attitudes towards the minority language and the preservation of the identity and culture of the respective nationality. On the other hand, the study revealed that young speakers of both communities often use codeswitching as a more practical method in their everyday communication.

minority language policy; primary schools; Serbian language; Eastern

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