Slovenia 9th Grade History Curriculum (2 hours/week)

The Slovenian National Education Institute (Zavod Republike Slovenije za šolstvo) is responsible for developing the history curriculum. History is a compulsory subject from grades 6 to 9. The curriculum is designed to foster an interest in the past and develop critical thinking skills.

Key Features of the Curriculum:

• Structure: The curriculum combines thematic and chronological approaches, progressing from ancient to modern history. Grades 6 and 9 emphasize thematic learning, while grades 7 and 8 follow a more encyclopedic structure with mandatory and optional topics. Approximately 75% of the content is mandatory, with the remaining 25% chosen by the teacher and students based on interest.
• Focus: The curriculum covers local, regional, Slovenian, European, and world history. It emphasizes understanding daily life, work, and mentalities of people in different historical periods. It also aims to develop national identity and an appreciation for cultural heritage.
• Skills Development: The curriculum focuses on developing critical thinking, research, and communication skills. Students work with various historical sources, including written, visual, oral, and film, to analyze, synthesize, and interpret information. The use of information technology (IT) is also encouraged.
• Interdisciplinary Connections: The curriculum promotes connections with other subjects, including geography, Slovene language, school library/information science, music, art, technology, civics, ethics, mathematics, and natural sciences.
• Assessment: Assessment methods are varied and include oral presentations, written tests, essays, projects, posters, models, and IT presentations. Assessment criteria are based on knowledge standards, which include minimum standards.

9th Grade Specific Topics:

The 9th-grade curriculum focuses on the 20th and 21st centuries, covering political, economic, and social changes. Mandatory topics include:

• Political Characteristics of the 20th Century: This topic explores the political landscape of the early 20th century, World War I, the rise of dictatorships and totalitarian regimes, World War II, the Cold War, decolonization, and European and global integration.
• Economic Changes in the 20th and 21st Centuries: This topic examines industrialization, the impact of World War I on the global economy, capitalist and socialist economic models, economic crises, post-World War II economic development, economic integration, the collapse of the socialist economic model, and globalization.
• Slovenians in the 20th and 21st Centuries: This topic covers the national situation of Slovenians in Austria-Hungary, the formation of Yugoslavia, Slovenian autonomy efforts, economic and cultural development between the World Wars, World War II in Slovenia, the communist takeover, life in socialist Yugoslavia, Slovenian independence, international integration, and life in the Republic of Slovenia.

Optional topics for 9th grade include:

• From Telegraph to the World Wide Web
• Changes in Everyday Life in the 20th Century
• Wars in the 20th and 21st Centuries

Additional resources related to the curriculum can be found on the websites of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport ( and the National Education Institute of Slovenia ( A specific PDF outlining the national curriculum for history in elementary school (in Slovene) is available at