Needs of primary teachers for in-service teacher education and training in Slovene

This master's thesis researched the needs of primary teachers for in-service teacher education and training programmes in Slovene language, and the needs of primary teachers for further knowledge of Slovene. As a form of lifelong learning, in-service teacher education and training is a foundation of a teacher’s professional development. By attending in-service teacher education and training programmes, a teacher refreshes, expands and deepens his/her knowledge, and simultaneously develops his/her character. The system of in-service teacher education and training is managed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, which annually publishes a comprehensive catalogue containing the programmes that implement such education and training. In addition to in-service teacher education and training, initial education is also of key importance for a (prospective) teacher, with which the teacher gains general and specific competences for performing pedagogical work. Prospective primary teachers can receive education at three faculties of education, namely at the Faculty of Education of the University of Ljubljana, at the Faculty of Education of the University of Primorska, and at the Faculty of Education of the University of Maribor. All of these faculties provide technical courses, basic pedagogical courses, and technical and theoretical courses with special didactics, which include courses in Slovene language – Slovene is being implemented as a course at some faculties, whereas in primary school it is the subject that has been allocated the highest number of hours. The Slovene language contents which are encountered by prospective primary teachers during their initial education have been reviewed, as well as programmes pertaining to Slovene, under which primary teachers receive further training over the course of their careers – the last five catalogues in which these programmes were published have been reviewed. The empirical section has established what teachers most want to gain from in-service teacher education and training programmes pertaining to Slovene language, namely learning about knowledge assessment in the subject of Slovene Language, developing pupils’ communicative ability, and working with foreign pupils. The majority of teachers attend one in-service teacher education programme per year, while approximately two thirds of the interviewed teachers have already attended an in-service teacher education and training programme pertaining to Slovene. In total, more than half of them replied that they had attended at least two programmes pertaining to Slovene in the past three years; considering the fact that most of them attend merely one in-service teacher education programme per year, this means that teachers quite often attend programmes whose contents pertain to Slovene. The research findings have enabled the drafting of a potential offer of programmes for primary teachers whose contents pertain to Slovene