Ongoing research on the Slovenes of Porabje – The effectiveness of bilingual education 2024

In 2024, we continued our research on the effectiveness of bilingual and ethnic minority education in Porabje. The purpose of the research, the research questions, and the qualitative methods used remained the same as in the previous year. We incorporated seven new semi-structured interviews with young people who had received Slovenian language instruction in various educational settings in Porabje into the research process. The expanded research sample provides a more detailed insight into young people’s experiences with learning and using the Slovenian language, as well as their perceptions of the importance of bilingual or ethnic education for their future schooling, employment, and daily life. By continuing this research, we aim to contribute to a better understanding of the status of the Slovenian language in Porabje and to shed light on the challenges and opportunities for the future development of ethnic or bilingual education.