Teacher training - basic and specialist teacher training - Slovenia

The education required to teach at all age levels of education and training is regulated with the proper legislation as instituted by the minister of education and sports.  The same is true for the population of children with special needs and professions in the scope of counselling work in pre-primary institutions, primary and secondary schools (psychologists, educators, and social workers).

Teachers may obtain the required education and training in the programmes at the three state universities. The Central Faculty of Education in Ljubljana educates and trains educators at the pre-primary level and subject teacher level and professionals in the field of inclusive education and training of children and youth with special needs, specifically for deficiencies, handicaps or disorders as follows: sight, hearing, speech, and language disorders, deficiencies in separate areas of learning and emotional and behavioural impediments. The essential objective of this programme is to train future teachers for quality implementation of programmes continuum and inclusive education and rehabilitation, enabling them to work with people who have special needs in different work situations.

In addition to regular studies, the chief faculty offers a programme of continuous education and training for working with a selected group of children with special needs, and a study programme of continuous education for supporting children and youth with learning and psychosocial impediments. In this programme, pre-primary and primary school teachers upgrade their professional education with specialised-education knowledge and findings that are chiefly orientated towards work in practice.    

In the academic year of 2011/2012, the principle that all teachers shall obtain certain knowledge of children with special needs will be incorporated, irrespective of the subject group of their study programme (Faculty of arts, Faculty of education – subject study).

Pre-primary and primary school teachers may obtain additional knowledge on working with children with special needs in practice within programmes of continuous education and training as they are advertised for each academic year and elaborated within the National Education Institute.