Karber: What we teach young people in schools will shape our common future

"What we teach young people through our educational system, but also by our own example, is what will shape our common future," said Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy, ​​Chris Karber.

At the opening of the round table, "Multiculturalism in secondary school education", he said that "the values ​​we share are at the basis of everything we do, and these values ​​have become even more important in a world burdened by crises, starting with the pandemic and ending with the Russian war against Ukraine." .

Karber points out that this is why the US Embassy supported SOCEN's efforts to show how these topics are represented in the educational system of Montenegro.

Milica Kovač-Orlandić, in front of the Sociological Center of Montenegro, said that Montenegro is a multicultural society, and that it has been dealing with the topic of multiculturalism for a long time. That's why he emphasizes that, "a few years ago, they conducted a survey among high school students, which aimed to provide information about the attitudes of these young people in relation to members of some other national, religious or ethnic groups".

The research results showed that there is significant room for improvement in this area, and that the educational system should and can be used to form more tolerant attitudes of young people.

Acting Director General of the Directorate for General Secondary Education, Vocational Education and Lifelong Education in the Ministry of Education, Slobodan Savović, announced that the Montenegrin education system has developed and continues to develop the spirit of tolerance. As well as, "self-awareness of their values, but also the desire to get to know other cultures, nations, religions and people of different orientations".

He adds that by taking care of these postulates, in schools we create a citizen of Montenegro who knows that his own and collective value can be fully expressed only if he accepts and respects other values.

Acting Director General of the Directorate for Interculturalism in the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, Ljudmila Popović, pointed out that with these activities we are creating a new cultural code that should improve the future of Montenegro.

"Only by working with young people can we achieve better economic prosperity, a better socio-cultural being and atmosphere in our country, as well as greater political stability," concluded Popović.

On the second panel of the round table held in Podgorica, the analysis of "Multicultural Education in Montenegro" by Nikoleta Đukanović was presented. The key findings of the analysis show that the previous education reforms have not been very successful in integrating or implementing the goals of multicultural education into the existing system of education in secondary schools.

This means that the current education reforms are inadequate and insufficiently directed towards the democratization of education, even though the official position of the institutions and relevant departments is that education policy rests on the principle of interculturalism and equal opportunities for all.

According to the research, the curricula, programs and syllabi of the studied subjects do not contain the intended contents necessary for the development of multicultural values ​​in the educational process.

It is particularly emphasized that teachers must adapt educational content, such as literature, materials, teaching and testing methods, to the needs of students who come from different groups, which was not the case until now.

The findings of the research were discussed by representatives of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, the Gymnasium "Stojan Cerović" from Nikšić, the Association of Teachers of the Social Group of Montenegro and the Union of Secondary School Students of Montenegro.