In the study conducted for my thesis, I tried to determine how students from former
Yugoslav countries, who moved to Slovenia for different reasons, feel about their new social
surroundings, especially the faculties of the University of Ljubljana that they are enrolled in,
and how they fit in with their new educational and living environments.
In the first part, I define migration, explain who migrants are and present how big of an
obstacle the Slovenian language is for migrants coming to Slovenia. I also touch upon history,
namely the period of former Yugoslavia. By employing different literature sources, I present
the integration policy, explore the discrimination faced by foreigners and define the notion of
ethics. As the focus is placed primarily on integration in the programs at the University of
Ljubljana, I also present the institution’s operations and its process of enrolling foreign
students.
In the second part, I make use of questionnaires to study what the atmosphere is like at
the faculties, how foreign students from former Yugoslav countries are accepted by their
peers and faculty staff, who their friends are and who they turn to when they need help.
Respondents also told me how satisfied they are with their selected faculty and what
challenges they have to overcome when learning the Slovenian language, shedding light on
both the positive and the negative aspects. In my thesis, I also present the results of qualitative
research – my interviews with dozens of respondents, which were partially structured as
standardized questionnaires. I have found that many years after the disintegration of
Yugoslavia, young adults from former Yugoslav countries are still stigmatized and not well
accepted by their peers, namely ethnic Slovenians enrolled in the studied faculties. They find
solace in their peers from former Yugoslav countries, who they also spend most time with
socializing. They also receive a lot of help from professors. Communication in the Slovenian
language seems to be their biggest problem. They have also expressed satisfaction with the
educational process and the contents studied at the selected faculties, and most of them feel
accepted.
The results of the research indicate that respondents mostly feel they could receive more
support from their Slovenian peers when trying to integrate in the society and the faculties.
They lack understanding and empathy for their situation, both on part of the professors and
their peers. They feel deprivileged due to the grammatical errors in their speech, which also
affects their willingness to practice the right to free speech and their experience thereof.
Foreigners living in Slovenia are therefore exposed, but they do not mention people
coming from former Yugoslavia, nor do they emphasize interpersonal relationships or
attitudes of ethnic Slovenians towards the citizens of former Yugoslav countries. Social work
should place more focus on the fear and feelings experienced by foreign students, who are
discriminated in their schools or faculties. After all, the educational system is still
contributing to the occurrence of such obstacles by not allowing discussions on the matter to
unfold in classrooms. It is mandatory that people see these individuals exist. To deal with
societal discrimination, community projects are required that would be focused on presenting
different cultures, dealing away with prejudice and bringing foreigners and locals closer
together. Social work could play an essential role in delivering such projects.
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