Ethnic minorities in Croatia are generally insufficiently represented in school textbooks, in particular specific persons, and there is a tendency towards collective stereotyping with regard to the history of ethnic conflict, a study showed on Tuesday.

However, the study, published in a document entitled “Analysis of the representation of the ethnic minorities in textbooks and curricular documents in Croatia”, also revealed positive examples in promoting interculturalism and multiperspectivity.

The head of the research team for the implementation of the analysis, Dejan Stjepanovic from the University of Dundee in the United Kingdom, said that the results were not unexpected and that the study provided recommendations to state organisations, schools, publishers and the academic community.

The study analysed the visibility and perception of the ethnic minorities and the context in which they are represented in primary and secondary school textbooks in Croatia and whether the textbooks are aligned with the curricular documents, namely the national curriculum and subject curricula.

The textbooks analysed included those for teaching the Croatian language, Music, Visual Arts, Science, History, Geography, Ethics, and Politics and Economics. The analysis covered the Romani, Serbian, Italian and, to a lesser extent, Hungarian minorities.

As a positive example, Stjepanovic said that History textbooks portray Nikola Tesla as a Croatian and American scientist and inventor who is “originally a Serb from Croatia” or “of Serb ethnicity”.

This approach is based on multiperspectivity and is fully aligned with the principles of ethnic and subject curricula, namely the part concerning the study of nationalism and multiethnic coexistence, he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Anja Smpraga said that the government recognised the need to open dialogue on this matter and undertook to conduct this analysis of education policy as part of the 2021-2024 operational programmes for the ethnic minorities.

The aim is to include the names and contributions of prominent members of ethnic minorities from Croatian history in cultural, educational and other policies as part of the future reform of educational programmes, she said.

Simpraga said that ethnic minorities are often referred to in public discourse as cultural wealth, but that in a section of the public they are too often portrayed in negative stereotypes “neglecting the contribution of the ethnic minorities to the development of modern Croatia.”

She said that to build an inclusive, prosperous and democratic society it is important to raise awareness among young people during the education process of the values of a multicultural society and recognise the differences as a wealth and not a burden or a threat to society.