UP Pef celebrates 50 years

UP Pef celebrates 50 years

The roots of the University of Primorska, Faculty of Education, go far back in time, as the tradition of educating teachers and ensuring their continuous professional development has been present in the Primorska region for more than 150 years.

The Teacher Training College in Koper was founded in 1872. In 1909 it was transferred to Gorizia, but after the annexation of these places to Italy, the situation turned into the dark period of fascism. The Slovenian Teacher Training College was reopened in 1947, first in Portorož and then in Koper, where it remained until the reform of class teacher education in 1968. At that time, it was transferred to the Pedagogical Gymnasium and the Pedagogical Academy.

The real foundations of today's faculty date back to 1974, when a branch of the Pedagogical Academy from Ljubljana was established in Koper. From 16 students enrolled in 1974 at the then department, the number of students rose to 390 by the time the University of Primorska was founded in 2003, and today the Faculty of Education educates 1,690 students.

Since the beginning, the staff of UP PEF, in cooperation with the students, have been updating their studies based on the latest scientific findings in the field of education, as well as on examples of good practice and numerous experiences. They have also expanded it into the field of art and developed the first art programme that combines different fields of art and fine arts into a single study. Today, five first degree programmes, five second degree programmes and two doctoral programmes are offered - in the fields of educational sciences, pedagogy, andragogy, inclusive pedagogy, social pedagogy, early learning, early childhood education, classroom teaching, and visual arts and design.

UP PEF is also involved in a special way in a multicultural and multilingual environment. Two special features are the courses on the classroom teaching programme with English or Italian, which represent a tailor-made programme of particular relevance to the local, cross-border environment. An important contribution to the quality of the environment is the establishment of a research and development unit for pre-school education (RA-RA unit), set up by UP PEF in cooperation with the Koper Kindergarten and the IOC, the specificity of which is that it is the first multilingual kindergarten unit in Koper.

The Institute of Educational Sciences is part of UP PEF. The main purpose of its activities is to carry out research programmes and projects that are closely related to the users of knowledge (in the whole educational system). In today's times of rapid and significant social and scientific change, new, modern concepts and models of learning and teaching are being researched and developed in various fields: language, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, motor sciences and arts - both within the framework of national and international projects.

UP PEF has thus experienced a real boom in recent years, which it wants to show in various events, opportunities for knowledge dissemination and socialising, and will therefore organise two major events this year, when it celebrates 50 years of continuous operation - the PEFijada, a sports and social gathering of Slovenian faculties of education, on 29 May 2024, and the 20th Scientific Meeting on 22 November 2024. In the latter, they want to explore the path travelled, look back at the past and build bridges to the future, as all staff members are aware that every individual, from professors to students, has contributed and can contribute to this success story.