Educational (de)segregation in North Macedonia: The intersection of policies, schools, and individuals

Abstract

North Macedonia’s two main ethnic groups, the Albanians and Macedonians, have experienced increasing segregation in education, though recent political shifts have made social cohesion a priority, which could replace decades of segregationist policies and break down a damaging cycle of segregation. Using a qualitative approach, I examine the complex relationship between policies, schools, and individuals through analysing 18 years of education policies, interviews/focus groups with 30 participants, and four years living and working in segregated communities. To explore how educational policies, institutions, and practices perpetuate ethnic segregation in North Macedonia, and how growing up in a divided society shapes individuals’ conceptions of themselves and other predominant ethnic groups, I employ contact theory and critical policy analysis. I find that as students grow up in divided schools and communities, their conceptions of the self and of people from other ethnic groups are constituted by these experiences of segregation. While the nation’s education policies currently include more initiatives for integrated education, these have yet to be implemented satisfactorily, meaning that public schools could teach inclusion and serve as a mechanism for dispelling negative stereotypes, but to do so requires a reconceptualization of ethnic difference and a cohesive vision of national identity.

Transitional Justice and Reconciliation in the Western Balkans: Approaches, Impacts and Challenges

“…Prior to the wars of the 1990s, schools in BiH brought together students of varying ethnicities and religious traditions (Osler & Pandur, 2019;Meernik et al, 2016). In North Macedonia, prior to the conflict in 2001, students from both ethnicities studied in the same school shifts and sometimes the same classroom (see Bloodworth, 2020). Segregated schools and educational policies, created throughout the region during and since the wars, isolate students from one another, physically and through different curriculum and history textbook (Bešić & Džuverović, 2020;Osler & Pandur, 2019).…”

“…In Serbia, only three classes are dedicated to the topic of the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, and textbooks are required to cover the topic in less than 5000 words, effectively constraining critical history teaching (Geis et al, 2019). In North Macedonia, the 2001 Ohrid Framework Agreement provided groups with official status the right to attend school in their mother tongue (Bloodworth, 2020). This has had the effect of producing segregated education, with separate facilities and curriculum.…”

“…This has had the effect of producing segregated education, with separate facilities and curriculum. Further, textbooks issued after the cessation of conflict discuss neither the armed conflict of 2001 nor pay adequate attention to the disintegration of Yugoslavia (Bloodworth, 2020;Todorov, 2016).…”

“…The way in which the 'truth' is curated in history education solidifies ethnic division, with onesided narratives that focus on victimisation of one's group and 'enemy images' of the 'other', rendering invisible any suffering of the other side (Bešić & Džuverović, 2020;Oberpfalzerová et al 2019;Osler & Pandur, 2019;Meernik et al, 2016;Subotic, 2015). Students do not learn about shared experiences of the wars, which perpetuates views that one's group identity is entirely separate from that of others (Bloodworth, 2020;Todorov, 2016). This risks transplanting mistrust and past conflicts to today's young adults (Bešić & Džuverović, 2020;Meernik et al, 2016).…”

“…The presentation of a single narrative as 'the only accurate' truth in educational settings has limited value in divided societies with multiple versions of the 'truth' (Jeftić, & Joksimović, 2014). In order for textbooks and curricula to contribute to transitional justice and reconciliation, they need to deconstruct historical myths; avoid ethnocentric approaches; and acknowledge the suffering each side has inflicted on the other and the experiences of each side (see Bloodworth, 2020;Todorov, 2016). 'Multiperspectivity' is an alternative method for teaching history that involves interpretation of the past from various perspectives and based on conflicting narratives.…”