In the 2026/27 school year, Slovenian primary schools will begin introducing the renewed Computer Science elective subject, starting with Grade 7. The renewed courses for Grades 8 and 9 will follow in the next two years. Since the previous Computer Science elective subjects were introduced in 2002, this represents an important and much-needed shift: from a stronger focus on the use of ICT towards the teaching of core informatics and computer science concepts.
The renewed subject will gradually introduce pupils to key areas of contemporary informatics education. In Grade 7, the focus will be on developing applications; in Grade 8, pupils will engage with physical computing; and in Grade 9, they will explore data literacy. These topics reflect the growing need for pupils not only to use digital technologies, but also to understand how they work, how they can be created, and how data can be interpreted and used responsibly.
Such changes in the school curriculum also have an important impact on the education of future informatics teachers. At the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education, this has prompted reflection on how teacher education programmes can best prepare students before they enter the school environment.
Until recently, many of these topics were addressed in the later years of study. However, since students begin their first teaching practice in schools in the third year, it has become important to introduce relevant content earlier in the programme. This helps ensure that students are better prepared for their first steps in the role of informatics teachers.
One example of this shift can be seen in the course ICT for Teaching Computer Science. While the course previously combined general digital tools with specialised didactic tools, the emphasis has now moved more strongly towards tools and approaches that support the teaching of the renewed school subject. These include, for example, Scratch, MIT App Inventor, different educational robots, and other environments that enable pupils to learn informatics through creative, hands-on and problem-based activities.
At the same time, it is important to ensure that students who are already in the higher years of study also acquire the knowledge and competences related to the renewed curriculum. For this reason, changes are being introduced across different courses and years of the study programme. For example, seminar topics in the third-year course The Didactics of Computing with Practice are being adapted; in the fourth-year course Multimedia and Hypertext, the content of student videos is increasingly connected to the renewed curriculum; and at the master’s level, students address the content of the renewed curricula in the course Selected Topics from Computing with Didactics.
As the renewed elective subject and additional curriculum changes continue to be introduced, further adjustments to the study programme will be needed. The aim is to support future informatics teachers in developing the competences they need for a successful transition from university studies into teaching practice, and to help them respond confidently to the changing role of informatics education in schools.
Looking ahead, a new compulsory subject, Informatics and Digital Technologies, is planned to be introduced in Grade 7 from 1 September 2028. As always, we will continue to follow these developments closely and make sure that our students acquire the knowledge they will need for teaching informatics. In an ever-changing world, quick and thoughtful adaptations are essential, and we strive to respond to them in the best possible way.
