CROATIA

1. Key indicators

2. Highlights

3. A focus on well-being in education and training

Challenges for well-being in early childhood education and care (ECEC) increased due to COVID-19. The closure of ECEC facilities in spring 2020 had a negative impact on children’s well-being. While some ECEC facilities provided activities, emotional and social support online, the absence of ECEC services had a particularly negative impact on children from minorities, migrant children and those with special needs. Upon reopening, the Government recommended providing psychological support to children in vulnerable situations (MZO, 2020a). In 2020/2021, ECEC facilities remained mostly open, closing partially only where there were clusters of infections. Children’s well-being in ECEC could be improved by monitoring their mental and physical health (NSPD, 2014) and by improving cooperation with parents (SEED, 2018).

The school climate is good and Croatian students report high overall happiness. Bullying is below the EU average, with 18.2% of pupils reporting being bullied at least a few times a month (EU: 22.1%). Pupils who feel excluded perform 30 PISA score points below their peers (EU: 21.4 points). The sense of belonging to the school is very strong (80%, vs EU 65.2%) and students feel happy overall (7.6, vs EU: 6.8 points). The effects of gender, socio-economic status (SES) and migrant background on bullying and sense of belonging are low (OECD, 2019, Vol. III), coinciding with the relatively low effect of SES on education outcomes and high academic resilience (15.2%, the second best in the EU) (OECD, 2019, Vol. II). Teachers in schools with more bullying seem to provide pupils with more help (5.4 pps vs EU 0.5 pps) (OECD, 2019, Vol. III). Interestingly, the sense of belonging in primary education is lower than in secondary. A study among grade 4 pupils shows that Croatian pupils have a much lower sense of belonging at that stage (high for 38% vs EU-22 50%) – going from 2nd lowest at grade 4 (TIMSS, 2020) to 4th highest in the EU in PISA, at the age of 15 (Figure 3). Unlike in most other countries, it is sometimes stronger for pupils with lower educational aspirations (among girls and among pupils with highly educated parents) (see Volume I).

Well-being and resilience are addressed in cross-curricular topics. Well-being is covered under personal and social development (mostly addressing violence prevention and anti-bullying) and health (including mental health). Their mode of implementation depends on individual schools. In February 2020, Action Plan for Prevention of School Violence 2020-2024 was adopted. It has six objectives, including a change in the legislative framework, systematic data collection, and improving the quality of schools’ programmes on the prevention of violence.

COVID-19 negatively affected well-being in schools and higher education. Pupils reported that distance education made learning harder due to increased workload (Baketa, Kovačić, 2020), a lack of direct communication with teachers (90% of secondary graduates), difficulties in organising time (80%) and concentration problems (90%) (NCVVO, 2020). Pupils reported a high level of stress, citing symptoms of exhaustion, anxiety, sadness, loneliness and helplessness related to social isolation, school closures and online teaching (Bezinović, 2020). They needed increased psychological support. The closure of schools meant that many students lost necessary support such as hot meals and psychological and learning support. Disadvantaged pupils were affected the most (Đaković, Novosel, 2021). In Zagreb, the combined effect of the pandemic and the earthquakes caused strong anxiety and depressive symptoms in 9% of school pupils, and 15% were experiencing post-traumatic stress symptoms (individual issues are worse: 56% of all pupils have trouble focusing, 51% show emotional instability, 51% experienced anxiety, etc.) (Buljan Flander, G. et al., 2021). Moreover, studies show that only every fifth child with mental health problem receives appropriate professional help (Jokić Begić, N. et al., 2020). To enhance well-being, crisis teams for psychological support from the Ministry of Science and Education have been activated, providing telephone and online support to all students, teachers and their parents who needed help. Civil society organisations were also active in providing information and training. Higher education (HE) students were concerned about whether they would complete the academic year successfully (75%) and about their own mental health due to stress (67%). Half of students suffered from depression (very severe for 23%), anxiety and stress (very intense for 17-20%) (Jokić Begić et al., 2020). This was also the case for staff in higher education institutions (HEIs). According to another study, anxiety and/or depression increased for 50% of the HEI students and 44% of employees during online study. Over 40% of students and staff say that psychological well-being in distance learning is much lower and over 42% of them believe that teachers’ ability to interact with students is much worse than before, even though 82% of students and 86% of teachers are satisfied with their digital competences. Students reported that support provided to them was weaker (30% of students) and workload higher (56% of students) than before, but only 34% of the teachers agreed with that assessment (Bezjak et al., 2020).

4. Investing in education and training

Investment in education is increasing, but expenditure per pupil/student remains low in ECEC and tertiary education. In 2019, investment in education increased by 4.3%. Both spending on education as a share of GDP (4.8% vs EU 4.7%) and as a share of total general government expenditure (10.2% vs EU 10%) are slightly higher than the EU average¹. Annual expenditure per pupil in purchasing power standards (PPS) for tertiary education (6 316.1 PPS) is lower than in other countries².

Central government investment in ECEC has substantially increased in recent years. A number of ECEC facilities have recently been built or rebuilt (EUR 20 million invested from the state budget in 2016-2020), and additional investments are planned in the RRP (EUR 215 million). In 2019-2021, 60 projects providing training in ECEC were financed from the European Social Fund (ESF - value of approximately EUR 7 million). In the last 3 years, the State invested over EUR 45 million to introduce a second shift, extend opening hours and introduce additional programmes in ECEC. In a second phase, another EUR 40 million are now available³. The upcoming reform of ECEC funding aims to reduce regional disparities and provide sustainability for ECEC services, thus addressing two key challenges in the sector. It will, however, not provide a universal model for all of Croatia.

EU funds play an important role in supporting education. Between 2014 and 2020, more than EUR 760 million was allocated from the European Structural and Investment Fund to education and training. In schools, the ESF financed the purchase of 109 885 tablets (EUR 20 million) for primary school students and, together with the ERDF, funded the purchase of 26 350 laptops (EUR 13.15 million) for teachers. In HE, the EU funds many projects on qualification standards, internationalisation and students’ work-based learning, with total value of EUR 60 million. The European Economic Area and Norway grants 2014-2021 provided EUR 30.6 million for pupils and teachers in primary schools to reduce social and economic differences: EUR 23.53 million for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in primary schools and EUR 3.53 million to equip 27 centres for the education of children with disabilities. The reconstruction of educational institutions damaged in earthquakes is partially financed from the EU funds and partially from a World Bank loan⁴.

5. Modernising early childhood and school education

Participation in ECEC is increasing, but remains low, with marked regional differences. Only 15.7% of children under 3 attended formal childcare in 2019 (EU average: 35.3%), almost all of them full time. Participation between age 3 and the beginning of compulsory primary education continues to increase (2.9 pps up from 2018 and 11.8 pps up from 2014⁵) reaching 79.4% in 2019. Despite these increases, the rate remains substantially below the EU average of 92.8% and the new EU-level target of 96%. Data indicate that most children participate in ECE only in the last obligatory year before compulsory school (250 instruction hours)⁶. Regional differences are high, with up to five times’ higher enrolments in the most developed regions (ed. Čosić, 2020). This is partly due to the differences in municipalities’ budget allocations for ECEC: in 2017-2019 they varied from far below 10% to 20% for towns⁷ and 15.5% of children live in towns or municipalities investing less than 6% for ECEC (ed. Čosić, 2020). Provision is especially scarce in rural municipalities: 40% lack a nursery and more than 25% lack a kindergarten. For children with developmental difficulties, only 23.9% of rural municipalities offer early intervention and only 11.2% offer day care (Berc, G. et al., 2020). In Zagreb, the new mayor is looking into abolishing the ‘parent-educator’ measure, which reduced participation in ECE by offering unemployed parents with several children financial incentives to keep their children at home and educate them themselves (63% of users of this measure disenrolled children from ECE to get the incentive)⁸.

The government is committed to raising the accessibility of ECEC. This commitment is present in both key policy documents adopted this year: the National Development Strategy – Croatia 2030 (NDS) aims to have 97% of children from 4 years to school age in ECEC by 2030 (NRS, 2021), and the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) aims to increase capacities in ECEC and participation from the age of 3. In addition, RRP reforms will increase the number of instruction hours in the last year before school, provide additional ECEC teachers, and include state involvement in financing ECEC in municipalities with low financial capacity. Currently four cities provide ECEC free of charge⁹. In 2018, UNICEF (Bouillet, 2018) recommended systematically educating ECEC teachers about the education of children in vulnerable groups, and it has developed a much needed curriculum for teacher education on improving inclusion (Domović et al, 2021).

Challenges persist in the quality of ECEC; a comprehensive quality framework would help address them. Currently only two of the five areas of the EU Quality Framework for ECEC¹⁰ are regulated: curriculum, and monitoring and evaluation (Križman Pavlović et al, 2020). In most ECEC institutions, the maximum number of children per group and teacher–child ratio prescribed under the State Pedagogical Standard are not respected, with 30% of ECEC teachers having much bigger groups (mostly in nursery groups) and 30% having more children with disabilities than allowed. Spatial conditions in ECEC institutions in larger cities can be an obstacle to the implementation of the curriculum (Ivšić, Jaklin, 2020).

Working conditions in ECEC are problematic, causing a shortage of ECEC teachers. ECEC employees represent 20% of all education sector staff. Temporary contracts are three times more frequent (19.7% for ECEC, 6.9% for the public sector). Availability of continuous professional development (CPD) is a problem (only 1 day or less per year for most ECEC teachers), while training usually does not meet teachers’ needs and sometimes has to be co-financed by them (Ivšić, Jaklin, 2020). Average income is approximately 24% lower than the public-sector average and due to the decentralised salary model depends on the financial capacities of the founders of ECEC facilities (CBS, 2020). According to Croatia’s public employment service, ECEC teacher is one of the 10 professions where staff is most needed¹¹.

Education continued to be affected by COVID-19 and earthquakes. There was no nationwide closure of schools during 2020/2021, with regional authorities deciding which of three teaching models to use based on epidemiological developments. This resulted in face-to-face delivery of 98% of primary, 85% of lower secondary and 71% of upper secondary education (but 90% for the pupils in the last year of secondary education). While renovation work following the March 2020 Zagreb earthquake is still ongoing (208 educational facilities damaged, about 20 requiring multi-year renovations), another major earthquake struck in Sisak-Moslavina County in December 2020, damaging nearly 50% of all schools in that county. Teachers’ salaries increased as promised last year (12.23% since 2019), but teachers faced a higher workload, additional health risks and lower compensation in case of inability to work due to COVID. In February 2021, teachers were given priority for vaccination.

Pupils rarely leave education early or repeat a grade, but their basic skills are low. The share of early leavers from education and training is the lowest in the EU (2.2% vs EU 9.9%), well below the EU-level target, and the gender gap is one of the lowest, 0.4 pps. Very few pupils leave school without a certificate (1.4% vs EU 4.4%), and differences related to SES are low (1.3 pps vs EU 4.3 pps). Grade repetition is also the lowest in the EU (1.5% vs EU 14.7%), with the lowest difference by SES (2.5 pps vs EU 24.2 pps) (OECD, 2020 Vol. V). Despite this, the percentage of low-achieving 15-year-olds in basic skills is above the EU-level target of 15% and above the EU average for all three subjects tested, while for maths (31.2%) and science (25.4%) the rates are among the highest in the EU. The share of 16-24 year-olds who report they have above-basic digital skills is among the highest (82% vs EU 56%) and significantly increased between 2015 and 2019 (22 pps vs EU 1 p.p.)¹².

Learning about Roma language and culture might help reduce inequalities and early school leaving. Roma girls are especially likely to leave school early (78% vs 60% for boys), with only 6% completing secondary or higher education (24% for Roma men) (World Bank, 2019). The implementation of a Roma curriculum in schools started in 2020/2021¹³, with the aim to preserve the Roma’s language and culture. Roma children can attend 2-5 hours of extra classes per week taught in their native tongue.

Reforms are under way to introduce whole-day schooling and increase the teaching force. Both the National Development Strategy (NDS) and RRP concentrate on improving education outcomes in primary school by increasing the instruction time and introducing whole-day schooling. Other NDS goals include attracting and retaining quality teachers and developing comprehensive support for students at risk. The RRP aims to support the curricular reform, provide support to teachers in implementation of new curricula following previous European technical support, introduce national exams in primary schools, provide scholarships for student-teachers in understaffed subjects, and increase teachers’ salaries by streamlining expenses. Stakeholders criticise the NDS for neglecting the social and humanistic dimension of education¹⁴ and for not including cooperation with stakeholders.

The share of pupils in general secondary schools is low, and varies across regions. The percentage of students in general secondary schools is among the lowest in the EU (31% vs EU 52%)¹⁵. This percentage varies greatly from county to county and is lower in the less developed ones. In VET schools, two thirds of pupils attend 4-year programmes. This is the alternative route to HE, often chosen by male students and students with lower school achievement and lower self-efficacy. Research shows that parental aspirations are more relevant than socio-economic status for the pupils’ intent to enrol in VET (Šabić et al., 2020). In 2020, 83% of VET students applied for the state matura exams, with 67% of them passing, and 61% enrolling in HEIs. However, they are more likely to drop out of HE. VET principals perceive a lack of equity due to a different educational experience and curriculum (Baketa et al, 2020). The results of the 2019/2020 matura seem to support this view: 44% of participants graduated from general secondary schools and 56% from VET schools, but failure rates were 3.9% and 37.8% respectively. Recent policy recommends reducing the share of learners in VET to 60% by 2024, rebalancing the figures in favour of general education (Cedefop, 2020a). This is also supported by the RRP.

6. Modernising vocational education and training and adult learning

New dual education programmes have been launched and VET teacher training reinforced. Four dual education IVET experimental programmes (salesperson, chimneysweeper, glazier and beautician) entered regular VET education in 14 schools in the 2020/2021, after evaluation and revision. Remaining five programmes will be revised and ready for implementation by the end of the 2021/2022. Regional centres of competences are not yet operational but are focusing on infrastructural investments, development of programmes and strengthening of human resources. New training material for CPD of teachers and trainers was created and published online (www.edu.asoo.hr), but capacity for its delivery was restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Cedefop and ReferNet, 2021).

Modernisation of VET and continued development of VET curricula in line with occupational standards might help improve education and training’s labour market relevance. VET continues to face challenges over the discrepancy between graduates’ education profiles and skills and labour market needs, too much focus on theoretical knowledge, and a lack of practical skills training (Cedefop 2020). Therefore, modernising VET and updating curricula in light of skills forecasts and existing needs would be crucial. With this aim, the RRP foresees a comprehensive analysis of needs to streamline secondary VET programmes. Further development of VET curricula in line with occupational standards and registering them in the National Qualifications Framework (CROQF) is a step in the right direction. Overall, Croatia would benefit from a wide-ranging reskilling strategy, including developing tools for skills anticipation and labour market forecasting.

Challenges related to the quality and access to adult education remain. The participation rate in adult education (4-week reference period) in 2020 was the 4th lowest in the EU (3.2% vs 9.2% in EU). Since monitoring of the outcomes of adult learning programmes is not yet developed, their effectiveness and impact on employability is unknown. In addition, the legislative framework is outdated, the quality control of the programmes is not at a satisfactory level, and recognition of informal learning underdeveloped (European Commission, 2019). Adoption of the new Adult Education Act and implementation of the voucher system for skills, also announced in the RRP, should help address these issues.

Various measures listed in the Strategy of Education, Science and Technology from 2014 will be implemented in order to improve the system. The RRP will support implementation of some of them. The adoption of the new Adult Education Act by the end of 2021 should improve labour market relevance by aligning adult education programmes with the Croatian Qualifications Framework (CROQF). This should be further aided by establishment of a skills catalogue, with mapping of existing and needed skills in the labour market. The complementary skills voucher system (managed in an IT application), to be implemented from the beginning of 2022, should increase participation rates in adult education, particularly of vulnerable groups (long-term unemployed, inactive or young persons not in education, employment or training – NEETs). Quality assurance system and participation in the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) are being developed through the ESF. 

7. Modernising higher education

Tertiary attainment rate is below the EU average and there are gender and urban-rural gaps. In 2020, the percentage of 25-34 year-olds with tertiary education was 36.6% (1.1 pps higher than in 2019), below both the EU average (40.5%) and the EU-level target for 2030 of 45%. The gender gap is high (18.3 pps vs EU 10.8 pps)¹⁶, and the urban-rural gap is higher than the EU average (26.5 pps vs EU 22 pps).

Despite interest of secondary school students in tertiary studies and the increase in tertiary attainment, too many study places remain unfilled. Interest in tertiary studies is strong both among general secondary school (97.3%) and in VET school students (71.8%) (Jokić and Ristić-Dedić, 2019). Early signs are that high interest led to an increase in the number of available study places, but despite decreasing numbers of new entrants since 2016, the number of study places was maintained. Nearly 9 000 places at HEIs remained unfilled in 2020/2021¹⁷ growing to 11 031 in 2021/2022¹⁸, indicating a disproportion of available places and the total number of secondary school graduates.

The employment rate of graduates and their first salaries are lower than average in the EU, with better chances awaiting STEM graduates. The employment rate of recent HE graduates (77.2% in 2020, below EU 83.7%) decreased by 1.9 pps in the last year¹⁹. A pilot survey of graduates’ study and employment experiences in 7 EU countries and Norway shows that, Croatia has the second highest youth unemployment rate (23.8%) (European Commission, 2020). According to the Croatian Employment Service, more students are needed predominantly in maths and physics, ICT, medicine and pharmacy and the English language, and to train as speech therapists and rehabilitators²⁰. The share of female STEM graduates increased by 2.7 pps between 2014 and 2019 (EU 0.5 pps)²¹. According to Eurograduate survey,  Croatia has, alongside Greece, the lowest participation rate in mobility among 8 participating countries, but their students are the most likely to study abroad for their second degree (European Commission, 2020).

New strategic documents introduce major reforms in higher education. The NDS priorities are the development of HE system, increasing its internationalisation and labour market relevance, and improving the students’ standard of living. The planned legal framework should define and expand models of public and private funding, quality assurance and management in HE. The scholarship system will be improved on the principles of meritocracy and facilitate study for students from families with low SES. The RRP supports improving the quality of HE programmes through measures such as setting qualification standards and improving a CROQF Registry, and through digitisation. Amendment to the CROQF Act adopted in February 2021 clarified the distinction between qualifications acquired upon completion of professional and university studies²². Currently, the CROQF Register contains seven occupational standards and eight qualification standards.

8. References

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Baketa et al. (2020), All Are Equal, But Some Are More Equal Than Others: Secondary School Principals’ Perspectives on the State Matura Exams and Issues of Equity and Equality of Access to Tertiary Education for Pupils from Grammar Schools and VET in Croatia, Revija za sociologiju, Vol. 50 No. 2, 2020, https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=353872

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Belošević, M et al. (2020), Is a resilience and positive youth development a protective factor for peer violence? - Perception of Croatian high school students; Make prevention science relevant for all: co- production and impact / - , 2020, pg. 79-80

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Bezinović, P. (2020), Attitudes of secondary school students on distance learning, presented at the GOOD Initiative conference “Education in time of crises” held on June 1st 2020 

Bezjak, S. et al. (2020), Izazovi u visokom obrazovanju za vrijeme pandemije bolesti COVID-19 i socijalne izolacije: iskustva i potrebe studenata i djelatnika visokih učilišta, Agencija za znanost i visoko obrazovanje, Zagreb, https://www.azvo.hr/images/stories/novosti/Rezultati_istra%C5%BEivanja_Izazovi_u_visokom_obrazovanju_za_vrijeme_pandemije_bolesti_COVID19_i_socijalne_izolacije.pdf

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Cedefop (2020a). Vocational education and training in Croatia: short description. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2801/121008

Cedefop ReferNet Croatia (2020b). Croatia: virtual VET promotes #stayathome education. https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/news-and-press/news/croatia-virtual-vet-promotes-stayathome-education

Cedefop; ReferNet (2021). VET REF: developments in vocational education and training policy database. Cedefop monitoring and analysis of VET policies. [Unpublished].

CROATIA EARTHQUAKE - Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment 2020, Government of Croatia, https://mgipu.gov.hr/UserDocsImages/dokumenti/Potres/RDNA_web_04082020.pdf

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Domović,V., Brajković, S. , Bouillet, D. (2021), Unaprjeđivanje inkluzivnosti inicijalnog obrazovanja odgojitelja djece rane i predškolske dobi: Kurikul za edukatore sveučilišnih nastavnika, UNICEF, Hrvatska https://www.unicef.org/croatia/media/6251/file/Kurikul%20za%20edukatore%20sveucilisnih%20nastavnika.pdf

Đaković,T., Novosel,I. (2021), Ljudska prava u Hrvatskoj: pregled stanja za 2020. godinu, Zagreb

ed. Čosić, I. (2020), Kako do vrtića za sve? Mogućnosti financiranja sustava ranog i predškolskog odgoja i obrazovanja, UNICEF Hrvatska.

ed. Ivšić, I., Jaklin, K. (2020), Raditi u dječjim vrtićima: Rezultati istraživanja uvjeta rada u ranom i predškolskom odgoju i obrazovanju, Sindikat obrazovanja, medija i kulture Hrvatske (SOMK), Zagreb. http://idiprints.knjiznica.idi.hr/932/1/Raditi%20u%20dje%C4%8Djim%20vrti%C4%87ima.pdf

European Commission, (2019). European Semester Country Report Croatia 2019, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52019SC1010&from=EN

European Commission (2020). Eurograduate Pilot Survey – Design and implementation of a pilot European graduate survey. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/51f88c2e-a671-11ea-bb7a-01aa75ed71a1/language-en

European Commission (2021), Education and Training Monitor - Volume II. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg

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Jokić Begić, N. et al. (2020), Preliminarni rezultati istraživačkog projekta Kako smo? Život u Hrvatskoj u doba korone, Odsjek za psihologiju Filozofskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu

Jokić, B, Ristić-Dedić, Z. (2019), Educational Aspirations in the Republic of Croatia, Revija za sociologiju, Vol,50 No.2, 2020.

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Ministry of Science and Education – MZO (2020b), Action plan for the prevention of Violence in schools, Zagreb

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Šabić, J., et al (2020), Gimnazija ili četverogodišnja strukovna škola? Osobne i socijalne odrednice odabira vrste srednjoškolskog obrazovanja, Revija za sociologiju, Vol. 50, No.2, 2020, https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=353866

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Annex I: Key indicators sources

Indicator	Eurostat online data code
Participation in early childhood education	educ_uoe_enra21
Low achieving eighth-graders in digital skills	IEA, ICILS.
Low achieving 15-year-olds in reading, maths and science	OECD (PISA)
Early leavers from education and training	Main data: edat_lfse_14 . Data by country of birth: edat_lfse_02 .
Exposure of VET graduates to work based learning	Data for the EU-level target is not available. Data collection starts in 2021. Source: EU LFS.
Tertiary educational attainment	Main data: edat_lfse_03 . Data by country of birth: edat_lfse_9912 .
Participation of adults in learning	Data for the EU-level target is not available. Data collection starts in 2021. Source: EU LFS.
Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP	gov_10a_exp
Expenditure on public and private institutions per student	educ_uoe_fini04
Upper secondary level attainment	edat_lfse_03

Annex II: Structure of the education system

Notes

¹ Eurostat, COFOG, 2019.

² Eurostat, [educ_uoe_fini04]

³ https://gradonacelnik.hr/home-glavna-vijest/polovica-gradova-u-ovome-mandatu-znacajno-povecala-izdvajanja-evo-koji-su-najvise-ulagali-u-vrtice/

⁴https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2020/06/26/world-bank-supports-croatia-to-weather-difficult-times-  caused-by-covid-19-pandemic-and-recent-earthquake

⁵ Eurostat, [educ_uoe_enra21].

⁶ Eurostat [educ_uoe_enra20] and SEED research reporting participation for 3-6 year-olds as 59% (SEED, 2018).

⁷ https://gradonacelnik.hr/home-glavna-vijest/polovica-gradova-u-ovome-mandatu-znacajno-povecala-izdvajanja-evo-koji-              su-najvise-ulagali-u-vrtice/

⁸ https://www.zagreb.hr/userdocsimages/demografija/REZULTATI%20ANKETNOG%20ISTRA%C5%BDIVANJA%20MI%C5%                A0LJENJA%20KORISNIKA%20O%20MJERI%20RODITELJ%20ODGOJITELJ%20-%20za%20web.pdf, p. 25

⁹ https://gradonacelnik.hr/home-glavna-vijest/polovica-gradova-u-ovome-mandatu-znacajno-povecala-izdvajanja-evo-koji-su-najvise-ulagali-u-vrtice/

¹⁰ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CONSIL:ST_9014_2019_INIT&from=EN, Annex to the annex.

¹¹ https://burzarada.hzz.hr/Posloprimac_RadnaMjesta.aspx?trazi=1&pojam=ODGOJITELJ&top=1

¹² Eurostat: isoc_sk_dskl_i.

¹³ https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2020_04_52_1046.html

¹⁴ https://www.cms.hr/hr/ljudska-sigurnost/nacionalna-strategija-razvoja-hrvatske-propustena-prilika-za-razvoj

¹⁵ Eurostat, [educ_uoe_enra16].

¹⁶ Eurostat, [edat_lfse_03].

¹⁷ https://www.azvo.hr/hr/azvo-vijesti/2433-objavljene-konacne-rang-liste-za-upis-na-studije-u-jesenskom-roku-           akademske-godine-2020-2021

¹⁸ https://www.azvo.hr/hr/azvo-vijesti/2608-jesenski-rok-objavljene-konacne-rang-liste-za-upis-na-studije-u-ak-god-2021-           22

¹⁹ Eurostat, [edat_lfse_24].

²⁰ https://e-usmjeravanje.hzz.hr/preporuke-za-obrazovnu-upisnu-politiku.

²¹ Eurostat [educ_uoe_grad02].

²² Official Gazette 20/2021 https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2021_02_20_442.html.