IN MEMORIAM
WHAT I BELIEVE | Viorel NICOLESCU
Full paper
FORCED RETURN | Dan BADEA
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ADMIRATION PRACTICE | Emil STAN
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WE ARE THE MNEMONIC TRACE WE LEAVE IN THE WORLD | Speranţa FARCA
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FREEDOM| Monica CUCIUREANU
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VIOREL NICOLESCU – THE MAN AND MENTOR WHO SPREAD OUR WINGS | Gabriela NIŢĂ
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VIOREL NICOLESCU – THE PERSON, THE RESEARCHER, THE PROFESSOR | Gheorghe BUNESCU
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STUDIES
THE “WHAT FOR” / THE TELOS: THE IDEAL OF LIFE AS MAIN LANDMARK OF EDUCATION | Ana BAZAC
Full article | Abstract&Keywords
Abstract: This paper of philosophy of education sketches the modern concept of ideal of life as main vector of construction of man, and thus, of education. It is a humanistic and Western Enlightenment concept, and for this reason the introduction deals with Kant’s substantiation of the concept of ideal as such. Then, after a note about some philosophical ideas showing the openness and differentia specifica of the ideal, the concept of ideal of life as manifestation of the concept of ideal is decomposed: following the pedagogical, thus multidisciplinary outlook of D. Bazac’s book published in 1983 about the adolescents’ ideal of life.
The ideal of life is individual, and its dialectical relations with social ideals and with educational ideals shed light on a complex in which all these types of ideal condition each other and involve equally complex relations with different social values. The role of models towards the ideal is showed, as well as the constitution of the ideal of life following a “de-idealisation” of the models: ultimately, the concretisation of the educative ideal in models concerns and strengthens the awareness of the different, divergent or convergent relations between ideals and reality. Just this capacity to mirror reality and induce the humans’ power to transform it and themselves according to the moral that underline the uniqueness of their species gives to the ideal of life the importance that only the educative process can emphasise. Thus, the ideal of life highlights the reason-to-be/telos/“what for” of the human beings as such.
Keywords: adolescence, ideal of life, models, philosophy of education, values.
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FOSTERING VALUES THROUGH EDUCATION: PSYCHOLOGICAL RESOURCES AND STRATEGIES FOR A NONAGGRESSIVE UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENT | Iulia GONŢA, Eduard-Dimitrie-Alexandru VULPE, Horia-Sebastian IONIŢĂ
Full article | Abstract&Keywords
Abstract:. Approaches to strengthening educational values, such as human dignity, equality, and respect for human rights, are increasingly common in modern pedagogy and are reflected in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for ensuring inclusive and equitable education for all. In this regard, we aimed to examine the psychological and value-based dimensions of education and behaviours manifested in interpersonal relationships, focusing on the issue of (non)aggression. We administered a questionnaire to 427 students to identify intervention models in education. The questionnaire assessed emotional and attitudinal characteristics related to experiences within the educational system, including students’ approaches to vulnerable situations and their suggestions for implementing best practices in education. To examine more deeply the psychological resources of students – such as hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism, which are essential for understanding their responses and attitudes towards nonaggression – we used the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ). The majority of participants consider aggression in educational institutions to be a significant issue that negatively affects both the victims and the community as a whole. The analysis of the questionnaire results confirmed the significative contribution of the psychological capital to the formation of a constructive educational environment, important in the development of educational values. Proposed suggestions from the participants mentioned the need for monitoring and reporting incidents, implementing an educational program for aggression prevention and an active involvement of school counsellors, parents, teachers, and authorities in preventing and combating school aggression.
Keywords: educational values, educational environment, non-aggression, psychological resources, resilience.
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EXAMINING PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS’ PERCEPTIONS OF CLASSROOM CLIMATE USING THE CLASSROOM CLIMATE QUESTIONNAIRE AND CHILDREN’S DRAWINGS | Doroteea-Teodora BOROZAN, Leyla SAFTA-ZECHERIA
Full article | Abstract&Keywords
Abstract: Centering students’ voices in primary school settings has gained increased importance in recent years with the rise in the significance of children’s rights. Existing studies investigated students’ classroom climate perceptions via a qualitative (e.g., interviews or classroom observations) or a quantitative approach (e.g., self-reported questionnaires). However, in the case of international and national literature, a study discriminating the perspective differences produced by each approach to classroom climate is still lacking. Hence, following a mixed-method approach, our endeavour aims to fill this gap. In total, 68 fourth-grade primary school students from Romania (28 girls and 40 boys, aged 9-12 years old) answered the golden standard instrument in the field (i.e., Classroom Climate Questionnaire Primary – CCQ-P). Complementary, all the students made free-hand drawings of their classroom (i.e., the approach adopted following that of Kuzle and Gracin, 2021), which they further explained to the first author in a semi-structured interview. We noticed both similarities and differences in how the two approaches revealed different aspects of children’s perspectives on classroom climate. In general, research participants understood their classroom climate in positive terms, a point shared across methodological approaches. Moreover, task orientation seemed to be the most pronounced dimension across approaches, since related CCQ-P scores were high, and students represented themselves as paying attention and working on specific tasks. However, regarding collaboration and involvement, whereas the CCQ-P revealed relatively high levels, drawings of children collaborating or actively engaging in communication with the teachers and other students were extremely rare, and the frontal organization of the teaching process dominated the sample. The current paper can contribute to a better understanding of the integration of qualitative and quantitative approaches to classroom climate and consequentially to a more nuanced understanding of the minutiae of classroom climate in Romania and beyond.
Keywords: child friendly research, classroom climate, drawing as a research method, primary school, students’ perspectives.
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AXIOLOGICAL EDUCATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD | Horaţiu CATALANO, Ana RUS, Andreea-Ionela DOHOTARU, Anca ANI-RUS, Gabriela MESTIC
Full article | Abstract&Keywords
Abstract: Education is the fundamental element that contributes to transmitting values from a very early age. Education based on the promotion of values at an early age is essential because this is when the most significant changes in a child’s life occur, especially regarding character formation and socioemotional development.
Axiological education involves the transmission of ethical principles through daily activities, interactions with others and the organisation of the educational environment. Early childhood practitioners can adjust children’s values and behaviours in a desired direction based on their principles and values. Both parents and teachers have a significant role in transmitting the values and shaping children’s sociomoral skills and developing them. It is well-known that axiological guidance begins in family, from the child’s earliest years, and continues in school and social environments into which the child will be integrated.
The axiological approach facilitates children’s understanding and appreciation of concepts such as respect, truth, responsibility, kindness and empathy, providing the foundation for long-term harmonious development and well-balanced interpersonal relationships. Through active involvement in various axiologically oriented games and activities, children will be able to differentiate truth from lies, right from wrong, beautiful from ugly, acquiring sociomoral norms, principles and behaviours. The values nurtured in childhood will shape the character and provide the basis for later adult personality.
This study highlights the importance of addressing core values at an early age and provides examples of good practices in implementing axiological education in kindergarten.
Keywords: axiological education, character, early childhood education, personality, values.
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THE HISTORY OF PRIMARY TEACHER TRAINING IN ROMANIA | Gianina PRODAN
Full article | Abstract&Keywords
Abstract: One of the principles that governs education in Romania is the principle of assuming, promoting and preserving national identity and cultural values. History is an identity binding. Specific to teachers for primary education is a professional identity, conferred by common elements such as social behaviors, dominant beliefs and ideologies, elements imprinted in the professional phenotype. The paper presents a chronological analysis of the most important historical moments, political and social contexts, testimonies and legislative frameworks of the professional training of teachers in Romania. The crucial historical moments for our nation and culture are recounted, in connection with testimonies about the activity of teachers, the first teacher training courses, the first normal schools, the political and social contexts and the measures to legislate the professional training of teachers for primary education. The historical knowledge of the professional training of teachers in Romania is part of the general preparation and culture of teachers for primary education.
Keywords: general culture of teachers for primary education, history of teacher training, professional identity.
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THE RECEPTION OF RUDOLF STEINER, CÉLESTIN FREINET AND HELEN PARKHURST IN INTERWAR ROMANIA | Costel COROBAN, Anamaria DOROŞ (BURADA)
Full article | Abstract&Keywords
Abstract: The article presents a theoretical and comparative approach based on primary sources, including press articles and educational publications of the time, as well as secondary sources such as pedagogical works and compendiums. The research method encompasses a historical study, that involves analysing, contrasting and comparing sources. The research premise is that although the Romanian cultural environment was peripheral during the interwar period, there was nevertheless good readiness for pedagogical innovations from Europe and America. We chose to test this hypothesis through the pedagogical contributions of Steiner, Freinet, and Helen Parkhurst. Due to the increased influence and popularity of Maria Montessori, reflected in the large number of appearances in specialized publications and in the Romanian interwar press, she was not included in this study. Future studies will address the impact of Montessori in interwar Romania. The study shows that there was a desire in the interwar specialized publications to evolve beyond the rigidity and formality of traditional Herbartian approaches. The discussions included not only laudatory, but also critical and pragmatic assessments of Pestalozzi, Rein, Dewey, Piaget, Parkhurst, Montessori, and Freinet. The research premise is partially confirmed because, among the three modern educational alternatives specified in the title, Rudolf Steiner’s contributions were the least mentioned and appreciated in the Romanian literature during the interwar period. Steiner was more commonly known for his “anthroposophy” concerns rather than his pedagogical views. Upon Steiner’s death, Lucian Blaga wrote a laudatory article that briefly mentioned the Austrian educator’s educational views.
Keywords: Célestin Freinet, Helen Parkhurst, history of pedagogy, Interwar period, Rudolf Steiner.
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MAIN SPECIFICITIES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE REFORM PEDAGOGICAL MOVEMENT IN HUNGARY: ALTERNATIVE SCHOOLS AFTER 1990 | Beatrix VINCZE
Full article | Abstract&Keywords
Abstract: The study aims to present the current reform and alternative education situation in Hungary. Hungarian reform pedagogy has a long history, and between the two world wars, the reception of European reform trends became a significant part of the pedagogical culture. The New School movement, the Child Study movement and experimental pedagogy became an integral part of Hungarian pedagogy. Reform pedagogical institutions were established mainly in the capital, the most important being Waldorf, Montessori pedagogy, the Family School, the New School, and in the countryside, the most significant were the School of Action and the Garden School (Szeged).
The information sources for the study were the results of research on reform pedagogy and life reform in Hungary, studies about alternative pedagogical schools, and pedagogical websites. The outline and overview analysis cover the conceptual definitions, the historical traditions and the main features of the current situation. The research group of Eötvös University (led by Prof. András Németh), the Jena-Plan working group, has played a prominent role in researching (over 30 years) and promoting the Hungarian reform pedagogical movement.
Keywords: alternative and reform schools, alternative education, reform pedagogy.
Această operă este pusă la dispoziție sub Licenţa Creative Commons Atribuire-Necomercial-Distribuire în Condiţii Identice 4.0 Internațional .
JENA PLAN PEDAGOGY IN ROMANIA | Monica CUCIUREANU, Robert PFÜTZNER
Full article | Abstract&Keywords
Abstract: The Jena Plan is a pedagogical model developed by the German professor Peter Petersen at the University of Jena in Germany. The model was known by some Romanian teachers already in the period between the two World Wars, and after 1990 it was popularized again, serving as a source of innovation and inspiration during the reformation and democratization of the education system in Romania. The Jena Plan appears at the level of preschool education in four counties and it is one of the six educational alternatives recognized and approved by the Ministry of Education after 1990. This article makes a retrospective of the development of the Jena Plan in Romania, in the context of the development of the education system in the last three and a half decades. The program dedicated to the continuous training of teachers who choose to follow the principles of this educational alternative is briefly presented, as well as the position of some preschool teachers who have experience in applying the Jena Plan in kindergartens. Finally, a possible future evolution in Romania of this alternative model is outlined. The article is a translation and adaptation of the article “Jenaplan-Pädagogik in Rumänien” (Cuciureanu & Pfützner, 2024), which recently appeared in “Pädagogische Rundschau”.
Keywords: continuous teachers’ training program, educational alternatives, Jena Plan, preschool education.
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REVIEWS
EMIL STAN, THE DIGITAL NATIVES’ SCHOOLING. Lambert Academic Publishing, 2022, 168 pages, ISBN 978-620-5-51694-2 | Mihaela SUDITU, Cristina Georgiana SAFTA
MARIA DORINA PAŞCA, READING THERAPY. Târgu Mureş, Ardealul Publishing House, 2022, 163 pages, ISBN 978-606-8372-73-0 | Réka KUTASI