Abstract: In this article, I analyze the situation of vulnerable young people in Romania, with a focus on NEETs, one of the categories at risk of social exclusion in the European countries. The main objective is to understand the vulnerabilities of young people in relation to the outcomes of the education system, labor market, and the efficiency of the social protection system. The first part of the paper aims to describe the social inequalities to which young people in Romania are exposed. The second part proposes a descriptive analysis of the NEETs profile in Romania and the European Union. I use quantitative data provided by Eurostat to outline the diversity of NEETs in Romania, complemented with secondary qualitative data collected from NEETs and social workers from a research report published by the Institute of Educational Science in Romania (ISE, 2015). The third part focuses on the problems that young people face when leaving the education system, as well as on labor market inequalities and issues related to the efficiency of social transfers in Romania. The last part aims to analyzing Youth programs in the context of austerity after the global economic crisis of 2008.

Keywords: NEETs, social inequalities, vulnerability, youth programs

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Abstract: The association of three concepts – quality, equity, inclusion –represents the transversal axis of international and European educational policy documents nowadays, hence being an important aim for all education systems. According to the UNESCO strategic documents on education for the period up to 2030 and to the development objectives for this millennium, the creation of inclusive educational systems stands as the surest path to social inclusion. Inclusion is an aspect consistent with value and with the principle of equity, aimed at ensuring the right of all children to develop and reach their full potential. The European Commission defines equity as the extent to which individuals can benefit from and access educational opportunities, educational interventions and outcomes, along with those of professional education and training.
At an international level, the early school leaving indicator assesses the extent to which a given system manages to fight inequalities in terms of exclusion. Accordingto the Eurostat 2019 data on Romania, at a level of 16.4% in 2018, the early school leaving and training rate (for individuals aged 18 to 24) remains one of the highest rates in the EU. The percentage is significantly higher compared to the EU average and to the national target for 2020. The study argues that in spite of the policies for improving the quality of education over the past decade, most of the measures are focused on approaching the social barriers regarding the access to education, and less on increasing the quality of the education provided in schools (education as a process).

Keywords: early school leaving, educational policies, equity, inclusive education, quality education

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Abstract: In Romania, highly educated people are more likely to acquire a higher occupational status than their parents as they progress in their career (Jecan & Pop, 2012) and higher incomes with every completed school year (Varly et al., 2014). On the other hand, the gap between the students’ results mirrors the socio-economic inequalities among them (Botezat, 2019; Feşnic, 2019; Ivan, 2019; Tufiş, 2008; Ţoc, 2016). In order to gain an in depth understanding of how inequality is perpetuating, the case study this article is based on aims to explore, describe and discuss the teachers’ representations on students with low socio-economic status and the students’ representations on learning. The analysis uses data collected in February 2018 through interviews with teachers, the class’s tutor, students and nonparticipatory observation. The case study reveals that in the teachers’ discourse, the students are presented as lacking interest and responsibility for studying. Also, the students describe themselves as ’lazy’ because they do not do their homework or answer the teachers’ questions. A closer look at these ideas suggests that the students are identifying with their teachers’ deficit narrative; also they disregard their need for support in learning and think of learning as an individual act. In the classroom the students display resistance, however their narrative about learning does not question the pedagogic authority and also reveals their self-disciplinatory efforts.

Keywords: learners’ identity, learning, social class, socio-economic status, support

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Abstract: The article presents the conclusions of a research carried out in 2019 in Iaşi County, aiming to describe and measure the main school social resources, based on the teachers’ opinion. The research aimed to identify the strengths and weaknesses in order to perform a diagnosis of the schools considered. The questionnaire-based research was carried out in three urban schools and three rural schools located in socially and economically disadvantaged areas. A total of 5237 students attend the six schools involved, with 345 teachers employed, of whom 156 provided answers to the questionnaire. The instrument was built by operationalizing the concept of Child Friendly School, promoted by UNICEF, using five indicators: effectiveness, inclusion, children’s trust in school, safety, relationship with parents. The highest score was achieved by the “children’s trust in school” indicator, followed by “effectiveness”; in the second category, there are “inclusion” and “relationship with parents”, while “safety” scored the lowest. Overall, it turned out that the respondent teachers have a good opinion regarding the confidence that the children have in school and in the accomplishment of their mission, but critically evaluate the schools’ relationship with the parents and safety in schools.

Keywords: Child Friendly School, effectiveness, inclusion, school social resources

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Abstract: Roma people have been victims of oppression in Romania for many centuries, “in the long course of the Gypsy experience in Eastern Europe, none has been worse than that in Romania” (Crowe & Kolsti, 1991, p. 61). Nowadays, education can play a key role in assuring that the Roma are treated with respect and dignity, in assuring that they receive recognition, while dismantling the stigma.
This paper is the outcome of a study of the representation of minority students in Romanian textbooks. While many educational reforms were targeted to increase Roma students’ attendance and results – schools with Roma language teaching, textbooks in Roma native language, affirmative actions for high school and university students of Roma origin – it’s an open question as to whether the Romanian textbooks are sufficiently inclusive and effective in combating racial discrimination and stereotyping.
By employing a social justice perspective, I argue that textbooks systematically discriminate against Roma children by under- and misrepresenting the Roma experiences, traditions and history. My argument unfolds through two main directions from the data analysis. Firstly, we examine primary and middle school (2nd grade – 6th grade) textbooks in search for representations of Roma realities and culture. Secondly, we explore the presentation or absence of historical facts regarding Roma. This exploratory study hopes to become a starting point for a discussion about applied curriculum in Romania, specifically the textbook component. Limited comparative data was collected and stark differences can be inferred between the attention devoted to Hungarian culture and realities versus the Roma, but further research is warranted.

Keywords: minorities, oppression, Roma, social justice

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Abstract: The first years of teaching experience are crucial for beginning teachers as they face numerous challenges. Moreover, the way novices succeed in handling challenges during their first year of field work is a key determinant of their decision to continue working in the system or not. In this respect, a notable theme within the literature considers the experiences and challenges of beginning professionals, as more and more researchers talk about the “praxis shock”, “reality shock” or “transition shock” to better depict the process through which new teachers pass in order to get accustomed to their new professional context. Our study seeks to investigate the challenging experiences that novice kindergarten teachers encounter, as well as the strategies they adopt in order to overcome them. The participants of the present study are beginning teachers (n=16) with a maximum of three years’ teaching experience from six public inner-city kindergartens. By making use of a phenomenological qualitative inquiry, data was collected through participating at semi-structured interviews, focus groups and by filling in logbooks. After the data was recorded and transcribed, five main themes were identified. The key findings indicate that a new professional context can often lead to uncertainty and discomfort. Moreover, beginning teachers’ “challenging moments” descriptions generally emphasize their struggles concerning their own professional development, the school organizational aspects, as well as their relationships with students, colleagues, principals and parents. The results of the study show the need to restructure the collaboration process between novices and kindergartens, in order to improve collaborative relationships and provide the appropriate context for the professional development of kindergarten teachers at the beginning of their careers.

Keywords: challenging experiences, novice teachers, qualitative study, teacher education

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Abstract: Social distancing measures imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic have led almost overnight to the digitalization of educational activities in Romania and elsewhere. This transformation has rendered visible the need to develop adequate and responsible online behavior to an unprecedented extent and has led us to ask: “Which are the digital citizenship competencies of the future professionals in the field of education?”. To answer this question, we administered an online questionnaire focusing on identifying digital citizenship competences of undergraduate students in educational sciences in Romania. Digital citizenship competences were structured along three dimensions: respect, education and protection. Our study has shown that respondents had well developed digital citizenship competences in terms of knowledge and attitudes and that there is a need to insist more on skills that translate attitudes and knowledge into action. Moreover, the study has shown that social distancing measures and the associated rapid digitalization of educational activities can be interpreted both as stress factors, as well as an opportunity to develop digital citizenship competences through experiential learning.

Keywords: digital citizenship, education during COVID-19 pandemic, pre-service teacher training

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Abstract: The new challenges faced by the future teachers make them assume a new role, that of reflective practitioner. Therefore, university programs should give future teachers the opportunity to engage in practical experiences that will stimulate their reflective skills and which can help create a strong and authentic teaching career. In this sense, a series of interventions, at a simulated level, were put into practice by the students in Pedagogy enrolled in year II at the University of Bucharest. After participating in the proposed activities, the students had to write a reflective essay. A series of focus-groups were organised in order to identify the students’ opinion towards the use of a reflective essay as a way of professional training. The results show that the reflective essay is a tool that plays a significant role in building better and more meaningful learning experiences and helps in providing evidence-based methodological decisions.

Keywords: pre-service teachers, portfolio, reflective practice, university

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Abstract: The socio-economical background of the family influences the school efficiency, but beside this, many other factors have outstanding effect on pupils’ results. Most of these factors can be found outside of the educational institutions. The studies which focus on the performance of schooling highlight the idea that extracurricular activities have enormous benefits on the school performance as well as on the overcoming of school failure and abandonment. Our research is focusing on the extracurricular and extraschool activities as well as their effect on the development of competencies. We would like to find out how the extracurricular/ extraschool activities influence the results of competence measurements. We created our background questionnaires, that analyse the effects of influencing factors, since there aren’t such questionnaires in the national assesments in Romania. Our study is based on the analysis of the KOV-ET-OM-2017 database (N = 1054), which contains the results of the competency assesment of the 4th grade students belonging of the Hungarian minority from Covasna county and information related to contextual factors from the background questionnaires. The outcome of the research highlights the fact that the extracurricular activities have beneficial effect on the development of the school competences. Among the activities organized by the schools, the camps and the activities supporting the prodigies seem to be the most effective.

Keywords: afterschool, extracurricular activities, extraschool activities, school performance

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Abstract: Building on the integrative model from the Social Cognitive Career Theory, the present study investigates in a longitudinal approach the association between students’ academic skills self-efficacy, college-going outcome expectations, and intention to drop out of their academic studies, as mediated by satisfaction with their chosen area of study. It also investigates whether vocational fit/congruence adds an increment to the aforementioned variables in explaining the intention to drop out of university. The sample included 167 freshmen students in various areas of study who filled in questionnaires of self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and vocational fit in the first weeks at university. In the second semester, six months later, they filled in instruments that measure satisfaction with the chosen area of study and dropout intentions. The results showed that the best fit was that of a model in which satisfaction with the area of study is a full mediator of the relationship between self-efficacy and dropout intentions and between outcome expectations and dropout intentions. The Iachan and Zener-Schnuelle fit indices alone were a predictor of dropout intentions. However, its addition to the model does not bring an explanatory increment but rather leads to a poorer fit of the model. Implications are discussed.

Keywords: academic skills self-efficacy, college-going outcome expectations, Holland congruence index, Social Cognitive Career Theory, university dropout

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Abstract: Imposing and controlling learning actions which use the self-reflective emotions of shame and guilt of the school students, generate symptoms, behaviors and attitudes associated with anxiety (fear of evaluation, fraud – generated by fear of failure, fear of speaking in front of the classroom, fear of asking questions, etc.).
Anxiety disorders tend to start early in life and give rise to long-term negative consequences. A meta-analysis of the onset age for anxiety disorders shows that separation anxiety and specific phobia have an onset 10 to 11 years of age and indicates that elementary school years could be a significant risk phase for the development of the anxiety disorders.
The research was conducted between January 2018 and May 2019 in 10 urban and rural communities in Romania. 341 school children aged between 5 and 12 years old, from 20 Romanian educational institutions, participated together with their parents and teachers (23 respondents), using an omnibus questionnaire which measures the level of correlations between shame, guilt and clinical symptoms associated with anxiety in children.
One of the research objectives was to verify the extent to which anxiety is observable in the school and family environment. The results revealed a correlation between shame, guilt and anxiety. At the same time, it was found that there were no differences between school and family environment in terms of anxiety symptoms, and that – in general – parents and teachers could observe the behavioral and attitudinal characteristics that signal the presence of anxiety.

Keywords: anxiety, educational environment, guilt, shame

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Abstract: The purpose of the present study is to investigate the relationship between the levels of mindfulness and work-life balance at the Romanian young population. In the process of enhancing our levels of work-life balance, satisfaction or well being, mindfulness plays an essential role, proved by its practice and its applications. The quality of our professional life is a significant contributor to our quality of life as a whole. When society provides a qualitative professional life to its citizens, it also proves itself worthy of attracting and retaining employees. Mindfulness is not an independent concept, but one which positively influences multiple areas or dimensions of an individual’s life. These dimensions include: perspective, connection, choice, and self-knowledge. The subjects of this study were 60 young people, aged between 20-35. All of them were either students or graduates of higher education institutions. The methods used for this study were two questionnaires: the first one was a questionnaire for identifying the level of mindfulness, based on four dimensions – observe, describe, act with awareness and accept without judgement – and the second one – a scale for measuring the level of work-life balance. The results were processed in SPSS Statistics using the T-test for independent samples and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The results showed a strong relationship between the levels of mindfulness and work-life balance of the Romanian young population.

Keywords: Mindfulness, satisfaction, well-being, work-life balance

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Abstract: Lifelong learning has become a necessity in most professions due to the information explosion and technology integration in daily work. Teachers, obviously, fall into this category, the teaching methods, and skills that need to be developed by students in need of continuous improvement. Changes in educational reform, too fast to adapt to children and teachers, also contribute to the daily school challenges. Ideally, the school should prepare its students for the challenges of an active life. But what happens when the labor market is still growing and the necessary skills for the future are not yet required at the current level? What happens when competencies of the 21st century or skills in the soft-skills category are not developed by the graduates, that is, by the teachers? This research has focused on a specially developed program, about 1 year, for future teachers. The main objective is to improve direct educational practices from the classroom by using teaching methods that encourage the development of higher-level thinking skills.

Keywords: Certification programs, high order thinking, teacher training

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Abstract: The paper analyses the components of the educational climate in the school organization. The latter facilitates and co-participates in the learning processes while constantly developing itself. The importance of the educational climate in defining a school is metaphorically underlined by Freiberh and Stein (1999), which described the school climate as “the heart and soul of the school, and the essence that directs teachers and pupils to love school and to want to be part of it.” In recent years, worrying studies have emerged about the feelings that both students and teachers associate with the school. According to a report on the state of education in Romania, published by UNICEF in 2013, our country is the last in Europe in terms of the well-being of young people. Even when it comes to teachers, the educational reality is not very different. A recent study (2018) by the Romanian Business Leaders Foundation (RBL) and D & D Research shows that Romania occupies the antepenultimate place in the world and the last place in Europe in global index of the status of teachers in society. In order to build a learning climate and to support the development of schools, it is first necessary to carefully analyse the many dimensions of the educational climate in order to understand the complexity and value of this concept.

Keywords: Dimensions, educational climate, educational resources, information society, school development, school organization

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Abstract: The article presents a brief history of role play from Moreno’s work to the present time and the specificity of role play as a teaching method. The conceptual differences among similar interactive methods are identified: group work, thinking hats, the mosaic method. The didactic method of role play is applied to a group of 90 first-year students from a technical faculty, taking the subject of Communication Techniques, for 12 weeks. The research aims to develop professional communication skills by using role play. We identified the communication problem of the students from a technical faculty, set research objectives, present the research design, the results and their interpretation. The communication problem of the first year students from a technical faculty consists in the difficulty of dealing with active listening, empathy, negotiation with others. As a result, the research objectives focused on the development of these subcomponents of the communication competences. The criteria for assessing the application of this method for the development of professional communication competences are established by the teacher. Through the SWOT method applied at the end of the 12-weeks research, students highlighted the positive aspects, the negative ones, the opportunities and the risks of implementing role play. The conclusions of the paper emphasize the need to use interactive methods with the aim of developing students’ transversal competences, but also the limitations or inadequacies of these methods.

Keywords: Professional communication skills, role play, technical higher education, training

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Abstract: In Romania, the latest results in PISA as well as national exams show a decrease in the interest of students in studying sciences, whilst the results are much below the OECD average. The present study has been carried out at national level by a research team from the University of Bucharest within the framework of the international Horizon 2020 project Scientix, coordinated by European SchoolNet. The study addresses the beliefs and attitudes of STEM teachers in the pre-university education on current practices, evolution and trends in the science-related skills of students. Two investigative techniques have been used: document analysis and an online standardized questionnaire-based survey. The questionnaire was developed by Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, NC State University. So far, the quantitative data was collected from 259 STEM teachers. The survey invited teachers to express their opinions related to their attitudes, values and beliefs on their teaching efficacy, development of the 21st Century skills, educational leadership, as well as some other themes such as the extent to which teaching and teachers affect student learning, the amount and quality of use of ICT for learning in STEM classes, the frequency of using certain STEM instructional practices, awareness of STEM careers. This article’s focus is on one out of the seven constructs – the use of technology in STEM classes. The construct is operationalised in eight sub-items. The discussion on the each of the constructs as well as on the relations between them is quite relevant in the light of the relationship between beliefs and practices, while the results are quite striking, with impact on tailored professional development approached.

Keywords: Computer-assisted instruction, ICT tools in education, teachers, STEM education

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Abstract: The teacher can develop the students’ creativity through different strategies, and it is up to him/her that the lessons should be attractive, interesting and lead on the one hand to a good collaboration among students, and on the other hand, to a good collaboration among the teacher and his/her students. Interdisciplinary teaching appears to be a necessity to overcome the artificial boundaries among disciplines and to correlate their contents, and the use of technology within classes helps to improve the educational process by seeking knowledge and skills that enable the student to adapt to the requirements of society, which are in constant evolution. The use of technology favours the teaching process through the following features: through multidisciplinary activities, by allowing access to non-school educational resources, by using images, sounds that facilitate the understanding of some abstract concepts, through the ability of searching for sources of information that stimulate curiosity, through the possibility of practicing for the formation of skills, through collaborative interactions in solving some projects. In order to achieve a modern, but also highly qualitative education, the teacher has to combine classical and modern methods correctly, to be creative, and the technology should be used with measure and at the right time. The key to the successful use of informational and communicational technology is not the choice of tools or programs, but the ability of the teacher to plan, create and implement a creative and effective activity.

Keywords: Collaboration, creativity, interdisciplinary teaching

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Abstract: The current study shows how LEGO® was used as a learning tool in the foreign language classroom with young learners (7-10 years old) during an English Foreign Language (EFL) course in order to enhance fluency and develop students’ oral skills. The findings of this small-scale study support the idea that storytelling engages young learners in the process of foreign language learning and that LEGO® bricks could create contexts very favorable to language learning. Likewise, it indicates that students’ engagement in the storytelling task is determined by several factors, such as their interest in LEGO®, their level of assertiveness, their creativity and language level. As to the type of tasks, collaborative or individual, the current paper puts forward the idea that in the case of storytelling tasks, young learners perform better individually than in pairs or in small groups. This article approaches the language benefits of storytelling activities with young learners and displays a few pedagogical suggestions for the use of LEGO® as a language learning tool.

Keywords: Collaboration, EFL, engagement, LEGO, oral skills, storytelling

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Abstract: This comparative study represents an attempt to identify students’ perceptions and needs at the same time, in terms of incorporating literary texts in the foreign language class. For quite a long time literary texts (LT) have been massively marginalized as a language learning resource and consequently students display significant deficiencies in interpreting figurative language, making inferences, thinking critically. The researcher assumes that revitalizing LT in the language class would bring multiple benefits to the students who learn EFL as part of a double program training them to become teachers of other subjects as well as primary and secondary school teachers in Moldova. It is a contrastive-comparative study involving 83 students, 48 undergraduates from the University of Granada and 35 from SPU “Ion Creangă” of Chişinău, Moldova. The data were collected through mixed instruments: all of the students filled in a survey for quantitative data and the students from Moldova participated in a semi-structured interview at the end of their 2nd year course in English. The findings reveal rather positive attitudes in favor of LT as a language learning resource, but at the same time there are differences between the perceptions of Spanish and Moldovan students. The pedagogical implications of the study for stakeholders at “Ion Creangă” University suggest reconsidering the EFL curriculum with a view of incorporating more LT alongside other types of authentic materials used to develop students’ language proficiency.

Keywords: Attitudes and perceptions, authentic materials, benefits, differences, literary texts

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Abstract: Progressively, the differences between generations can be observed in schools, not only from the mentality point of view, but also through the evolution of technology. Nowadays, school has to adapt to the society’s development rhythm and prepare the youth for the future, which is characterized by change, advanced technology and science. As a Romanian Literature and Language teacher, the question which is raised is in what way the strategies, methods, and means used in class can be updated to the new types of communication and the necessities that students have according to the fundamental change of the society, such that the connection teacher-student can be realised in a more constructive and motivational way. This article proposes a new way of reflection for teachers interested in the optimization of methods and teaching means used in class – Mentimeter represents an innovative element in Romania, but currently used in the United Kingdom for high-school classes and university lectures. We will take into consideration how to define this concept, the process, the necessary means and materials, the lesson category, how to give suitable tasks in order to highlight the teacher’s and student’s role, realising didactic applications. In our opinion, Mentimeter can be an ICT method used in education, but it’s success depends on the teachers’ creativity and open-mindedness to innovation.

Keywords: Didactic application, literature lesson, methods and means optimization, Mentimeter, society change

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Abstract: Progressively, the differences between generations can be observed in schools, not only from the mentality point of view, but also through the evolution of technology. Nowadays, school has to adapt to the society’s development rhythm and prepare the youth for the future, which is characterized by change, advanced technology and science. As a Romanian Literature and Language teacher, the question which is raised is in what way the strategies, methods, and means used in class can be updated to the new types of communication and the necessities that students have according to the fundamental change of the society, such that the connection teacher-student can be realised in a more constructive and motivational way. This article proposes a new way of reflection for teachers interested in the optimization of methods and teaching means used in class – Mentimeter represents an innovative element in Romania, but currently used in the United Kingdom for high-school classes and university lectures. We will take into consideration how to define this concept, the process, the necessary means and materials, the lesson category, how to give suitable tasks in order to highlight the teacher’s and student’s role, realising didactic applications. In our opinion, Mentimeter can be an ICT method used in education, but it’s success depends on the teachers’ creativity and open-mindedness to innovation.

Keywords: Didactic application, literature lesson, methods and means optimization, Mentimeter, society change

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Abstract: This research has focused on exploring how the introduction of robotics classes in school can improve the educational process, especially in the direction of teaching children with the abilities of the 21st century, due to the new robotics that are attracting more and more. Two groups of students from a state school in Bucharest, Secondary School Nr. 195, participated in this research. The experimental group participated in the Robotics course and the control group participated in a course on Applied Mathematics in Transmission of the Movement, over a seven weeks period, in the year 2017. At that time, the students in both groups were in 3rd grade, their average ages was 9-10 years. The group that conducted the Robotics course had 33 students, and the group that developed the Applied Mathematics course in Transmitting the Movement had 37 students. For this research, LEGO kits such as Lego Mindstorm have been used and assimilated, allowing students to work in teams. This facilitated the understanding of the basic notions, and the children subsequently succeeded in expressing and developing their own ideas. The notions of robotics, the basic technological concepts have been easily assimilated by groups of students aged 10. Student debates, mathematical problem solving, teamwork, and the interest of children in the process of designing robots shows that robotics is a winning discipline.

Keywords: Children, math, problems, robotics, solution

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Abstract: After new math curriculum for the middle school (5th – 8th grades) came into force, in 2017, it was found that significant differences between the formal curriculum, thought by school curriculum designers, and the curriculum interpreted by teachers and applied in class, may appear, even when teachers have participated in curricular training courses. These differences can be determined by factors such as teaching habits, class level, manual used, or even the national exams at the end of the 8th grade. Starting from the general idea that it is necessary for teachers to decode correctly and to accept the new vision of constructing mathematical knowledge using the curriculum, this paper details the new aspects of the middle school mathematics. Their presentation is reported for each section of the program, insisting on the differences from the previous version. The article could be useful to providers of didactic training programs for middle school mathematics teachers, as well as to teachers who wish to design and develop various didactic resources for mathematics, in accordance to the new curriculum.

Keywords: Didactics of mathematics, math curriculum for middle school

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Abstract: For thirty years, learning is an intense concept studied by organizations, the specialists thinking that “the time of strategic planning is rapidly changing into the era of organizational learning” (Schon, 1994), as man is considered not only a resource for the school organization, but a valuable source in heart of the strategic development process of the organization. Relatively recent research (Senge, 1991; Schon, 1994) shows that innovation is becoming easier and more sustainable in “learning organizations”. Our article aims to feed the theoretical reflection on the school as a “learning organization”, on its ambivalence and paradoxes, and to make further clarification about its management directions. We base our analysis on the principles of postmodernism in education, on an interpretative posture, humanistic essence, building a transversal and multi-level “reading grid” of the school organization focused on such a learning approach. The concept has much to offer to the reforming and restructuring thinking about the organization. Although the theoretical analysis exerts a great attraction, the learning organization remains a philosophy rather than a program. This raises many questions. Let’s not forget that the school is (still) quite strong perceived as the place “of teaching”, of transmitting knowledge. But the learner, the learning organization, are built on something else.

Keywords: empowerment, organizaţie care învaţă, postmodernism, practică reflexivă

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Abstract: Even if we have educational software, digital resources, online applications, or a virtual learning platform, learning activities planning is not easier or less accurate. Learning and assessment need to be designed even more closely and better tied to learning objectives, to avoid distractors, to fit on the time available, to maximize the potential of digital support to increase the participation of all students, to complement classroom learning with learning activities at home (flipped classroom). In the context of the “conventional” instructional design, centreed on the calibration of the finalities and methods based on content, theme, audience and available resources, the article presents several models of organising learning originally built to support the design of digital educational games (Quinn, 2005), which can be used to understand how we can transform a didactic activity into an attractive education situation, similar to ludic activities, especially when we can integrate new technologies. We present a selection of three models – mini-scenarios, chained scenarios, conditional scenarios  – progressively ordered according to their ability to increase engagement and attractiveness of learning activities.

Keywords : Digital educational resources, instructional design, online applications

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Abstract: The article covers modern educational reforms in Turkish vocational education and their impact on the quality of vocational education as well as vocational education development. The key factors, which predetermine educational reforms, were considered and their results were analysed. The advantages and disadvantages of such changes were justified. It was concluded Turkish experience in this field could be rather useful for foreign countries, which are on the way of enhancing the quality of their national vocational education.

Keywords : educational reforms, Turkey, vocational education

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Abstract:We live in a society where aggressiveness and violence already tend to become a major social problem. Aggressiveness is present in all environments, conditioned by many cultural, environmental and social factors that sometimes influence how it will be expressed and often involve high social costs. In recent years, there has been a sharp rise in aggression and violence in the school environment, which raises concern and the necessity to find effective solutions to combat them. In fact, the problem of school violence was debated at the Utrecht European Commission Conference in 1997, ensuring a safe school environment becoming a major objective for most of the participating countries. The purpose of this article is to highlight the relationship between aggressiveness and emotional intelligence in students, as well as the very important role that emotional skills development programmes have in preventing and combating this phenomenon. Aggressiveness and violence in the school environment requires a frontal approach through the use of effective classroom educational strategies that actively involve students and teachers. Such strategies could be represented by the implementation of socio-emotional development programmes to help students develop emotional skills such as: effective identification and management of negative emotions and stress, empathy, compassion and altruism, cooperation with colleagues and work in team, assertive communication and, last but not least, conflict management skills. When pupils are armed with such skills, they increase school performance, empathy and the quality of social interactions, while reducing the frequency of school discipline issues as well as aggressive manifestations.

Keywords : Aggressiveness, emotion, emotional intelligence, school environment, socio-emotional development, violence

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Abstract: ”Miracle” (Niemi et al., 2012), “mystery”, “excellence”, “performance”, “worldleading”, etc. are some keywords used to describe the educational system in Finland. The article analyses the main cornerstones of Finnish educational policy. Several aspects are identified and decrypted, for instance: historical and cultural framework; equality and equity for lifelong learning; culture of trust at all levels; educational performance and research-based education and quality of teacher training. The present study wants to help readers to better understand the Finnish education system and to appreciate its good pedagogical practices which could be adapted to improve the education policies.

Keywords:Culture of equity and trust, education policy, Finland

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Abstract: This study explores the typology of rural education policy measures proposed in the Education Strategies developed between 2002 and 2017. We analyzed twelve strategies, according to an analysis framework that includes the objectives and the instruments proposed for use in relation to problems identified in rural areas. Subsequently, the identified objectives were organized thematically so as to highlight a map of intervention areas in the rural area. Instruments were classified using the Vedung (1998) typology: regulatory, economic and information tools. The intervention areas identified under the objectives were: school responsibility and partnership/lifelong learning, improved school infrastructure, quality of educational provision and equal opportunities for access and participation. Each field corresponds to certain types of instruments, the use of which varies according to the directions of action as well as the period. For example, in the area of school responsibility and partnership or infrastructure, regulatory or economic instruments are used in particular. The patterns identified in the policy tool proposals as well as highlighting rural intervention areas in the education strategies analyzed are a new way to conceptualize the evolution of rural public education policies. An in-depth understanding of strategic planning and proposals for the use of certain policy instruments in rural areas could contribute to the development and delivery more appropriate policies, for the targeted population.

Keywords : educational policy, policy paradigm, policy instruments, rural education, social learning

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Abstract:The purpose of the analysis was determined by the need to identify the stage of structural reform in the field of initial and continuing psycho-pedagogical education of teachers in higher education, including the trainers of trainers, meaning those teachers who have attributions in the formation of future academic staff or staff didactic education in pre-university education through co-financed projects from the Operational Program – Human Resources Development (POSDRU) 2007 – 2013. Such a structural reform is intended to be continued through the Operational Program Human Capital (POCU) and becomes increasingly necessary in the context in which a prerequisite for the efficiency of the Romanian education and training system is represented by the quality of investment in the human resource involved in the education of current and future generations of students for all education levels.

Keywords : Continuous training, teachers’ initial training, POCU interventions, POSDRU projects

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Abstract: Consilierul de carieră contribuie la conturarea încrederii în sine a beneficiarului, în vederea realizării unei opţiuni adecvate. Putem considera consilierea o acţiune complexă, cu beneficii multiple asupra consiliatului, dar şi pentru viitorul angajator. Pentru elev ne referim la identificarea aşteptărilor şi efectuarea unei alegeri, în vederea obţinerii de satisfacţii în plan personal şi profesional. Din perspectiva angajatorului, acesta doreşte un candidat încrezător în capacităţile sale, bine pregătit şi potrivit organizaţiei. Pe baza modelului constructivist, consilierii pot înţelege modul în care elevii se implică în acest proces, devenind astfel parteneri. Un principiu de bază al constructivismului este cel referitor la valorizarea opiniei celui implicat în proces, respectiv a elevului. Obiectivul principal al studiului are în vedere o descriere a percepţiilor elevilor, prin prisma a două dimensiuni, legate de alegerea pentru viitoarea carieră: importanţa activităţilor specifice consilierii constructiviste în carieră şi rolul stimei de sine. Comparativ a fost identificată şi percepţia consilierilor asupra organizării activităţilor de consiliere, conform modelului constructivist. Analiza comparativă a rezultatelor a evidenţiat similarităţi de opinie la nivelul celor două grupuri de respondenţi, asupra valorii modelului de consiliere constructivist. Acestea, ne determină să considerăm că există deschidere spre modul de organizare şi proiectare a activităţilor de consiliere în manieră constructivistă.

Keywords : Career counseling, career counselor, constructivism, perception, selfesteem, student.

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Abstract: This paper offers a brief analysis of the status of development of activities that aim to integrate arts, culture and heritage into K-12 education. The analysis is based on exploratory research and follows the evolution of these practices, having a 2009 Eurydice study as reference. The study was focused on beneficiaries (pupils and parents), teachers and school principals, as well as artists and cultural organisations. At national level, changes such as the introduction of a key competence based curriculum and the “Şcoala altfel” Programme (“A Different Kind of School”) are positive factors in the development of educational activities dedicated to the arts, culture and heritage. What we found is that the practices and experiences produced during the analysed period reveal: an increase in the number of activities, while organizing them from the perspective of equal access to all pupils; the opening towards new artistic fields, but without significant changes in the use of new technologies. The benefits of arts, culture and heritage activities are not well exploited from the point of view of integrating them as learning opportunities in regular school activities and evaluating outcomes (often limited to evaluation of the degree of satisfaction). During the past few years schools and cultural operators have been more open to collaboration / partnership, but there is no national programme that would ensure convergent and continuous activities. We have found no significant changes in the way the issue of cultural heritage is addressed.

Keywords : Benefits for learning, education through arts and heritage, feedback quality, schools attractiveness.

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Abstract: The training program “Process Consultation – an Intervention Model” is conceptually covered by the existing management and quality assurance system in Romania, starting from the premise that any activity carried out in school should have as aim to improve quality, reflected in pupils through good and very good results, “wellbeing” and the progress they have made. The purpose of this program was to give access to certain information necessary in day to day activity and also to bring consciousness to those involved in managerial tasks in school. 100 school principals from Vrancea County were trainees in the consultation process with a long term aim: improving the quality of learning and teaching in school.

Keywords : Management, process consultation, quality, school principal, training

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Abstract: There are more than two decades since the Romanian schools have autonomy on optional school subjects. The way these optional subjects are proposed today reflects the schools’ experience, accumulated during this period, regarding their elaboration and approval. There are several studies highlighting how these optional subjects are evaluated by students and teachers; this paper aims to complete the picture and to emphasize the perceptions of the parents having children in gymnasium, regarding the optional school subjects, as components of the curriculum at the school’s decision. The parents’ opinions become important from the perspective of their involvement in the formal education of their children.

Keywords : Curriculum at the school’s decision, optional school subjects, parents’ perceptions, school autonomy

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