Category Archives: 2023 / Nr 1 & 2 / LXXI

2023

REVISTA DE PEDAGOGIE (JOURNAL OF PEDAGOGY) 2023 (2) – LXXI

STUDIES

FEEDBACK: UNVEILING ITS IMPACT AND ENHANCING ITS EFFECTIVENESS IN EDUCATION | Réka KUTASI

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Abstract: The information provided to students regarding their performance or comprehension of a particular task or idea is referred to as feedback in the educational context. It can be expressed in various ways, including through written feedback, conversational exchanges, grades, or assessments. Feedback’s primary goal is to help students reach their learning objectives by pointing out their strengths and recommending areas for development. Additionally, feedback encourages active learning, which raises student engagement. Students are motivated to review their assignments and make corrections when they receive quick and constructive feedback. Thanks to this iterative approach, they can take an active role in their learning process, which results in greater comprehension and memory retention. In this paper, the researcher discussed how essential it is to integrate feedback into the educational process and reviewed prior research on using it to enhance students’ learning abilities. The present article aims to offer a systematic literature review based on the limited empirical research to identify the effects of feedback on students’ performance and development. This information shows that while feedback is one of the most important elements, the type and manner in which it is given can affect its success. The article also proposes to offer a model of feedback that defines the specific characteristics and conditions that make it effective. Furthermore, specific commonly disputed issues are addressed, including the timeliness and the results of positive and negative feedback on the practical development of the students’ competence/ competencies.

Keywords: educational context, feedback model, learning process, negative feedback, positive feedback

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YOUNG CHILDREN’S AGENCY IN NURSERIES: PREMISE FOR LEARNING FOR LIFE | Cătălina ULRICH HYGUM, Erik HYGUM

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Abstract: In the current landscape of restructuring early childhood education and care (ECEC) services for children under three years old in Romania, this article aims to delve into the concept of child agency. It emphasizes children’s learning for life as a complementary aspect to prevailing discourses that view ECEC solely as a foundation for lifelong learning. Through an exploratory study employing a case study approach within early childhood institutions (crèches), the article scrutinizes the agency of young children. It is immersed in interpreting the agentic child within Romania’s multifaceted national ECEC context, seeking to answer the question: How can the perspective of child agency contribute to the development of ECEC institutions and staff?
The authors’ understanding of agency draws inspiration from recent discussions on agential realism, marking an ontological shift within education and sociology (Barad, 2007). Agency, entwined within relationships, navigates between the child’s intentions, daily routines, structures, materiality (Spyrou, 2018), and interactions with staff and peers. Empirical data, presented as vignettes, offer glimpses into the child’s agency during play, meals, and other activities.
Insights into how children utilize their bodies, indoor and outdoor spaces, sounds, and materials possess the potential to guide further research in the realm of early childhood education. Additionally, these insights may inform professional development within the ECEC field.

Keywords: agency, early childhood education, nursery, sociology of childhood

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WHAT’S IN A-WORD? MAKING AN IMPACT BY INTEGRATING VIDEOS IN ONLINE ASSESSMENT | Anişoara POP

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Abstract: This paper is an empirical descriptive and at the same time exploratory case study of using Google Forms (GF) with integrated video listening as part of an online formative assessment (FA) in English for Medical Purposes (EMP), with a group of 74 first-year undergraduate students in medicine (N = 74), to engage students and facilitate constant autonomous learning. The online FA was based on a segment of the movie entitled A-word – standing for Autism – and it checked the students’ application of medical vocabulary, language functions, doctor-patient interviewing, and symptoms of autism. The online formative assessment was compared with a traditional onsite listening FA in terms of administration and results. The onsite FA had a similar degree of complexity and was conducted with the same group of students – a segment from One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a classic on life in a psychiatric institution, within the same scope of neuropsychiatric conditions. The impact of online FA on students was measured with Mentimeter (https://www.mentimeter.com/). The results of this case study demonstrate that the GF-based FA of listening in EMP is an enhanced version of the traditional one. In traditional FA feedback was general and approximate while overall statistics were not automatically generated. Reaching a more refined picture of the overall and individual student performance with question breakdown in onsite FA required additional time investment, and consequently, remedial teaching could not take place immediately. Online FA was low-anxiety, highly participative, and user-friendly. It offered students timely feedback on their learning and teachers a faithful, automatic picture of individual and group performance for further remedial strategies. Likewise, the impact and attitude to online FA measured by Mentimeter were positive and were associated with increased autonomy, online delivery, engagement through professionally relevant content, and focus on learning rather than testing and grading.

Keywords: formative assessment, Google Forms, impact assessment with Mentimeter, listening in English for Medical Purposes

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THE ROLE OF THE SCHOOL-FAMILY PARTNERSHIP IN THE EMOTIONAL REGULATION OF STUDENTS TAKING THE BACCALAUREATE EXAMINATION | Rodica Gabriela ENACHE, Mihaela Mirela DIDOACĂ

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Abstract: School anxiety belongs to the category of social anxiety disorders and has broader consequences on emotional development. If a student’s academic self-concept does not align with their academic goals (such as success on an assessment), this can cause anxiety. Students may then try to use strategies to reduce the level of anxiety they feel. The ability to cope adequately with difficult academic assessment situations plays a major role in emotional regulation and increasing students’ psychological well-being. Our objectives for the study were to assess the level of test anxiety and level of worry of 12th-grade students, the level of communication between the school and the families of students taking the Baccalaureate Examination, to identify associations between students’ test anxiety and family involvement in students’ preparation and emotional regulation.

Keywords: school-family collaboration, teenagers, test anxiety

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THE ATTITUDE OF ROMANIAN SCHOOL PRINCIPALS TOWARDS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION | Andra-Maria JURCA, Simona SAVA

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Abstract: Many countries face the challenge of inclusion to provide all children with an equitable education. Inclusive education involves a continuous process of meeting the needs of students by providing quality education for all. Research in the field of inclusive education showed the essential role the principal of a school has in developing educational practices and cultures favorable to school inclusion. Studies highlight that the attitude of school principals is related to the commitment of school teachers to implement inclusive education. In this direction, the aim of this paper was to investigate the attitudes of Romanian school principals towards inclusive education. The Multidimensional Attitudes Towards Inclusive Education Scale – MATIES was translated and distributed online, between September-October 2022. It measured the teachers’ attitudes on three dimensions: affective, cognitive, and behavioral. 1040 teaching staff, of which 115 were school principals from the entire country offered valid answers to the questionnaire. The research design was quantitative, non-experimental, correlational, and comparative. The results show that principals are willing to implement inclusive education. They have a more open attitude towards inclusive education compared to teachers, and this is not predicted by seniority in teaching but by experience of working with students with special needs.

Keywords: attitude of school principals, inclusive education, teachers’ attitude

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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STATE ANXIETY, SOCIAL ANXIETY AND COGNITIVE BIASES IN STUDENTS: A MEDIATION MODEL | Alina C. CHIVU, Teodora VLAD

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Abstract: State anxiety, as well as social anxiety, are portrayed as common phenomena experienced by students. However, the mechanisms which lead to their development are not yet fully known. Student mental health has become a global public health issue, thus understanding its potential underlying factors is particularly relevant. As anxiety is closely connected to the way students interpret information, cognitive biases are thought to play a key role in the development and maintenance of both state and social anxiety. Therefore, the first objective of this study was to examine the relationships between cognitive biases of interpretation, state anxiety, and social anxiety. The second objective was to test a mediation model, more specifically, to test whether the relationship between state anxiety and social anxiety can be explained by cognitive biases of interpretation. 127 students (M = 21.8, SD = 3.15, 84.3% women) enrolled at the University of Bucharest completed two online scales measuring state and social anxiety, over two months, between January and February 2021. Additionally, they completed the Scrambled Sentences Test, a computerized task that assesses cognitive biases of interpretation. Results indicated a positive association between all variables, more precisely, a significant positive correlation between social anxiety and cognitive biases of interpretation (r = .512, p < .001), social anxiety and state anxiety (r = .482, p < .001), and a significant positive correlation between cognitive biases of interpretation and state anxiety (r = .348, p < .001). The mediation analysis indicated that cognitive biases partly explain the relationship between state anxiety and social anxiety. These preliminary findings have significant theoretical and practical significance regarding the importance of student mental health. Keywords: cognitive biases of interpretation, mediation model, social anxiety, state anxiety

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DOES THE ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT DEVELOP TEAMWORK EFFICIENCY AMONG STUDENTS? | Florentina Ionela LINCĂ, Florentina Lavinia MATEI

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Abstract: Teamwork skills are considered essential for all areas of a person’s life, so universities take them into account when designing their curricula. These skills are especially important if we are talking about humanities fields. However, little is known about how students’ factors can affect the process of developing teamwork skills. Consequently, our study proposes to fill this gap and to analyze the mastery of teamwork skills by higher education students, measured by the efficiency of working in a team, in relation to teamwork styles, but also with the number of courses whose content allows the development of these skills. One Hundred Ninety-Five female students participated in this study, with an average age of M = 31.5, a standard deviation of SD = 9.2. The participants filled out a questionnaire that measured the efficiency of teamwork and the styles of teamwork based on specialized literature. Also, the questionnaires were first applied in a pilot study in which 50 female students participated and the Cronbach’s internal consistency index was 0.8 for the first questionnaire and 0.77 for the second. The results showed that there are statistically significant correlations between teamwork efficiency, teamwork styles, and the number of courses in which the development of these skills is encouraged, p < 0.01. Moreover, we also noticed that the number of courses in which the development of these skills is encouraged has a mediating effect on the relationship between working styles in a team and the efficiency of working in a team, p < 0.01. These results can support teaching staff in higher education to adopt the most suitable educational methods for the development of teamwork skills, essential skills, especially for students in the humanities domains. Keywords: courses, students, teamwork efficiency, teamwork style

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RESHAPING TEACHER-STUDENT RELATIONS IN THE DIGITISED SOCIETY | Mihaela VOINEA

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Abstract: This article highlights the need to redefine teacher-student relationships according to the generations of students’ characteristics (Generation Z, Generation Alpha). Each generation has a specific way of learning and interacting with peers or adults. The theoretical premises of the study are to be found in the recent work of psychologists, sociologists, and specialists in educational sciences on how social characteristics influence the life style of people belonging to that generation. The school with all its structure, content, and relationships cannot but be affected by the changes imposed by technology, globalisation, and social dynamism. This study used qualitative methods (interviews and observation of teachers’ classroom behaviour) carried out in the school year 2022-2023. We have taken a constructivist-interpretive approach in conducting the research. A number of 60 participants (20 teachers from primary, 20 secondary, and 20 from high school level) from Braşov were involved in the study. Five teachers from primary schools were observed in the classroom. The results revealed that there are still teachers who have a classical view of relationships with pupils but who are making efforts to understand, accept, and adapt to the generations of pupils. One of the conclusions of the research is that teachers need to restructure their conceptions of the teacher-student interaction to suit the way students in the society of the future will learn and, more importantly, live. In fact, this teacher-student relationship is based on the values of accepting the diversity of students, personalising learning, motivating, and empowering students while ensuring their well-being is the basis of quality education.

Keywords: digitalisation, teacher-student interaction, Z generation

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FEEDBACK IN FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT: STRATEGIES TO OPTIMIZE STUDENT LEARNING | Valeria BOTEZATU

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Abstract: Formative assessment, as an integral part of the learning process, influences student progress. A key component of this process is feedback, the mechanism by which relevant and useful information is provided to students about their performance. Through feedback, students develop their self-assessment and self-reflection skills, take responsibility for their own training, and establish learning objectives. Formative assessment provides a continuous framework for guiding student progress, and feedback provides specific information aimed at improving learning outcomes. Feedback offers a more complete perspective on students’ capabilities and learning needs, allowing teachers to adjust instruction.
The objective of this study is to determine the theoretical pedagogical and psychological approaches of feedback in the formative assessment process and to present strategies that involve feedback (feed-up, feed-back, feed-forward) in order to improve student learning. To achieve this objective, theoretical methods of analysis and synthesis of the literature on formative assessment and feedback were applied. From a methodological point of view, the basic empirical method involved the application of a questionnaire addressed to students about their opinion on the feedback given and received during learning activities. The results obtained showed that relevant and individualized feedback is efficient from the students’ perspective in achieving learning objectives. The main conclusion of this study highlights the importance of the feedback system in the formative assessment process for the development of a learning culture based on continuous improvement and the active engagement of students in their own learning process.

Keywords: feedback, feed-forward, feed-up, formative assessment, learning

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EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF A PEDAGOGICAL TRAINING PROGRAM OFFERED TO AWARDED UNIVERSITY TEACHERS | Radu BALAN, Nadia PURTAN, Velibor MLADENOVICI, Marian D. ILIE

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Abstract: A didactic grant competition for academics is organized annually at the West University of Timişoara (WUT), offering a grant to the winners of a public student-centered activity project competition. The teaching grant winners later take part in a program to develop their pedagogical skills in student-centered teaching based on the WUT’s reflexive-collaborative (i.e., RCL) instructional model. Next, during one academic semester, grant winners must implement the RCL instructional model in one specific subject matter. Based on a quantitative quasi-experimental design, this study examined the impact of a pedagogical program offered to the beneficiaries of the 2020 grant competition at both teachers’ and student levels. At the teachers’ level, we measured their conceptions of teaching, teaching approaches, and psychological resources. At the students’ level, we investigated their evaluation of their teachers’ teaching behavior and their learning approaches. Analyses such as Two-way mixed ANOVA, Quade’s ANCOVA, and Mann-Whitney U were conducted to investigate the gathered data. Academics in the EG reported statistically significant improvements in their conceptions of promoting active learning. According to their students, teachers in the experimental group employed more student-centered assessment methods and teaching behaviors that encouraged active learning. Our results also showed that academics in the control group reported higher resilience levels at the end of the academic semester, and according to their students, their more traditional teaching approaches seemed more effective in stimulating their students’ understanding of fundamental concepts. The results could have been more significant regarding the students’ learning approaches. Because of the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, we encountered several obstacles in the impact assessment process (e.g., high values at the pretest, the impossibility of matching students’ answers). Although our findings have some limitations, the present article has noteworthy implications for stakeholders involved in in-service teacher training programs, in particular, conducted in higher education institutions. Practical implications of the findings for both academic developers and future research are discussed.

Keywords: academic development, academic teaching grant, impact evaluation, pedagogical training

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REVIEWS

TRAIAN VRĂSMAŞ, ECATERINA VRĂSMAŞ, ON THE ROAD TO INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN ROMÂNIA – THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE RENINCO NETWORK. Bucharest, Universitara Publishing House, 2021, 510 PAGINI, ISBN 978-606-28-1369-7 | Daniela IONESCU, Paul LUNGEANU
Full review


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STRENGTHENING THE SOCIO-EMOTIONAL COMPETENCES OF THE PRACTITIONERS IN THE FIELD OF COUNSELING AND CAREER GUIDANCE – ERASMUS+ PROJECT STRENGTh | Alina CRĂCIUNESCU
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JOURNAL OF PEDAGOGY (REVISTA DE PEDAGOGIE) 2023 (1) – LXXI

STUDIES

THE ROLE OF EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL INFLUENCES IN CAREER EXPLORATION AND DECISION-MAKING OF TWELFTH-GRADE STUDENTS | Ştefana BUHĂESCU-CIUCĂ
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Abstract: The present study is testing the role of extracurricular activities in the career exploratory intentions and decision-making using the lenses of the career self-management model of Social Cognitive Career Theory – SCCT (Lent & Brown, 2013). The study also includes the socioeconomic status, social support, and role models, as well as personality factors as predictors. We used hierarchical linear regression to test the role of the added precursors to extracurricular activities and their role in career exploration goals and decidedness. Data were collected using an online survey filled in by 233 students in twelfth grade. Involvement in pro-social activities, the influence of role models, and the level of agreeableness were significant predictors of exploratory intentions while exam preparation was the only significant predictor of career decidedness. Implications for practice are discussed.

Keywords: career decidedness, exploratory goals, extracurricular activities, personality, role models

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CAREER EXPLORATORY INTENTIONS AND DECIDEDNESS AMONG STUDENTS: A CAREER SELF-MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE | Ştefana BUHĂESCU-CIUCĂ
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Abstract: The present study aimed to expand the knowledge on the career exploratory intentions and decidedness in the career self-management model of Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent & Brown, 2013). To predict these career behaviours, we used hierarchical regression and analysed the predictors role of socioeconomic status, social support, career exploration, and decision-making learning experiences, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations. In addition to the career variables included in the Career Self-Management Model, this study also explored the role of work volition, a central variable from the Psychology of Working Theory. Data were collected using an online survey filled in by 235 college students. The results showed that positive emotions and outcome expectations were significant predictors of exploratory intentions, while self-efficacy was a constant significant predictor of career decidedness. Socioeconomic status and work volition were not significant predictors in any of the models.

Keywords: career decidedness, career exploratory intentions, learning experiences, Social-Cognitive Career Theory, social influences

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THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AN ONLINE INTERVENTION PROGRAM IN VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE | Iraida MUSTEAŢĂ, Andrei Corneliu HOLMAN, Daniela Victoria ZAHARIA
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Abstract: The current study is a test-retest design with the presence of both experimental and control groups. We proposed to present information about an online intervention program for reducing career decision-making difficulties (caused by lack of information, lack of readiness and inconsistent information) and to present results of its effectiveness.
This research was designed in 2020 and the intervention program (7 sessions) started at the beginning of lock down due to COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were 11th high school students from Chişinău, Moldova. 13 students participated in the experimental group, which attended at least 6 of 7 online sessions and 18 in the control group.
Career decision-making difficulties ware assessed with the CDDQ – Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire (Gati & Osipow, 2000).
We found that there are differences between the results obtained by the participants of the intervention program and the results of the students in the control group for the lack of readiness scale (F (1, 29) = 16.388, p = 0.000). There was a reduction of career decision-making difficulties caused by lack of readiness for the experimental group, at the time of the retest (t(12)=3.30, p=0.006, Mretest=4.02) compared to the initial testing (Mtest =5.36) and at the time of the retest for the experimental group (Mretest=3.51) compared to the control group (Mretest= 4.04).
After attending the intervention, differences related to the lack of information scale were recorded (F(1, 29)=16.925, p=0.000). Students in the experimental group obtained lower scores in the retest moment (t(17)=-3.073, p=0.007, Mretest=3.5128) than in the test moment (Mtest=5.5192). There are no significant differences in retest time between groups, t(29)=0.83, p=0.41.
Difficulties caused by inconsistent information did not change between assessment times F(1, 29)=2.273, p=0.142, there are no significant differences between groups t(29)=0.43, p=0.67.

Keywords: career guidance, COVID-19 pandemic, decision-making, intervention program

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HAVE THE ROMANIAN SCHOOLS BECOME LEARNING ORGANISATIONS? VIEWS OF THE TEACHING STAFF | Adela Diana DÎNŞOREAN, Simona Lidia SAVA
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Abstract: To meet the diverse needs of students in complex social environments, it is necessary to transform schools into learning organisations (Fullan, 1993; Sava, 2022). Empirical evidences show that learners make significant progress when schools exhibit the characteristics of learning organisations (Harris & van Tassell, 2005; Schechter & Qadach, 2012; Silins & Mulford, 2004). The “learning organisation” approach is necessary and suitable for schools, regardless of their operating context, thus providing a sustainable competitive advantage (Kools & Stoll, 2016; OECD, 2016). Staff in a school may have different perceptions about the extent to which their school is a learning organisation. In this study, we investigated if perceptions about the status of the school as a “learning organisation” differs significantly according to variables such as the school environment, the staff ’s position and seniority. The online questionnaire, applied in April-May 2022, was filled in by 650 participants (70 principals, 543 teachers and 37 auxiliary teaching staff) from 248 Romanian schools. Self-reported data were collected using the instrument developed by Kools et al. (2020), validated in the Romanian context. The results show significant differences among the participants’ responses in relation to the school environment and in terms of the respondents’ position in the school. Data showed no statistically significant difference among the participants’ responses in terms of seniority. The results of the current research represent a useful step in the process of evaluating Romanian schools, with the aim to transforming them into learning organisations.

Keywords: learning leadership, schools as a learning organisations, shared vision, staff members, team learning

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TEACHING PRACTICE MENTORS – AN ANALYSIS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS AND PRACTICES | Mirela SCORŢESCU, Simona Lidia SAVA, Mariana CRAŞOVAN
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Abstract: Practicum is essential in initial teacher training (ITE), while mentoring represents an important part of it. The need for the practicum mentors’ training is recognized, being highlighted both by studies (Czerniawsky et al., 2016; Guberman et al., 2020) and by the recommendations of the European Commission (2021). However, the mentors are precariously prepared (Clarke & Mena, 2020), the literature pointing out the limited training and insufficient knowledge regarding mentoring activities. This study aims to identify the training needs of mentors in Romania, and the further training undertaken, to carry out mentoring activities in ITE. The study was run between December 2021 and February 2022, based on the questionnaire elaborated by the International Forum for Teacher Educator Development (InFo-TED). By analysing the answers of the 276 mentors from Romania who are guiding the practicum in ITE at all levels of pre-university education, we can highlight: the types of activities considered useful and less useful in mentoring, the training activities already accessed, the desirable training
directions, and the way in which research is valued as part of the role of mentor in order to inform didactic practices. Data from Romania, compared to the results from the international study InFo-TED (Czerniawsky et al., 2016) revealed similarities regarding the training needs for educational research and differences regarding the types of preferred training activities. The comparative analysis by education levels highlights specific training needs, which can become the basis for developing training programs for better mentoring.

Keywords: in service professional development, initial teacher training, practicum mentors, training needs

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WHAT IS THE VALUE OF REFLECTION FOR TEACHERS? A STUDY ON PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS | Miruna Luana MIULESCU, Antoaneta – Firuţa TACEA
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Abstract: The concept of reflective teacher has been studied extensively in the last three decades and has facilitated the shift in the teacher education orbit from attainment to development. Our study seeks to discover the value of reflection for teachers and in what way their practices could potentially be influenced by it. The participants of the present study were 11 primary school teachers from Bucharest, Romania. By making use of a phenomenological qualitative inquiry approach, data were collected through a focus group and a reflective journal. The key findings indicate that the participants in the study are willing to embrace an investigative attitude that will help improve and assess practice, even if they are not used to it and do not always have the proper time to analyze their teaching practices daily. Moreover, multiple advantages of keeping a reflective journal were recognized: facilitation of teaching, enhancement of innovation, impact on professional growth, enhancement of problem-solving skills, improvement of overall effectiveness, and promotion of a positive learning environment.

Keywords: focus group, primary school teacher, reflective journal, reflective practices, reflective teacher

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KICK-START LITERACY FOR ALL. COMPARATIVE RESULTS FROM ROMANIAN PREPARATORY GRADE CLASSROOMS | Bianca BALEA, Maria KOVACS, Codruţa TEMPLE
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Abstract: Research shows that reading performance in the early grades is a strong predictor of reading ability throughout the school years, and is therefore likely to impact children’s academic and career trajectories, with those of children coming from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds being negatively impacted (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1997; Dolean et al., 2019). Using a comparative approach, the present study aimed to determine whether there were differences in literacy skills development in children from low socio-economic backgrounds who received specifically developed emergent literacy instruction (intervention group, IG) and those who did not (control group, CG). The literacy program was developed based on recent scientific evidence (Bear, 2022) emphasizing the importance of the following in emergent literacy instruction: concepts about print (1), alphabet and letter-sound knowledge (2), concept of word (3), phoneme awareness (4), and word recognition (5). The intervention took place in the 2021-2022 school year, over an 8-month period, and consisted of using emergent literacy assessments, as well as literacy learning materials developed specifically for the preparatory grades. The total sample consisted of 300 children in 25 preparatory grade classes, divided between intervention and control groups (260 and 40 students, respectively), who were all assessed on the five abovementioned emergent literacy concepts and skills, pre- and post-intervention. ANOVA analyses were conducted to test for differences between children in the two groups. Results highlight significant differences in terms of literacy development, with children in IG showing higher scores on all the five measures than children in the CG.

Keywords: disadvantaged communities, early reading intervention, emergent literacy, preparatory grade, reading difficulties

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CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN EUROPEAN SCHOOL SYSTEMS | Maria-Corina POPA
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Abstract: This paper aims to open a reflective framework, that should be useful to the Romanian education system and encompass ways in which citizenship education is studied in other European countries, at primary and secondary levels. In this regard, the article presents the characteristics of the school systems which are based on maximalist and minimalistic approaches to citizenship education, the critical approaches to citizenship education and, consequently, the concept of “critical citizenship”. The article also includes a brief timeline of legislative and public policy efforts at European level to support education for democratic citizenship, starting from the Maastricht Treaty and reaching the “Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture”. Last but not least, the paper will highlight a series of reforms and approaches to citizenship education at European level (as a separate or integrated school subject, or in a crosscurricular perspective), that references the latest Eurydice study on citizenship education in European schools.

Keywords: citizenship education, critical citizenship, EU policies

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THE ACADEMIC STAFF’S PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS ONLINE EDUCATION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC | Réka KUTASI
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Abstract: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the closure of educational institutions worldwide. As a result, most educational institutions shifted to online learning platforms to keep up with instructional activities. This study aims to determine how teachers perceive the online teaching and learning context at the George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Târgu Mureş (UMPhST), Romania. An online questionnaire was created in Google Forms and sent to the academic staff at the university to evaluate the efficacy, drawbacks, and benefits of online education. A total of 139 faculty members from different departments completed the questionnaire thoroughly. According to the findings, more than half of those questioned agreed that online teaching is essential during pandemic times, but it is not a long-term solution. The difficulty of engaging students in practical activities, the lack of feedback, and the difficulty in fulfilling online assignments are just some of the challenges that were brought about. Furthermore, the survey identifies the traits of online courses the respondents preferred and additional challenges they encountered throughout this demanding time.

Keywords: academic staff, COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutions, online questionnaire, online teaching

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THE IMPACT OF CLASSROOM OBSERVATION IN EARLY EDUCATION ON CHILDREN’S OUTCOMES | Daniela Mihaela FLORESCU, Laura Elena CIOLAN
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Abstract: Educational practices and all that happens in the classroom are essential to children’s learning progress and their development. Despite the importance of teachers’ educational practices, in the low- or middle-income countries the practices are hardly ever measured, partly because of a lack of access to classroom observation tools and the high costs of their administration. As a result, the present research undertook the aim to analyze the improvement of educational practices on the dimensions that are comprised in the observation tool we used: classroom climate, instruction and social and emotional skills by means of classroom observation and providing feedback using the Teach observation tool. Thus, we assume that early childhood education teachers who participate in observation and feedback processes based on the Teach observation tool develop educational practices more adapted to the children’s social and emotional and cognitive needs. The study consisted of conducting a quasi-experiment with three repeated applications of the Teach observation tool on a sample of 19 kindergarten teaching staff. The 19 kindergarten teachers were from the same kindergarten in Braşov city, Kindergarten no.11, “House of joy”. The study was carried out during the 2020-2021 school year. Following the implementation of the Teach observation tool, we can conclude that its role is to facilitate the measurement of quality in early childhood education. Teaching can be a starting point for understanding, measuring and discussing the quality of teaching practices in early childhood education, leading to improved support for teachers and ultimately better learning experiences and higher outcomes for preschoolers. Also, in the future, the Teach observation tool can provide policy makers and stakeholders with the information they need to design and implement policies and programs in early childhood education.

Keywords: classroom culture, classroom observation, development of children at early ages, quality of educational practices, social and emotional skills

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EXPLORING SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE MUSIC EDUCATION AT PRIMARY LEVEL IN ROMANIA | Daniel-Alex MILENCOVICI
Full article | Abstract&Keywords

Abstract: The Romanian national curriculum for primary education includes a number of school subjects that are taught by specialized teachers, e.g. foreign languages, physical education, religious education. Nevertheless, Music and movement represents a compulsory subject that requires advanced musical abilities and knowledge, yet the primary class teachers, who teach it, benefit from only short term initial training which we consider insufficient. The paper presents the results of a research into the opinions of the staff who teach. Music and movement in primary school as well as of those of experts regarding the improvement of this subject teaching.
The study included two components: a qualitative analysis based on semistructured interviews with experts in sciences of education from pre-university and academic level (19 interviewees); and a quantitative analysis by means of an enquiry-based questionnaire among primary teachers from all over Romania (1.151 respondents). Data were collected between May 28th and June 26th 2021.
The results show mainly positive views among the intereviewed sciences of education experts about the need to carry out training programs in music education for the primary school teachers. Also, 90% of the teaching staff who answered the questionnaire state that music education during pre-service teacher training should take at least two terms; more than 85% of the respondents state that, besides the school practicum that is ordinarily carried out, pre-service teachersshould also attend specialized practicum in the form of participation at concerts and art events in order to enrich their cultural experience.
The present study aims to draw attention to possible solutions for pre-service teacher training so that music in primary school should have a stronger effect on young students’ education, on the future generation and on the future society overall. In this context, “neuroeducation” can offer evidence-based answers on cognitive transfer and attention activation, memory pathways and multisensory training (Curtis & Fallin, 2014). This vision gives music educators and teachers a new approach to music in the classroom, which is based on methods and means to stimulate the activity of both hemispheres of the brain; this could be achieved only through a high-standard musical training of future teachers.

Keywords: educational policies, music education, primary school, quality education

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THE MODERNITY OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM’S VIEW ON EDUCATION | Iuliana PÎRVU, Constantin CUCOŞ
Full article | Abstract&Keywords

Abstract: The current world, characterised by a dynamic full of continuous fluctuations and challenges, urges us to change perspectives regarding the educational phenomenon. There is a growing interest for the holistic development of the human being so that s/he could face the imperatives of the contemporary society. The present article creates a favourable opportunity to highlight that the harmonious formation of human individuality was first described many centuries ago. St. John Chrysostom, who adopts a broad approach to the education topic, points out that a responsible educational process should offer a holistic development to people. Thus, we aim to analyze Christian and modern pedagogy discourses in a comparative manner, in order to demonstrate the modernity of the Antiochian pedagogue’s view on education. We investigated the degree of overlapping between the Hrisostomian pedagogical ideas and the current theories of personality development. Also, our content analysis looks into the number of references regarding the children’s upbringing and education as compared to the recurrent topics in the works of St. John Chrysostom. We analyzed St. John’s recommendations on the child’s development, virtues and values, so we can integrate them in contemporary formative contexts. The outcome reveals that the writings of the Christian pedagogue align with the current desideratum of the Romanian educational system. We consider theses pedagogical suggestions and the good practices that are given to be valuable instruments as they are up to date in terms of educational principles, methods and content and they satisfy the needs and the specifics of the educational process beneficiaries.

Keywords: Christian pedagogy, Chrysostomian teaching principles, educational factors, holistic development, personality formation

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REVIEWS

MARIA DORINA PAŞCA, NEW STRUCTURES IN MEDICAL PEDAGOGY. Târgu Mureş, Ardealul Publishing House, 2020, 200 pages, ISBN 978-606-8372-68-6 | Réka KUTASI
Full review

EMIL PĂUN  (ED.), THE SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE OR THE FUTURE OF SCHOOL? PERSPECTIVES ON POST-PANDEMIC EDUCATION. Iaşi, Polirom Publishing House, 2022, 234 pages, ISBN 978-973-46-8934-7 | Mihaela BADEA, Gina Florentina TUDORACHE
Full review


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Erasmus+ Project EIPSI: Evidence-Based Practices for School Inclusion | Claudia JARNEA, Marcela Claudia CĂLINECI, Luminiţa Doina MITROFAN, Aura STĂNCULESCU, Robert FLOREA
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