30 Years After: How Romania Builds Democratic Competence in School?

Democratic literacy and the formation of civic and social skills have been since 2011 - the moment of their introduction in the new law of education - victims of the inconsistency of the authorities responsible for curriculum reform. A lack of bold decisions on how to approach the framework education plans and successive postponements and extensions of the entry into force of the National Assessment format as stipulated by the law have left a heavy imprint on the way democratic competence is taught and brought about in schools.

So far, one generation of students has completed the final four years of primary education studying Social Education, while five generations of school students have gone through grades I-IV studying a preliminary discipline called Civic Education. Although now it would normally be the time to assess the effectiveness of these disciplines and the skills acquired by students, this process of reflection is impossible without a systemic assessment by the Ministry of Education across the country. The report sheds light on the causes of this situation and makes a number of proposals and recommendations to make good use of existing opportunities.

The report is available here: https://publicatii.romaniacurata.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Policy-brief-cum-formeaza-Romania-competentele-civice-si-sociale-ale-elevilor.pdf