Issue, No. 19/2020

Abstract The cinematic language, in addition to acting as a persuasive mediator to be used in training contexts, can represent a meeting point between non-formal and formal education in the different lifelong-lifewide learning contexts. In this paper, the author specifies what we usually define as cinematic experience starting from the correlation between physical space (I’m going to the cinema) and visual act (I’m going to see a film).Then, he describes the components of the cinematic language (for example: long/full shot, plan américain/medium long shot, medium shot, medium close-up, close-up and extreme close-up, extreme wide, long/wide, etc.).Moreover, the author presents the psycho-pedagogical characteristics that are activated while participating in the viewing of a film. Finally, describes two examples of non-formal education through cinematic language. The first one refers to the Visualfest, a contest organized by the Department of Education of Roma Tre University, that aims to promote the dissemination of works created by scholars, teachers, students, educators and professionals who use images as a vector of knowledge. The second one is Co-Educa, an initiative of co-education, of alliance between the scholasticeditorial-cultural-scientific fields for the construction of a network of active subjects and the establishment of an authentic pedagogical agora. >> Read the article

Abstract This article is based on an international comparative social policy module held annually at Malmö University (Sweden) with partner universities from several countries. Our study examines the results of intra- and interpersonal dynamics among participants and lecturers, which we call "productive tension", in relation to overarching questions about knowledge acquisition and the importance of reflexivity and reflectivity in the learning process. Students and faculty create a "community of practice" (CoP) (Lave & Wenger 1991) that benefits from a continuous interactive environment and direct engagement. Our study uses a mixed method approach. The analysis considers qualitative data from interviews with the participating students and quantitative data from questionnaires. In this article, we focus on the productive tension inherent in the reflective and reflexive processes. Reflective and reflexive processes are identified that influence the students' experience of cross-border cooperation and their professional identity. Our study also demonstrates how the knowledge about "Social Work" as a profession can be broadened through international comparative teaching and learning. The main conclusion of this work is that reflective and reflexive learning processes in social work education enable participants to see and understand themselves from a broader perspective and strengthen their own professional identity. >> Read the article

Abstract Belongingness has been related with several positive aspects in the life of an individual, including academic and psychosocial success. The current paper aims to review the theoretical foundations of belongingness and to present the results of the implementation of a 2-months wellbeing-based program targeting the development of belongingness for high school teachers in a private school in Romania. The targeted variables were the social connectedness (as a measure of social belongingness), social assurance, and, as a moderator variable, the number of maladaptive cognitive schemas. The results indicate that the number of cognitive maladaptive schemas did moderate the intervention effect. Also, the efficiency of the wellbeing-training program in the direction of improving the social connectedness (belongingness) was supported by the data. >> Read the article

Abstract The paper focuses on the educational and cultural needs of adult migrants, in order to overcome a uniquely paternalistic view of immigration. Focusing on the educational and cultural needs affects, in fact, the quality of the experience of integration. Within this proposal the adoption of an intercultural mediation strategy can play an important role also with reference to the context of cultural services. >> Read the article

Abstract The present article tackles the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the educational field, from the perspective of the projects achieved in collaboration with the educational institutions and companies and projects focused on the improvement and updating the background of the school units. The necessity to implement projects in the field of education by private companies and public firms is justified by the existence of certain financial deficits in the educational system. The study of documents and of national and international specialised materials in the CSR field reveals the requirement to consult schools in establishing the action directions but also the involvement of the business environment in the adaptation of the educational programs to the needs of the labour market. By means of an inquiry-based questionnaire, applied online to a number of 50 representatives having different levels and profiles within educational institutions in the Western area, both from the rural and the urban environment, we have gathered examples of good practice in assuming the implementation of the social responsibility projects in the field of education, in the Western area of Romania. >> Read the article

Abstract The Covid-19 Pandemic has affected everyone’s life. The main activity fields of each society were strongly impacted by the different measures imposed by authorities in order to limit and prevent the extension of this new disease. Students are one of the vulnerable categories, influenced significantly by this situation since one of the social distancing measures implemented in most countries refers to school closure and classes suspension. The transition to online education undertaken in this context was a temporary solution, a quick fix, and its long-term implications need to be studied within further research. We asked a small group of middle school students to share their thoughts, feelings and opinions regarding their educational experiences during the pandemic. Students shared valuable aspects that need to be taken into consideration in order to optimize future distance learning approaches, but also the ones specific to traditional education. Rethinking education has become one of the major present goals, since education has profound, long-term implications over all other fields of the society. >> Read the article

Abstract The present study investigates the theoretical, methodical and practical aspects which emphasize the importance of the formation and development of social and emotional skills during early years, which have a major impact over children’s long-term growth, while also assuring their adjustment in society, the cut down of unwanted behaviours and provides social and emotional well-being for the preschooler. The steps dedicated for the pedagogical experiment have had the purpose of verifying the efficacy of the application of the project - The Development of Social and Emotional Skills Curriculum (DeCo - SE)- and was targeted towards building and growing said skills for the last year preschoolers. The results of the research revealed that the efficiency of applying a curriculum based on building and developing the social and emotional skills of preschoolers. We conclude that the study gave promising results on the prevention and reduction of undesirable behaviors, the identification of emotions, tolerance to frustration, relaxation through deep breathing techniques, methods of controlling anger and destructive behaviors among preschoolers. The comparative results presented in this study reinforce the findings of other international studies (Merrell et al., 2008), according to which the implementation of The Development of Social and Emotional Skills Curriculum (DeCo - SE) contributes to reducing undesirable behaviors, children being modeled in a positive way, having a positive social attitude, managing to easily adjust their emotions. >> Read the article

Abstract By school dropout is meant leaving the educational system, regardless of the reached level, before obtaining a qualification or a complete proffesional training or before the end of the study cycle started (Doron & Parot, 2006). Although there are numerous researches on school dropout, we consider that it is necessary to study the relationship it has with the level of development of a country, in order to identify new causes and possible solutions to this phenomenon. In this study we included seven emerging countries of Central and Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary. Thus, we analyzed the correlation between the annual gross domestic product and the school dropout rates in the mentioned countries. The data were extracted from the European Commission’s Eurostat database and entered into the SPSS and then analyzed using the Forward prospective procedure. This research revealed the existence of significant negative correlation between the level of development of a country and the school dropout rate in the countries included in the analysis, in female, but also insignificant or weakly significant correlations between the mentioned variables in males. >> Read the article

Abstract This article presents a practical applicable model for teachers in all high school subjects who chose the teaching profession to educate future generations using activist teaching promoting active citizenship and a progressive liberal world view. The five-level model addressing the activist pedagogy practice developed in the 21st century, helps empower and develop teachers’ professional abilities operating in education as social change agents. The model was developed as part of broad research into the need to train teachers using the activist pedagogical approach. The study emphasizes the model's significant contribution to learning teaching skills to promote socio-political awareness in the activist approach developed in light of contemporary pedagogy promoting active citizenship. The article details all model stages and curriculum in high school film studies as a test case. Film studies began with seven film courses as a unique study system in 1992 and reached 400 courses in 2019, as part of mainstream studies in both the Arts and Social Division at the Israeli Ministry of Education, a meteoric growth of about 15 film courses per year. The article is based on interview analysis including an interview with a film study inspector who was among the founders of film studies in Israel, documents, literature review and researcher’s experience in the field. By revealing the practical and applicable model for teaching and learning using the activist pedagogical approach, the study proposes innovative theoretical conceptualization of a film educational program which has been in operation for thirty years. >> Read the article

Abstract As several studies reveal there are strong relationships between emotional intelligence and the academic competences and on the other side, between emotional intelligence and adaptive behavior. The present study aims to demonstrate the relationship between emotional intelligence and adaptive skills, mainly in the social area in children with hearing disabilities. On the other hand, we focused on the relationships that could be established between the type of the disability, the hearing aids and the adaptive skills. Our findings showed that there is no significant correlation between emotional intelligence and adaptive skills and between the adaptive skills in the school setting and the degree of hearing disabilities, as well as the type of prosthesis. These results are there to confirm other findings which emphasize the fact that children with hearing disabilities have about the same social skills as the typically developed and in the same time they have no significant delays regarding the level of socio-emotional adaptability. >> Read the article

Abstract The present study is a result of a psycho-pedagogical experiment with junior high students’ perceptions regarding the cyberbullying phenomenon. The experimental program, based on a needs analysis and carried out by the survey method (questionnaire developed by the authors), was used to increase and measure students' awareness of the cyberbullying phenomenon. While some students consider cyberbullying a major issue, others do not acknowledge its presence. The psycho-pedagogical experiment focused on a set of strategies for preventing, combatting and approaching (coping with) the elements and specific situations of cyberbullying, communication with an adult, interpersonal communication at group level, role-playing, games, etc. The activities in the experimental program were meant to prevent the phenomenon of cyberbullying and placed a special emphasis on the key role of parents and educators in assisting students. >> Read the article

Abstract It has been an educational policy for the Turkish educational authorities to teach English as a foreign language from early ages of children. This research attempts to determine the role of digital games on enhancing English vocabulary and to com¬pare games with pen and paper practices. For this purpose, digital games on EBA (Education Informatics Network) platform were used for enhancing vocabulary teaching in a public primary school in Turkey. The study recruited 37 third-grade students from two separate classes. A class of 20 students was identified as the experimental group, and another class of 17 students was assigned as the control group. The data for this study was obtained by gathering information from pre and post-tests. The control group received English lessons without using games on EBA, while the experimental group used EBA while learning vocabulary. Independent sample t-test was used to measure the effect of digital games on the vocabulary learning of the experimental group. It was deduced from the findings that there were statistically significant differences in the mean scores of post-tests. The findings showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group and the statistical results were considerable in post-test. Findings indicate that digital games usage in teaching vocabulary is effective for learners to improve their vocabulary knowledge. >> Read the article

Abstract In the past few years, there is an increasing emphasis on a pedagogy for skills. One of the most complex skills, which is formed from the first years of schooling, is the reading-writing skill. Students begin first grade with high ex-pectations towards reading, with the desire to discover the mysteries of the letters. Reading requires - in addition to the ability to decode a written text and the comprehension of the reading - identifying the meaning of the word and the message to be transmitted. Failure in this sense has repercussions on the formation of the personality of the child. Teachers in the classroom are mainly concerned with the prevention of any difficulties that may arise in the formation of the ability to read and write, trying to come up with ways to intervene in the context of the education-al process. This paper aims to find ways of training and developing reading comprehension methods that can be applied in the teaching and learning activities. This is particularly important for understanding and responding to the needs of each student in the class. >> Read the article

Abstract The new pedagogies have forced a rethinking of the educational system, including the curriculum. The curricular model of personal development, dominant in the school curricula applied in the gymnasium, shifts the focus to the student, favors active-participatory methods and favors reflection on oneself, on others and on the world. Although there is more talk now about this curricular model, it is recurrent in visions of education from Aristotle to Dewey, being explicitly found in Bain's vision of “exceptional learning”. The inclusion of the multimodal text in the Romanian language and literature curriculum for the gymnasium, built on the curricular model of personal development, is justified precisely because it stimulates self-knowledge, understanding of the world and creativity. Although the concept of multimodal text is present in the school curriculum, including at the level of competences, textbooks do not pay much attention to it. >> Read the article

Abstract This article aims to identify the efficiency of the online academic teaching process during the Sars COV- 2 pandemic, but also identify the main factors which negatively influence the online academic teaching process. The study is based on quantitative research, the data of which were collected by applying an online questionnaire to students at the Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences in Cluj-Napoca between 01.06.2020-01.07.2020. The results of the study indicate that, during the pandemic, the efficiency of the online teaching process is below the level of the classic teaching process and is negatively influenced by a number of factors (lack of knowledge and technical information held by students / teachers on online teaching platforms, resistance to change of students / teachers (fear of something new (scary) - feeling rejected by the new because you think you can’t cope or may have negative effects or repercussions for you, etc.). However, in order for the online teaching process to be successful, a greater importance should be given to the transfer of responsibility process: focusing on the individual learning process or on the continuous improvement of the online academic teaching process. This transfer can lead inherently and implicitly to an increase in the degree dissatisfaction. >> Read the article

Abstract Computers, communication, and internet technologies have led to significant changes in learning and teaching. The constructivist approach in education puts learners at the center of the teaching process and actively makes them construct their knowledge, developing 21st century skills required for tomorrow’s world. Despite advances in the process of integrating technology into teaching, a significant gap still exists between promise and actual reality. Implementation of computer technologies depends on many complex factors, one of which is teachers’ perceptions of assimilating computerization into their teaching methods. This research is part of a broader study examining techno-pedagogical change in a high school in Israel. The current study focuses on the process of constructing, testing, and validating a questionnaire examining teachers’ attitudes toward pedagogical innovation and assimilating technological skills into teaching. The validation process was done by an exploratory factor analysis to detect cases with low variability and explore the dimensionality of each survey instrument. This was complemented by a confirmatory phase. The results showed high reliability and stable dimensions in the instruments. This study's importance is in constructing an original instrument that examines the extent to which high school teachers adopt innovative pedagogies assimilating technological tools. This study may have a universal contribution because the instrument can be used across countries and cultures. >> Read the article

Abstract Feedback can be considered as the totality of information that is provided to the student, parent, or teacher regarding the student's performance, concerning learning objectives or learning outcomes and aims to improve learning among students. It has the role of reorienting the actions of the teacher, parent, or student in the direction of achieving specific goals of the learning process by aligning the effort and activity with a certain expected result. It can be offered about the results of the activity, the process itself, the way the student manages his learning or self-regulates in the learning activities. The power of feedback comes from the fact that he can straighten, maintain a good attitude, or change a student's behavior. Giving direct but at the same time, empathetic feedback means allowing students to express their opinion, to give feedback in turn, to contradict you, or to recognize the problems when they arise. But all this requires tact, empathy, and understanding, because only in this way can we, the teachers, correct, direct and manage the challenges, in parallel with building communities in which students collaborate and care about each other. Feedback allows the other person to receive a real response to his action and is constructive when referring only to the action itself and nothing else. >> Read the article

Abstract In Romania, schools were closed, courses were suspended on March 11, 2020. The Ministry of Education and Research sent teachers the recommendation to conduct online courses at home. Over the following weeks, this recommendation was supplemented by others, the Ministry recommend that teachers take online courses, without making them compulsory. On March 20, 2020, the Ministry of Education approved the Methodology on the distance continuation of the educational process in quarantine conditions that establishes the way to continue the educational process in primary, secondary and high school institutions in quarantine conditions. The methodology establishes the obligation to conduct distance learning courses through various online platforms (eg Viber, Whatsapp, Facebook, Google Classroom, Zoom, etc.) and allows the assessment of students during this period and the registration of grades in the catalog. The large number of platforms available online for conducting such courses, as well as the lack of a national or local decision on the use of a single platform, has generated quite a bit of confusion among teachers and especially among students. We wanted to find out the opinions of primary school teachers regarding the advantages and disadvantages they perceive regarding online teaching, through interviews with them. >> Read the article

Abstract The structured elaboration of a personal system of values, in line with the culture to which we belong, represents a lasting process, parallel to development, which involves completions and restructurings, adaptations and modifications of the cognitive, attitudinal, affective and axiological system. The conditions of the modern world, oriented towards globalization, no longer allow the isolation of cultures, and the mobility of people creates favorable conditions for the intersection and mutual influence of cultures. For this reason, the development of the capacity to decode cultural meanings and to rationally select multicultural elements that lead to the flexible and creative reorganization of values different from those of the culture of origin, is a desideratum of the education and training of individuals. >> Read the article

Abstract Often people with intellectual disabilities are protected from exposure to death, dying and end-of-life issues, but this protection leaves the person unprepared for the grieving of unavoidable losses, and unaware of the changes implied by the old age of their caregivers. Considering the person with an intellectual disability as an immature being, lacking the ability to feel complex emotions, contributes to the tendency that both professionals and families have to avoid speaking with them about the difficult topic of death. Our goal is to design and implement a psychoeducational program that approaches the topic of death as a natural stage in life, for adults with intellectual disabilities. The effects that psychoeducation about death had on both death attitude and the perception of life are discussed based on a case presentation of one of the group members. >> Read the article

Abstract The article presents a synthesis of qualitative studies regarding the importance of using humour and games in learning. Humour has a wide range of functions that make it a valid instrument if used in classroom. It can be used to raise students’ motivation and it promotes their psychological and emotional development. This paper presents the results of an enquiry conducted upon a sample of 698 students from the IVth to the VIIIth grade. Among the items we have also included different topics related to the importance of interactive strategies designed to support learning through laughter and to make lessons more attractive. At a theoretical level we will investigate if teacher’s charisma is related to the ability to use it in the classroom on one hand and if and how learning is eased. Correlational analysis revealed specific results showing that using humour in education is beneficial to increasing students’ motivation. >> Read the article

Abstract The current article investigates the validation of a scale designed to measure cohesion within class groups (middle school level) taking into account various number of cohesion indicators, such as: belonging to a group and analysing the relationships between its members, the level of implication and participation of the members in activities, the satisfaction of the members towards being part of their group related to the benefits. The questionnaire that includes the scale was distributed to a sample (the selection was determined theoretically). All the respondents were middle school pupils. The results are tracking how the cohesion scale is validated taking into account the statistical perspective and the content of the items in relation with the research’s objectives. >> Read the article

Abstract In the last two decades, there is an increasing interest in the connection between neuroscience and education. However, there is a gap between the declarative statements about the importance of implementation of neuroscience in education and the small number of suggested programs which actually present an implementation in practice. This study describes the development, design and the planning of implementation of a Neuroscience Teacher Based Teacher Training Program (NMTTP) for Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) in special education track. In addition, this study presents the current literature addressing neuroeducation and curriculum, describes the gap in knowledge concerning it and focuses on the need for constructing a neuroeducational curriculum, specifically when dealing with learning disabilities. The structure of the neuroscience-based training program, its main topics and its originality are presented and discussed. >> Read the article