Issue, No. 22/2022

Abstract The expectations of the services provided by schools and the managerial skills and competencies of educational leaders are constantly undergoing changes. Educational management has proven to play a key role both in terms of student outcomes and in influencing teachers’ motivation and professional performance by creating and consolidating the climate and the organizational culture in each school. There are real concerns in all the OECD countries that the skills and occupational profile designed previously for the school’s principal, today no longer meet the current needs of the educational environment, which is strongly influenced by social dynamics and is characterized by unpredictability. On the other hand, the pandemic coronavirus crisis has further deepened the crisis of school governance, triggered by heavy workload, lack of interest from young human resources in moving to positions of principals or deputy principals due to the exhausting responsibilities, insufficient initial training, limited career prospects after the end of the manager’s term and unattractive wages. Within this context, educational management, governance adjustment and professionalization have become essential. This study aims to identify, within the educational network in Iași County, which are the data that can shape the competence profile (what they can do) and the occupational profile (what they have to do) of a successful manager, so that the managerial behaviour of the principal generates positive effects on students’ school achievement. >> Read the article

Abstract The present study aims at depicting the perspectives on moral education for Roma adolescents related to altruistic behavior. Data were drawn from a sample of sixty-six Roma students studying in rural and urban middle schools and high schools. Participants aged between 13 and 18 years old (M=15.91, SD=1.44) were asked to fill out self-administered questionnaires, assisted by the researcher. This study determined the influence of five moral foundations, such as care, fairness, loyalty, respect, and purity on altruistic behavior. The results showed the importance of care and fairness moral foundations as predictors of altruistic behavior. These results provide some insight into the moral values that may influence altruistic behavior in Roma adolescents. Further, implications for moral education are discussed. >> Read the article

Abstract Covid-19 pandemic raised many difficulties in all life’s domains across the globe. The need to adapt was omnipresent and accelerated the emergence of novelty or innovative approaches. Online education for the students enrolled into the 2020/2021 university year was a bigger challenge than for any others. This generation has finished high school in a traditional face to face system and instead of having to deal only with the ordinary challenges of transitioning to face to face college, they’ve been forced to add to it the novelty and uncertainty of the online education during pandemic. The aim of the present research was to identify how pandemic influenced aspects of our college freshman’s life and if they differentiated between positive and negative. Data processing was done with the help of IBM SPSS Text Analytics for Surveys. Following our demarche, we can conclude that our respondents faced numerous negative aspects in this period of their lives due to the pandemic, but the worst of them referred to social, psychological and educational aspects. The positive side of this period from the perspective of our respondents was time, which was used to consolidate connections with family, friends and self. The presence of a pronounced negatively triangle between the general state, social interaction and psychological risks and existence of eight positive categories with a low density of answers, in contrast to nine negative ones with a high density, makes us believe that the effects of this pandemic upon our respondents were rather negative than positive. >> Read the article

Abstract This article discusses the assimilation process of a Computerized Pedagogical Management System (CPMS), which was developed in Israel in 2006 by Hameiri, and since then has been integrated into 1,680 Jewish and Arab schools throughout the country. It was developed in the aim of utilizing the computer and internet infrastructure to process, report and use real time relevant data to carry out management tasks and data presentation by school principals and staff and to improve school effectiveness. This research seeks to examine the culture’s impact on the assimilation of the CPMS leading to educational change process, relevant to the 21st century. The Participants (N=96) were teachers, coordinators, and principals, 39 from the Arab society and 57 from the Jewish society. The study findings indicate that the extent of assimilation of the CPMS vary between Arab and Jewish schools, with the Arab educational staff reporting a greater degree of assimilation. There is also a greater degree of assimilation in the schools supervised by the Ministry of Education, than in the schools of the Ministry of Labor. At the practical level, the study indicates a need to strengthen the assimilation of CPMS in schools supervised by the Ministry of Labor. Training programs and technological support are needed so they may benefit from this system. Training the parents in all schools - both Jewish and Arab, on the value of CPMS, which provides real-time updates on their child's educational development, and how to use this system is of particular importance. >> Read the article

Abstract The formative assessment that is increasingly required in the context of a competency-focused university is supported by various assessment methods and tools. One of these is the student's learning portfolio, an evaluation method that can maximize the potential and individuality of each student. If correctly applied in the university practice, the portfolio is an objective tool for assessing the level of knowledge and skills in the field of the discipline. At the same time, it offers real feedback and the possibility of optimizing the educational activity, both for the student and the teacher. This article presents a quantitative interpretation of students' views on how the portfolio used during a semester, in the context of online teaching, has contributed to the acquisition of knowledge and skills specific to the discipline, personal, and professional skills. Based on the students' responses positive and negative aspects of the teaching, learning, and evaluation specific to the discipline were identified in the current pandemic context, to valorize and optimize them. >> Read the article

Abstract Achievement emotions constitute an important individual variable in the complex process of self-regulated learning, through its effects not only on student's well-being, but also on academic performance. Exploring the individual and contextual correlates of this type of emotions experienced by students in the educational environment is important for both improving the learning climate and developing an optimal self-regulation. In this study, the analysis of data obtained from a number of 365 participants showed that students' perceived classroom assessment environment in the Romanian Language and Literature subject matter in high school is a significant predictor of the emotions experienced by students during learning this subject for baccalaureate exam, beyond the effect of autonomous motivation and previous academic performance. The results showed that perceived learning-oriented assessment environment was positively correlated with students' autonomous motivation. Moreover, it proved to be a positive predictor for the enjoyment in learning, and a negative one for anger and hopelessness, while its correlation with anxiety or boredom was not significant. In contrast, the perceived performance-oriented assessment environment was uncorrelated with students' autonomous motivation and enjoyment, but was confirmed as a positive predictor of anxiety and boredom experienced during individual learning. Finally, the results and some educational implications are discussed. >> Read the article

Abstract Through this study, we set out to find out what teachers can do to be effective and to generate positive learning experiences for all students. The main research question from which our study started was related to the actions that teachers can take to strengthen their relationship with students and to design and carry out relevant and authentic teaching and learning activities. We were also interested in determining which of the educational activities where members of the community were invited were real and unforgettable learning opportunities for the students. An important aspect for optimizing the activities of the teacher is related to the ability to ask for feedback. The feedback received from students is a useful tool through which the quality of the teaching-learning-assessment process increases considerably. >> Read the article

Abstract In general, undesirable behaviors of people and particularly of children occur due to a lack of socioemotional skills and competences. The training and development of these skills begins in the family environment, the first environment with which the preschooler came into contact. However, preschool is the period of accelerated development on all levels: physical, cognitive and socioemotional. These periods develop the basic skills (cognitive, emotional and social) so necessary for adaptation to adult life. From the moment when children are received in kindergarten, the teacher must model their teaching discourse and behavior, in order to establish a network of appropriate and secure social relationships, in which each participant (child) to feel valued and confident, to express his inner experiences: thoughts, emotions, desires, motivations and so on. The aim of this study was to implement and test the effectiveness of an educational intervention program based on puppet theatre in order to develop emotional abilities (recognition of personal and other people’s emotions) and social abilities (social interaction, problem solving, respect for rules and tolerance). The results showed that puppet theatre contributes statistically significantly to the development of socio-emotional abilities in preschoolers, and after calculating the effect size, a strong effect was demonstrated for emotional expressiveness, regulation of socio-emotional response, empathy, self-image and cooperation, and in terms of social interaction the proposed intervention program had a medium effect. >> Read the article

Abstract Through this study we aimed to explore how primary school teachers were able to adapt their teaching practices in the online context during the COVID-19 pandemic and which were the protective factors that contributed to the development of resilience. We focused on their self-assessment of online teaching quality and investigated its correlation with their level of resilience. In measuring the resilience levels of primary school teachers we have taken into account risk and protective factors. Thus, we observed that social and family support had the greatest influence on the formation of resilient attitudes among teachers. The majority of the teachers that participated in this study scored a high and very high level of resilience. We obtained a positive correlation between the chosen variables: primary school teachers' level of resilience and their self-assessment on the quality of their own online teaching during the quarantine caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. >> Read the article

Abstract This article discusses the role of digital literacy in education. It reviews previous framings of digital and media literacy, European policies on developing key competences and it suggests how these could be developed through eTwinning projects, presenting examples of activities and Web 2.0 tools from #Digital EU – we’ll do! eTwinning project (awarded both nationally and at a European level). >> Read the article

Abstract In Western countries, up to 40% of teachers report that their jobs and positions entail high levels of stress and tension, and many leave the teaching profession after a few years. High pedagogical and organizational demands pose a threat to the wellbeing special education teachers, which could cause burnout, stress reactions and anxiety. This paper deals with the need to develop a unique yoga based pedagogical intervention program for teachers who teach students with special needs. A comprehensive review of the research literature on the effect of yoga reveals significant improvements in the physical and emotional health of diverse populations defined by age, gender, occupation, health, and employment status. Therefore, Yoga seems to be an appropriate method to be embedded in the daily school routine in order to provide relief and reduce special education teachers’ stress and anxiety levels. The primary conclusion of this paper reveals a need for a unique intervention program and that this is especially important for teachers generally, and teachers of special education specifically. >> Read the article