Leonardo Da Vinci Project Development of Systems for Vocational Teacher Qualification Improvement

1. Leonardo Da Vinci ProjectDevelopment of Systems for Vocational Teacher Qualification Improvement [PROPETO] Promoted by: Centre for Vocational Education and Research at Vytautas Magnus University LITHUANIA

2. Vocational Teachers Qualification Improvement: Conception and Experience in Romania Material elaborated by: Georgeta and Dumitru CHIRLESAN from the University of Piteşti (ROMANIA) as partner of the project

3. Content: • I. INTRODUCTION • II. ROMANIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM • III. VOCATIONAL EDUCATION & TRAINING • IV. NATIONAL POLICY ON TRAINING OF TEACHERS • V. ROMANIAN EXPERIENCE

4. I. INTRODUCTION: Term most frequently used in Romania related to training of teachers : • Training; • Basic (or Initial) Training; • Continuing Training; • Formal Training; • On-the-job-training; • Re-training; • Career Training.

5. II. ROMANIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM: (A) At the end of the communism: ► fully controlled by the communist state; ► with a fully centralised managerial system; ► + total political control secured by the Communist Party;

6. Dr. M.S. 25 24 23 Labour Labour Labour Labour Labour Labour 22 21 19 Worker (LS) License / Diploma Sub - Engineer Worker (HS) Technician Worker (HS) 17 15 7 (6) University / / Polytechnics / / Medicine Other (HE – Long St.) University College (HE –Short St.) Technical School High School Post – Secondary Education (Lyceum) National Threshold Examination (between 10th and 11th grade) Professional school Apprenticeship school General education Compulsory (according with the law) Primary school: grades 1 to 4 (7 age old up to 11) Secondary school: grades 5 to 8 (11 age old up to 15) Structure of the RO educational system at the end of the communism:

7. Strong features: • the compulsoriness to perform at least 10 years of education → induced a mass character of education; • the diversity of qualifications delivered; • the free access to education for socially disadvantaged groups; • the chance to have a job immediately after the graduation; • the chance for a personal development within the educational system (a large variety of reconversion programmes, late access for those looking for a new qualification, etc.)

8. Weak points: • low correlation between the market needs and the curriculum • curriculum strongly oriented to the industrial qualifications; • low level of quality for general education (primary and secondary); • low level of practical activities during the studies; • low level of the teachers' training programmes determined by the lack of specialised faculties for teachers; • apparently strong competition during the studies and after the graduation but in reality the political factor was more important for the personal development of a person; • major differences between rural and urban schools; • lack of interest for personal development after the graduation

9. (B) Romanian Educational System in the pre-accession period • 1990-1996 was a period of confusions, slow, almost inexistent reform and re-evaluation of the managerial procedures; • Former stereotypes applied before the Revolution were not anymore valid; • New Constitution of Romania and the new legislation imposed new types of professional and social relations; • The education at large was confronted with major problems; • Consequently, some specific negative features occurred;

10. …continuation • In 1995, when the Reform of the educational system in Romania became a real issue, a pre-accession financial and logistic support was offered by the EU in the framework of the PHARE Programme. • The legislation was re-designed in order to give an appropriate framework for the educational activities in Romania (Law of Education (84/1995) and the Law of the Statute of the Didactical Personnel (128/1997). • At that time these laws imposed the necessary change, giving free way to the reforming processes. • The parallel process of Reform was strongly sustained by the PHARE Project. Unfortunately, the process was many times returned to the “zero point” or was totally confused by the hesitations of the political class. • In this context, the start of the Bologna Process in Europe, found Romania ready to be part of this challenging common European effort

11. III. VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN ROMANIA • The vocational education and training reform process was launched in the mid 1990s; • Continuing vocational training is financed from different sources, depending on the categories of target groups; • In 1999-2001 a series of normative acts were adopted in Romania that completed and improved legislation related to continuing vocational training. • Ordinance no. 129/2000 on vocational training for adults represents the legal framework for establishing the VET system for adults, authorization of training providers, development of the system for evaluation and certification of competencies and financing vocational training.

12. IV. NATIONAL POLICY ON TRAINING OF TEACHERS 1. Law of Education (Law no. 84/24.07.1995); 2. Law for the Statute of the Educational Staff (Law no.128/01/09/1997); 3. Government Decree no. 604/2001(creation of National Centre for the Staff Training of the Pre-university Education); 4. Order of Minister no. 5416/21/12/2000(organization and the development of the didactic staff perfecting programme); 5. Order of Minister no. 3701/26.04.200 (Revised perfecting programmes); 6. In-service training programme for educational staff/Council of Europe – no. 1/2002.

13. Initiatives on training of teachers: • general education; • teacher training for all types of education: pre-school, primary, secondary, post-high school, higher education, continuing education (including education for arts and sports, medical education special needs education, military education, medical education, private education, education for the national minorities); • guidance and counselling; • perfecting the teaching staff of all types, levels and specialisation; • management of school; • training the trainers for educational system; • training the Methodist teachers; • employment policies.

14. Objectives of the training of teachers policy: a. to elaborate the standards of continuing training for the didactic staff, auxiliary staff, leading, guidance & control staff from the pre-university education; b. to elaborate the criteria and the accreditation modalities of the training programs; c. to accredit, through specialized commissions, the continuing training programs proposed by the training providers based on the standards and methodologies approved by the Minister of Education and Research; d. to initiate and develop expert appraisements concerning the content, the designing, the achievement and the evaluation of the teaching staff training in the pre-university education; e. to carry on special studies – diagnosis, prognosis and other similar. f. to initiate and develop, with the approval of the General Department for Continuing Education, Training and Perfecting of the Didactic Staff, certain activities of professional development in the educational field, financed by funds of national and international programs.

15. Responsible for the training the teachers policy is: Ministry of Education, Researchand Youth + “actors”

16. Implementing the teachers training policy represents a co-ordinated action, implying the contribution of: • Ministry of Education, Research and Youth; • Ministry of Finance; • Ministry of Labour, family and Equal Opportunities; • National Centre for the Staff Training of the Pre-university Education; • National Council for Adult Vocational Training; • National Agency and County Agencies for the Labour Force Employment; • Higher education institutions, • Pedagogical colleges and high schools; • School Inspectorates; • Houses of the Teaching Staff; • Perfecting centers (destined the didactic staff with medium level education); • NGOs (destined to the didactic staff and to the auxiliary didactic staff from the pre-university education); • National Institute of Educational Sciences; • National Agency for Community Programmes in the Field and Professional Education and Training.

17. Progress in implementing the teachers training policy: • Education Reform Project (07.10.1994 – 28.02.2002) ; • Curricular reform; • Strategy for the development of the initial and continuing training system of the didactic staff and managers within thepre-university education 2001-2004, 2004-2008.

18. V. ROMANIAN EXPERIENCE ON “TRAINING OF TEACHERS” 1. Methodical–scientific and psycho-pedagogical activities, realized at the level of the education unit or in groups of units. 2. Methodical–scientific sessions of communications, symposiums, exchanges of experience upon specialty and psycho-pedagogical problems. 3. Periodical stages of special scientific informing and educational sciences informing. 4. Conferences, seminaries, debates or other specific forms of teachers perfecting, organized at interschool level, county, national or international level. 5. Forms of perfecting through correspondence (open and distance learning).

19. …continuation 6. Courses without regular attendance, organized in higher education institutes, combined with periodical consultancy, in accordance with the participants’ options. 7. Courses organized by scientific societies and by other professional organizations of the didactic staff. 8. Courses in the view of obtaining the title of “definitive teacher” or of didactic grades, in conformity with the law provisions. 9. Training and perfecting courses for the leading, guidance & control staff; 10. Perfecting grants and study & documentation stages; 11. Post-university study programs. 12. Doctoral studies.

20. In Romania, the perfecting programs contain: • Specialty scientific informing; • Pedagogical, psychological and sociological informing; • Methodical informing; • Informing in the field of general and school legislation; • Practical activities in the field of specialty.

21. Plans for future developments in the field of training of teachers in Romania: • In 2002 the European Commission addressed all the candidate states the invitation to associate themselves to the process of educational and professional training systems development. • The Government of Romania politically assumed this invitation with the occasion of the 6th Conference of Europe Ministers of Education, which has been held at Bratislava in June 2002.

22. …continuation • The precursory demarches of this decision consisted in institutional capacity analysis of the educational and professional training system, in absorbing and adapting the development objectives of the European Union member states to the Romanian society interests and needs. • In this context, the “Strategy for the Educational System Development for the Period 2001-2004 and 2004-2008” have been re-actualized, in the framework of a prospective planning for the time horizon 2010.