Academic literature on the topic 'Romanian textbook'

This paper proposes a historical approach of Romanian communist education as it is reflected in the textbooks edited in the second part of XX century. For communist regime the textbooks, especially history ones became a tool of promotion political principles. There are many pictures, texts, exercises, additional readings which offer enough examples about what behaviour ought to be (non)appreciated and manifested by students, what they have to feel, to act or not. Also, scientific contents of textbook transmit to students a set of beliefs and values even if the teacher do not intend to focus on them. In this way, history textbook could be a perfect promoter of communist thinking and lifestyle. In addition, the textbook narrates about some „heroes” and their acts, gestures, political and military victories. Talking about them, it is a good way to promote those personalities that could become „models” for younger generation. Using theoretical research methodology, we have structured human models, as they had presented in the history textbooks, placing them into a communist human typology. As a result, this paper demonstrates that the textbooks have been important ideological tools, having a bigger impact to students’ consciousness and behaviour.
 
 Keywords: Education; communist ideology; human models; textbooks; history;

Increasing preoccupations and interest manifested for the Romanian language as a foreign language compose a focused and clear expression in the volume “Romanian as a foreign language. Methodology and cultural applicability”, launched at the Turku University publishing house, Finland (2018). The editors, Paul Nanu (Department of Romanian Language and Culture, University of Turku, Finland) and Emilia Ivancu (Department of Romanian Studies of the Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznań, Poland) with this volume, continue a series of activities dedicated to the promotion of the Romanian language and culture outside the country borders. This volume brings together a collection of articles, previously announced and briefly presented at a round table organized by the two Romanian lectors, as a section of the International Conference “Dialogue of cultures between tradition and modernity”, (Philological Research and Multicultural Dialogue Centre, Department of Philology, Faculty of History and Philology, “1 Decembrie 1918” University of Alba Iulia). The thirteen authors who sign the articles are teachers of Romanian as a foreign language, either in the country or abroad. The challenge launched by the organisers pointed both at the teaching methods of Romanian as a foreign language – including the authors’ reflections upon the available textbooks (Romanian language textbooks) and the cultural implications of this perspective on the Romanian language. It is probably no accident that the first article of the aforementioned volume – “Particularities of teaching Romanian as a foreign language for the preparatory year. In quest of “the ideal textbook’’ (Cristina Sicoe, University of the West, Timișoara) – brings a strict perspective upon that what should be, from the author’s point of view, “the ideal textbook”. The fact that it does not exist, and has little chances ever to exist, could maybe be explained by the multitude of variables which appear in practice, within the didactic triangle composed by teacher – student – textbook. The character of the variables is the result of particular interactions established between the components of the triad. A concurrent direction is pointed out by the considerations that make the object of the second article, “To a new textbook of Romanian language as a foreign language’’ (Ana-Maria Radu-Pop, University of the West, Timișoara). While the previous article was about an ideal textbook for foreign students in the preparatory year of Romanian, this time, the textbook in question has another target group, namely Erasmus students and students from Centres of foreign languages. Considering that this kind of target group “forms a distinct category”, the author pleads for the necessity of editing adequate textbooks with a part made of themes, vocabulary, grammar and a part made of culture and civilization – the separation into parts belongs to the author – that should consider the needs of this target group, their short stay in Romania (three months to one year) and, last but not least, the students’ poor motivation. These distinctive notes turn the existent RFL textbooks[1] in that which the author calls “level crossings”, which she explains in a humorous manner[2]. Since the ideal manual seems to be in no hurry to appear, the administrative-logistic implications of teaching Romanian as a foreign language (for the preparatory year) should be easier to align with the standards of efficiency. This matter is addressed by Mihaela Badea and Cristina Iridon from the Oil & Gas University of Ploiești, in the article “Administrative/logistic difficulties of teaching RFL. Case study”. Starting from a series of practical experiences, the authors are purposing to suggest “several ideas to improve existent methodologies of admitting foreign students and to review the ARACIS criteria from March 2017, regarding external evaluation of the ‘Romanian as a foreign language’ study programme”. Among other things, an external difficulty is highlighted (common to all universities in the country), namely the permission to register foreign students until the end of the first semester of the academic year, meaning around the middle of February. The authors punctually describe the unfortunate implications of this legal aspect and the regrettable consequences upon the quality of the educational act. They suggest that the deadline for admitting foreign students not exceed the 1st of December of every academic year. The list of difficulties in teaching Romanian as a foreign language is extremely long, reaching sensitive aspects from an ethical perspective of multiculturalism. This approach belongs to Constantin Mladin from Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Macedonia, who writes about “The role of the ethical component in the learning process of a foreign language and culture. The Macedonian experience”. Therefore, we are moving towards the intercultural competences which, as the author states, are meant to “adequately and efficiently round the acquired language competences”. In today’s Macedonian society, that which the author refers to, a society claimed to be multiethnic, multilingual and pluriconfessional, the emotional component of an intercultural approach needs a particular attention. Thus, reconfigurations of the current didactic model are necessary. The solution proposed and successfully applied by Professor Constantin Mladin is that of shaking the natural directions in which a foreign language and culture is acquired: from the source language/culture towards the target language/culture. All this is proposed in the context in which the target group is extremely heterogeneous and its “emotional capacity of letting go of the ethnocentric attitudes and perceptions upon otherness” seem to lack. When speaking about ‘barriers’, we often mean ‘difficulty’. The article written by Silvia Kried Stoian and Loredana Netedu from the Oil & Gas University of Ploiești, called “Barriers in the intercultural communication of foreign students in the preparatory year”, is the result of a micro-research done upon a group of 37 foreign students from 10 different countries/cultural spaces, belonging to different religions (plus atheists), speakers of different languages. From the start, there are many differences to be reconciled in a way reasonable enough to reduce most barriers that appear in their intercultural communication. Beneficial and obstructive factors – namely communication barriers – coexist in a complex communicational environment, which supposes identifying and solving the latter, in the aim of softening the cultural shock experienced within linguistic and cultural immersion. Several solutions are recommended by the two authors. An optimistic conclusion emerges in the end, namely the possibility that the initial inconvenient of the ethnical, linguistic and cultural heterogeneity become “an advantage in learning the Romanian language and acquiring intercultural communication”. Total immersion (linguistic and cultural), as well as the advantage it represents as far as exposure to language is concerned, is the subject of the article entitled “Cultural immersion and exposure to language”, written by Adina Curta (“1 Decembrie 1918” University of Alba Iulia). Considered to be a factor of rapid progress and effectiveness of acquisition, exposure to language that arises from the force of circumstances could be extended to that what may be named orchestrated exposure to language. This phrase is consented to reunite two types of resources, “a category of statutory resources, which are the CEFRL suggestions, and a category of particular resources, which should be the activities proposed by the organizers of the preparatory year of RFL”. In this respect, we are dealing with several alternating roles of the teacher who, besides being an expert, animator, facilitator of the learning process or technician, also becomes a cultural and linguistic coach, sending to the group of immersed students a beneficial message of professional and human polyvalence. A particular experience is represented by teaching the Romanian language at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. This experience is presented by Nicoleta Neșu in the article “The Romanian language, between mother tongue and ethnic language. Case study”. The particular situation is generated by the nature of the target group, a group of students coming, on the one hand, from Romanian families, who, having lived in Italy since early childhood, have studied in the Italian language and are now studying the Romanian language (mother tongue, then ethnic language) as L1, and, on the other hand, Italian mother tongue students who study the Romanian language as a foreign language. The strategies that are used and the didactic approach are constantly in need of particularization, depending on the statute that the studied language, namely the Romanian language, has in each case. In the area of teaching methodology for Romanian as a foreign language, suggestions and analyses come from four authors, namely Eliana-Alina Popeți (West University of Timișoara), “Teaching the Romanian language to students from Romanian communities from Serbia. Vocabulary exercise”, Georgeta Orian (“1 Decembrie 1918” University of Alba Iulia) “The Romanian language in the rhythm of dance and hip-hop music”, Coralia Telea (“1 Decembrie 1918” University of Alba Iulia), “Explanation during the class of Romanian as a foreign language” and Emilia Ivancu (Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznań, Poland), “Romanian (auto)biographic discourse or the effect of literature upon learning RFL”. The vocabulary exercise proposed to the students by Eliana-Alina Popeți is a didactic experiment through which the author checked the hypothesis according to which a visual didactic material eases the development of vocabulary, especially since the textual productions of the students, done through the technique that didactics calls “reading images”, were video recorded and submitted to mutual evaluation as well as to self-evaluation of grammar, coherence and pronunciation. The role of the authentic iconographic document is attested in the didactics of modern languages, as the aforementioned experiment confirms once again the high coefficient of interest and attention of the students, as well as the vitality and authenticity of interaction within the work groups. It is worth mentioning that these students come from the Serbian Republic and are registered in the preparatory year at the Faculty of Letters, History and Theology of the West University of Timișoara. Most of them are speakers of different Romanian patois, only found on the territory of Serbia. The activity consisted of elaborating written texts starting from an image (a postcard reproducing a portrait of the Egyptian artist Eman Osama), imagining a possible biography of the character. In the series of successful authentic documents in teaching-learning foreign languages, there is also the song. The activities described by Georgeta Orian were undertaken either with Erasmus students from the preparatory year at the “1 Decembrie 1989” University of Alba Iulia, or with Polish students (within the Department of Romanian Studies in Poznań), having high communication competences (B1-B2, or even more). There were five activities triggered by Romanian songs, chosen by criteria of sympathy with the interests of the target group: youngsters, late teenagers. The stake was “a more pleasant and, sometimes, a more useful learning process”, mostly through discovery, through recourse to musical language, which has the advantage of breaking linguistic barriers in the aim of creating a common space in which the target language, a language of “the other”, becomes the instrument of speaking about what connects us. The didactic approach, when it comes to Romanian as a foreign language taught to students of the preparatory year cannot avoid the extremely popular method of the explanation. Its story is told by Coralia Telea. With a use of high scope, the explanation steps in in various moments and contexts: for transmitting new information, for underlining mechanisms generating new rules, in evaluation activities (result appreciation, progress measurements). Still, the limits of this method are not left out, among which the risk of the teachers to annoy their audience if overbidding this method. Addressing (Polish) students from the Master’s Studies Program within the Romania Philology at the Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznań, Emilia Ivancu crosses, through her article, the methodological dimensions of teaching Romanian as a foreign language, entering the curricular territory of the problematics in question by proposing an optional course entitled Romanian (auto)biographic discourse”. Approaching contact with the Romanian language as a foreign language at an advanced level, the stakes of the approach and the proposed contents differ, obviously, from the ones only regarding the creation and development of the competence of communication in the Romanian Language. The studied texts have been grouped into correspondence/epistolary discourse, diaries, memoires and (auto)biography as fiction. Vasile Alecsandri, Sanda Stolojan, Paul Goma, Neagoe Basarab, Norman Manea, Mircea Eliade are just a few of the writers concerned, submitted to discussions with the help of a theoretical toolbox, offered to the students as recordings of cultural broadcasts, like Profesioniștii or Rezistența prin cultură etc. The consequences of this complex approach consisted, on the one hand, of the expansion of the readings for the students and, on the other hand, in choosing to write dissertations on these topics. A “tangible” result of Emilia Ivancu’s course is the elaboration of a volume entitled România la persoana întâi, perspective la persoana a treia (Romania in the first person, perspectives in the third person), containing seven articles written by Polish Master’s students. Master’s theses, a PhD thesis, several translations into the Polish language are also “fruits” of the initiated course. Of all these, the author extracted several conclusions supporting the merits and usefulness of her initiative. The volume ends with a review signed by Adina Curta (1 Decembrie 1918 University of Alba Iulia), “The Romanian language, a modern, wanted language. Iuliana Wainberg-Drăghiciu – Textbook of Romanian language as a foreign language”. The textbook elaborated by Iuliana Wainberg-Drăghiciu (“1 Decembrie 1918” University of Alba Iulia) respects the CEFRL suggestions, points at the communicative competences (linguistic, sociolinguistic and pragmatic) described for levels A1 and A2, has a high degree of accessibility through a trilingual dictionary (Romanian-English-French) which it offers to foreign students and through the phonetic transcription of new vocabulary units.

This article presents some of the difficulties that arose for students during courses in Romanian language, culture, and civilization at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and suggests some teaching solutions tested in the classes. Proceeding from the frame work of functionalcognitive grammar, the solutions that were chosen for interpreting and correcting students’ expression combine semantic, teaching, and pragmatic criteria. The analysis covers frequent mistakes and the most characteristic mistakes observed in Slovenian students’ speech, and the most appropriate solutions are suggested for them. This article represents a starting point for a Romanian textbook tailored to Slovenian students.

Abstract The paper analyses the presence of future expressions (‘be going to’, ‘will’, ‘shall’, the Present tense progressive and Present tense simple with future uses) in the English textbooks for levels A1 and A2 recommended by the Romanian Ministry of Education for use in the primary and lower secondary classes in Romania.

The formation of primary school children involves a multitude of aspects that are based (by examples and by counterexamples) not only on the activities carried out in the classroom, but also on the concrete materials used or referred to in the educational instructive approach. In this context, this paper proposes an analysis of the texts presented in the alternative textbooks of Communication in Romanian / Romanian Language and Literature, used in Romania, in primary school. The target analysis criteria essentially converge to the identification of the main coordinates that can be seen in these texts (human typologies, values, gender characteristics, cultural, social characteristics, etc.); these may be prerequisites to explore, at this age, the idea of “inequality” and its implications in the relationship / socialization / communication. Starting with the elements identified in the textbooks, primary teachers may propose / use, on the one hand, certain methods to approach – critically / personalized / adapted and, at the same time, responsible, anchored in everyday life and in contemporary world, and on the other hand, alternatives to literary texts (from Romanian / universal children's literature) and non-literacy (older or newer, distributed through mass-media, social media, etc.).

In comparative terms, after the strict cultural policies and censorship of the communist regime, the literature and literary studies of post-communist Romania would seem to be almost completely free of the political. This article investigates the complex ways in which various aspects of the study and reception of English literature - from the practice of teaching English, through textbooks, to literary translation - reflect the evolution of the relationship between literature and politics in pre- and post-1989 Romania. In the asymmetrical cultural exchange resulting from the inevitable hierarchy in which Anglo-American culture is dominant, whereas Romanian culture is perpetually subordinate, the latter embraces its marginality and places itself strategically at the receiving end. I therefore argue that while Anglo-American scholars' concern with the pernicious outcomes of Anglocentricity in ES is in itself a laudable ethical move, in target cultures such as the Romanian, Anglocentricity may function as a catalyst of resistance and change.

The politics of symbolic representation is uncovered by our examining the represented cultural landscape. In this process, semiotics and discourse analysis were the methods complementing each other and enabling us to underline how Romanians’ understanding of power relations, of past and present events and ultimately of reality was shaped by signs, symbols, and stories in official visual materials. This research aims to discuss the geography of Romania’s southern border during the socialist period (1948-1989). This geography is made of the Danube and of the Danubian settlements as represented in images within Geography of Romania school textbooks and picture postcards. Thus, the aim of our article is to decode the visual construction of territorial identity of the Danubian settlements in Romania. To reach this aim, we considered the following research questions: Is the Danube the main subject in these representations or a secondary one? How is the Danube represented? What are the key-themes of its representation? How is the past of the settlements on the Danube integrated into the visual discourse during the socialist period? What was the role played by the Danube in the history of these settlements according to these representations (i.e. textbooks and picture postcards)? Results show that the Danube is a liminal space, changing functions depending on historical, political, economic, and social circumstances. The Danube is represented as landscape, defined through its economic (i.e. transport, commerce) or historical functions (i.e. border to the south or communication route with the west). Due to its representations, also the other elements seem truthful and “natural”. The presence of people and activities in the displayed places inform and educate visitors and inhabitants how to use space (contemplative, for entertainment, for relaxation, to learn, etc.). We provide an informed understanding of Romania through visual imagery: representations are singling out its uniqueness and achievements, fitting into the metanarrative of socialist propaganda.

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2009.<br>Thesis research directed by: Dept. of Government and Politics. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.

This study addresses the post-revolutionary history of Roma in the Romanian public sphere by examining the social construction of this minority in press and history textbooks. The objective is to illuminate synchronic and diachronic structural patterns in public texts debating Roma in order to offer a deeper understanding of the Romanian xenophobia assuming that the public debate affects the status quo of Roma. Public texts represent fruitful channels of communication through which selective social realities par excellence, stocks of knowledge and typifications are proclaimed by different societal actors. The press possess a critical function whilst history textbooks a manipulative function advocating normative historical realties par excellence. The modi operandi utilized are quantitative, qualitative content- and critical discourse analysis, which are applied in the monitoring of approximately 6000 newspapers, 197 articles (1991-2012) and 6 textbooks (2008-2014). The results indicate that the media history of Roma resembled police investigations rather than conventional journalism. Manifest and latent stereotypifications have synchronically and diachronically formed uncritical and demonizing stocks of knowledge, whose societal truths sustained the othering of Roma in press and were depicted as a force behind the destruction of [“our”] national self-image. History textbooks have offered an inexistent stock of historical knowledge omitting, e.g. the slavery and deportations of Roma but highlighting ethnocentric perspectives, patriotism and other minorities.

The aim of this essay is to analyze the portrayal of the Romani people in 23 history textbooks marketed towards the Swedish lower secondary school between the years 1964–2014, but also which uses of history emerge from within these descriptions. During this period, the curriculum has passed through five different stages with varying approaches towards ethnic minorities. The method used to compare different textbooks, passages and time-periods was a qualitative and comparative content analysis based on a model by Professor Lennart Hellspong. This was supported by a theoretical framework focused around the typologies of uses of history by Professor Klas-Göran Karlsson. The findings show that Romani people are portrayed in similar themes or contexts over different curriculum-stages and many of the written passages focuses on the victimization and mistreatment of Romani by either Swedish or international actors. A comprehensive account of an objective and cultural history is only found in a few of the most current textbooks. The Romani and their history are often overlooked in favor of the majority society’s historical narrative if not a specific duty is charged towards their inclusion in the schools control documents. In the year 2000 the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities was ratified by the Swedish government and the subsequent revision of the curriculum made this inclusion a permanent fixture. However, some textbooks keep minority history brief and unsatisfying. The uses of history regarding Romani people vary over time and appear to be subject to the overarching sociopolitical landscape. An excluding and existential nationalistic narrative is identified to be common during the 1960’s but transforms towards a more including variety over time. Non-use and political-pedagogical use are both partial in varying degrees during all the curriculum-periods coupled with a perceived scientific presentation of historical facts, but not scientific use of history. The current curriculum introduces a widely moral and conciliatory use of history. This study confirms earlier research to an extent, but at the same time it extends to focus on the Romani people, a wider variety of books and a longer time-period compared with earlier studies on the subject. The findings open the possibility for future research on other Swedish or international minorities – or the Romani from other methodological or theoretical standpoints.

Cette recherche trouve sa justification dans l’esprit d’ouverture vers les langues dans les pays de l’Union européenne. Comme, depuis janvier 2007, la Roumanie est entrée dans cette grande famille, l’enseignement des langues y est devenu, plus que jamais, une priorité. Notre questionnement porte sur : - la place des langues romanes et de l’anglais dans l’enseignement roumain actuel ; - la manière dont les documents officiels actuels (programmes scolaires, curriculum national, manuels scolaires) du ministère de l’Éducation et de la Recherche de Roumanie intègrent le nouveau dispositif du Conseil de l’Europe, le Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues (CECR) ; - les manuels scolaires actuels pour les langues romanes (français, italien, espagnol) et l’anglais ; - les pratiques pédagogiques dans l’enseignement des différentes langues. Les façons d’apprendre et d’enseigner les langues à l’heure actuelle sont nombreuses, mais notre analyse reste dans le cadre théorique du CECR, dans l’objectif d’aider les enseignants, les élèves et les concepteurs de cours à coordonner leurs efforts pour augmenter la qualité de l’acte éducatif. Notre recherche ouvre la porte sur une réflexion plus approfondie concernant l’efficacité des méthodes utilisées aujourd’hui dans le domaine de l’enseignement des langues étrangères au lycée. La didactique moderne essaie de répondre aux demandes de la société, en proposant des stratégies multiples et adaptées pour former les élèves. L’expérience de la tradition associée à la capacité d’innovation sont les nouveaux repères de l’école pour une société multiculturelle. Si l’école roumaine veut s’inscrire dans la modernité, elle devra poursuivre le travail de fond engagé dans le respect et l’application du CECR, s’assurer que les professeurs y sont formés et leur donner les moyens d’intégrer cette modernité dans leurs pratiques scolaires<br>This research finds its justification in the spirit of the opening towards the modern foreign languages in the European Union. As, since January 2007, Romania has entered this big family, the teaching of modern foreign languages has become, more than ever, a priority. In this research we were interested in : - the place of the Romance languages and of the English language in the Romanian education system of today ; - the way in which the current official documents (school curricula, national curricula, school textbooks) of the Ministry of Education and Research of Romania integrates a new framework of the European Council, Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) ; - the current school textbooks of the Romance languages (French, Italian, Spanish) and of English ; - the pedagogical activity in the teaching of various foreign languages. Nowadays, the ways of learning and teaching are numerous, but our analysis followsthe theoretical framework of CEFR, with the purpose of helping teachers, students and the authors of courses coordinate their efforts to enhance the quality of the teaching process. Our research opens the way for a deeper reflection as to the efficiency of the methods used today in the field of teaching foreign languages in high school. The modern Didactics tries to answer the requests of the society, proposing multiple strategies and adapted to form the students. The experience of the tradition associated with the capacity of innovation sets the new landmarks of school for a multicultural society. If the Romanian educational system wants to keep pace with the modernity, will have to continue the steps already made observing and applying the CEFR rules, to secure that the teachers are formed and are given the means to integrate this modernity in the actual teaching and practice in schools

Drawing on the assumptions that old ideologies persist over a long period of time, impact on intercultural communication, and can be identified in texts, this study is a critical analysis of the content of an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) textbook, which was published between 1983 and 1988 in communist Romania. Specifically, the research questions of the present study are: 1) How do the EFL textbook‘s readings represent the relationship between Romanian and non-Romanian people?, and 2) What are the sociopolitical implications of these representations? Based on critical discourse analysis (CDA), as well as content analysis and literary theory, the method of analysis of this study builds on central concepts such as ideology and intertextuality, and delivers a multilayered framework of analysis that comprises the historical and ideological context of the texts, as well as the context of other texts. The findings show that the communist ideology was legitimated and transmitted in language textbooks, and, compared to the Romanians, non-Romanians were unequally represented.

AbstractThis chapter embeds Roma identity formation in the politics of early Soviet Union, by examining the role schools played in delineating boundaries of belonging and the sense of nationhood. I analyze education policies and politics towards minorities in the 1920s and ‘1930s through textbooks in Romani language from the time. I show that textbooks, often through educating basic grammar to children, sought to alter their identities from “unsettled fortune-tellers” to working Roma. Roma way of life was equated with oppression of the old, pre-revolutionary times, while new, Socialist life that Roma were to become part of was characterized by equality and work. What was seen as the traditional Roma way of life was incompatible with the goals of the state, and schools were to “transform” Roma children into productive Socialist workers. Socialism, therefore, was seen as the emancipation and empowerment Roma needed in order to leave their “backwards” habits in the past.

This chapter analyses how the myth of motherhood was construed and enforced on Romanian women in two recent epochs. While in the latter part of communism women were expected to be “mothers of the nation” and produce five or more children for the country and the party, due to an infamous decree passed in 1966, the postcommunist period saw the same pressure put on women to fulfill their “patriotic duty,” this time in the neoliberal logic and in congruence with the Western model. Women imagery is consistent with this role, and this chapter provides insights into how primary school textbooks, together with the main documents and legal initiatives of the two periods, impacted the social expectations of motherhood and affected the Romanian women.

Residential care for the young is an elusive object of study. Provided in the past by establishments as diverse as workhouses, orphanages, and reformatories, it has no clear definition marking its boundaries with foster care or boarding education; at the same time it variously aims to shelter, classify, control, and reform and it has no agreed theory or body of values. The need for residential care, and the difficulties of providing it, vary with time and place; the issues it raises are quite different in Romania than they are in California, or were in Victorian England. Given this diversity, any discussion of residential care needs to outline the context within which it was written. In the case of this chapter the context is provided by current British social policy. Although the focus is on residential care provided to young people by Children's Services in England for social reasons, the conclusions drawn are applicable to the rest of the United Kingdom. The issues raised by this provision have similarities in other parts of the developed world, in virtually all of which the use of residential care is declining. This chapter is written against the background of this decline. Its aims are as follows: ♦ to describe the current characteristics of residential child care in England, and by extension in Great Britain ♦ to outline the problems that have led to its numerical decline ♦ to identify practices that should overcome or reduce these problems ♦ to discuss the role that residential care might play in future.

Our research starts from the idea that evaluating the quality of the educational process in history, in the conditions of the educational process in history, in the conditions of 21st century education, is an attempt as difficult as it is interesting and instructive. In recent years, Romanian educations has undergone numerous transformations, both in terms of curricular aspects, respectively the curriculum, study programs and textbooks, as well as those related to the managerial component. In this process, operations of request and response, analysis and synthesis, evaluation and application have intervened and continue to intervene, all built on the basis of strategies in which all educational factors are involved.