ROMANIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

1. ROMANIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM European digital portofolio for education 20/02/2014-26/02/2014Nicosia, Cyprus Coloman Ştefan KERESZTES Sibiu County School Inspectorate, Romania

2. 1. Who are we? Where are we from?

3. SIBIU - HERMANNSTADT - SZEBEN/NAGYSZEBEN - CIBINUIM

4. 2. Romanian Educational System’s Description 10th-12th/13th grades Upper secondary education 5th-9th grades Lower secondary education 1st-4th grades Preparatory class Primary education  Pre-primary education (pre-school ) 3-6 years Public nursery 0-3 years

5. Post-university education ISCED 5B Tertiary (Higher) education ISCED 5A Post-secondary non-tertiary education ISCED 4 13th grade 19 years Upper secondary education ISCED 3 12th grade 18 years Secondary education Upper secondary education 11th grade 17 years Vocational education 10th grade 16 years Lower secondary education 9th grade 15years ISCED 2 8th grade 14 years 7th grade 13 years 6th grade 12 years Compulsory education 5th grade 11 years 4th grade 10 years Primary education ISCED1 3th grade 9 years 2th grade 8 years 1st grade 7 years Preparatory class 6 years The Ministery of Education is responsable 5 years Pre-primary education Early childhood education and care ISCED O 4 years 3 years The Ministery of education is not responsable 2 years Public nursery 1 year 0 year

6. Education is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16 years. • The official language for education is Romanian. • The national education system is organised into several levels of education:  • Pre-primary education (children from 3 up to 5/6 years of age),  • Primary education (children between the ages of 6/7 and 10),  • Lower secondary education(pupils between the ages of 10 and 16 years),  • Upper secondary education (pupils between the ages of 16 and 18 years),  • Post-secondary education,  • Higher education.

7. Ministry of Education NCC NSAE PEEAC NCPTST NCTVETD NCTEAD NCE County School Inspectorates TTH LDC LCSS Other units Schools Governance of the Education System • NCC – National Council for Curriculum • NSAE – National Service for Assessment and Evaluation • PEEAC – Pre-university Education Evaluation and Accreditation Commission • NCPTST – National Centre for Pre-university Teaching Staff Training • NCTVETD – National Centre for TVET Development • NCTEAD – National Council for Textbooks Evaluation, Approval and Distribution • NCE – National Centre for Excellence • CSI – County School Inspectorates • TTH – TeacherTraining Houses • LDC – Local Development Committee for Social Partnership in VET • LCSS – Local Council School Service

8. 3. The initial teacher training (1) • Teaching positions (also referred to as didactic functions) in Pre-university education are established within the Teaching Staff Statute (Law 128/1997, and Law nr.1 / 2011) by education level, and are as follows: *for evaluation and selection of the children with special educational needs

9. 3. The initial teacher training (2) • For all teaching positions in Romania is based on a concurrent model – meaning that the education and training in the specialisation of studies is combined with the professional training within the same educational sequence. • However, for certain teaching position a supplementary professional training is required that may be considered as part of the initial training but is actually finalised after the graduation of the required education level (e.g. specific training for teaching positions in special education, graduation of doctoral studies for conferentiar universitar and profesor universitar positions, etc.). • For Pre-university education, the initial training provided within formal education is completed with an insertion period of at least 2 years. During the insertion period debutant(e) teachers are employed based on labour contracts identical with the ones for the fully-flagged teachers, containing the same responsibilities, rights and obligations (including teaching norm, salary, etc.). The insertion period comprises an important supportive and supervising dimension as well as a final formal evaluation – the on-the-job confirmation exam. Only after passing the on-the-job confirmation exam teachers entry their professional life as fully-flagged teachers. • Persons that do not pass the exam in the conditions set by the law cannot work anymore as qualified teachers.

10. 4. In-service training • In Romania, in-service teacher training is a right which primarily takes the form of advanced training and professional conversion. • Educational institutions have to ensure all the necessary conditions for the teachers to participate to in-service training programmes.

11. 4. In-service training (1) Further professional development It means that the teacher attained a high level of professional maturity and expertise, which recommends them as a generator of good practices in the school educational environment. It means that the teacher gained a plus of professionalization, confirmed by their results at tests especially designed to reveal the added value obtained since their confirmation as teacher.  It means the recognition of minimal accepted competences of a person who has chosen the teaching career and who guarantees in this way that they have the necessary training for the teaching profession and can enter an ascending professionalization route.  • Each stage is accomplished through specific evaluations and leads to certification of a higher professional-degree. • Professional-degrees are rewarded with higher salaries for the same teaching position, level of the initial training and seniority, and entitle the holder to compete for management or guiding and control positions.

12. 4. In-service training (2)Further professional development • Teachers in school education progress in their career when they pass the examinations for teacher confirmation and teaching degrees II and I. • The in-service training courses ensure teachers’ professional development and are included in the assessment/equivalence system based on transferable professional credits, where teachers have to obtain 90 credits in a 5-year period. • The in-service teacher training programmes are organised in modules for the following main fields:

13. 4. In-service training (3) • In-service training ensures that teachers’ competences are updated and developed, including new competences, based on the evolutions in the education needs and the educational curriculum, and on the requirements related to the adaptation of teachers’ competences to changes in the education structures/processes. • In-service teacher training is based on the paradigm of the competence approach and the concept of cumulative development of teacher’s competence level. • The competence level targeted by in-service training/advanced training programmes and activities is assessed based on: a) teacher’s ability to mobilise, combine and use autonomously knowledge abilities, skills and general and professional competences with various requirements specific to a particular context, situation or problem;b) teacher’s ability to deal with change, complex and unpredicted situations.

14. 4. In-service training (4) • According to its main destinations, in-service training aims to:

15. 4. In-service training (5) - Organisational aspects • In-service training for teachers in school education takes place through a system of institutions, organisations and their structures, between which hierarchical and functional relations are established to ensure coherence, compatibility and observance of quality standards in the design, delivery and assessment of in-service training at national level. • From the point of view of the position and functions of its institutions, organisations and structures, the national in-service school teacher training system includes:

16. 4. In-service training (6) Organisational aspects • The main forms of organisation for school teacher in-service training/advanced training are:

17. 4. In-service training (7) Organisational aspects • The training programmes and activities that have been mentioned can be organised in flexible education forms, adapted to training objectives and content, as well as to participants’ possibilities and requirements, namely:

18. 5. Selection, recruitment and appointment of teachers. Basic work conditions • in public and private education have to be based on competitions. • for public Pre-university education selection, recruitment and appointment of the teachers is accomplished through competitive examination. • in private Pre-university education and higher education is accomplished through open recruitment. • Basic work conditions for the teachers are established within the Teaching Staff Statute (Law 128/1997),( Law nr.1 /2011). These refer to:

19. 6. Promoting in the teacher’s career • All management and guiding and control positions in Pre-university education are appointed based on competitive examination opened only to the teachers. • In order to be admitted in the competitive examination teachers have to comply with specific criteria set by the law and the Ministry of National Education (professional degree, seniority, overall performance, etc.). • Specific salary-incentives are established according to the position held and are added to the salary corresponding to the level of the initial training, the professional-degree and seniority. • My responsabilities

20. Prof. math. Stefan C. Keresztes Thank you! E-mail: kerestessib@yahoo.com