Although there are many things the Romanian parents don’t like about the local public school system, such as the teachers’ low salaries or the useless homework, there also some things they do appreciate, according to a study conducted by Smart Education, a local center that specializes in workshops for children.

The parents would like higher salaries for the teachers, a system that is more open to extracurricular activities, and more people who do their job with passion. They would also want the system to focus more on the students’ individual needs and personalities, to avoid giving them useless homework, and to replace learning by heart with a more logical way of learning.

The parents are also not happy with the textbooks, and they would like them to be “re-written according to the 21st century.” The current books have remained far behind, somewhere in the 80s, with the same rigid and useless information, which doesn’t make the pupil want to study, according to the research.

The public school system should also focus more on creativity and practicality. The parents want more freedom of speech and expression and less pressure, a safe environment for their children, and a psychologist in every classroom.

They also found that the public school system doesn’t encourage the free expression of opinion, no matter if it’s right or wrong. Moreover, some teachers have inappropriate reactions when the children give wrong answers.

The Romanian public school system also fails to focus on offering the children the tools for developing emotional intelligence. Moreover, it should focus more on the vocational component and on evaluating the students’ native skills and channel the educational process according to them.

On the good side, the parents appreciate that the public school system in Romania is free, mandatory, and covers various subjects. They also appreciate the teachers that "put their souls into this job", the social inclusion – children come from different environments, the discipline and tradition, the equality between pupils, and the school competitions.

When it comes to what qualities the teachers should have, the parents chose empathy (45%), communication (30%), and patience (25%).

Most of the parents (40%) think that the emotional intelligence is the most important skill their children need for their future adult lives, 30% say that their abilities to communicate with the others are important, while 26.7% see creativity as being a very important skill.

The study was conducted between October and December 2015 on a sample of 200 people.

Romania, among Europe’s low-achievers on education

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com