Romania
Currently in Romania, civic education is
taught only through the 8th grade.
Consequently,
the Romanian Street Law team
is developing
a non-traditional curriculum
for the 9th
and 10th grades that is student-centered
and responsive to the needs of
both the student
and the greater community, as
well as to
current issues. The Street Law
program will
help continue the democratizing
process occurring
in Romania.
Goals of the Street Law program include:
1. Textbooks and teachers' manuals
for the
9th and 10th grades.
2. Supplemental teaching materials
to educate
citizens about civics, law, human
rights,
and democracy.
3. Community involvement in the
process of
education, including the use
of community
resource people, such as lawyers,
police
officers, and government officials.
4. Teacher-trainings on interactive
methodology
so as to teach problem-solving
and critical
thinking skills.
5. Pilot testing of Street Law
curriculum.
6. Advertising of Street Law
program through
promotional materials, as well
as through
the radio, the press, and scholarly
journals.
Interviews with professors, students,
and
team members will be published
in national
newspapers.
The Ministry of Education has already agreed
to include the 9th grade Street
Law textbook
on the list of optional disciplines
to be
studied during the 1999-2000
academic year.
( 70% of the Romanian school
curriculum is
standardized. 30% is optional,
and thus adapted
to local needs.)
Organizations involved include
Foundation
for an Open Society, Institute
of Educational
Sciences, and Law Faculty of
the West University
of Timisoara. Also the Street
Law Program
will be considerate like a part
of the Romanian
Education Mega Project. The resources
of
this program, the experience
of the schools
and the people, which are already
involved
in the program, will contribute
at the empowering
of the Romanian educational institutions,
which realize now the educational
reform
in this country.
For more information, please contact:
Livia Moraru
Education Programs Coordinator,
Foundation
for an Open Society - Timisoara
Email: Iburcea@timis.osf.ro
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