Researchers from the component universities of the University Consortium ("Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University in Iași, "Babeș Bolyai" University in Cluj-Napoca, University of Bucharest, West University in Timișoara and the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest) conducted, during March 2020 – February 2021, a study on the conduct of activities with students during the period of suspension of face-to-face activity.
More than 10.000 pre-university teachers participated in this evaluative research, which highlighted the fact that, during the online school period, the motivation for the teaching career decreased for 10% of the teachers, while 30% declared themselves more dedicated to the profession after this experiences. The increased level of mental, social, technical stress is reported as a major inconvenience.
The rector of UVT, university professor dr. Marilen Gabriel Pirtea, remarks in relation to the results of this extensive quantitative research: "It is time to base educational decisions in Romania on real and serious research, not just on more or less approved personal opinions. There are many noteworthy results from this study. I would like to point out a few of these, very interesting. First of all, perhaps contrary to expectations, we have a 30% increase in motivation for a teaching career, with an even higher percentage in rural areas. Practically one out of three rural teachers claim that this year contributed to increasing their own motivation for their teaching career. At the same time, it seems that, although teaching staff from rural areas experience greater technical difficulties (e.g.: accessing the Internet and accessing platforms) compared to those from urban areas, this year the perceived difficulties have significantly decreased in intensity. The study clearly shows that, after one year of online school, pre-university teachers, with a focus on the rural area, have improved their technical skills needed to use technology in the educational act. On the other hand, unfortunately, despite all the efforts made by the MEN in this regard, the study does not bring good news in terms of access to a powerful computer. Both in rural and urban areas, this shortfall remains at the same level as a year ago. But what may be even more important than all the others is the fact that at the level of the entire sample of the study, a significant increase in the need for specific pedagogical training for the design and implementation of digital educational actions was highlighted. UVT initiated, in this sense, since the summer of last year, a postgraduate study program dedicated to colleagues in pre-university education, which was noted for its particular success among teaching staff, an experience that confirms the results of this research".
The team that ensured the realization of this research is made up of university teaching staff and researchers with constant concerns for innovation in education through the use of digital resources and tools, from Babeș-Bolyai University, University of Bucharest, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, University of the West from Timișoara, the CRED Project, the ROSE Project, the National Center for Policies and Evaluation in Education. For the study, 10.246 questionnaires completed online by pre-university teachers between February 4-20, 2021 were taken into account. Some data were correlated with the results of stage I (March 2020), with 6.436 respondents from pre-university education. The investigation reveals the necessary support measures and can form the basis for decisions at the local level and from the Ministry of Education.
We attach a selection of some results obtained through the research applied to the online school, as well as statements from the members of the project team:
"Using research data as a foundation for strategic or operational decisions in a field reduces the risks of unwanted effects, increases the chances of success and optimizes costs. In fields such as medicine or engineering, making unfounded decisions based on research data seems unthinkable. Although the same should happen in the educational field, educational research and its added value for instructional-educational practice is not as obvious to common sense and, often, neither to the policy-maker nor to the practitioner in the department . That is why I think it is our duty to do as much educational research as possible in Romania and to communicate it. This study, with over 10000 respondents, can be a good exercise and example", is the vision of Dr. Marian Ilie, director of the Teaching Staff Training Department, West University of Timișoara.
"For a teacher today, carrying out a quality activity with students is anchored in pedagogy (60%) rather than in technology (36%). At the beginning of the pandemic, according to the teachers, technology occupied a central place in the didactic activity (57%), far exceeding concerns regarding pedagogical aspects (38%). It is a signal that, in the meantime, the perspective has changed, in the sense that the effectiveness of online education, in the opinion of teachers, is brought about by how the classic curriculum is "translated" and taught in the online version, by which methods and strategies, how interactivity is stimulated , how inter-subjective closeness and affective support can be maintained, through which forms and tools the evaluation is carried out or motivation in learning is strengthened” remarks the university professor. Dr. Constantin Cucoș, from "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University in Iasi.
The biggest difficulties in teachers' implementation of distance learning activities are, in order (depending on the score on a scale from 1 to 4):
• Level of mental, social, technical stress: 2.59
• Lack of an adequate methodological framework for the preparation, guidance and conduct of online activities: 2.39
• Insufficient time for planning/organizing lessons: 2.36
• Lack of a sufficiently powerful computer: 2.27
• Lack of time needed to understand and properly use digital tools and resources: 2.27
• Lack of tools for classroom management, feedback and evaluation: 2.25
• Lack of a suitable space (at home) for carrying out didactic activities: 2.23
When comparing teachers from rural and urban schools, significant differences appear, especially in terms of access to technology - equipment, internet, specialized support in configuring and using digital applications and platforms.
Transposing didactic activities into the new formula requires a combination of didactic, educational management, technical skills, as well as a favorable administrative and organizational framework. The support of local resource persons, especially school principals, was defining - their role confirms and justifies, once again, the need for good managers for the success of the educational institution, both in pandemic and "normal" situations. However, students, parents and members of the teaching staff's family appear in this equation of the success of the educational process. In homeschool situations, we had the opportunity to attend lessons and often contribute.
"It is a moment that can be used for a change in attitude of parents towards the school and of teachers towards students and parents, in the sense of genuine collaboration and mutual support, for the benefit of all", considers Dr. Simona Velea, Department for Teaching Staff Training, SNSPA.
"The teaching staff showed a great power of adaptability during this period, with most of the teachers actively looking for the best ways to work with the students", states Prof. Univ. Dr. Ovidiu Pânișoara, director of the Department for Teacher Training, University of Bucharest. "For example, more than three-quarters of those surveyed say that the decision on the choice of the e-learning platform was made by the school management or belonged to the inspectorate (few teachers considered that this option belonged to them), however, only 34% of those surveyed say they have limited themselves to these officially recommended platforms, with the remaining two-thirds saying they have also turned to other platforms. We have here a good level of motivation for a good quality education process, most of the teachers during this period sought to find the best ways of working and were not content to follow only the "central" decisions. It is a perspective that is enhanced by another item, in which for more than half of those questioned the motivation for a teaching career has remained constant during this period, for 30,5% it has increased and only for 10 percent of those questioned in the research this motivation has decreased. We thus have not only a constant for the profession, we have an addition, an increase, the motivation for the profession being in a positive dynamic despite the conditions imposed by the pandemic. In a working conclusion, we can say that during the pandemic the career option crystallized to a higher degree for teachers, they showed not only creativity and adaptability, but also involvement in pushing forward a process that seemed like it could to block. As we suspected, the teaching staff remains the backbone of any social change".
"The year of online education that the Romanian educational system went through forced us to deeply rethink the "classic" binomial that defines any educational act. Thus, in addition to teaching and learning, the third term - technology - appears prominently to support, enrich and support the whole process. Although the importance of the use of digital technologies in education is indisputable, the experience of the last period of technologically mediated education brought us a certainty and many uncertainties. It is certain that the future evolution of educational systems will no longer be able to be conceived outside the extremely dynamic technological context. On the other hand, this incorporation of technology in education raises a multitude of both theoretical and practical questions, questions that will certainly be able to find their answers by carrying out such research at the national level”, says Prof. Dr. Ciprian Ceobanu, director of the Teaching Staff Training Department at the "Alexendru Ioan Cuza" University in Iași.
"Lessons learned during this time certainly need to be learned so that the post-pandemic school capitalizes on the digital skills, competencies and resources developed now. Such researches can become decision-making support for the future educational policies of decision-makers, offering a precise and consistent diagnosis of the situation at the level of the entire education system, with a wide geographical coverage. If digital skills can be formed in a relatively short time and through personal effort, the digitization of contents requires a more extensive and lasting effort, but in this period this process has been accelerated. If someone were to ask me if after the pandemic the Romanian school will return to what it was before, I would answer: I believe and hope that this will not happen. The didactic experience in the online space produced changes at the level of beliefs, attitudes, competences and didactic skills that will certainly be capitalized”, says Dr. Cătălin Glava, director of the Department of Teaching Staff Training, Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca.
