Mr. Ion Osoianu is the
Director of the |
Curriculum Policies in SEEC
Curriculum policies in SE Europe have, to a certain degree, several common elements: The institutional pressure of the state, the ideological pressure of politically dominant party, a certain delay in relation to European mainstream developments, the need for a significant change to be taken in a short space of time and with limited resources. History as a subject matter is one of the most affected areas. Most countries from the region introduced reform processes in the 1990s, with exception of Hungary and Poland, which had started their reforms almost a decade earlier. The first change introduced was the reform of contents – either through the elimination of ideological elements, the regarding of the position of the subject matter, or the introduction of a (didactic) European dimension. The second step was the introduction of the new documents on educational policies, followed by new textbooks (as curricular products). There are several positive developments that should be mentioned: an increase in the “rational” approach to curriculum development, that is, the increase in the role of aims and objectives in curriculum design; the shift towards student-centered teaching and active learning by means of proposing learning activities; a new relation between the curriculum and the textbooks; a change in the content by means of introducing new topics (such as the history of SE Europe, gender history, the Holocaust) or new accents (the History of European integration, gender issues). As for Moldova, the process of curriculum development is based on two subjects, one called History of Romanians, and the other World History. Both are chronologically organized (Grade V: Ancient History; Grade VI: Medieval History; Grade VII: first part of Modern History; Grade VIII: second part of Modern History; Grade IX: Contemporary History) and are taught at the same time. The steps taken in the reform (within a World Bank project) were: 1996 – the completion of negotiations; 1997 – the setting of the curriculum framework and of the guidelines for the implementation of the new curriculum; 1997-1999 – the present curriculum was developed; 2000 (February) – approval of the curriculum for compulsory education (Grades V to IX); 1999-2000 – the implementation of new curriculum for grades V to VII. The result is the growing importance of the methodological aspects related to history teaching (hence the various types of lessons, such as in-depth units, evaluation units, etc.). This is even more important, since the objectives of history teaching are considered to be the development of critical thinking, the use of multiperspectivity when dealing with historical sources and data, the promoting of creative thinking. Teachers consider that, in order to attain these objectives, more teaching material is necessary. As a result, at least some of the textbooks come together with additional materials. The reform of High School was developed with the help of the Soros Foundation. Here, the focus is on the presentation of problems rather than a strict chronological outline (also a chronological cycle (Grade X: Ancient and Medieval History; Grade XI: Modern History; Grade XII: Contemporary History. Again, Romanian and world History are taught simultaneously). It is important also to mention the importance of monitoring the implementation of the curriculum and of the textbook development, because it can pinpoint ways for improvement (the monitoring implied also discussions with teachers, who have identified some problems related to the delay in textbooks arriving in schools). At the beginning of this year, The Moldavian Association of Historians opposes the intention of the Communist authorities to introduce an "integrated course" of history in the national education system, describing it as "a new attempt to suppress the course of Romanian History." The chairman of the association, Anatol Petrenco, told that the civil society would be forced this way to restart the protests, if the authorities insisted in their drive for a merged "national and universal history course." According to Petrenco, the Education Ministry has already worked out a concept of teaching in the "integrated" history discipline, which calls for the merging of the national and universal history into a single course, a solution practiced in certain European countries. The government has already presented a draft concept for deliberation, in particular to the Interethnic Relations Department, though this intention has not been made public yet, Petrenco stated. Historians say the model of an integrated history course, which the Moldavian authorities push for in certain international institutions that together with calls for a specialized assistance under the pretext of attachment for Western experience is not appropriate for Moldova because the country is "a national, and not multinational state". In addition, they warn that introducing such a course would breach an April 2002 resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which recommended a moratorium on a proposed mandatory teaching of Russian and a new history course. At the same time, leaders of the association expressed dissatisfaction over the organization of an international seminar on history teaching in Moldova this week. They fear that the authorities have invited not one teacher of history of an NGO in this field and that the Council of Europe representatives were misinformed about the course of Romanian history, which the Communists say is "marked by nationalism."
Ion Osoianu |