Romania in ICCS 2022: The Country Report
The Large Scale Testing Lab launched today, April 10, 2024, the national report of the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study, available here, (press release here).
ICCS (International Civic and Citizenship Education Study) is an international comparative study initiated by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, aiming to assess the civic and citizenship competences of 8th-grade students.
ICCS assesses the civic competences of 8th-grade students and investigates how these are formed. This edition of the study included aspects related to global citizenship, sustainable development, migration, the evolution of political systems, and the use of digital technologies for civic participation. Additionally, within ICCS, data are collected on various aspects that help teachers teach and students learn, for example, opportunities for civic participation in schools.
24 countries participated in ICCS 2022: Brazil, Bulgaria, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia), Germany (Schleswig-Holstein), Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. In total, approximately 82,000 students from approximately 3,400 schools participated, alongside approximately 40,000 teachers.
Our country participated for the first time in this study, under the coordination of the Large Scale Testing Lab team from the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Bucharest. Romania’s participation in the study was funded by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency, the Romanian American Foundation, and the Ministry of Education.
In Romania, tests were administered in paper format to a sample of 158 schools. A total of 2,768 students participated (1,357 boys and 1,411 girls), along with 2,242 teachers and the principals of the respective schools.
The test consisted of items measuring students’ civic knowledge and analytical capacity in the field of civic and citizenship education. In Romania, the test was administered on paper, including 11 clusters of items. Additionally, students responded to the European questionnaire and a questionnaire with questions regarding their background, school context, perceptions, and conceptions. Furthermore, in each school selected for the sample, the principal and a number of randomly selected teachers answered questions about school and community characteristics.
Key Findings
Civic Knowledge and Reasoning
Romanian students achieved a mean score of 470 on the civic knowledge and reasoning assessment, significantly lower than the ICCS 2022 average (508), placing Romania 16th out of 20 participating countries.
Approximately one quarter of Romanian students are at proficiency Level D or below (compared to 14.2% for the ICCS 2022 average), and approximately one fifth are at Level A (compared to 30.6% for the ICCS 2022 average).
Civic Engagement in School and Community
Most Romanian students, 86%, voted for the election of the class representative to the student council, compared to 78%, the average of ICCS 2022 participating countries;
Less than one third of Romanian students (28%) have a high or very high interest in politics and social issues, compared to 30%, the ICCS 2022 average;
More Romanian students (55%) than the ICCS 2022 average (37%) reported being part of volunteer groups that help the local community.
Trust in State Institutions, Voting Intentions, and Participation
Most Romanian students (7 out of 10) consider that democracy is the best form of government, but only 4 out of 10 students have high trust in the Government and Parliament, compared to 5 out of 10 for the ICCS average.
Romanian students’ voting intentions are more optimistic than the ICCS 2022 average, with over three quarters stating they would vote in at least one type of election in the future. Similar to students in other participating countries, at least half of Romanian students expect to participate in the future in legal civic and political activities (contacting elected representatives, participating in peaceful marches/protests, collecting signatures for a petition).
To a greater extent than the ICCS 2022 average, Romanian students believe they will engage in environmental protection activities in the future, and almost 9 out of 10 students believe they will also encourage others to get involved.
European Citizenship
Romanian students have a strong sense of European belonging: 97% of them identify as European, 94% are proud of Romania’s membership in the European Union, both percentages being higher than the ICCS 2022 average (95% and 91%, respectively).
The majority of Romanian students support freedom of movement within Europe: 96% of them consider that the freedom of European citizens to work anywhere in Europe is beneficial for the European economy, and only 30% of them, compared to 4% for the ICCS 2022 average, believe that the right of Europeans to work in the European area should be limited to some extent.
Key Recommendations
Ministry of Education and Other Institutions
Periodic review and improvement of the civic education curriculum, taking into account the results of the ICCS study and the major local/global challenges we face. Mini-innovation grants dedicated to schools to support civic projects (especially in sustainable development and the environment).
Review of external evaluation standards for educational units to integrate aspects related to civic education and sustainable development.
Continuing education programs for teachers, offered in partnership with a diverse range of providers (universities, non-profit organizations, companies), dedicated to improving teachers’ competence levels for teaching civic education (especially regarding institutions and political participation, sustainable development, and specific methods: project-based learning, service learning, inquiry-based learning, photovoice).
“Open doors” programs to help young people understand how state institutions are organized and function.
Pre-University Educational Institutions
Initiating experiential learning programs/projects/activities in the field of civic education, alongside local public authorities, non-governmental organizations, and others.
Supporting representative student structures (e.g., the Student Council) to increase the number of involved students, diversify the profiles of representatives, and increase the influence of these structures in decision-making at the school level.
Adopting innovative pedagogies and creating authentic, relevant learning experiences for students. Innovative pedagogies and applied learning experiences, anchored in everyday reality, can make learning more attractive and motivate students.
Revising student assessment methods in civic education to test students’ civic reasoning, applied to everyday life contexts.
Systematically guiding students to better understand the impact of technologies and social media on democracy.
Parents (and Extended Family)
Ongoing discussions with their children about current social/political issues, both local and global. Ongoing discussions about what their children learn at school in civic education and willingness to learn from them.
Promoting informed and responsible consumption of social media, technology, and resources.