Education for Democratic Citizenship: A Study of The Romanian And Icelandic Learner’s Profile

Abstract

Education for democratic citizenship is a major pillar of today’s society and is strongly acknowledged by educational systems worldwide. In the context of learner-centered education, a prerequisite for the effectiveness of the learning process is a good understanding of the learner’s profile, to which the teaching practice should be consistently adapted. When analyzing the factors that influence the learner’s profile, Tomlinson (2003) and Brice Heath (1983) have pointed out the importance of societal culture, while Jónsson & Sigurðardóttir (2012) have emphasized the pivotal role of education in preparing students for active participation in society. Against this background, our research proposes an approach to the learner’s profile in the framework of education for democratic citizenship and starts from the hypothesis that national cultural features play a significant role in shaping it. By means of a comparison between two groups of students from Romania and Iceland – two countries positioned on opposite levels in The Democracy Index 2018 – the authors of this study aim to identify and analyze the differences that may be motivated by cultural specificities. This study is underpinned by the following leading questions: What are the viewpoints of the Romanian and Icelandic respondents from the target groups regarding education and democracy, in general, and education for democratic citizenship, in particular? What specific cultural features may explain differences between the two groups? Which cultural characteristics of the two groups can influence their approach to education for democratic citizenship? To answer these questions, a questionnaire including multiple-choice, openended, and rank ordering questions was administered to two groups of students, one from the University of Craiova and the other from the University of Iceland identical in size and field of study. The data were interpreted using a mixed methodological approach: the ordinal data collected was analyzed using quantitative methods, and the nominal data were subjected to content analysis. Thus, the investigation outlines the Romanian and Icelandic respondents' profile, focusing on the main aspects relevant for education for democratic citizenship, and puts forward a set of differences between the two groups induced by intrinsic cultural characteristics