Albanian Education System Research Articles

School Leadership in Pre-University Albanian Education System (1995-2012): Politics, Issues and Trends

The job of the school leader is becoming very difficult. During a working day, he has to face a variety of challenges and to find solutions for many problems of all kinds. The concerns and interests of parents, teachers and district administration do not always coincide. (Johnson, 1976: 80). On the other hand, public schools do not select the pupils who will attend. (Ibid) The children community in school is growing diverse due to their family origins which have different and unique structures, and to demographic movements. A diverse community represents diverse demands. The school leader shall be the manager and the teacher, the planner and the implementer, the school advocate and its critique, so as to be committed and able to perform its responsibilities (Pierce & Stapleton, 2002), comply with the requirements of DAR and MAS and find the right balance between different stakeholders. There are many complex roles a leader shall take which means assuming many accountability, however, not always justified by the salary. But, our main concern is to save the public schools, and in order to be able to compile such a mission, we need a new kind of leadership, visionary, able to understand what will happen to school at 5 to 10 years following, to identify problems and to know how to respond the needs in change of the community (Pierce & Stapleton, 2002). This essay is a review of key issues, trends and current policy in Albanian school leadership at pre-university education system during 1995-2012. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2015.v5n3p201

The Evaluation of the EFL Textbooks Used in the High Schools of Elbasan, Albania

The Albanian Education System is currently undergoing several changes, one of which is the Foreign Languages Curriculum implementation. One of the main External Factors in implementing the EFL curriculum is even the kind of Textbook it is chosen to be used in the EFL teaching and learning process. As long as a book is considered ‘food for thought’, an EFL textbook could be easily considered as ’a milestone’ in the students’ education. According to this, choosing the right textbook to teach English to High School students is as important as designing the curriculum itself. It is needed to think about the students' needs, interests, ability and level. Choosing a course book is not a frivolous matter, so it should be made clear what kind of English textbook fits best for the students of the High Schools in Albania. This will come out according to the analyses of what the curriculum asks for, the currently used textbooks, as well as according to the observations among teachers and students in the High Schools of Elbasan, Albania.

Homo Democraticus and Homo Philosophicus - Epistemological View on Teaching Philosophy in the Public Schools in Albania

The educational system in Albanian has gone through many substantial changes and very challenging times over the last two decades. The majority of these changes were, without doubt, dictated by the very insistent endeavor to bring the Albanian educational system closer to the European one. After a very succinct, but concise description, of the changes the basic concepts of education were gone through, and of developmental strategies of the Albanian Educational Reform from 1992 to the present, in this paper we give a very brief account of the ideas and considerations the Albanian policymakers and other decision-making organs share about philosophy and its role in our times, as well as of the status and the place philosophy as part of the academic curriculum holds presently among, and compared to other fields of knowledge and culture. In this paper we present then our considerations and arguments on philosophy and on philosophizing, its nature and its importance to the human thinking, knowledge, and civic education, as well as the relation that has with democracy, freedom, the free individuals and the free society. Our paper aims to sensitize the community of teachers, of professionals and more specifically, the community of policymakers and decision-makers, to the vital importance philosophy has for the human life and existence, as well as to foster this last community to stop its actual attitude – which consists in sacrificing philosophy in the name of a mentality that has since long become part of the past – and to start its engagement for the creation of the necessary spaces and conditions to philosophy, by giving it the very place it deserves among other disciplines of academic curriculum. This is, at least, what the contemporary experience of other European countries is dictating us with more insistence than ever. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n2s5p64

REFORMATION OF THE PRESENT CURRICULUM OF THE PRE-UNIVERSITY EDUCATION ACCORDING TO THE COMPETENCE – BASED APPROACH

Up to the present the efforts to raise the quality of the Albanian educational system have been focused mostly in the direction of the content of the school curriculum, delivery of knowledge through the standards, as well as in the direction of instructional plans and programs. These achievements have been insufficient for raising the quality of the contemporary education, a fact that was also noticed by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). 60% of students in Albania did not complete the second level of PISA. The curriculum compilers 2014 using the best international research and practice data in educational field raised the problem of the preceding curriculum, which they characterized as a curriculum traditional in essence. The aim of this work is to argue the proposals of the curriculum compilers for “a curriculum which creates conditions and supports the competence development” through competence mastering, focusing on the students, needs and demands for education, learning in situations and knowledge building from the students, against a curriculum centered in instructional objectives and focused on the subject content acquirement.Considering the fast rhythm of knowledge explosion in the society of technology and knowledge, the new developments in the work market, changes in conceptions in the learning process, the necessity of reformation of a curriculum “after the competence-based approach” will be argued.

Cultural and Educational Impact of New Formation Perspectives of Parashqevi Qiriazi

The realization of teaching programmes became one of the most important privileges during the Albanian National Movement. One of the major representatives who elaborated a new teaching programme of the Albanian educational system during the first decade of the twentieth century, based on the deepened analysis of the ottoman and United States teaching system, it was the teacher and the director of the school for Little Girls, Parashqevi Qiriazi. In her new proposals, Qirjazi included various pedagogical theories relevant to the European context denoting a contemporaneous scientific preparation. In order to realize the patriotic education, the Albanian woman, like the Albanian patriots have so far sustained in general on their books and articles, their own civilization should come first, that is teaching implied. It was difficult to avoid the situation of the Albanian women at the time, which also was pending on the social developments within the insiders of the ottoman society. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n16p712

The Diferencies between Curricula with the Focus on the Subject and the Curricula with the Focus on the Situation

Curriculum is one of the most important documents of the educational system. During the last twenty years in Albania some bold attempts are made to reform it, but were they fruitful to complete the real mission of the curriculum, so it responds to the level of development of the society and actually contribute to its emancipation? In this article through a comperative analysis, patterns of curriculum are compared with focus on the subject, which is applied today by the Albanian education system and curriculum with focus on the situations. Also, as a result of this analysis, the reached conclusion is that why the curriculas with focus on the situations though the situations are much more motivating for the students of the present generation and the future. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n13p0471

Strategies for the Development of Internal Marketing Orientation in the Private High Education Institutions in Albania

In the post-communist era, Albanian higher education system underwent a series of reforms, which included the privatization of higher education institutions. While this was generally heralded as a progressive move, policy makers could not anticipate the preparedness of the system to face cut-throat competition and the resultant insecurity. The aim of this paper is to identify strategies for the improvement and implementation of internal marketing communication across the Albanian private higher education sector in order to attract and retain its internal customers/ employees. It argues that internal marketing in general and organizational communication in particular are some of the most vital yet neglected areas of organizational development in the private higher education system of Albania. Changes are more likely to be accepted by the stakeholders if they are informed by the complex socio-cultural realities surrounding the system undergoing change. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2014.v3n3p393

The Contribution of Values Education Activities that are Applied in Tirana Haxhi Mahmud Dashi Madrasa: A Case of Albanian Education System

The present study aims to identify education, training activities, and the rehabilitating of the students with different lost values. As in many countries, many debates are scheduled about the importance and the role of these values which are lost values in education system in recent years in Albania. Therefore, a detailed examination is needed in the curricula and practices of education system to discover the values that should be gained by individuals and the differences in understanding or mentality about values. In this study, A research was made about the models of education structures that are used in Tirana Haxhi Mahmud Dashi Madrasa, in relation with it how we can equip respective students with the right understandings of values which are changing day by day depending on the changing of the world. The participants of this research are the teachers and students of Tirana Haxhi Mahmud Dashi Madrasa. In this study, both both qualitative and quantitative methods were utilized. At the same time the method of semi-structured interviews was used. In order to determine the subject, the school director, some teachers and students were interviewed and different discussions are made about the influence of this kind of activities on students. At the end of the study, the results demonstrate that the big role of extra-curricular activities in the development of universal and moral values of the students are put into practice in the education system of Tirana Haxhi Mahmud Dashi Madrasa. The limitation of this research was the effect and influence of these activities are limited, because the study was not focused on each and every student for measuring the degree of this effect. This research reveals that it is beneficial to introduce the importance of these activities in development of the system through considering as they are universal values among new generations and also they are being changed rapidly proportional to any change in the world. Therefore, the whole administrations should consider those values in order to put in the official curricula, and they should also organize and apply this kind of activities in order to give students a healthy and right mentality regarding universal values. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n2p57

Curricular Objectives and the Challenge of the Digital School in Albania

The construction of the future school has been a priority for a decade of more than 55 states worldwide. The new way of doing school is now the subject and the centralization of restructuring the whole educational system. Technological innovations aren’t outside school anymore but they are just inside of it. Access in informative resources through Il Cloud Computing is now eminent. The main purpose of this research, in this view, is to examine and analyze either the Albanian educational system is nearer or further in facing the immediate challenge of digitalization in the educational process. This analysis is based in one of the most important actors and factors of the system that is the teacher.This article aims at giving an overview of the perception of teachers related to the formative needs and the relationship between formative needs and their attitude toward digital school. Statistical analyzes were performed using SPSS program, and more precisely, the relationship between these factors was revealed using general linear regression model.In conclusion, from the statistical analysis is revealed that there exists a positive relationship between perception of teachers related to the formative needs and their attitude toward digital school. Therefore adequate training on the operation and use of the technology in network would affect the new model of school, then the digital school. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n1p463

Partnerships between Albanian Educational Institutions and European Countries in 1927-1939

This paper Institutional Partnerships with European countries and beyond during the period 1927-1939 undertakes to analyse real and professional ties that existed between the Albanian Ministry of Education , School Normal in Elbasan and the European institutions especially with the International Bureau of Education in Geneva (IBE) Some of the results of this collaboration is worth highlighting: Firstly, support from the IBE regarding the design of a solid legal basis for the Albanian education, which led to the drafting of a comprehensive legislative package during the Education Minister Ivanaj. The process is considered very professional since it analyzed the situation of Albanian education system and was based on the European laws that were made available by IBE. Secondly, this collaboration with IBE - enabled access to European publications of the time, through periodic bulletins that focused on education reform, teaching models and pedagogy reforms, issues of child psychology, and many different themes that helped in the development of better education system. Thirdly, it supported the building of appropriate data systems at the national level. Systems and methods that helped in collecting education related data which were necessary to inform policy and practice. The model used at the time served to create a similar system of statistics in all European countries, and it formed the basis for the future of the Albanian education. Fourthly, it is worth mentioning that the abundant theoretical, scientific, and practical information on the active pedagogy model and its elements, which was treated in publications that IBE found application mainly in school practice in the Normal School of Elbasan. The second part of the presentation will present the collaborations with other educational institutions in Austria, Germany, England, Netherlands, Belgium, United States of America, and even Japan and India. Methodology: Research in the archives of the Albanian State. This study is based on qualitative research. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n1p429

The Inclusion of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders within the Albanian Educational System - A Complex Problem

Parents and pedagogical staff face real challenges because of the alarming growth of cases of Autism Spectrum Disorders, especially of those with symptoms mainly in the cognitive, social, and emotional area. The inclusion of children with ASD-s in normal classrooms, is a complex problem related to the difficulties children display as much as to the deficiency of their psycho-pedagogical treatment. Statistics of the Regional Educational Directorate of Tirana, highlight the fact that there are thirteen autistic pupils who are attending Grade 1 during the academic year 2012-2013. What about the others? It is not easy to define the number of those children who attend school or those who do not, and of those who are integrated into classrooms with normal children. This study is focused on analyzing the factors which influence the exclusion of children with ASDs in the elementary educational system and its consequences. The applied methodology is: study of the literature about education of children with ASDs, focus groups of parents, analysis of statistical data of the Regional Educational Directorate of Tirana. The aim of this study is to bring in facts and arguments about the elements that influence the exclusion of children with ASDs from the educational system, from the point of view of the parent-who has faced to this challenge, and of the schoolmaster- who determines the psycho-pedagogical concerns of the treatment of this category of children, intending to work so as to achieve their inclusion in normal classrooms. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2013.v3n7p614

Albanian “Bologna” How close/far is Albanian Higher Education to European standards?

Bologna process brought many important changes in the Albanian higher education system. The main objective of the Bologna system of higher education is to achieve European standards in access as well as the quality of the studies. Higher education system in Albania appears to be reformed on the basis of published and already accepted standards in member countries of the European Higher Education Area, making it comparable and compatible with other European systems of higher education. Significant results so far speak for its positive influence and it has open new perspectives towards a European quality education of the Albanian students. However, there are still challenges and difficulties.The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive analysis of the European higher education legislation; the study of some essential elements of this system as the financing system of universities, ECTS, and recognition/non-recognition of Albanian degrees in European countries, in order to define how close/far is Albanian Higher Education System to the European standards. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n10p666

A Further Reflection on the Educational Attitude of the Clergy: The Role of Catholic Albanian Clergy Towards the end of the XIX-th Centuries

In Europe the increasing interest in the educational aspects begin after the industrial revolution. In United Kingdom the idea that everyone should benefit from the instruction arises only in the mid-nineteenth century. Unfortunately, the Albanian educational system could not cope with the demands dictated by the new economic and social developments. The base material was poor and pedagogical methods arrears. Let's not forget that schools functioned only in a foreign language, a fact that did not serve the cause of the National Renaissance. Although the schools were specifically for pupils of different religious: Muslim pupils attending schools in the Turkish language, pupils in Greek Orthodox ones administered by the Patriarch of Istanbul, while pupils in Catholic schools administered by Italian Catholic missionaries of Vatican. The main purpose of this study was to analyze the contribution and the reason of the “awakening” a new education of the Catholic clergy towards the end of the XIX-th centuries. Without a doubt, the contribution of the Albanian Catholic clergy had a great historical value because it began with ardor the fateful path of study and research of the Albanian national identity, linked directly to the national hero - Catholic, Skanderbeg. First of all, the new educational attitude of Catholic Albanian clergy depended to the fears of denationalization of the Albanian student about the using of Ottoman and Greek language and second from the politics of the Austro – Hungarian empire. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n2p257

Students' Mobility in the Globalization Era and the Linguistic Problems Faced By Them

Nowadays, the more the opportunities for free movement of individuals from one country to another increase, the more the barriers that hold back this process get reduced. But the difficulties of crossing the “language borders”, however, remain a serious problem for the students. This research address issues dealing with the difficulties that the repatriation of students brings. The level of knowledge of the mother tongue for most of them is at the level of simple parent-child communication, lacking relevant conceptual schemes and significant content in the lexical and morpho-syntactic field. Through a survey and several interviews with repatriated students and parents, as well as with teachers, through an assessment made to the new situation in the Albanian education system, and through the results received from the data collection we will point out an actual problem and offer a solution to facilitate the students’ language learning. The focus of the survey is on the main 'skills': understanding, speaking, reading, writing, spoken interaction and spoken production. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n4p381

Efficiency and Effectiveness of Pre-University Education in the Optics of Human Capital Theory

The concept of human development through investment in education means ensuring the proper conditions for every Albanian citizen to have equal opportunities for same choices, so that successful or unsuccessful fate of someone could not be pre-determined by the place of birth, language, gender and creed. This material will explain also other notions such as: Human capital, Social capital and Knowledge capital. Terminological definitions have determined the breadth and depth of fast research, quality of pre-university education in Albania. All achievements and failures, among others, are due to efficiency and effectiveness of the educational system. At the theory and practical level of Albanian educational system such notions are new, therefore we see fit to clarify meaning in a way that educational related matters, as an important component of Human Development Index, can be better understood on one side and on the other to be clear the cross-connection of this component with other ones of this index (expected average life years of citizens and gross national income per capita and economic welfare). DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n2p71

IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION BY STRENGTHENING THE COOPERATION BETWEEN SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Different groups of teachers understand and interpret the issue of quality in education in different ways, but they all converge on the same key words which are reciprocal influence, school-family, interaction, synchrony, and cooperation. The studies conducted so far show that civic education is an ongoing general and multidimensional process. The school-family partnership is an important link in the educational process, but in everyday life the interaction is more spontaneous than motivated. This study focuses on discovering the underlying reasons for the barriers faced by the school-family partnership, which shall help solve the problems which hinder the normal process of cooperation between school and family. To find out the extent and reasons for parental involvement/non-involvement in the issues related to children’s education it was used the surveying method to conduct an analysis involving 27 schools, 365 teachers and school principals, 1086 pupils and 924 parents. The data processing will indicate the degree of integration and the different forms of integration of modern elements into the Albanian educational system as well as the causes of the present state of affairs. The study reaches in some findings and proposes some recommendations for improving and reinforcing communication between families and schools. Key words: communication and interaction, cooperation, interests and opportunities, school-family, technology.

IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LEARNING BY INCREASING THE STUDENTS’ READING SKILLS

Recently, the quality of students learning in many European schools has decreased. Various studies and evaluations of the Albanian education system have revealed that Albanian schools have low quality indicators. The reasons for this phenomenon are related to different educational and social factors. One of the factors that has significantly contributed to the low results of the Albanian students is the low quality of reading, which in turn has a direct impact on learning outcomes. This study aims at reflecting the state of reading and its related issues as well as the use of current techniques and strategies which aim to enhance critical thinking through reading and writing. In order to highlight some of the factors that can significantly affect the quality of reading for female / male students in rural and urban areas, around 300 students from 18 schools in 6 regions of the country were examined. Findings and recommendations are presented for the use of new strategies and techniques related to reading and improving the quality of student learning by improving the quality of the reading. Key words: critical thinking, quality of learning, reading, results, skills, strategies, techniques.

The Ethnic Division of Education and the Relations Among Non-Serb Minorities in Kosovo

Kosovo’s education system is divided along a Serb-Albanian line, with consequences for the non-Serb minorities. While Serb-Albanian relations have been researched and analyzed extensively, relations among non-Serb minority communities have typically been neglected. Although there are some studies addressing the treatment and rights of individual minority groups in Kosovo, there is very little written on the dynamics and relations those groups establish among themselves. This article uses education as the backdrop for analyzing the emerging inter-minority relations in Kosovo. The paper provides some background about minority education rights and the consequences of their partial implementation for those minority groups—i.e., the Kosovo Bosniaks and Turks—whose members opt to follow the Albanian (Kosovo) educational system. In addition, it offers insights into some of the economic and political considerations behind the decision of the Gorani community to endorse the Serbian educational system. Finally, I analyze the relations between the Goranis and Bosniaks that have been developing around education and language rights.

Education Factor and Human Resources Development - Albania Case

The article gives a general view of the actual situation and the potential importance that the education factor plays in the formation and development of human resources in Albania, based on the Albanian education system applied as well as the strategies undertaken regarding the development of human resources by transforming it in an important asset and an unstoppable source of values for all the society. In particular, the article is focused in analyzing and evaluating the link between the level of human resources education and some of the socio-economic factors supposed to influence on it. The study is based on the data gathered through usage of the questionnaire tool by distributing 500 of them in the main cities of Albania. By applying statistical analysis, Chi-Square Tests and correlation coefficients on the data gathered it came out that individuals with (at least) university education have a higher proportion of a combined portfolio mostly in investments like treasury bonds and real estate.The behavior of the Albanian citizens towards the investment in human capital is noticeably determined by the individual level of education, with the level of importance 0, 01 which means a 99% probability in significance and the calculation of the correlation coefficient between the investment in human capital and the education is 98% important.

Transforming Albanian business education

Albania is a country with many unique characteristics. It is the last country in Europe to escape from the communist system and also still the poorest nation in Europe. The baggage of its tragic immediate past, especially the isolation of its people from free thought for almost 50 years, still influences people's thinking and behaviour. Generally speaking, the Albanian education system provides sound basic education. However, most older government and public enterprise managers were originally trained based on the communist political economy principles and ideologies. Thus, the technical, conceptual, and human dimensions of modern business still need development. Since 1992, a massive dose of modern business training and education has begun to transform the mentality of young entrepreneurs and management professionals. This paper presents the transformation efforts of Albanian business education in general and then focuses on several new joint initiatives of the University of Tirana and the University of Nebraska.