Education for democracy in the Republic of Moldova

What is the project

The project “Education for Democracy in the Republic of Moldova” is implemented by the Council of Europe and is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in the framework of “Moldova: Fostering Active Civic Engagement” Programme.

The project is implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova over a period of four years starting in January 2019. The total budget of the project amounts to 1,080,000 Euros.

The Project aims to contribute to an inclusive, peaceful and democratic society in the Republic of Moldova by helping strengthen the capacity of the Moldovan education system to develop the knowledge and competences that schoolchildren need to become engaged citizens.

The Project promotes the Council of Europe approach to citizenship education: a holistic view on knowledge, skills, values and attitudes, a focus on democratic school development and an integration of young people’s civic experiences in the wider community.

The project supports the on-going reform process lead by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova, and helps:

Further develop the policy and methodological framework for the reconceptualised civic education subject “Education for Society” in line with the Council of Europe standards;
Promote the integration of competences for a democratic culture in other subjects;
Strengthen the capacity of national institutions, teachers and other education professionals to develop democratic competences in learners and apply the new educational approaches in practice;
Develop a methodology for democratic school governance and pilot it in schools;
Develop and publish information and methodological materials for education decision makers and practitioners;
Raise awareness and understanding of the role of citizenship education in the wider society.

What is the legal context

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova has developed a new curriculum for the “Education for Society” subject for grades V to XII which was introduced in grades V and X in September 2018.

The new curriculum is largely based on the Council of Europe standards – the CoE Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education (EDC/HRE) and the CoE Framework of Competences for a Democratic Culture and has been developed with CoE expert support.

This ambitious curriculum reform and its alignment to CoE standards are part of the broader process of modernisation and transition to a competence-based approach to education in which Moldova has been engaged over the past few years.

The reform will impact not only the educational input or the content of school subjects, but also, and importantly, the educational practices: teaching and learning methods, assessment, school governance, etc. It requires a real change of educational paradigm in the Republic of Moldova, which could be very challenging to implement.

What do we aim to achieve?

Legal and policy framework

Training and capacity building

Decision-making processes

News

Back Teaching diversity and respect in multi-ethnic classrooms according to Council of Europe standards

Chisinau, 14 April 2021 – Around 80 civic education teachers, school psychologists and school deputy directors were introduced to techniques to develop positive attitudes and abilities in multi-ethnic classrooms with Roma pupils, in line with Council of Europe standards and relevant European best practices. The training activity was organised online on 12-14 April by the Council of Europe project “Education for Democracy in the Republic of Moldova” in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research and the German Embassy in Chisinau, in the framework of the German Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

In her opening remarks, H.E. Angela Ganninger, Ambassador of Germany in the Republic of Moldova, stressed that during the ongoing German Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Germany strives to work on upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law, on shaping the future in this respect with a focus on new technologies and on bringing Europe closer to the people.

“It is within this last priority that Germany wants to shed a light on the concerns and expectation of minorities including Roma and Travellers as the largest minority in Europe. This workshop provided teachers and school psychologists with an excellent opportunity to examine the German experience and to work on relevant issues like communication and the inter-ethnic perception”, Ambassador Ganninger added.

William Massolin, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau, highlighted that access to quality education is a key part of the Council of Europe Strategic Action Plan for Roma and Traveller Inclusion (2020-2025). This recognises the crucial role that education plays in breaking the cycle of marginalisation and exclusion that many Roma still face.

“The Council of Europe has been working very hard in ensuring quality inclusive education, mainly through our Education Department, which has devised policies and tools that can be used. I would mention in particular the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture, which includes 20 competences for life in democratic and diverse societies”, William Massolin added.

On the first day of the workshop, guest speaker Dr. Ulrike Wolff-Jontofsohn, senior researcher and lecturer at Freie Universität Berlin, presented the German experience of ensuring access to quality education to Roma, focusing on the challenges, successful approaches and emerging educational strategies. Among the positive and encouraging trends, Dr. Wolff-Jontofsohn highlighted the following: the growing numbers of Roma children attending kindergartens and elementary education (60%); all Sinti and Roma children attending primary education (100%) and completing compulsory education (86%); the vast majority of pupils attending lower and middle tracks of secondary education; around 7% attending gymnasium and receiving their Abitur (entrance certificate for university), etc.

The workshop’s key expert, Calin Rus, Director of the Intercultural Institute of Timisoara (Romania), presented and discussed with the participants the best practices and experiences in the field of teaching tolerance and intercultural understanding in multi-ethnic classrooms with Roma pupils. The participants had the opportunity to share their experiences and discuss examples of activities that could contribute to improved inter-ethic perception and relations in classrooms with Roma pupils.

***

The project „Education for Democracy in the Republic of Moldova” is implemented by the Council of Europe and is financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in the framework of “Moldova: Fostering Active Civic Engagement” Programme.

Diminuer la taille du texte
Augmenter la taille du texte
Imprimer la page

See all news >

Who we work with?

The project is implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova.

Who benefits from the project?

Teachers: key target group; they are crucial in implementing the new civic education curriculum which introduces new teaching, learning and assessment approaches and that many of them may find very challenging. Sustained capacity building and support is necessary over a period of time. This should take into account the structural problems affecting the teacher profession – shortage of teachers, high teacher turnover, age of teachers, low salaries.

Schoolchildren: key beneficiaries; in the context of Moldova’s low civic participation and political culture, but also the broader socio-economic problems, such as mass migration and the fact that many children are reared by their grandparents, schools play a central role in nurturing schoolchildren’s competences for active and responsible citizenship. Schools need to develop both cognitive and socio-emotional skills and provide them with a values framework.