Schools are a reflection of society and they play a key role in shaping school children’s understanding of major societal issues in a spirit of mutual respect, peaceful dialogue and human dignity. The war in Ukraine has had profound repercussions on neighboring Moldova due to the geographic proximity, close family ties and the arrival of large numbers of Ukrainian refugees, among other factors. In its immediate aftermath, the Moldovan education community faced the difficult task of continuing the process of developing competences for democratic culture, initiated in 2018 through the revision of the civic education subject on the basis of the Council of Europe’s Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture, in this new context.
To support teachers in this process, the Council of Europe organized in close cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Research seven on-line workshops for teachers within the “Education for Democracy in the Republic of Moldova” Project. Entitled “The specificity of developing competences for democratic culture in the current social context”, the seven half-day workshops were organized between 30 March and 8 April and were attended by about 1,000 civic education and history teachers.
The workshops were intended to provide space for teachers to critically reflect on their emotions, perceptions and needs, as well as on the pedagogical practices to be adopted in a crisis situation charged with strong emotional feelings.
Teachers engaged in a critical reflection on the factors that influence the pedagogical process since the start of the war, the questions asked by school children in their search for meaning and predictability, the pedagogical strategies to respond to school children’s needs, the identification of the most appropriate teaching tools and methods in developing competences for democratic culture in a crisis situation, the needs and resources that teachers themselves have in this process.
The workshops provided the opportunity for much needed, rich albeit at times difficult peer exchanges that helped teachers better understand their role and be better prepared when discussing the current events with the school children. “This workshop helped us connect with each other, be in social cohesion, it helped us avoid the emotional pitfalls [and remain professional]”, said one teacher.
Based on the discussions during the workshops, a series of recommendations on developing competences for democratic culture in the current context will be developed by the Council of Europe experts jointly with the Ministry of Education and Research, which will be shared with the entire Moldovan education community.
