Perspectives on Early Childhood Education in Romania: a Qualitative Research

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) is a concept that refers to the period from the birth of the infant to the time when the child begins the kindergarten. In children’s lives, it is a significant time because it is when they first learn how to connect with others, including friends, teachers and parents, and often continue to build passions that will stick with them throughout their existences. It is a period when children develop essential social and emotional skills and a bond is built between the infant, their parents and the teacher. Representative program no. 1 – Increasing access to ECEC under the ESL Strategy aims to implement the following key measures: (i) a coherent framework for ECEC; (ii) involvement of the family (with children 0-3 years) in parental education programs and by providing financial incentives; (iii) qualification, training and retention of early education and care staff. The non-competitive Early Inclusive and Quality Education project, implemented by the Ministry of National Education in partnership with the University of Piteşti, Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad and Ştefan cel Mare University of Suceava, between 2019 and 2021, aims to implement measures provided in the Representative Program no.1 of the early school leaving Strategy. In the first year of implementation, it is envisaged to develop a diagnostic framework document on the organization and operation of quality services in the field of early education in Romania and to support their implementation in the future. In this context, 8 focus groups are planned to take place in each development region, in order to outline a SWOT analysis of the educational, medical and social services provided in early education in Romania in the last 3 years. This report presents the findings from two focus groups that were organised in Arad and Bistrita by Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad.

Teaching and inculcating (decolonised) legal skills in the LLB curriculum at the University of Pretoria?

‘Legal Skills’ was taught as a standalone first-year module in the LLB curriculum at the University of Pretoria from 1998 to 2012. In the 2013 curriculum, the teaching and inculcation of legal skills were integrated into a first-year “Jurisprudence” module. The 2015/6 student protests at the University of Pretoria led to the creation of three ‘transformation work streams’, one of which was tasked with curriculum transformation. The activities of the curriculum transformation work stream led to the adoption by the Senate of a Curriculum Transformation Framework Document (CTFD). All faculties have been asked to reconsider and fundamentally reshape their curricula with reference to the CTFD. This reflection-on-the-curriculum process at the Faculty of Law has arguably been dominated by an over-emphasis on the place and sequencing of modules instead of an overhaul of the content of law modules and the approach with which teaching should take place. There has also been a concerted push from some quarters in the Faculty to reintroduce a standalone Legal Skills module, rationalised by an argument along the lines of ‘legal skills cannot be transformed’ (never mind ‘decolonised’). In this article we will consider what it could mean to ask for the decolonising of the teaching and inculcation of legal skills in an LLB curriculum.

P085 The development of a UK-wide rheumatology specialist physiotherapy capabilities framework

Background/Aims Rheumatology physiotherapy is a specialist area requiring specific skills and knowledge. At all levels of practice, physiotherapists play an essential role in patient management. There is not yet any profession-specific competency guidance in this area. The aim of this paper is to describe the processes undertaken in creating and reviewing a national rheumatology physiotherapy competency framework suitable for all levels of practice. Methods A national survey of rheumatology physiotherapy practice was completed in October 2019. At the end of the survey participants were invited to be involved in the development of a rheumatology physiotherapy competency and capabilities framework. Forty-seven physiotherapists expressed an interest and were invited to comment, critique and feedback on a draft rheumatology specialist competency framework document that had been developed in parallel to the survey. Results Twenty-five physiotherapists provided feedback on Version 1 of the draft framework. Responses were received from bands 6 - 8 post holders and from NHS and private provider work settings. Involvement was sought and received from the four nations of the UK: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. For the 465 competencies within the draft framework, over 1,000 comments were received. These comments were reviewed and amalgamated into a Version 2 framework. Agreement level of the expert reviewers’ opinions on these competencies was generally high. In addition to competency statement specific feedback, general comments on content, aims, impacts and utility of the document were also received which informed the revisions undertaken. Version 2 reflects the expert input and constructive, excellent advice received. Themes within general comments included: defining expert speciality practice; focus on what is unique about Rheumatology for a physiotherapist; impacts and considerations from location of service delivery, e.g. primary versus secondary care, urban versus rural, large teaching hospital versus district general hospital; rotational versus non-rotational posts; enough authority of the final framework to support the need for funding in training and development, as well as leading to new roles; breadth and variability required within single post-holders; addressing blurred lines, unrecognised capabilities and supporting career progression; justification for working at a higher level than given credit. Conclusion There is a strong desire amongst the rheumatology physiotherapy profession to progress this project and to engage with and support the development of a national rheumatology physiotherapy competency framework. Many specialist physiotherapists have contributed their expertise in their own time to agree competency statements. The process has ratified the further development and future publication of this framework. Disclosure W.J. Gregory: Honoraria; W.G. has received honoraria from Abbvie, Pfizer and UCB. H. Chambers: None. C. McCrum: Honoraria; C.McC. has received honoraria from Novartis.

They are never too young to develop research skills

The International Baccalaureate’s Primary Years Programme (PYP) described in the framework document “Making the PYP happen” (2007) promotes learning through guided inquiry. It is an educational programme spanning the years from ages 3 to 12. This paper will introduce the audience to a very brief overview of the five essential elements of the PYP and demonstrate how Information Literacy skills, arguably one of the main charges for school librarians, are embedded within the programme. Mention is made of constructivism to place inquiry and information literacy within this context. Understanding the programme will help the school librarian in developing a programme of authentic learning in the library for the students through collaborative planning with the class teacher or grade level teams.

The Diversity Conflation and Action Ruse: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the OECD’s Framework for Global Competence

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 includes a measure of global competence. In PISA, global competence is a cross-curricular domain that aims to measure a set of skills and attitudes that support respectful relationships with people from different cultural backgrounds and engage for peaceful and sustainable societies. This paper builds theoretically and empirically from previous research that investigates the framing and messaging of global education policy as well as the tendency to conflate local and global approaches to diversity and difference in research and practice. We critically explore the OECD’s framework of global competence in PISA 2018 by reporting on two key findings from a critical discourse analysis. We examine language use and discursive practices to consider how global competence in the OECD 2018 framework document is structured, messaged, and mediated at an international level, and to what extent it reflects critiques around individualization and conflation of multiculturalism and global citizenship. We organized findings on two major themes, namely encountering the “other” and taking action.

Watching the watchman from Ghana: The case of agenda 2063

The Agenda 2063 framework document is the basis for Africa’s long term socio-economic and integrative transformation. It has a list of 12 flagship projects and programs that have to be implemented within the first ten year period of 2014 - 2023. The paper explores the correlation between the awareness of Ghanaians and the monitoring of the African Union Commission Agenda 2063 first ten-year flagship programs and projects and established a negative product-moment linear correlation coefficient which statistically established that Ghanaians are not aware of and do not monitor the Agenda2063 first ten-year flagship programs and projects.

Evolution of quality culture in an HEI: critical insights from university staff in Bangladesh

This paper evaluates experiences of quality culture as actualized by academic and administrative leaders in a nonprofit, private Bangladeshi university, ensuing the recent implementation of a state-stipulated national quality framework. Based on the data derived from ten interviews integrated with the Quality Assurance Framework document objectives, the purpose of this paper is to gain critical insight on what is working and what might need changing or developing in the future to support quality culture at higher education institutions. The article translates the key themes and elements of the evaluation process into a logic model to show the processes and structures through which the university can support the development of its internal quality culture. It offers a focused pathway for quality assurance activities, crucial in reinforcing and strengthening a culture of quality in Bangladeshi universities. As such, the paper seeks to make a contribution to Bangladesh’s higher education by providing a broad, evaluative insight into the preparedness and receptivity of the institutions to integrate sustainability into their teaching and learning as guided by the new quality assurance framework, mindful of the imperatives for quality assurance and enhancement coming mainly from the Western perspective, hence placing its development in the regional, and then global, context.

HISTORICALLY WHITE UNIVERSITIES AND THE WHITE GAZE: CRITICAL REFLECTIONS ON THE DECOLONISATION OF THE LLB CURRICULUM1

The (most recent) call for curriculum decolonisation came at the height of student protests such as #feesmustfall and #afrikaansmustfall. In the University of Pretoria’s Curriculum Transformation Framework document, the University identified four drivers of curriculum transformation, namely, responsiveness to social context; epistemological diversity; renewal of pedagogy and classroom practices; and an institutional culture of openness and critical reflection. The content of these drivers mirror what is needed to engage in decolonisation of curricula. In the spirit of these protests that led to the conceptualisation of decolonised higher education, the authors of this article critically reflect on the institutional landscape of historically white universities. The authors employ the term ‘white gaze’ to highlight how historically white universities respond to calls for decolonisation, often substituting this call with transformation. The purpose of this article is to re-contextualise the need for decolonisation at historically white universities.

CIVIL PROTECTION OF THE POPULATION OF POLAND IN PEACETIME AFTER 2007

The article examines issues related to the civil protection of the population of Poland in peacetime after 2007, when a new law on crisis management was adopted. The article starts with an overview of basic requirements set for civil protection in Poland in peacetime. It looks further at the current state of the legal framework, organisation and resources for such civil protection. Finally, the article identifies requirements for improvement of civil protection in peacetime in Poland and assesses the chances for implementing them. The research revealed that the problems related to civil protection were not covered in the existing literature in a coherent manner. The current legal requirements for civil protection in Poland in peacetime can be found in various legal regulations and are not contained in a single framework document. The assessments of the current state of civil protection in Poland in peacetime conducted by the Supreme Audit Office suggest an urgent need for improvement. Improvements are needed in the field of comprehensive legal regulations, appropriate planning and procedures, and more efficient use of financial resources to ensure sufficient resources for civil protection of the population in peacetime.