Little is known about the way mathematics is being learned and taught in Romania, especially in primary education. To enhance the understanding and improvement of mathematics education, it is crucial to investigate the learning and teaching practices in Romania at the primary education level, where the foundation of mathematical thinking is established.
The British Council, in partnership with the Romanian-American Foundation, conducted research academically supervised by the University of Bristol and led by Professor Alf Coles. Additionally, a team of seven Romanian experts actively participated in the field research.
Understanding primary mathematics teaching and learning
The research aimed to:
- Provide insight on the needs of teachers and learners of mathematics in primary schools in Romania.
- Assess the current levels, teaching practices and needs of teachers and learners in grades 0 to 4.
- Explore the main areas for development of mathematics teaching.
- Make recommendations to the design of future interventions.
The initiative included the design and use of 10 research tools, covering:
- Views of 775 primary teachers expressed in online questionnaires
- 41 classroom observations in 40 rural, small urban and cities in 10 counties in Romania
- 41 focus groups with students in 40 schools
- 2 focus groups with teacher trainers, school inspectors, experts from national education authorities, NGOs working with primary teachers
Romanian Primary Mathematics Study (RPMS)
The report provides insights into the existing good practice and areas for development, including recommendations for the improvement of the current practice. The findings and the methodology are included in the "Romanian Primary Mathematics Study (RPMS)" report which you can consult below.
We disseminated the findings to a public of 40 experts from public education institutions, university professors who teach pre-service primary teachers, institutions who develop educational policies and conduct research, school inspectors and NGOs working with primary education teachers.