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Preschool education is an education process that prepares children for primary education, provides the training and upbringing conditions in the home and also aims to remove the inequalities in terms of language and society in the early period. The audit is to evaluate learning and all the factors that affect learning and also prepare the environment and conditions for effective learning. The purpose of this research was to develop a comprehensive point of view for preschool education audit in the world and our country. Document analysis that is one of the qualitative research methods were utilized in this paper as the method. The documents related to the systems in France, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Russia, China, Israel, America, Saudi Arabia, Japan, India Jordan, Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Kosovo and Turkey were researched out within the scope of this study.

This article examines the educational experiences of Eastern European Roma undergraduates and analyses how the mobility process influences their access to university in different countries of the European Union. Drawing on 20 in-depth semi-structured interviews, the paper highlights the ability of students to (re)define their identity and to utilize the language skills acquired practicing mobility across several countries as well as the university degrees obtained, to combat Roma discrimination after finishing their studies. Findings suggest that education may become a tool to overcome the marginality and stigmatization of Roma. The paper concludes with observations about the new ways opened up by undergraduate Roma, which demand the reinterpretation of mobility and identity as a transformative experience and an essential strategy to fight the discrimination against and the exclusion of mobile Roma citizens.

In European post-socialistic countries or more commonly known as Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries, regardless of their differences and specifics, the common communist and post-communist legacies in the field of educational sciences are still recognisable. The aim of this article is to explore research activity in the educational sciences in 15 CEE countries: 11 EU member states and 4 from the former Yugoslav Republic in the period from 1996 to 2013. The purpose of this research is to recognise the specificity and dynamics of subject and content issues, and development of methodological approaches in the educational science research. The sample consists of abstracts of 2,395 papers by CEE authors published in 265 journals indexed in Scopus between 1996 and 2013. Content analysis was applied, where the abstracts were grouped into specifically created categories describing the content and methods of the paper and analysed on the basis of two criterion variables -- CEE and non-CEE or international journals. The ?[superscript 2] test showed that the field of educational sciences in 15 European post-socialist countries changed over time in terms of quantity, content and methods, becoming more expansive and diverse, which is recognisable in papers published both in international and in CEE journals.

This paper presents and discusses the results of OnAir, a European project on Media Education funded by the European Commission. This two-year project aimed at collecting, documenting, and developing media education practices across Europe, especially in Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania. In particular, the paper focuses on the role of documentation in improving teachers' practical knowledge and highlights the challenging aspects at stake in this process. The analysis of collected data reveals that documentation of media education practices is often poor both in terms of information about instructional practices and in teacher reflection on their actions. Stronger collaboration between teachers and researchers may be needed to support the kind of careful documentation that leads to effective practice. The development of adequate tools that teachers can easily use during their own activities may also facilitate improved levels of documentation. (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures, and 1 footnote.)

Based on related academic and semi-academic discourse, this paper aims to investigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on important actors and their expectations in the higher education (HE) sector. As open organisations, higher education institutions (HEIs) are influenced and shaped by different stakeholders' numerous and often controversial demands. While HEIs strive to meet key actors' needs, these expectations have a determinative role in the future of HEIs. Therefore, the future-oriented horizon scanning method was used for mapping the explicit demands of actors and for analysing alterations in expectations due to the pandemic. The horizon scanning showed that one of the most pressing expectations of HEIs in Central-Eastern Europe (CEE) was digitalisation even before the pandemic. Due to the pandemic, the awaited digitalisation in HE was realised within a few weeks, and it affected all actors. The tangible daily experience of the digital mode of education changed the priorities and expectations of the actors. In addition, this unexpected situation brought to the surface HEIs' hidden potentials, resources and responsibilities. Although the role of digitalisation in the future of HE is clearly manifested, the impacts of social restrictions as well as the effects of the digitalisation of learning and life in general were perceived primarily in the field of socialisation. As a result, the need for socialisation has increased. The article highlights the dynamic interconnection between digitalisation and socialisation, and the changing expectations and voices of stakeholders, which should be considered when HEIs choose their future paths in the post-COVID-19 era.

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often at greater risk of experiencing stress and lower quality of life, in comparison to parents of typically developing (TD) children and other developmental disabilities. Despite vast literature on parental experiences in Western countries, little is known about this topic in Eastern Europe. Thus, we aimed to map studies that addressed parental experiences of children with ASD in Eastern Europe using the Double ABCX theoretical framework. The Double ABCX Model of family adaptation describes how families responds to stressors over time, based on the intercorrelation of available resources, coping mechanisms and appraisal of stressors. Following a scoping review methodological framework, we conducted a comprehensive search of three databases. We ultimately included 15 peer-reviewed studies in the review. Within each study, we examined Double ABCX Model factors. The studies were conducted in nine Eastern European countries and included parents of children and adults with ASD. Consistent with studies conducted in Western countries, parents of children with ASD expressed more personal and family challenges and greater maladaptation compared to parents of TD children. Moreover, families reported lower satisfaction with quality of life and more health problems. The small number of included papers from nine countries suggests that parental experiences of children with ASD in Eastern Europe are overlooked in the literature. Future research should explore findings from this review that differed from the Western literature, including contributing factors to parental adaption in families in Eastern Europe.

This paper explores linguistic landscapes and the enactment of public visibility and presence of non-majority linguistic groups in EU member states. Non-majority linguistic groups gain power, visibility and presence through the introduction of bilingual or multilingual signposts on roads, streets, squares, and public buildings in towns and cities where a given linguistic group represents a significant population share. The article offers a comparative analysis of language policies of EU member states regarding enactment of official bilingual or multilingual signs in public space. Twenty EU member states have signed the "European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages," while 17 members have ratified it. In addition, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, an integral party of the Lisbon Treaty, stipulates that language diversity is one of the fundamental values respected by the EU. Hence, this comparative research assesses various practices employed by member states in relation to the proclaimed values of multilingualism. Consequently, the paper depicts and compares different language policies that produce linguistic landscapes in EU member states. Finally, it tries to determine whether there is a convergence towards a common EU policy on bilingual and multilingual signs in public space.

This paper considers the impact of geopolitical factors, and in particular the collapse of Communism and EU accession, on language education policy and practice in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). CEE is understood here as referring to the former soviet-controlled, eastern bloc counties of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. A particular focus is placed in this paper on the teaching of English and Russian as foreign languages in Hungary and the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). The paper begins by reviewing current thinking in the field of language education policy and practice. It then provides an overview of developments in language education policy and practice in CEE more generally before focussing on two case-studies of language education policy and practice in Hungary and the former GDR. Implications both for language education policy and practice in CEE and for the nature of research in this field are discussed.

Early School Leaving (ESL) is a complex phenomenon caused by multidimensional factors spanning personal, social and economic problems. We carried out two online surveys with 796 teachers and 900 students from Bulgaria, Italy, Malta, Romania and Turkey completed standard electronic surveys. The teachers' survey consisted of secondary school teachers from Bulgaria (N = 147), Italy (N = 105), Malta (N = 71), Romania (n = 261), and Turkey (N = 212). For the second survey, 250 secondary school students from Bulgaria, 109 from Italy, 67 from Malta and 401 students from Turkey took part in the study. From the teachers' findings, cultural factors, school related factors, family issues, economic reasons, peer pressures and individual life accounts were all indicated as the causes of early school leaving in all 5 partner countries We crossed-examined the data from the teachers with those of their students. From the student survey, coming from families with difficult life experiences, having family responsibilities, having difficult relationships with other students and having little interest in the learning process were linked with early school leaving. The paper brings attention to the need to revisit educational and social policies in response to the significant number of children in Europe leaving school early with low level educational attainment.

This paper presents the framework of an intensive programme (IP) organised by UNESCO and addressed to young graduate professionals to prepare them for a career in fields related to sustainability. The aims of the IP were to address participants' environmental awareness and to develop attitudes and skills related to environmental planning and management. This paper focuses on the methodological aspects of the educational activities and on the setting in which the activities were delivered. Teaching methods based on a learner-centred approach were used in the training. During the activities, 17 participants were provided the opportunity to experience various aspects of environmental integration and sustainability principles in key sectors of planning procedures in the Lonjsko Polje Nature Park (Croatia). The activities were evaluated using quantitative and qualitative tools such as the environmental education questionnaire, the training quality and involvement questionnaire and two focus groups with participants. The results showed the relevance of the setting and the methods applied to develop environmental awareness and skills related to managing sustainability issues. Implications for future research about educational programmes based on the development of sustainability principles are discussed.

This paper utilises qualitative and quantitative findings from the Facilitating Inclusive Education and Supporting the Transition Agenda (FIESTA) project that carried out a survey of professionals and focus groups/interviews with parents and children to understand the context of transition, inclusion and collaborative working. The paper contrasts parent, professional and pupil views of different approaches to transition for pupils with additional support requirements in the partner EU countries of the FIESTA project (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Romania, Catalonia/Spain and Scotland/the United Kingdom). Transition from pre-school to primary school and from primary to secondary school is a period where professionals begin to meet and exchange knowledge. Although many significant developments have taken place, transition remains very challenging for European countries. This paper differentiates between transitions led by professionals, parents and children. It analyses transition practices in order to make recommendations on how we can move beyond rigid approaches to inclusion, shift power relations in service settings and enable more flexible, participatory and inter-relational approaches.

The question of whether the potential short-term advantages of vocational qualifications are offset by disadvantages in later life is an important issue for policy debates. This paper analyses how the choice of vocational or general upper-secondary education affects future prospects of participation in non-formal education (NFE). It presents a comparative analysis of European countries in different six types according to the skill specificity of the vocational education and training system, using the 2014 Labour Force Survey data. Our results confirm the trade-off between short- and long-term benefits of vocational education. In countries with higher specificity of vocational education, the difference in NFE participation between vocational and general upper-secondary education at the beginning of the work career is higher compared to countries where specificity is lower. However, the same difference also appears in countries where general upper-secondary education dominates. Unexpectedly, the differences between the two educational groups in training participation did not diminish over the life-course but increased for the 30-34 year olds. The results highlight that in countries where general upper-secondary education dominates (type 6) those with vocational education are more likely to participate in NFE than in countries where school-based systems exist (type 5). Abbreviations: NFE - non-formal education and training; VET - vocational education and training; ISCED - International Standard Classification of Education; EU LFS - the European Union Labour Force Survey

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of a variety of levels of education, namely, high school, vocational and university education, on the probability of being employed in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Design/methodology/approach: The data are from two waves of the Life-in-Transition Survey that covers 29 post-communist transitional countries. The number of binary logistic models is estimated to quantify the effects of different types of education on the likelihood of being employed, while controlling for different sets of covariates. Findings: The findings reveal that the effect of employment associated with university education is higher than that of vocational education, which in turn is higher than that of high school education. However, the differences between the effects of the various levels of education are not considerable. Any specific level of education is always associated with a higher effect in Eastern Europe as compared to the former Soviet Union. The effect of education is also found to be higher for females than for males. In the former Soviet Union, the positive effect of university and vocational education on employment is found to go down with age. Originality/value: This is the first study which compares effect of different types of education on probability of being employed on a diverse sample of 29 post-communist countries over the period of five years.

Under the auspices of a DAAD funded educational project, a subproject devoted to different aspects of teaching the Java programming language started several years ago. The initial intention of the subproject was to attract members of the subproject to prepare some teaching materials for teaching essentials of the Java programming language. During the last two years, some advanced Java topics have been selected and appropriate teaching materials have been produced. The available pool of common teaching materials can be used in a wide range of university courses in participating countries. In this paper we share some of the results and experiences collected during the subproject that come from intensive use of the prepared teaching materials for a variety of Java topics in different countries and universities.

The PISA 2009 results in Serbia show a big improvement in reading literacy compared to 2006 -- the average score is 41 points higher, which is equal to the effect of a whole year of schooling in OECD countries and represents the second highest improvement ever recorded in a PISA study. In the present paper, we discuss potential reasons for such a big improvement based on analysis of the PISA 2009 reading achievements in different countries, with a special focus on countries from the same region (Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Romania and Albania). The analysis shows that the largest part of the improvement was realised at lower achieving levels, suggesting that the dominant method of teaching in schools is a traditional method oriented towards the acquisition and reproduction of academic knowledge. Findings of data analysis support the conclusion that the improvement is mainly the result of certain contextual factors, such as higher student motivation and a high level of official support for the PISA study in Serbia, rather than representing a real improvement in the quality of education.

This paper presents the main results of a recent survey of private higher education institutions from twelve selected European countries (Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia) [in the framework of the UNESCO-CEPES project on "Private Higher Education in Europe and Quality Assurance and Accreditation from the Perspectives of the Bologna process Objectives," designed and implemented in collaboration with "Leon Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management (LKAEM) and the World Bank"]. After a brief review of the current incidence of private education in the selected European countries, the authors give a description of the survey. Then the main findings are structured according to the nine goals of the Bologna Process and their corresponding level of implementation in private higher education institutions, and also to provide comparisons with public higher education institutions. The paper concludes with a discussion of the results and with some general remarks about the role of private higher education institutions in building the EHEA. (Contains 14 tables, 12 footnotes and 3 figures.)

Following the economic reforms in the early 90's, most of the south-eastern European countries (SEE) made efforts to establish agricultural extension services. However, a number of factors including tight governmental budgets, lack of experience, and the existence of vested interests have constrained the development of extension services. This paper examines the rationale for public funding of extension programs and evaluates the incentive structure for private and public provision of agricultural extension service in the SEE countries. It suggests a medium and long-term approach with a primary focus on institutional design. Two groups of factors that affect the private sector supply of extension are analyzed: (i) demand and supply-side factors that affect the profitability of the service and (ii) factors arising from the public-good nature of extension output, externalities, and moral hazards that affect the appropriation of returns of the service. The main conclusion is that the SEE countries should try to achieve a public-private extension balance by following a gradual approach toward privatization of the agricultural extension service. However, the paper advocates a continued important role for the public sector to correct for potential undesirable effects of private advisory services. (Contains 2 figures and 1 endnote.)

The purpose of this paper is to present a series of observations made by researchers and educators on the integration of serious games in the educational experience of users with intellectual disabilities (ID). Data were gathered from four different studies and different games were used, in order to identify a successful model of games based learning application. Moreover, results that highlight the motivational importance of playful integration towards the promotion of self determination in students with ID, will be presented. According to the authors' findings, special education can be benefited from the successful integration of digital games in the educational scenario, creating a safe and personalized educational environment for the students, as well as a valuable motivational tool for the educator--especially when the educator takes a threefold role, able to support a hybrid model of digital and non digital play. Trying to assist the educational efforts of special education teachers, the authors will present the results of a series of case studies and applications, the role of the educator, as well as practical considerations that resulted in the sketch of a model of playful game-based learning integration.

The paper has comparatively analyzed the role of tourism in the economic growth of Bulgaria and Romania, using the specific system of indicators: GDP, employment, multiplicator effect, efficiency, investments, visitor exports, and competitiveness. The methodology was based on the formulas provided by literature at present and the data were collected from UNWTO Data Base. Bulgaria and Romania are important tourism destinations grace to their rich cultural and historical heritage, beautiful landscapes, landmarks, tourism forms, service quality and hospitality. Bulgaria has more visitors and receipts than Romania, but in absolute value, tourism has a higher contribution to GDP in Romania, while in relative value, 11.5% of GDP is produced by tourism and in Romania just 5.3%. Tourism supports employment 3.7 times better in Romania than in Bulgaria regarding the number of jobs. The multiplicator effect is almost similar in the both countries, proving that tourism growth stimulated the development of other economic sectors. Tourism increases labor productivity in the economy of the both countries, but 1.4 times more in Bulgaria. Visitor exports in Bulgaria are higher than in Romania, while investments in tourism are 4.5 higher in Romania than in Bulgaria. Tourism competitiveness is low in the both countries, but Bulgaria comes on a lower position than Romania in the international market. As a conclusion, both Bulgaria and Romania has to intensify the efforts to sustain tourism growth, its contribution to the development of the economy and become a more competitive sector. Bulgaria and Romania have to better evaluate all their resources, to diversify their offers, to improve service quality and increase tourism performance. Only in this way, a new tourism strategy could attract more visitors and increase the role of tourism in the economy and improve the image of each country in Europe and in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the returns to education in transitional economies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania, Russia, Slovak Republic and the Ukraine in the 1990s, and in China in the 1980s and 1990s. In the pre-transition period, the returns to education in the six CEE countries were low at about 2-4%, while those in China were even lower at less than 2%. As the process of transition towards a market economy evolved over time, the returns to education steadily increased, and non-state sector workers and young workers were rewarded with higher returns to their education than their counterparts in the state sector and older age categories. The marginal returns to university education are the highest of all of the marginal returns to various education levels. Moreover, the results show that it took about a decade for the six CEE countries, and two decades for China, to raise their respective returns to education to the 10% level. (Contains 3 figures and 7 notes.)

Both Romania and Bulgaria, the 2014-2020 period is probably a defining period in the country's development, particularly agriculture, taking into account the Commission's intention to abandon the granting of payments in agriculture, after 2020. So, time is critical and highly sensitive, being the last chance to reduce major differences compared to other countries, them benefited from such support on a much higher period than countries new entrants disfavored them up to a large extent thereon. It also represents a tremendous help of direct payments to farmers, contributing to their living standards and continuing their activities in agriculture. This paper seeks to highlight the need for support in agriculture so that by processing the statistical data it can be concluded that in both countries, even after the passing of seven years, regarding the first programming period, the situations are not solved completely, so these measures should be further enforced to help farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a comparative analysis of the youth unemployment situation in Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania, relatively similar to economic development and with different EU member state status. It analyses distinctions in the corresponding rates on a national level and makes an attempt to summarise skills required in these labour markets which young people need to improve. Methodology: The article is a continuation of previous studies of the authors based on youth unemployment in Bulgaria and, in particular, the barriers before young people to enter the labour market successfully. The research focuses on trends of the levels of unemployment of young people during recent years using publicly available data from Eurostat as well as the skill mismatches which challenge youths to be more successful when starting their careers. The study gathers information from relevant scientific publications as well as from various reports, dedicated to this topic. Findings: The article distinguishes between the different trends in youth unemployment, looking for specific reasons. It also suggests common barriers for young people to enter the labour market in the countries under review. Practical implications: A clear view on the movement in unemployment rates amongst young people in neighbouring countries and the main barriers for them to start successful careers could be prerequisite for the countries commented to improve their policies towards management of this issue. Moreover, they could combine their efforts and create a synergetic effect trying to tackle the problem regionally. Originality/value: The paper aims to outline common challenges of a few neighbouring countries in the Balkans and, as a result, formulates trends typical for those countries which could be applicable to the bigger part of the region. The study incorporates two points of view -- from a national and individual perspective to analyse labour markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accession to the European Union for Central and Eastern Europe countries involved their requirement to start the process of the European Monetary Union integration. The desire to enjoy the benefits of EU membership has made both the 10 countries that joined EU in 2004 and Romania and Bulgaria which became EU member in 2007 to engage on the path to join the European single currency endeavoring to meet not only the nominal convergence criteria but also real convergence. This paper makes an analysis of the Romania's capacity to achieve the nominal convergence criteria in the current context. The change of the financial and economic conditions due to the crisis that spread worldwide during 2007 - 2008 changed the issue from "Romania can fulfill the nominal convergence criteria?" in "Is it advisable for Romania to adopt the Euro, given the uncertainty clouds over the currency's future?" The analysis is made by considering the comparative situation of other countries that are in the process of joining the single currency. The objective of the research undertaken in this paper is to investigate Romania's capacity to approach the nominal convergence criteria and so realistic goal of joining the Euro it is. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Schengen project is one of Europe’s most important accomplishments as it facilitates the free movement of goods and people. Currently, Romania and Bulgaria are on the verge of obtaining their Schengen membership and, to our knowledge, not enough emphasis has been placed on the emigration and labour market implications for aspiring candidates. This research aims to empirically evaluate the liaison between Schengen Area and labour migration. In order to achieve this objective, we construct a difference-in-differences research design using data from the European Labour Force Survey. The treatment is represented by the Schengen enlargement of 2007 with Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia constructing the treatment group and Romania and Bulgaria the control group. The main results show that Schengen Membership led to increased probabilities of working abroad one year after treatment occurred, as well as three years after treatment occurred. Also, we are able to identify the demographic category most likely to emigrate as young males in search for seasonal full-time jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper tries to present the origin and development of the Dobrujan question within the framework of the Bulgarian-Romanian relations. The text deals with the historical development of this question during the period after the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) until World War II. Attention is also paid to the international context of the Dobrujan issue. In conclusion the focus is on the Treaty of Craiova and its importance for the Bulgarian and Romanian signatories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a number of documents published in Bulgaria in 2005 in a volume bearing the title "Bulgaria in World War 1. German Diplomatic Documents. Collection of Documents in Two Volumes", 2nd volume, 1916-1918. Keeping in mind that the government in Sofia was allied with the Central Powers and had taken part in the war since October 1915, the imminent signing of the Treaty of Bucharest (May 1918) provoked a lot of excitement within Bulgarian political circles. Unsurprisingly, the main objective of the aforesaid circles was the annexation of entire Dobruja. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These days, agriculture and also food business confront new tendencies of developing environmentally friendly options. This kind of agriculture sector surfaced due to folk's worries regarding health and ecosystem because of the new technologies. These issues appeared and recognized by the developed nations and the like, are usually firmly associated with ecological pollution along with escalating troubles of health degradation. This research compares Romania with Bulgaria, and indicates the possibilities of developing de organic farming sector. The results of this study indicate that this sector has a great potential of developing over the years, in both of the countries that are analysed. In this exploratory research, statistics data were collected from both official governments in Romania and Bulgaria, and this paper indicates the resources on witch both nations can count for developing this sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]