Abstract:

Today’s schools face enormous challenges. In response to an increasingly complex society to a rapidly changing technology-based economy, schools are being asked to educate the most diverse students to higher academic standards than ever before. Childhood and younghood are active, changing, and changeable and teachers need to be trained to rethink their interventions, to be able to practice inclusive education according to students’ individual needs. How can children and young adults be better prepared for the future? How can teachers empower all of them to be able to gain the vital competencies required in todays’ world? These two fundamental questions were at the base of an exploratory study conducted inside the Teachers Training Department from “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu. First year students from different specializations enrolled at the psyche-pedagogical module were invited to attend individual interviews and focus groups focused on their perspective about their needs of empowerment since they were children and as young adults, in order to develop their full potential during their initial training for the teaching profession. A questionnaire was developed from themes identified in the focus groups and was administrated to the university teachers inside the Department, to evaluate their own perspective and practices on empowering students. These study reports the qualitative analyses that emerged from the data collected from students and teachers. Findings revealed that the lack or low empowerment during their academic education is a common cause of children and young adults’ dissatisfaction. New approaches and proposals to improve the teachers training system were revealed to consider and fulfill the vital needs of the new generations.

Keywords:

Inclusive education, childhood needs, young adults needs, empowering, teacher training.