THE ROMANIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM FACING THE DIGITAL SCHOOL BOOKS. A CASE STUDY APPROACH

This paper describes a case study aiming at presenting the Romanian experience in adopting the digital school books. This case study is based on a qualitative research approach focused on answering the main following question: “Is the Romanian Educational system ready to integrate the digital school books?” The recent experience and public opinions revealed two different categories of reactions and social representations on digital school books. The first category aims at empowering the value of the digital content and its educational contributions in everyday instructional contexts. This is the official point of view stating the position of the Ministry of Education. The second category of opinions is expressed by teachers, parents, school managers and diffusely by students. The second category of stakeholders is fearful and reserved in even talking about the digital school books. These polar opinions conducted us in studying the potential of the educational policy proposing the adoption of the digital school books in primary and secondary school. The goal of the study was to investigate to what extend this educational policy has the potential to become a successful instructional practice. In order to reach this goal, we have conducted a qualitative research based on semi structured research interviews. Following a theoretical sampling method, six categories of subjects were defined: policy makers, specialists in education and instructional design, teachers in primary and secondary schools, parents of pupils enrolled in primary and secondary education, e-learning industry and civil society representatives. The research subjects followed an interview protocol, one-to-one and focus-groups (in the case of teachers and parents) where they were asked a series of questions related to their perceptions, opinions and experiences regarding the digital school books. Meaningful research results are presented in this paper, explaining why this policy was socially convicted before implementation. Implications for educational public policies, teaching and learning are discussed with reference to other international relevant experience in order to formulate relevant recommendations for the policy making process.