Abstract:

Civic education is a subject studied in various ways throughout the European Union. Countries have the freedom to insert the subject in the school curriculum in a way that best suits the educational outcomes. Even if there are different ways to study civic education, the subject is of fundamental importance for the development of each generation of citizens. Communities, countries, and trans-cultural relations are connected to the manner in which students learn and apply the competencies developed in school. The objective of this study was to analyze how middle and high school students view the general aspects related to civic education, within the larger context of educating students to become functioning citizens. This study contributes to the engagement and value of the civic education course in the wider school curriculum, in the context of an ever-decreasing sense of personal and citizen value in the mentality of school children, which shows a decrease of civic involvement later in life. To analyze the middle and high school students’ perception on teaching and learning civic education, and the teachers’ involvement in stimulating the students and the development of social skills, a survey was used. The sample consisted of 537 students from middle and high school from Oradea and environs. The results highlighted that the level of memorization in civic education case is low compared to other disciplines, while the accessibility index places it in the top three, meaning that the information is easy to assimilate and accessible. The utility index, which shows the perception on how useful the discipline content will be, ranks it low. The students do not believe the information will be significant use in their future careers.

Keywords:

Accessibility, Civic education, Citizenship, Engagement, Utility.