TEACHERS’ EDUCATION IN ROMANIA CASE STUDY: BUCHAREST UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC STUDIES IN ROMANIA

Teacher education is a controversial issue in Romania today. It is an important subject in the debates in academia, in practitioners’ groups, and in mass-media. Teacher education is viewed as being related to the quality of education, and is considered to be one of the most influential factors affecting educational quality by representatives of different interest groups and other decision makers. This is why alternatives and best practices in the field of teacher education are re-examined and re-valued. This paper will describe teacher education at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, with emphasis on the education of teachers of economics and business. The Bucharest University of Economic Studies is one of the most important universities in Romania and the most important economic university. It was established in 1913 by Royal Decree and in its over 100 years of existence has provided higher and in-depth knowledge in the field of economics sciences, while preparing generations of economists. In addition to its mission of preparing professionals for economic activity and public administration functions, the Bucharest University of Economic Studies prepares economics and business teachers who contribute to the economic education of the Romanian population. The paper presents the activities and the programs designed by the Department of Teacher Education at the university, formerly the Pedagogical Seminar. The Pedagogical Seminar began to function soon after the founding of the university, and today the Department of Teacher Education educates teachers of both economics and business. The analysis of data collected with respect to the learning outcomes of pre- service and in-service teachers of economics and business is used to drive conclusions related to the quality of the programs and to identify positive experiences that can be shared in similar academic communities.