Social Cognitions and Cultural Dimensions in the Romanian Educational Field
Article information:
Volume II, 2018, No 2, Pages: 5-22
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24193/JRHE.2018.2.1
Alin Gavreliuc (West University of Timisoara, Romania, e-mail: alin.gavreliuc@e-uvt.ro), Dana Gavreliuc, (Department for Teacher Training, West University of Timisoara, e-mail: dana.gavreliuc@e-uvt.ro)
Abstract.
The aim of this study, conducted on a sample of 522 subjects, was to explore the main profiles of subjects, in terms of cultural dimensions and personal autonomy patterns, belonging to the Romanian educational environment, evidencing the role of cultural factors in generating a problematic profile (deficient personal autonomy, expressed by low self-determination, low self-esteem and externalist attributional patterns), regardless of the generational or organizational (pre-university vs. university) characteristics of the subjects. The intergenerational analysis carried out shows the highest level of autocratic opening (i.e. power distance) and duplicitous pattern (i.e. social cynicism) for the young generation, in comparison with the older ones. The paper also discusses the implications of these profiles for assessing the modernization process in the Romanian educational environment.
Keywords: Hofstede’s model, social axioms, personal autonomy, education, intergenerational comparison.
