Scientific Bulletin

Vol. XXVI, No. 2(52), 2021

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
THROUGH EDUCATION
Maria MARCU
maria.marcu@ulbsibiu.ro

“LUCIAN BLAGA” UNIVERSITY, SIBIU, ROMANIA

ABSTRACT
An inclusive society is a society that offers its members equal
opportunities to participate in all aspects of public life, without
discrimination, by exercising rights and assuming responsibilities so
that progress is equally desired by the individuals and the society to
which they belong. The human personality is formed by the interaction
of the biological (heredity) with the factors of the social environment
and under the influence of education. That is why it is necessary
for education to be a modeling continuum, a process that begins
in the family and is continued in school, the nucleus around which
the free, independent, creative personalities of future adults will
be formed. Today’s children are tomorrow’s adults, the ones who
will make their mark on the future society. Whether tomorrow’s
society will be an inclusive society or whether it will raise
barriers and generate hostility depends on how we form the
young generation today. This exploratory research, based on
the analysis of official documents, statistics and concrete
data of the observed reality, highlights important aspects
regarding the access to education of disadvantaged groups, in a
society that wants to be inclusive.
KEYWORDS:
School, society, education, inclusion, rights, responsibilities

1. Introduction actions they create the objective reality of

Society, defined as “a form of
organization of human individuals in a
natural space” or as an “organized
apparatus” (Batâr, 2003, p. 15), functions
on the basis of collective ideas and values,
sources of collective mentalities and based
of social norms legally and morally
accepted. Values guide the behavior of
members of a society and the norms are the
criteria for assessing the level of
compliance of individuals and groups and
have a regulatory role in the dynamics of
individual and group behaviors.
Members of a society are social actors
who play different roles and through their
DOI: 10.2478/bsaft-2021-0017
© 2017. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License.
the society in which they live, a reality that
will influence their existence. It is obvious
that the contribution of different categories
of social actors is different in terms of
producing important changes in society,
likely to bring significant changes in the
existence of groups and individuals. Thus it
is necessary to identify key actors and
mechanisms that produce social change.
According to Georg Simmel (apud Beanu,
2002), social phenomena are the result of
social life itself, of legal and moral codes as
well as all of institutions and organizations.
They are the result of inter-individual and
intergenerational relations.

148
 In the dynamics of a society, a major
role is played by culture (values, beliefs,
attitudes, mentalities, norms, practices) as a
central element at the base of the social
order. Culture is the one that underlies the
social order and generates power relations at
a certain historical moment. Bernard Valade
(1997, p. 527) emphasizes the evolutionary
character in the continuous formation of
culture. He accepts and develops
Burlamaqui’s thesis in Principes du droit
naturel et politique, 1747, part II, chapter
IV, according to which sociability is a duty
of people that must be understood as
“a disposition that does not lead to
goodwill towards our fellows, to the desire
to do them all the good that depends on us,
to reconcile our happiness with that of
others and of our common and individual
subordinate to the general advantage”.
The concept of an inclusive society seems
to have as a premise this thesis, promoting a
culture of general good, equality and equity.
The change of paradigm ‒ the transition
from a society based on segregation to a
society in which integration and inclusion
are intensely publicized and, at the same
time, desideratum concepts are assumed by
decision makers ‒ reflects in the Romanian
society either an awareness of the need to
accept that diversity is a real fact accepted
and assumed or a process of assimilation of
the democratic attitudes and practices of
more experienced societies. It is certain that
the normative and institutional framework
has been created for the paradigm change,
but it is necessary to implement this large
project of institutionalized educational
intervention, a project that addresses both
educators and learners. The children are
most sensitive to educational influences and
education for inclusion must begin with the
promotion of equal rights for all children,
without discrimination, in all schools.
Society changes through education and an
essential role belongs to the school, through
teachers who can be an important resource
in producing real change. In order to
analyze the extent to which inclusion is a
149
fact, and that “equality of opportunity” is
more than a statement, it is necessary to
know the reality of the facts.
2. The normative and institutional
framework in Romania
One of the priorities of international
social and educational policies since the
end of the twentieth century has been to
ensure access to education for all children.
The declaration of the UNESCO Conference
in Salamanca (1994) refers to the school as
the main tool for promoting the concept of
inclusion and inclusive practices. Combating
discriminatory attitudes, and developing the
capacity of schools to provide “education
for all” and “education for each”, promoting
and respecting the rights of all children, is
the first step in the process of changing the
collective mind.
The education system is in full
process of transforming and developing
effective strategies for schools to develop
inclusive practices, aiming to eliminate
attitudinal and environmental barriers. It is
hoped that through school, the new
generations will be educated in the spirit of
accepting diversity, in all its forms, by
removing attitudinal and environmental
barriers and by ensuring the full
participation of vulnerable people, on equal
chances with others.
Romania’s commitments in the field
of protection of children’s rights and
inclusive education have materialized in
normative acts that regulate activities that
include children. Law no. 272 of 2004 on
the protection and promotion of childrenʼs
rights being the normative act that regulates
the legal framework on respecting, promoting
and guaranteeing children’s rights and
imposes the Principle of the best interests of
the child as paramount in analyzing the needs
of physical and psychological development,
education and health physical and
emotional, stability and belonging to a
family. Also, the principle of the best
interests of the child will be a priority
“in all steps and decisions concerning
children, taken by public authorities and
authorized private organizations, as well as
in cases resolved by the courts” (Art. 2,
paragraph 4). The provision according to
which the responsibility for raising and
caring for the child rests with the parents
and, in the subsidiary, with the local
community, the state intervention being
complementary, brings to mind the idea of
solidarity, the idea of social belonging and
involvement of state institutions (health,
education, social assistance, etc.) in
supporting the family in rebalancing its
functions and assisting the child in
exercising his rights.
The educational function of the family
and the school is manifested by systematic
influences in the process of forming the
child’s personality by transmitting values
and social norms (primary socialization and
secondary socialization), the school having
the role of completing the education the
child receives in the family. Another role
that the school has is to inform the child,
depending on his level of maturity, about
his rights and responsibilities and to support
him in the process of exercising his rights
and assuming his responsibilities, in
partnership with his family. Also, the
school can be the first instance to identify
situations of difficulty for the child,
vulnerabilities, dangers – even in his family
(situations of abuse, neglect, exploitation).
Having such a complex role, it is necessary
to analyze the way in which the legal
provisions regarding the rights of the child
are translated into inclusive practices of
educational institutions, because these
practices will form a new generation, with
specific attitudes and behaviors.
3. The right to education, without
discrimination
The inclusive school is characterized,
from an ideal perspective, as having
maximum flexibility and tolerance, a school
in which the rights of all students are
respected, regardless of the physical,
sociocultural, linguistic and psychological
150
differences between them. The purpose of
education in a school is to train citizens
who share common values. An inclusive
school is a school where students learn that
every right has a responsibility and that
participation has two meanings: to receive
and to give. The inclusive school is the one
that creates the optimal framework for this
philosophy of life.
The analysis of the normative
framework regarding the issue of children’s
rights shows that the priority is to promote
the right of all children to education,
without discrimination “regardless of race,
color, sex, language, religion, political or
other opinion, nationality, ethnicity or
social origin, the material situation, the
degree and type of a deficiency, the birth
status or the acquired status, the difficulties
of formation and development or otherwise
of the child, of the parents or of other legal
representatives or of any other distinction”
(Law 272/2004, Art. 7). Under the
conditions of such diversity, the challenge
is for the school to be able to offer
differentiated education, which will allow
each student to reach their maximum
development potential, so as to function in
optimal parameters in assuming social roles.
From the right to education arises the
responsibility of each student, but also of
the family, to actively engage in this process
of their own development. The mission of
the school is to identify strategies to form a
diversity of responsible citizens towards
themselves, towards people in difficulty
and towards society.
The competencies acquired by students
in the instructive-educational process must
be used through an appropriate professional
orientation, so as to guarantee access to a
job corresponding to the skills, abilities and
competences acquired in the inclusive
school. This goal is possible by assuming
radical changes in the education system,
both in terms of curriculum and in terms of
the ability of teachers and other specialists
to adapt professionally to the inclusive
vision. Inclusion is a process that demands
social responsibility, through understanding
and promoting rights, but also awareness
and assumption of responsibilities.
4. An analysis of access to
education for vulnerable groups
“The vulnerable group designates
people or families who are at risk of losing
their ability to meet their daily living needs
due to illness, disability, poverty, drug or
alcohol dependence or other situations that
lead to economic and social vulnerability”
(Law 292, 2011, Art. 6 lit. p.).
Vulnerable people / groups face the
risk of marginalization and social
exclusion, moving in a vicious circle of
cause and effect. Thus, situations of
dependence are perpetuated: low access to
education has the effect of a deficit of
personal, social, professional skills, which
limits the chances of identifying and
maintaining a job, the cause of lack of
income that leads to poverty and poverty is
a cause of low access to education and early
school leaving; the effect – limited access
to the labor market, this is the vicious
circle! Thus, a culture of dependence is
transmitted from generation to generation,
and the phenomenon of social exclusion is
complemented by that of self-exclusion,
from which the phenomenon of crime can
be born, in which these people can have
both victim or aggressor roles.
 Roma
National policies, strategies and
programs to promote and facilitate the
observance of the right to education of all
children have had as their main lines of
action the fight against poverty and the
support of disadvantaged groups (Roma,
people with disabilities, etc.) through
measures to combat social exclusion, by
implementing active support measures
(benefits and social services).
In the field of education, there are still
major discrepancies between Roma and the
majority children in terms of school
participation, level of school performance
151
and school dropout, as well as differentiated
treatment, both in terms of the quality of
teaching and discrimination and segregation.
Recent studies (European Union
Agency for Fundamental Rights – 2016 and
IRES – 2018) highlight the following aspects
regarding the access to education of the
Roma population:
– two thirds of ethnic Roma are out
of school or have completed maximum
secondary education;
– more than half of the Roma people
who graduated 8 grades do not know how
to write;
– less than a quarter (22 %) of Roma
are enrolled in high school;
– access to early education remains low;
– 22 % of Roma children dropped
out of school in 2016.
According to the Draft Government
Decision for approving the Romanian
Government’s Strategy for the inclusion of
Romanian citizens belonging to the Roma
minority for the period 2021-2027 “The last
census in Romania (2011) indicated that
the share of ethnic majority which did not
graduate from any school was 1 % while
the share of ethnicsRoma was 14 %. Of the
total number of people considered illiterate,
229,721, almost 30 % belong to the Roma
minority (67,480). On the other hand, if the
share of the majority with higher education
was 15 %, the share of ethnic Roma who
had graduated from higher education was
less than 1 % ”.
Could poverty be a cause of the lack of
educational inclusion of the Roma population?
According to the National Agency for
Roma, in studies (2018) the dimension of
poverty among the Roma population is
reflected as follows:
– 80 % of Roma live below the risk
of poverty;
– one in three Roma lives in a house
without running water;
– one in 10 Roma lives in a house
without electricity;
– there are Roma households where
there are not enough food resources.
  People with disabilities
Over time, there have been different
perspectives on disability, with a predominant
medical perspective, according to which
deficiencies (physical, mental, visual,
auditory, neuropsychomotor, language, etc.)
are causes of poor functionality that affect a
person’s life and make him dependent on
the help of those around them. The approach
from a medical perspective requires a
medical intervention without considering
the possibility of operating on the
environmental conditions in the society in
which these people live. Since 1970, a new
perspective has developed, thanks to studies
conducted by researchers in social sciences
and medicine, which have shown that
disability is not only a consequence of
certain deficiencies (health problems /
development that the individual has) but
also a consequence of the social and
physical barriers that exist in society and
that create disadvantages. The segregationist
perspective, which places the care and
education of people with disabilities in
special schools and hospitals, is replaced by
the perspective of including these people
through actions on environmental factors
(physical, educational, services). The transition
from segregation to inclusion is possible
through education – as a vector for changing
mindsets and practices.
The transition from segregated to
inclusive education was an important step
in the process of social inclusion of people
with disabilities, but the expected results –
increasing access and participation – are
possible only by providing individual
support services to facilitate the optimal
development of personal potential. “People
with disabilities have free and equal access
to any form of education, regardless of age,
according to their type, degree of disability
and educational needs” (Law 448/2006, art.
15, paragraph 1). An assessment of the
special needs of people with disabilities,
physical, emotional, health, educational
needs, generated by the peculiarities of age
152
and specificity of disability, is required in
order to plan a correct and coherent
multidisciplinary and inter-institutional
intervention.
The existence of disabilities determines
the emergence of special educational needs,
which demand, beside regular educational
services, the therapies specific to each
condition. Official statistics show that in the
2019-2020 school year, a percentage of
2.3 % of children attending pre-university
education were children with special
educational needs and identify the lack of
facilities needed to ensure access to
education: lack of measures to make spaces
accessible (only 21 % of schools have
ramps for people with physical disabilities
and 55 % have no facilities for the visually
impaired). There is also a low number of
human resources trained for inclusive
education.
According to the statistical bulletin of
National Authority for the Protection of the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Child
and Adoption, the number of children with
disabilities increased, from 67,639 in 2010
to 71,115 in 2020.
 People in poverty
In accordance with Law 272/2004 on
the protection and promotion of children’s
rights “The child has the right to benefit
from a standard of living that allows for his
physical, mental, spiritual, moral and
social development” (Art. 47, paragraph 1).
The responsibility for ensuring the
appropriate standard of living for children
rests with the parents and, in the alternative,
with the local authority. “If the parents or
persons who, according to the law, have the
obligation to support the child cannot
ensure, for reasons beyond their control,
the minimum needs for housing, food,
clothing and education of the child, the
state, through the competent public
authorities , is obliged to provide them with
appropriate support, in the form of
financial benefits, benefits in kind, as well
as in the form of services, in accordance
with the law” (Law 272/2004, art. 48,
paragraph 2).
The European Union (EU) has
developed the AROPE (At Risk of Poverty
or Social Exclusion) indicator to monitor the
number of people living in poverty and who
are materially and socially disadvantaged.
The AROPE rate is the share of the total
The European Semester – a key
component of the Economic and Monetary
Union provides an annual framework for
extensive discussions and interactions
between the European institutions and the
Member States on fiscal, economic and
social budgetary policies. The analysis on
the situation of poverty at European level
shows that in 2016 Romania was among the
European countries with the highest risk of
poverty and social exclusion, with a
percentage of 38 % population at risk, and
26.4 % percentage of exposed children
(0-17 years) being surpassed only by
153
population that is exposed to the risk of
poverty or social exclusion. AROPE allows
for the comparison of the risk of poverty or
social exclusion in the Member States; it is
the main indicator for monitoring the EU
2030 poverty and social exclusion
targetsand has previously been the main
indicator for monitoring the poverty target
in the EU 2020 Strategy.
Bulgaria (40.4 %), at the opposite pole
being the Czech Republic with a percentage
of 13.3 %. The vulnerability of children is
determined by the non-employment of
parents in the labor market, limited access
to social services and a low level of
financial support.
In 2020, according to Eurostat,
24.2 % of children (0-17 years) in the EU
were at risk of poverty or social exclusion,
in Romania the percentage was 41.5 %,
followed by Bulgaria (36.2 %), Spain (31.8 %)
and Greece (31.5 %).
 Poverty and lack of access to social
protection services negatively influence
children’s school participation, which reduces
their chances of developing the skills
targeted by the instructional-educational
process, focused on active participation in
social life and facilitating access to jobs that
ensure the income necessary for a decent
standard of living.
5. Conclusions
From the data analysis, we notice that
at the level of the Romanian society there
are still limitations and disparities regarding
the access to education of the children.
There are children from vulnerable groups
– Roma, children with disabilities, children
from low-income or no-income families
with limited access to social protection
services. Supporting them only thorough
financial aid creates addiction. Nevertheless,
these aids are insufficient and do not
represent the way out of poverty.
The children of socially disadvantaged
families are either not included in the
educational process or drop out of school
154
prematurely. They are victims of a society
that should protect them, they are often
exploited through work from an early age,
or are trapped in criminal groups.
The lack / limitation of access to
education for children from disadvantaged
groups perpetuates the culture of poverty
from generation to generation, perpetuates
dependence on social services, decreases
their ability and freedom to choose.
This will increase vulnerabilities,
opportunities to be influence of interests of
individuals or groups will increase the
phenomenon of crime.Although there is a
normative and institutional framework,
although the issue of inclusion is a
permanent issue on the political agenda and
monitored at the level of the European
Union, access to education services is still
limited in Romania. This highlighted reality
needs to be researched in depth, in order to
discover effective solutions to equalize the
chances regarding access to education.
Increasing the chances of participation
of children from disadvantaged backgrounds
remains a challenge, the efforts of the state
and civil society for all children to benefit
from education, can have real effects only
through counseling services, and measures
to facilitate the integration into the labor
market of parents of these children, with a
positive impact on raising living standards.
This goal can be achieved through a real
partnership between education services and
social assistance and protection services.
Experiencing the positive impact on living
standards and quality of life – are the
strongest motivational factors to give
consistency to the process of involving
people belonging to vulnerable groups to
change their own destiny.
Each individual is born with an
aptitude potential that develops in a certain
direction under the influence of
environmental factors and education.
The only chance for children from
disadvantaged backgrounds to discover and
develop their potential remains their
inclusion in the educational process,
understanding their particular needs,
adapting the school to meet these needs
through continuous teacher training and an
open attitude from the school community
and the local community.
Society is the one who loses by
neglecting these children, by not discovering
the potentials overshadowed by mentalities,
customs, mistrust, indifference. Society
prepares its future through education.

REFERENCES

Batâr, D. (2003). Sociologie. Sibiu: Editura Universității “Lucian Blaga”.

Beanu, A. (2002). Individ și societate în concepția lui Georg Simmel. In Dimensiuni ale
cunoașterii societății contemporane (pp. 17-21). Sibiu: Editura Universității “Lucian Blaga”.
Campbell, J., & Oliver, M. (1996). Disability politics: understanding our past,
changing our future. London: Routledge.
Charlton, J. (1998). Nothing about us without us: disability, oppression and
empowerment. Berkeley: University of California Press.
European Commission. (2016). European Semester. Available at:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/file_import/european-semester_thematic-factsheet_
social_inclusion_ro.pdf, accessed on 08 November 2021.
EUROSTAT: Statistic Explained. (2020). Livind condition in Europe – poverty and
Social Exclusion. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?
title=Living_conditions_in_Europe_-poverty_and_social_exclusion, accessed on 08 November 2021.
National Agency for Roma. (2020). The National Strategy of the Romanian Government
for the inclusion of Romanian citizens belonging to the Roma minority for the period 2021-
2027. Available at: http://www.anr.gov.ro, accessed on 02 November 2021.
National Authority for Persons with Disabilities. (2020). Strategic note with detailed
recommendations on the substantiation of the new National Strategy for People with
Disabilities. Available at: http://anpd.gov.ro/web/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Nota-
strategica.pdf, accessed on 08 November 2021.
Romanian Parliament. (2004). Law no. 272/2004, on the protection and promotion of
rights of the child, republished. Official Gazette, Part I, no. 159/5 March 2014, Bucharest.
Romanian Parliament. (2006). Law no. 448/2006, on the protection and promotion of
the rights of persons with disabilities, republished. Official Gazette. Part I, 1 January, 2008,
Bucharest.
Romanian Parliament. (2011). Law no. 292/2011, Social Assistanc Low, published.
Official Gazette. Part I, no.905/20, Bucharest.
Valade, B. (1997). Cultura. In Boudon, R. Tratat de sociologie (pp. 521-554).
Bucharest: Humanitas.

155