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Romania Political Education and Socialization
Education was a political socialization process from
preschool
through university and beyond. In kindergarten ideological
training
aimed to instill love of country, the PCR, and President
Ceausescu.
In addition, children were introduced to the Marxist
concept of
work, largely through imitation of the everyday work
world.
Instruction stressed equality between the sexes in the
working
environment and the equal importance of physical and
intellectual
work. Much of the ideological training was dedicated to
socialist
morality, which emphasized obedience to discipline and
commitment
to building socialism over the welfare and advancement of
the
individual, as well as honesty and politeness.
Although ideological training in preschools was
indirect, as
children progressed through the system, it began to
resemble other
academic subjects. Students were increasingly obligated to
participate actively in ideological training. The emphasis
was
placed on conformity and anti-individualism. Violations of
the
dress code, which dictated dress, hairstyle, and general
appearance, were viewed as ideologically incorrect
behavior. The
primary source of teaching materials for political
instruction were
party newspapers, and typical topics for discussion were
Ceausescu's speeches, decrees by the Central Committee,
and the
role of industry in the country's economic development. At
the high
school and university level, students read classical texts
of
Marxism-Leninism and studied the Romanian interpretation
of them.
In addition to the ideological training accomplished
within the
education system, political training was supplemented by
extracurricular activities arranged for young people
through the
national youth organizations--the Pioneers and the Uniunea
Tineretului Comunist (UTC), or
Union of Communist Youth (see Glossary)
--which were closely affiliated with schools but
controlled by the PCR. Students in the fifth to eighth
grades were
members of the Pioneers, and students at the high school
or
university level were UTC members. Membership in these
organizations, which supervised almost all extracurricular
activities, was mandatory. In the 1980s, however, the
youth
organizations were battered by criticism because of the
younger
generation's political apathy and infatuation with Western
values,
music, and dress. The UTC was castigated for the
antisocialist
nature and "narrow individualism and careerism" of young
people and
many of its traditional responsibilities were transferred
to
educational and cultural organs.
Ideological profiles were kept on each student
throughout his
or her academic career, and failure to exhibit correct
ideological
behavior was noted. Upward mobility within the education
system,
and hence, upward social mobility, depended on getting
passing
marks in discipline and ideological studies as well as in
academic
studies. University students who demonstrated political
activism,
perhaps by serving as UTC officers, often were invited to
join the
PCR.
Data as of July 1989
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