One-third of Romanians believe that traditional education prepares children insufficiently for life and that languages, public speaking and sports are the main activities that parents find attractive for their children, according to research conducted by Reveal Marketing Research. The study shows that 8 out of 10 parents believe that children should choose their areas of interest by themselves as Romanians are very concerned about the development of their children and encourage them to follow their passions and this shows that
The small budgets allocated over the years in the Romanian education system to the high dropout rates have been all amplified by the pandemic and it is important to ask how parents manage their children’s development.
The main results of the study show that one-third of Romanians believe that traditional education prepares a child for life to a small and very small extent and therefore, many parents would be willing to pay even up to 500 lei for their children’s development, while 37% say the opposite.
The majority of parents (76%) state that they would be willing to pay for activities in line with their children’s interests. Most of the respondents (31%) would allocate between 300-500 lei per month to offer their children the opportunity to study in fields that they want and 20% of parents are even more generous, declaring that they would invest even over 1000 lei.
According to the study, higher-income families with a higher level of education are much more open to giving children the freedom to choose an area of interest (85%), compared to lower-income families (67%).
The study asked parents what areas they find attractive for their children and 66% of respondents mentioned languages whereas more than half of the parents 58% mentioned personal development activities. Public speaking skills or learning good manners were positively appreciated by all parents.
Other activities selected by parents were, individual sports (52%), team sports (46%), entrepreneurship courses (44%) and IT-related activities (42%), compared to 28% of parents who considered activities with interest in art that would be interesting for their children (theatre, painting, drawing, singing, knowledge of a musical instrument).
The study reveals that Romanians’ lean towards areas that have a positive impact on children’s health, areas that are socially perceived as pragmatic or stable careers. Even though many children may be interested in artistic activities, parents tend not to value them.
The research used was CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interview) and 412 online interviews were conducted on a nationally representative sample of urban and rural levels, consisting of parents (online users), with underage children. The study was conducted between March 9-15, 2021, in partnership with Kidprenor. Sampling error +/- 3%. 95%.