Uchronia in schools: national perspectives and practices in Romania.

Romania

Școala Gimnazială nr. 7

Monalissa Nica

march 2026

In the contemporary educational landscape, the transition from factual memorization to the development of transversal competencies represents a global priority. In Romania, this process is marked by the urgent necessity to improve students’ social skills and critical thinking. The present study investigates the potential of uchronia (narrative speculation on modified historical events) as a method for developing empathy, collaboration, and critical analysis among young people.

General Overview of the School System The Romanian education system is undergoing a transition phase under the new Pre-university Education Law (Law 198/2023). Its structure is pyramidal, centered on a mandatory national curriculum, yet showing increasing openness toward the School-Decision Curriculum (CDȘ). Although there has been a theoretical shift to a competency-based model, pedagogical practice often remains anchored in the unidirectional transmission of information. The new Pre-university Education Law attempts to modernize the system’s architecture while maintaining a clear pyramidal structure, from early childhood education to the Baccalaureate exam.

While the national curriculum is now built on units of competence (what the student knows how to do with the information), the resistance to change among many teachers sustains « magister-centered » teaching—where the teacher dictates and the student memorizes. The School-Decision Curriculum represents a window of opportunity. It allows local communities to introduce relevant subjects (from financial education to robotics or ecology); however, its success depends critically on the creativity of school leadership and available resources.

Functional Illiteracy: PISA 2022 results are not just figures, but a social alarm signal. A score of 42% within the functional illiteracy range means nearly half of young people can read a text but cannot extract a logical conclusion or distinguish an opinion from a fact. This deficiency undermines critical thinking and leaves future citizens vulnerable to misinformation.

Bullying and School Climate: Romania reports high rates of bullying, reflecting a deficiency in conflict management and empathy. The school climate is often marked by a « culture of silence » or aggression. Romania ranks highly in European bullying statistics, a phenomenon that fuels school dropout, lowers self-esteem and academic performance, and erodes students’ capacity for collaboration (lack of soft skills).

Social Exclusion or the « Two-Speed School »: Major differences between urban and rural areas create barriers to inclusive education, where diversity is often ignored in favor of standardization. Equity remains an elusive ideal. While large urban areas have pilot schools equipped with cutting-edge technology, in rural areas, geographical isolation and poverty transform education into an obstacle course. Diversity is, unfortunately, viewed as a problem to be managed (especially regarding marginalized communities or students with Special Educational Needs [SEN]) rather than a learning resource.

Relevant National Strategies or Reforms The « Educated Romania » project constitutes the foundation of current reforms, aiming to reduce early school leaving and promote a safe school environment. Digitalization and the introduction of the graduate’s competency profile place a theoretical emphasis on « learning to be » and « learning to live together ». The current reform rests on several strategic directions intended to align Romania with European standards: 

Digitalization and Digital Literacy: This no longer refers merely to providing tablets, but to integrating technology into the teaching-assessment process, preparing students for tomorrow’s labor market.

Graduate Profile: Emphasis is placed on the UNESCO pillars of education: 

• Learning to know (knowledge);
• Learning to do (practical skills);
• Learning to be (personal development);
• Learning to live together (tolerance and inclusion).

Reducing Dropout: Through programs such as « Warm Meal » or « School After School, » the state attempts to keep students from vulnerable groups within the education system.

The success of these reforms depends not only on the law but on how teachers, parents, and students collaborate to transform the school from a space of constraint into one of curiosity.

Thus, « learning to be » becomes an educational goal as important as the accumulation of technical information. Implementation is particularly visible through the « Counseling and Personal Development » (CDP) subject, mandatory in primary and lower secondary education, and through « Personal Development and Career Counseling » in high school. These subjects are designed as support pillars for self-knowledge and healthy relationships, emphasizing emotion management and peaceful conflict resolution (Ministry of Education, 2025).

However, civic education and CDP often suffer from an excessively theorized approach; the curriculum is frequently covered through lectures, lacking the social immersion exercises or community projects that could transform concepts of tolerance and active citizenship into internalized behaviors (National Center for Policy and Evaluation in Education [CNPEE], 2017). 

Despite curricular progress, a significant gap exists between the « official curriculum » (stated in documents) and the « attained curriculum » in the classroom. Teachers frequently report a lack of methodological resources adapted for teaching soft skills, with many resorting to traditional methods that paradoxically inhibit authentic interaction between students. Recent research indicates that formalism in applying the new curriculum and underfunding of continuous training programs for teachers remain major barriers to developing a truly inclusive school climate (Buhai, 2025). Without specific training in group dynamics facilitation, educators find it difficult to transform the classroom from a space of unilateral data transmission into a laboratory for practicing social skills (Education Research Unit, 2018).

In the Romanian system, storytelling is established as a fundamental method in preschool education and Romanian Language and Literature classes, recognized for its capacity to structure a child’s cognitive experience. In history classes, narrative is often used by teachers to « humanize » the past through anecdotes, yet the student’s voice remains mostly passive, as a receiver of an « official story ». This limitation stems from a pedagogical tradition that confuses storytelling with simple oral exposition, ignoring the narrative’s potential as an instrument for the active construction of meaning (Dumitriu, 2014). Thus, while the story is present, it functions more as a vehicle for memorization than as a space for creative exploration.

Innovative Practices: Drama in Education and Role-Playing Games (RPG) Beyond classical methods, educational hubs in cities like Bucharest, Cluj, or Iași have begun to see projects involving « Drama in Education » and the use of role-playing games (RPG) as experiential learning tools. These practices allow students to simulate complex decision-making processes, transforming the abstract into the concrete by assuming the identity of a historical or social character. Using gamification elements, including RPGs, facilitates deep emotional involvement and better information retention because the learning process moves from the theoretical sphere to real-time problem-solving (Ceobanu, 2020). These methods, though still niche, represent the vanguard of a shift toward a pedagogy of participation.

The Cognitive Potential of Uchronia: Lateral Thinking and « What if? » Uchronia, or alternate history, represents a method of « logical gymnastics » that forces students to step outside the template of linear causality. When a student analyzes a scenario where the 1918 Great Union did not occur, they are not merely speculating fancifully; they are obliged to identify all political, social, and military factors that made the real event possible in order to logically « reverse » them. This counterfactual exploration develops lateral thinking and critical analysis skills, transforming a historical event from a calendar date into a complex phenomenon governed by interdependent variables (Huijgen & Holthuis, 2018). It is essentially a transition from « what happened » to understanding the deep mechanisms of « why it happened ».

Historical Empathy and Safety in Exploring Sensitive Themes One of the greatest advantages of uchronia is its capacity to create a « safety zone » for approaching traumatic or controversial subjects, such as the Holocaust in Romania or communist repression. By simulating alternative scenarios, students can explore the motivations and constraints of past social actors without being immediately overwhelmed by the moral weight of objective reality—a process that, paradoxically, leads to a deeper internalization of historical empathy. This cognitive distancing provided by uchronic fiction reduces emotional resistance and allows for a more analytical discussion of ethics, responsibility, and the consequences of human choices in moments of crisis (Barton & Levstik, 2004).

Narrative and Axiological Foundations The fundamental research of Jerome Bruner revolutionized the understanding of cognitive processes, demonstrating that the human mind does not function solely through logical processing but is intrinsically structured narratively. Bruner argues that storytelling is the way individuals construct the meaning of reality and organize lived experience into coherent schemes (Bruner, 1991). In the Romanian academic space, Constantin Cucoș extends this perspective, emphasizing that education should not be limited to information transfer but must aim for the axiological dimension—the formation of a value system. According to Cucoș, narrative and personal example are essential vehicles for internalizing ethical norms and cultural values (Cucoș, 2014).

Counterfactual Thinking and Social Problem Solving International studies on Counterfactual Thinking indicate that the process of simulating « what would have happened if » scenarios has essential preparative functions. Epstude and Roese demonstrate that this type of reasoning is not just a form of regret but a cognitive strategy that improves future performance by identifying alternatives to the current course of events (Epstude & Roese, 2008). In an educational context, this translates into a direct correlation with social problem-solving skills: a student who can visualize multiple outcomes of an action is much more capable of navigating complex interpersonal conflicts and finding win-win solutions.

Narrative Immersion and Social Negotiation (Collaboration) Immersion in a uchronia or an alternative narrative universe forces the student out of the role of passive observer and into that of an active agent. When students are tasked with negotiating the course of an alternative history in a group, they practice advanced collaboration skills. They must listen to their peers’ perspectives, mediate different visions of the « past future, » and reach a consensus to advance the narrative. This process simulates democratic dynamics, transforming the classroom into a negotiation laboratory where group cohesion becomes necessary for the success of the common project (Slavin, 2015).

Communication and Argumentation in Hypothetical Realities When a student is required to support a position in a hypothetical reality with arguments (for example, defending a political decision in a Romania that did not enter World War I), they exercise strategic communication skills. The lack of a predefined « correct answer » in the textbook eliminates the fear of failure and stimulates rhetorical exploration. According to Mercer’s research on « exploratory talk, » students engaged in such hypothetical dialogues develop the capacity to build complex logical arguments and politely reject opposing ideas—vital skills for public discourse and active citizenship (Mercer, 2000).

Social Responsibility and the Ethics of Decision Ultimately, uchronia serves as a powerful tool for understanding social responsibility. Visualizing how a single individual decision (by a leader or a group of citizens) can radically change the course of history helps students internalize the concept of « social impact ». This perspective develops social empathy and civic awareness, as students realize that their own actions in the present can generate « shockwaves » in the collective future (Selman, 1980). Thus, history ceases to be a string of inevitable facts and becomes a product of human responsibility.

Inclusion and Diversity Addressing Inclusion Through Social Skills In the Romanian educational landscape, the inclusion of students from ethnic minorities (especially Roma) and those with Special Educational Needs (SEN) remains a systemic challenge, despite European directives. Classical pedagogical approaches often fail because they tend toward « formal integration » (physical presence in class) without validating the lived experience and cultural identity of these students. For social skills education to be truly inclusive, it must shift from a deficit model to one of valuing diversity, transforming the classroom into a space where empathy and mutual recognition are actively practiced, not just theoretically taught (Vrașmaș, 2014). The lack of this socio-emotional support frequently leads to self-exclusion and the perpetuation of stigma among vulnerable groups.

Rewriting Power Dynamics Uchronic narratives offer an extremely powerful symbolic mechanism for students from marginalized backgrounds, allowing them to « rewrite » the social hierarchies and power relations that disadvantaged them in historical reality. Participating in the creation of an alternative world where social barriers are structured differently or where their communities played central roles develops what researchers call agency—the perceived capacity to act and produce change in the world (Appadurai, 2004). Through this exercise of civic imagination, the student is no longer a mere object of history but becomes an active subject, a process that strengthens self-esteem and the sense of belonging to a community that has a say in shaping the future.

To ensure that narrative and uchronia-based strategies do not become new barriers for students with learning difficulties or disabilities, their implementation must respect the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). This involves creating multimodal resources that offer multiple forms of representation (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) and multiple ways of expressing knowledge. In the context of exploring an alternative world, a student with dyslexia or visual impairment can interact with the narrative through tactile maps, soundscapes, or video simulations, ensuring that the learning process remains equitable and accessible to all, regardless of learning style or sensory barriers (Meyer et al., 2014).

Uchronia as Participatory History Reframing a national story through the lens of uchronia should not be confused with a denial of historical truth or a form of revisionism; it must be understood as an analytical investigation of possibilities. This exercise transforms the student from a mere spectator of the past into an active participant in the process of « participatory history, » where events are no longer viewed as static museum pieces but as results of contingent human decisions. By exploring « what if » scenarios, students develop historical consciousness, learning that the present is also a construction based on today’s choices (Seixas & Morton, 2013). This approach shifts the emphasis from chronological memorization to understanding causality and human agency.

The Balance Between Engagement and Rigor The primary opportunity of this model lies in the exponential increase in student engagement through the gamification of the learning process. When history becomes a narrative « strategy game, » motivational barriers disappear, facilitating much deeper and more durable learning (Kapp, 2012). However, the success of this method is conditioned by managing two major risks: the confusion between reality and fiction, and ideological deviations. Without a solid critical framework, students might internalize uchronic scenarios as actual facts or project contemporary prejudices onto the past. Therefore, multiperspectivity must be the central pillar, ensuring that no alternative narrative is used to promote hate speech or exclusion (Stradling, 2003).

Debriefing and Structure The pedagogical efficiency of uchronia depends critically on the debriefing stage—the moment of returning to documented reality. Every counterfactual exploration session must be followed by a rigorous analysis in which students compare their own narrative constructions with historical facts, identifying divergence points and the reasons why reality followed a certain course. This post-activity reflection transforms the simulation into an authentic learning experience, anchoring the creative process in scientific rigor (Lederman, 1992). Furthermore, to maximize inclusion, it is essential to form heterogeneous working groups that allow students with different abilities to collaborate and support each other, mimicking the complex structure of real society.

Technology as a Facilitator of World-Building Digital technology integration provides the necessary infrastructure for building complex uchronic universes in a collaborative and transparent manner. Non-linear writing platforms, such as Twine, or simultaneous editing tools (e.g., Google Docs) allow students to build decision trees and historical ramifications that would be difficult to manage on paper. Using these technologies not only develops essential technical skills but also facilitates « learning by design, » where students become architects of hypothetical social and political systems. This methodology of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) encourages the negotiation of meaning and the collective construction of knowledge (Stahl et al., 2006).