The Role of Educational Services in Reducing Poverty and Social Exclusion

Education provides a stable foundation for developing the societies of tomorrow, having a dual function since it fosters economic growth and represents a crucial instrument also for ensuring the stability of a society in terms of human welfare. Given its social role, coherent policies must be implemented in order to enhance its transformative features on the long term. To perform this, it is necessary to understand how teachers, who are the leading points in transmitting information to students, perceive the impact of education on fighting against social imbalances such as poverty and social exclusion and what needs to be further done to facilitate the mission that education has within a society. Having these aspects well established, the article addresses the influence of education in minimizing negative social phenomena and measures that have to implemented in the field so that the end beneficiaries of education can be offered high quality services targeted to their needs. The research was carried out through an econometric analysis based on a questionnaire as a quantitative measure. Through this study we intended to identify the standpoints of teachers activating in the Romanian pre-university education system and who activate in Bucharest and Prahova, on the research subject as well as correlations that exist between the study variables. Some key issues addressed by the study were determining the extent to which teachers believe that education can reduce poverty and social exclusion, measures that can minimize poverty and strategies for reshaping the educational services to improve their suitability for students. The results have shown that education can indeed promote the reduction of social issues but it steadily needs to be reformed to fulfil its scope. The findings can be of interest for institutions that establish legislative procedures in the educational field and can help to regenerate Romanian education.