The Role of the Romanian School in Preventing and Combating Social Exclusion Among Children

This paper explores the complexity of social exclusion among children in Romania, adopting an interdisciplinary and systemic perspective grounded in recent statistical data, theoretical frameworks from sociology and educational sciences, as well as an analysis of institutional and community-based best practices. The study highlights that childhood in Romania remains deeply exposed to a range of interdependent vulnerabilities - from monetary poverty and parental absence to health problems, domestic violence, and unequal access to education. The research findings confirm the strategic role of the school within the child’s social ecology, emphasizing its transition from a purely educational actor to a key pillar of social protection. Teachers, through their direct and continuous interaction with students, can identify forms of vulnerability that often remain invisible in official statistics, such as the effects of parental migration and the absence of family support. Thus, the school becomes both a reflection of social inequalities and a mediator between the child, the family, and public or community-based support systems. Positioned in this way, the school acquires significant transformative potential, emerging as a key space for preventing and addressing social exclusion, and for promoting inclusion and equity among children at risk.