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Papers by Smaranda Cioban

Sociologie românească, Dec 14, 2023

Research in recent decades examining the correlates of educational outcomes highlights the role o... more Research in recent decades examining the correlates of educational outcomes highlights the role of religiosity in students' academic progress and achievements. An increasing number of recent studies in the fi eld of education confi rm this hypothesis, the one of the positive infl uences of religiosity on behavior and attitudes with a positive eff ect on the achievement of educational goals and academic results. As such, denominational schools are also under the attention of many researchers who observe diff erences between these religious schools and other, non-religiously affi liated schools. The sociological literature even speaks of a "religious school eff ect", inspired by the original idea of the "Catholic school eff ect", stressing that beyond the impact of individual religiosity on school outcomes, mediated mainly by attitudinal and psychosociological eff ects, there are also moderators at the institutional level resulting from the specifi city of denominational schools. In the present study we test these two hypotheses simultaneously by modeling the learning averages of a large sample of 8th graders in Bihor County, Romania, using simple linear regression. Our results confi rm what we have already found in previous studies, namely that personal religiosity has a positive eff ect on learning outcomes, while a separate eff ect at the institutional level cannot be shown.

Sociologie Româneasca = Romanian Sociology, 2018

The study focuses on children's representations of the engagement into working activities and... more The study focuses on children's representations of the engagement into working activities and the meaning attached to work. The aim of this research is to emphasize the importance of conducting research from a child-centered perspective for a better understanding of aspects that concern children. Arguing that children have to right to express themselves, the study describes how Romanian children from a traditional rural community value the work that they do based on their discourse. While the study signals that communities tend to undervalue children's work, it shows aspects that lead to children's empowerment, as revealed from interviews conducted with children. The research employed a mixed method of analysis, triangulating the data from 7 interviews realized with children from a small rural community with a pilot survey and former findings in the area. The data was coded and analyzed with QSR NVIVO 11 Program.

Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, 2019

Theories on media consumption show that online content influences users’ attitudes and behavior. ... more Theories on media consumption show that online content influences users’ attitudes and behavior. We employed open-source instruments of data visualization in order to build a network of vloggers based on teenagers’ preferences. The constructed network displays communities of users based on the YouTube content they follow. Used together with traditional research techniques, the method constitutes an effective tool in identifying the profile of students found at risk of engaging in deviant behavior or of school dropout. Grounded in network science, the method also proposes ways of reducing the diffusion of problematic content inside networks and eventually of ameliorating the engagement in deviant behavior and of reducing school dropout.

Frontiers in Psychology

Deviance is a complex phenomenon that influences aspects both at the macro and micro levels, exte... more Deviance is a complex phenomenon that influences aspects both at the macro and micro levels, extensively studied by social scientists The main objective of this article was to conduct a systematic literature review for clustering the topics on adolescent deviance and online deviance. Grounded in Pickering's and Byrne's guidelines and PRISMA protocol, we identified the most recurrent themes, theories and predictors in the 61 most-cited articles related to the concept of deviance from the database of Web of Science, as well as in 488 abstracts of representative papers. The results emphasized four main clusters of topics, namely, predictors of deviance, online deviance, socio-constructivist theories, and research based theories of deviant behavior. The findings highlighted that researchers frequently use strain theory, social learning, self-control, and social control theories in their studies. Our systematic literature review revealed also the most encountered predictors of de...

Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala

The study positions of children as social and moral actors who can tell about their understanding... more The study positions of children as social and moral actors who can tell about their understanding and experiences of well-being. In this sense, we try to capture variations in children's welfare experiences and to show how researchers can conceptualize and build on children's narrative perspectives in order to achieve a better understanding of the signification they attribute to well-being. During the four focus group meetings of the Children's Understanding of Well-Being-Global and Local Contexts project, we investigated the dimensions of well-being with students in the lower secondary public system (Gymnasium). By making such qualitative approaches, we hope to contribute to the information and further development of useful policies and practices for investigating and monitoring child welfare beyond the cultural and social context in which they live.

Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala

The study positions of children as social and moral actors who can tell about their understanding... more The study positions of children as social and moral actors who can tell about their understanding and experiences of well-being. In this sense, we try to capture variations in children's welfare experiences and to show how researchers can conceptualize and build on children's narrative perspectives in order to achieve a better understanding of the signification they attribute to well-being. During the four focus group meetings of the Children's Understanding of Well-Being-Global and Local Contexts project, we investigated the dimensions of well-being with students in the lower secondary public system (Gymnasium). By making such qualitative approaches, we hope to contribute to the information and further development of useful policies and practices for investigating and monitoring child welfare beyond the cultural and social context in which they live.

Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala , 2019

Theories on media consumption show that online content influences users" attitudes and behavior. ... more Theories on media consumption show that online content influences users" attitudes and behavior. We employed open-source instruments of data visualization in order to build a network of vloggers based on teenagers" preferences. The constructed network displays communities of users based on the YouTube content they follow. Used together with traditional research techniques, the method constitutes an effective tool in identifying consumption patterns of various groups, including students found at risk of engaging in deviant behavior or of school dropout. The revealed patterns may be explored afterwards with content analysis tools. Grounded in network science, the method also proposes ways of reducing the diffusion of problematic content inside networks and eventually of ameliorating the engagement in deviant behavior and of reducing school dropout.

Sociologie românească, Dec 14, 2023

Research in recent decades examining the correlates of educational outcomes highlights the role o... more Research in recent decades examining the correlates of educational outcomes highlights the role of religiosity in students' academic progress and achievements. An increasing number of recent studies in the fi eld of education confi rm this hypothesis, the one of the positive infl uences of religiosity on behavior and attitudes with a positive eff ect on the achievement of educational goals and academic results. As such, denominational schools are also under the attention of many researchers who observe diff erences between these religious schools and other, non-religiously affi liated schools. The sociological literature even speaks of a "religious school eff ect", inspired by the original idea of the "Catholic school eff ect", stressing that beyond the impact of individual religiosity on school outcomes, mediated mainly by attitudinal and psychosociological eff ects, there are also moderators at the institutional level resulting from the specifi city of denominational schools. In the present study we test these two hypotheses simultaneously by modeling the learning averages of a large sample of 8th graders in Bihor County, Romania, using simple linear regression. Our results confi rm what we have already found in previous studies, namely that personal religiosity has a positive eff ect on learning outcomes, while a separate eff ect at the institutional level cannot be shown.

Sociologie Româneasca = Romanian Sociology, 2018

The study focuses on children's representations of the engagement into working activities and... more The study focuses on children's representations of the engagement into working activities and the meaning attached to work. The aim of this research is to emphasize the importance of conducting research from a child-centered perspective for a better understanding of aspects that concern children. Arguing that children have to right to express themselves, the study describes how Romanian children from a traditional rural community value the work that they do based on their discourse. While the study signals that communities tend to undervalue children's work, it shows aspects that lead to children's empowerment, as revealed from interviews conducted with children. The research employed a mixed method of analysis, triangulating the data from 7 interviews realized with children from a small rural community with a pilot survey and former findings in the area. The data was coded and analyzed with QSR NVIVO 11 Program.

Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, 2019

Theories on media consumption show that online content influences users’ attitudes and behavior. ... more Theories on media consumption show that online content influences users’ attitudes and behavior. We employed open-source instruments of data visualization in order to build a network of vloggers based on teenagers’ preferences. The constructed network displays communities of users based on the YouTube content they follow. Used together with traditional research techniques, the method constitutes an effective tool in identifying the profile of students found at risk of engaging in deviant behavior or of school dropout. Grounded in network science, the method also proposes ways of reducing the diffusion of problematic content inside networks and eventually of ameliorating the engagement in deviant behavior and of reducing school dropout.

Frontiers in Psychology

Deviance is a complex phenomenon that influences aspects both at the macro and micro levels, exte... more Deviance is a complex phenomenon that influences aspects both at the macro and micro levels, extensively studied by social scientists The main objective of this article was to conduct a systematic literature review for clustering the topics on adolescent deviance and online deviance. Grounded in Pickering's and Byrne's guidelines and PRISMA protocol, we identified the most recurrent themes, theories and predictors in the 61 most-cited articles related to the concept of deviance from the database of Web of Science, as well as in 488 abstracts of representative papers. The results emphasized four main clusters of topics, namely, predictors of deviance, online deviance, socio-constructivist theories, and research based theories of deviant behavior. The findings highlighted that researchers frequently use strain theory, social learning, self-control, and social control theories in their studies. Our systematic literature review revealed also the most encountered predictors of de...

Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala

The study positions of children as social and moral actors who can tell about their understanding... more The study positions of children as social and moral actors who can tell about their understanding and experiences of well-being. In this sense, we try to capture variations in children's welfare experiences and to show how researchers can conceptualize and build on children's narrative perspectives in order to achieve a better understanding of the signification they attribute to well-being. During the four focus group meetings of the Children's Understanding of Well-Being-Global and Local Contexts project, we investigated the dimensions of well-being with students in the lower secondary public system (Gymnasium). By making such qualitative approaches, we hope to contribute to the information and further development of useful policies and practices for investigating and monitoring child welfare beyond the cultural and social context in which they live.

Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala

The study positions of children as social and moral actors who can tell about their understanding... more The study positions of children as social and moral actors who can tell about their understanding and experiences of well-being. In this sense, we try to capture variations in children's welfare experiences and to show how researchers can conceptualize and build on children's narrative perspectives in order to achieve a better understanding of the signification they attribute to well-being. During the four focus group meetings of the Children's Understanding of Well-Being-Global and Local Contexts project, we investigated the dimensions of well-being with students in the lower secondary public system (Gymnasium). By making such qualitative approaches, we hope to contribute to the information and further development of useful policies and practices for investigating and monitoring child welfare beyond the cultural and social context in which they live.

Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala , 2019

Theories on media consumption show that online content influences users" attitudes and behavior. ... more Theories on media consumption show that online content influences users" attitudes and behavior. We employed open-source instruments of data visualization in order to build a network of vloggers based on teenagers" preferences. The constructed network displays communities of users based on the YouTube content they follow. Used together with traditional research techniques, the method constitutes an effective tool in identifying consumption patterns of various groups, including students found at risk of engaging in deviant behavior or of school dropout. The revealed patterns may be explored afterwards with content analysis tools. Grounded in network science, the method also proposes ways of reducing the diffusion of problematic content inside networks and eventually of ameliorating the engagement in deviant behavior and of reducing school dropout.