Most Romanian parents would choose foreign language courses and personal development classes as extracurricular educational programs for their children, according to a study conducted by Smart Education.

The study’s results show that 43% of the parents would want their children to study foreign languages, 42% would choose personal development, communication, and public speaking courses, and 34% would prefer their children study art.

According to the survey, all the Romanian parents think that the extracurricular activities are important in the children’s development, reports local Agerpres.

When it comes to how the parents choose the best such activities for their children, most of them (73%) take into account the children’s preferences, 59% want these activities to help the children develop certain skills, and 52% take into account the teaching methods.

Slightly over a quarter would spend more than RON 500 (EUR 110) per month on extracurricular educational programs for their children, 21% would allocate a budget of up to RON 300 (EUR 66), 19% - maximum RON 500 (EUR 110), 17% - maximum RON 400 (EUR 88), and 17% - maximum RON 200 (EUR 44).

The study was conducted online between October and December 2015, on a sample of 200 parents aged between 20 and 60. Most of the parents who answered are women aged between 30 and 40.

Smart Education organizes personal development workshops for children, in areas such as communication, painting, financial education, entrepreneurship, and English and German language classes.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com