This book gives a brief history of education in Romania over the last decade. The text is divided into two parts. Part 1 provides a background report, whereas part 2 presents the results of an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development review team's analysis of recent trends and reform initiatives. The first section describes the administrative architecture and responsibilities of the education system and includes vocational education, governing boards, and teachers' unions. The regulatory and legal framework and informal rules, as well as the practices, of the education system are also described, including personnel, curriculum, textbooks, equipment, school infrastructure, student enrollment, quality control, financial administration, and control. The second part provides concrete and pragmatic advice on directions for policy, taking into account the present and emerging context of the country and stressing a more strategic role for education authorities at the national level. It includes a summary of the most important components of Romania's current education-reform efforts, a discussion of Romania's social and economic environment, an overview of the major subsectors of the education system, and a discussion of the critical need for development of human resources. The report concludes with a set of summary recommendations. (Contains 34 references.) (RJM)