CHAPTER II.

EMPIRICAL STUDY: CULTURAL

QUESTIONNAIRE
II.1. Methodology of stereotyping
When Lippman introduced the notion of stereotype (1922), the method to
measure them focuses on evaluative and descriptive aspects. As the concept evolutes the
methods to measure them, based on conceptions, also. Different ways to detect
stereotypes were used in research.
Pictural methods. Rice (1926-1927), present people images of persons from
social different groups. When he saws that the recognition is higher than random he
finds a stereotype. Pictural methods are useful means to activate stereotypes but not
enough to inform on the content.
Allport and Postman4, from Harvard University, used a method of oral
transmission. One people described a picture with a black people and a white people
with a razor and he had to tell another one what he/she saw in this picture and this one
will do the same. They discovered the description ends in a way that it is said the black
fellow that has the razor and is aggressive. Allport and Postman (UNESCO, 1951)
explained that children don't share the ideas of stereotypes like adults do because
stereotypes are learned. The same research done with children demonstrated the
children do not say the razor was in the hand of black people. As they do not have
stereotypes they do not fail. M .Muhyi, from Columbia University demonstrated that the
idea of the black with a razor appears in the child at the age of twelve or thirteen years
old.
Another study done by Razran with pictures of girls demonstrates the effect of
perception. The people were asked to give their general impression about their beauty,
intelligence, ambition and sociability. Two months later the experiment was repeated
with the same people, the only difference was that they gave names to the picture,
Jewish, Irish, Italian and Americans and the results were different. So a Jewish name
influenced, for example, the general impression but increased the ambition. The name
of the girls in the photos influenced the judgment of the people.

20

Features methods. With the measurement by features the focus is on the

consensual character of the constituent elements of the stereotype. People produce
themselves the characteristic of the group concerned from a list of adjectives.
Daniel Katz and Kenneth Braly in 1932 carried a pioneer study about
stereotypes using a technique which has been often repeated later. They asked one
hundred Printon students to select from a list to describe national ethnic groups and they
found various strength of stereotypes (Lindsay, 1997).
This method evolutes to allocated percentages because some people were
reticent to give features (Brigham, 1971). In a scale from 0 to 100% people were asked
to characterize a group based on a given characteristic. We will get a stereotyping score
from 0 to 100% of a characterize a group.
The UNESCO study (1951) present the method used by some researcher with
students going abroad to study in three different moments, at the beginning to the host
country at the end of the first year and after returning back to their country. They used a
10-point semantic differential scales: like-dislike, positive-negative, and favourableunfavourable in order to colect data. They choose traits to represent two positive and
two negatives stereotypes for the national stereotypes. For example, Americans:
ambitious (positive), industrious (p), individualistic (negative), materialistic (n); French:
romantic (p), emotional (p), arrogant (n), traditional (n); Germans: efficient (p),
intelligent (p), authoritarian (n), doseminded (n); English: cultured (p), likeable (p),
selfish (n), reserved (n). And they saw the score for each group. The authors refer also a
secondary measure of contact with host country members, the students were asked at
departure to indicate five experiences that they considered to be particularly important
in shaping their attitudes toward the host country and the people from the host country.
(idem, 668). Then, they evaluated each of the five experiences (0 = very negative, 9 ==
very positive).
People need to avoid national prejudice and get other kind of information about
people and their countries, for example, the French eat frog, the English, beefs, the
German drink bear, and so on. In nine countries, adults defined their inhabitants and
others nations through the classic method, a list of adjectives: hardworking,
intelligent, practical, conceited , generous , cruel , backward , brave
, self-controlled , domineering , progressive, peaceloving and impossible
to characterize. However this method have got inconvenient because the words chosen

21

can influence the results. Similar list of adjectives has been done by Madon et al
(2001).3 A checklist format ensures a certain degree of stereotype consistency.
The measures of stereotypes are attached to the various components of
stereotype that are description, assessment, the consensus, the homogeneity and the
distinguished aspect.
It is frequent that some studies replicated investigations with the same
methodology to see if there is differences some years later.
We used two methods, the pictural one with the faces of the teachers in order to
find national characteristics and the percentages (Brigham: 1971) with the questionnaire
about stereotypes because it is based on the concept of consensus.

II.2. Cultural Stereotypes questionnaire

In order to find out the existing stereotypes about Lithuania, Portugal,

Romania and Turkey the questionnaire about culture of these countries was prepared.
The questionnaire consists of 50 questions. The questions are created to
find out the knowledge of respondents about history of countries-partners, their political
and social aspects. Respondents had to choose the correct answer from three-seven
given options.
1. Tick the countries belonging to the European Union.
Lithuania
Portugal
Romania
Turkey
2. Tick the date when Lithuania joined the European Union.
1957

1995
1973

2004

1981

2007

1986

22

3. Tick the date when Portugal joined the European Union.

1957
1995
1973
1981

2004
2007

1986
4. Tick the date when Romania joined the European Union.
1957
1995
1973
1981

2004
2007

1986

5. Match the name of the countries to their corresponding flags.

Romania

Lithuania

Portugal

23

Turkey

6. Complete the map with the name of de country it represents: Romania;

Portugal; Lithuania; Turkey.

7. Write the name of the country and the monument under the picture.

24

8. Tick the countries belonging to the Euro currency.

Romania
Turkey
Portugal
Lituania
9. Write the name of the dominant religion for each country: Islam,
Orthodox, Christianity, Catholic Christianity.

Romania

Portugal

Turkey

10. The highest mountain in continental Portugal is:

Serra da Estrela

Serra do Caramulo

Serra do Gers

Serra de Aire

11. Which Portuguese colony was the largest?

Macau

Mozambique

Brazil

12. Lithuanian national bird is:

sparrow

crow

swan stork

13. Identify the Portuguese Nobel Price of literature.

Fernando Pessoa

Ea de Queirs

Lus de Cames

Jos Saramago

25

Lithuania

14. Who is the Romanian gymnast, born in the region of Moldavia,

performing the floor exercise at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal and
was the first in obtaining the perfect score, 10?
Teodora Ungureanu Nadia Comaneci Daniela Siliva

15. Which alphabet is used in Turkey?

Hebrew

Latin Arabic Cyrilic16. What is the population of Lithuania?

about 2 million

about 3,3 million about 4,5 million about 6 million

17. What is the most traditional type of music in Portugal?

Fado

Mazurca

Rock

Reggae

18. When was The Romanian modern revolution?

2000

1989

2003

19. What is the most famous food in Turkey?

Goulash Kebab Pizza Paella

20. The Lithuanian language is one of the:

Slavic languages Finno-Ugric languages Baltic languages

German

languages

21. What are the main products exported by Portugal?

Shoes and cork

Wine and wood

Pasta and olive oil

Rice and oranges

22. What is the primary language spoken in Romania? What is the city capital of
Romania?
Romanian, Bucharest Italian, Rome French, Paris

23. Who is the famous Turkish national hero, who succeded in the Indepence
War?
Atatrk

Chengiz khan

Suleiman
26

Mussolini

24. When was the first and the biggest university of Lithuania founded?
1483 1365 1772 1579

25. Where was the famous player Cristiano Ronaldo born?

C ity of Lisbon

City of Oporto

Region of Algarve

Island of Madeira

26. What is the biggest river that crosses Romania, the second of the whole
Europe and the only on Earth that passes through 10 countries?
Vistula

Olt

Danube

27. What is the current regime in Turkey ?

Democracy

Monarchy

Sharia

Communism

28. The most popular sports in Lithuania:

Handball

Volleyball

Basketball Football

29. Which of the following universities is in Portugal?

Coimbra University Louvain University Sorbonne University Oxford
University

30. Who is the best Romanian player (Fiorentina, Italy), the captain of Romanian
football
team and so called the Brilliant?
Gheorghe Hagi Adrian Mutu

Gica Popescu

31. Which date is celebrated for childrens day in Turkey?

23rd April

5th May

9th May

15th August

32. The longest Lithuanian river:

Neris

Venta

Nemunas

eup
27

33. Which of the following rivers does not flow in Portugal?

Minho Douro Tejo

Tiber

34. What sea borders the countries Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania?
Mediterranian Sea

Black Sea

Aegean Sea

35. What are the three colors in the flag of Romania?

red, yellow, blue

red, blue, blank red, green, blue

36. Which option may approximately tell us the population of Turkey?

50 million

150 million

35 million

75 million

37. What was the first capital of Lithuania?

Vilnius

Kaunas

Trakai

Kernav

38. What is the capital city of Portugal?

Porto

Lisbon

Coimbra

39. How do you say "I love you" in Romanian?

Te amo

Te iubesc Ti amo Je t'aime

40. What is the capital city of Turkey?

Istanbul Ankara

Riad

Akabad

41. The day of restoration of Lithuanian Independence:

March 11, 1990

June 3, 1988

January 13, 1991

May 1, 2004.

42. How is the Portuguese revolution of 1974 known?

Carnation Revolution

Orange Revolution Rose Revolution Velvet

Revolution

43. Which is the currency of Romania?

Euro

Leu Mark

Guilder
28

44. Which one is the most famous Turkish philosopher?

Albert Einstein

Mevlana

Ibn. Rd

Spinoza

45. How many countries is Lithuania bordered by?

34 5 6

46. When was monarchy abolished in Portugal?

1822

1876

1910

1945

47. Which image reminds you Turkey ?

a.

c.

b.

d.

48. How big is the area of Lithuania?

65 200 km

85 300 km

95 300 km

29

105 300 km

49. Which view can belong to Turkey?

a.

b.

c.

d.

50. Three biggest cities of Lithuania are:

Vilnius Panevys Ukmerg
Vilnius iauliai Panevys

Vilnius Klaipda iauliai

Vilnius Kaunas Klaipda

30

II.3. The Analysis of the Results

II.3.1. Lithuania

First, the respondents were given the group of questions about the dates of
joining European Union of countries-partners. (graph 1.1.).
89%

90%

80%

80%
70%

67%

67%

60%
50%
40%

Correct answers

33%

30%

33%
20%

20%

11%

10%
0%
Countries which
belong to the EU

The year when

The year when
The year when
Portugal
joined
the
Romania joined the
Lithuania joined the
EU
EU
EU

Graph 1.1. Facts about membership in the European Union of countries-partners

Having analysed the results of the questionnaire we can state that the biggest
part of respondents (67%) knows which countries are members of the European Union.
(graph 1.1).
However, comparing the knowledge of students about the date of joining the
European Union, the biggest part of students knows the date of joining Lithuania to the
European Union (80%), and only 20% of respondents choose the date incorrectly.
According the results of the questionnaire we can make a conclusion that
respondents know better the dates of joining Portugal to the European Union than the
dates of joining Romania to the European Union.
Then in order to find out the knowledge of respondents about countries-partners
national, ethnographical and religious contexts they were given questions about these
countries symbols (their flags), geographical position, important and famous objects of
these countries, their currency and religion. (See graph 1.2)
31

Incorrect answers

100%
100%
90%
80%
70%
64%
64%
56%
60%
44%
50%
36%
36%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
0%
Finding
Knowledge
Knowing the most Countries
of the flags of countries in famous objects of of Eurozone
the countries the map
the countries

67%

33%

Correct answers

Incorrect answers

Knowing the main

relegions of the
cointries

Graph 1.2. Respondents knowledge about national/ethnographical/religious aspects of the

countries

The answers of respondents show that 100% of them know the flags of all
countries. Such results show that respondents level of knowledge about countries
symbols is rather high.
On the other hand, there is no such positive situation with the recognition of the
maps of the countries (Graph 3.2). 64% respondents were able to identify correct places
on the map, however, 36% had some difficulties, so this fact shows that there is some
lack of information about ethnographical and cultural aspects of countries-partners.
More positive situation was found out in identification whether countries of the
project are members of Eurozone. More than a half of respondents (56%) know the
currency of countries, and even 67% managed to choose the correct answer about
existing religions in countries-partners.
Then students were given a group of questions about cultural social and
historical aspects of Lithuania.
As we can see from the graph 3 Knowledge about Lithuania, the biggest
number of respondents knows which family of languages the Lithuanian language
belongs to (89%). The similar situation is with the questions about national Lithuanian
bird, (84%) the most popular sport (84%)

32

More than half of respondents choose correctly the first capital of Lithuania
(67%) and a little bit less number of respondents knows the date of restoration of
Independence of Lithuania. (58%).
The least number of respondents knows about the first and the oldest university
in Lithuania. (38%) This fact shows that there is a lack of information among students
about the history of education of Lithuania.
90%

89%
84%

84%

80%
67%

70%

62%

58%

60%
50%

42%

38%

40%

Correct
answers

33%

Incorrect
answers

30%
16%

20%

16%

11%
10%
0%

The origin of
the language

The biggest
The first
and the oldest capital
university

National bird The most

The date of
popular
restoration of
sport
Independence

Graph 1.3. Knowledge about the history of Lithuania

Having analysed the respondents answers to given questions we found out that
the results were not less than 38%, consequently we can state that there is rather high
level of knowledge among students about Lithuanian history (graph 1.3)
Then respondents were given questions about social, demographical aspects of
Lithuania, as well as about natural resources of our country. (See graph 1.4).

33

87%

90%
80%

69%

70%
60%
50%

67%
60%

58%
42%

40%

40%
33%

31%

30%

Correct answers
Incorrect answers

20%

13%

10%
0%
Popilation

Countries
Lithuania is
bordered by

Three
biggest
cities

How big is
the area of
Lithuanina

The longest
rivers

Graph 1.4. Knowledge about the geography of Lithuania

The biggest number of correct answers was given to the question about the
biggest cities of Lithuania (87%). Similar situation is with the question about countriesneighbours of Lithuania, which have common border with our country, (69%) and also
with the longest rivers of our country (67)
A little bit less number of respondents knows the correct answer about
population in Lithuania (60%). However, according the information given in the graph
4, more than a half of respondents know the correct answer about Lithuanian
population.
Then in order to find out the level of students knowledge about Portugal the
students were given questions about history, geography and politics of Portugal (see
graph 1.5).

34

Correct answers
Incorrect answers

100%
90%
82%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20% 18%
10%
0%
The highest
mountaion

91%
84%
78%

58%

56%
44%

42%

22%
16%
9%
The
The
biggest capital
colony

The
The year of
revolution abolishment
of 1974
of monachy

The river
which does
not flow in
Portugal

Graph 1.5. Knowledge about history, geography and politics of Portugal

According the results of questionnaire we can make a conclusion that in most

cases the wrong answers dominate. One of the correct answers was about the capital of
Portugal. (91%)
Rather big number of correct answers was given to the question about the largest
Portuguese colony (44%) and the date of the abolishment of monarchy in Portugal
(42%). However the least number of correct answers was given about Portuguese
revolution in 1974. It means that respondents know some facts about Portugal, but not a
lot.
Then in order to find out the level of students knowledge about Portugal,
respondents were given questions about cultural and social spheres of Portugal
(questions about science, sport and music)
The highest level of knowledge respondents showed about traditional
Portuguese music, the correct answer was chosen by a little bit more than a half of
respondents (51%), however the least number of correct answers was given about the
main products exported by Portugal, which means that there is the lack of information
about it among students. (See graph 1.6)

35

Graph 1.6. Knowledge about social /cultural aspects of Portugal

Then respondents were given the group of questions about Romania (see
graph 1.7).

80%

73%

73%
69%

70%

60%

60%

67%

53%

51%
49%

50%

40%

40%

30%

64%

58%

42%
31%

27%

47%

Correct
answers

36%

33%

27%

Incorrect
answers

20%

10%

0%

The colours The

The longest The year Currency How to say
in Romanian
of flags
language river which of modern
flows
revolution
I love you
through 10
countries

Graph 1.7. Knowledge about Romania

36

The
famous
Romaian
gymnast

The best
Romanian
fottball
player

The sea
which
borders
three
countries

Having analysed the results of the questionnaire we can see that there rather high
level of knowledge about Romanian social, economic, geographical aspects among
students.
The biggest number of answers was given about Romanian currency (69%), how
to say in Romanian: I love you (67%), the year of modern Romanian revolution
(58%) and also about the sea borders the countries Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania
(53%). So we can state that the level of geographic and cultural aspects of Romania is
rather high. But there are questions which were difficult to respondents, such as the
primary language spoken in Romania (27%), the colours of Romanian flag (27%) The
fact that students do not know the main language of Romania shows that our students
have never communicated with Romanians or they communicated in English.
Then respondents were given the group of questions about demograph, political
and national aspects of Turkey. (See graph 1.8).

90%

82%

80%
70%
60%
50%

53%

51% 49%

47%

53%
47%
Correct answers

40%

Incorrect answers

30%

18%

20%
10%
0%
Political regime

Capital

Population

The sea which

borders the
country

Graph 1.8. Students knowledge about demograph/political/geographical aspects of Turkey

According the results of the questionnaire we can make a conclusion that the
biggest number of correct answers is about population in Turkey (82%), which means
that students know not only about the population in this country but also realise how big
this country is. Students answers to other questions consist from more or less the equal
number of correct and incorrect answers.
The least number of students knows about the capital of Turkey (27%) and what
sea borders Turkey (27%).
37

However, the results of the questionnaire show that there is the highest level of
knowledge about national aspects of Turkey such as about the most famous food in
Turkey (75%), and the lowest level of knowledge is about the alphabet used in Turkey
(22%) and about the famous Turkish national hero, who succeeded in the Independence
War (22%).

78%

80%

78%

75%

73%

70%
60%
50%
40%
30%

Correct answers

22%

25%

22%

27%
Incorrect answers

20%
10%
0%
The alphabet

Traditional food

Turkish
national hero

Childrens Day

Graph 1.9. Knowledge about national aspects of Turkey

CONCLUSION:
1. The biggest number of respondents shows a good level of knowledge about
European Union. Respondents know which countries belong to European Union,
(67%) and the date when Lithuania joined the EU, but they do not know the
dates when other countries joined the EU.
2. Respondents knowledge about countries-partners national, ethnograph,
religious aspects is rather good and even 100% of students participated in the
research chose the flags of the countries correctly.
3. Lithuanian students know a lot about their own country, especially about the
origin of their language, (89%), national bird (84%), the most popular sport
(84%) and three biggest cities of the country (87%).
4. 100% of respondents answered correctly about the capital of Portugal, but only
half of them know about Portuguese traditional music (51%), and the least
number of respondents knows about the main products exported by Portugal
(11%).

38

5. The biggest number of respondents knows what the currency in Romania is

(69%), how to say in Romanian ,,I love you (67%), the date of modern
revolution in Romania (58%), but the least number of students knows about
national language of Romania and the colours of Romanian flag. (27%).
6. The best results in questions about Turkey were shown in knowing the number
of population in Turkey, (82%), but the least number of students know about the
alphabet used in Turkey (22%) and the famous Turkish national hero (22%).

II.3.2. Portugal

The collecting of data concerning the general culture of the sample involving the
four countries included in the project was done through a questionnaire. To gather
information for this quantitative survey, 30 secondary school students (10th and 11th
grades) from EscolaBsicae Secundria Beira Douro-Medas, were asked to
voluntarily participate. The Portuguese team on this project Erasmus Plus was granted
permission to apply the referred questionnaire.
Here is the samples characterisation (graphs 1, 2, 3).
Graph 1. 10th grade students gender

Graph 2. 11th grade students gender

10th grade

Masc.
43%

11th grade
Masc
.
Masc.
38% 38%

Fem.
57%

Fem.
62%

The sample is composed of a majority offeminine gender students from the

10thgrade (Fem.: N = 8, 57%; Masc.: N = 6, 43%) and the 11th grade (Fem.: N = 10,
62%; Masc.: N = 6, 38%) Graphs 1 and 2.

39

Graph 3.Students course (10th and 11th grades)

More than of the sample

Course

represents students from the

Humanities course (10th and

Science &
Technol.
23%

th

11 grades) while the others

attend

the

Science

and

Humanities
77%

Technologies Course (N = 7,
23%) Graph 3.

The questionnaire was applied in paper form and the type of questions was as
follows: Multiple Choice items, data connection items and completing items. The
Questionnaire was applied during the 2nd term and under the supervision of the
Portuguese team, who guaranteed the students the confidentiality of the information
given and its use only for research aims. The questionnaire was applied at the same time
to the two classes the students of the sample belong to, during class time given by their
teachers. Before applying the questionnaire the students were explained about its
content of study.
To analyse the data from the survey the Portuguese team used the Excel
programme by calculating the percentage of correct and incorrect answers and building
the respective graphs. To evaluate the questions each correct answer was given 1 point
and each incorrect or incomplete answer zero points, according to decision in a meeting
with the other team members of this project Erasmus Plus.
The Portuguese team considered necessary to categorise the questions in the
survey so that they could analyse them later. So they joined the questions related to each
country in the survey into two categories: a) Physical Human and Political Geography;
b) History and General Culture.
In Table 1 we can identify the questions related to all the four countries of this study.

40

Table 1.General questions of the questionnaire.

Categories

Questions
1. Tick the countries belonging to the European Union.

1. Physical, human and

political Geography

5. Match the name of the countries to their corresponding flags.

6. Complete the map with the name of de country it represents: Romania,
Portugal, Lithuania, Turkey.
8. Tick the countries belonging to the Euro currency.

2. History and general

culture

7. Write the name of the country and the monument under the graph.
9. Write the name of the dominant religion for each country: Islam,
Orthodox Christianity, Catholic Christianity.

Table 2 presents the questions grouped by country (Portugal, Romania, Turkey,

Lithuania) and divided by the two categories.
Table 2. Questions of the questionnaire grouped by countries and categories.
Countries

Categories

Questions
3. Tick the date when Portugal joined the European
Union.
10. The highest mountain in continental Portugal is

a) Physical, human and

political Geography

21. What are the main products exported by Portugal?

33. Which of the following rivers does not flow in
Portugal?
38. What is the capital city of Portugal?
11. Which Portuguese colony was the largest?

PORTUGAL

13. Identify the Portuguese Nobel Price of literature.

17. What is the most traditional type of music in
b)History and general Portugal?
culture

25. Where was the famous player C. Ronaldo born?

29. Which of the following universities is in Portugal?
42. How is the Portuguese revolution of 1974 known?
46. When was monarchy abolished in Portugal?
4. Tick the date when Romania joined the European

ROMANIA

a)Physical, human and Union.

political Geography

26. What is the biggest river that crosses Romania, the

41

second of the whole Europe and the only on Earth that

passes through 10 countries?
35. What are the three colors in the flag of Romania?
43. Which is the currency of Romania?
14. Who is the Romanian gymnast, born in the region of
Moldavia, performing the floor exercise at the 1976
Olympic Games in Montreal and was the first in obtaining
the perfect score, 10?
18. When was The Romanian modern revolution?
b)History and general
culture

22. What is the primary language spoken in Romania?

What is the city capital of Romania?
30. Who is the best Romanian player (Fiorentina, Italy),
the captain of Romanian football team and so called the
Brilliant?
39. How do you say "I love you" in Romanian?
34. What sea borders the countries Turkey, Bulgaria and

a)Physical, human and

political Geography

Romania?
36. Which option may approximately tell us the
population of Turkey?
40. What is the capital city of Turkey?
15. Which alphabet is used in Turkey?
19. What is the most famous food in Turkey?
TURKEY

23. Who is the famous Turkish national hero, who

succeeded in the Independence War?
b)History and general 27. What is the current regime in Turkey?
culture

31. Which date is celebrated for childrens day in

Turkey?
44. Which one is the most famous Turkish philosopher?
47. Which image reminds you Turkey?
49. Which view can belong to Turkey?

LITHUANIA

a)Physical, human and

political Geography

2. Tick the date when Lithuania joined the European

Union.
16. What is the population of Lithuania?
42

32. The longest Lithuanian rivers.

37. What was the first capital of Lithuania?
45. How many countries is Lithuania bordered by?
48. How big is the area of Lithuania.
50. Three biggest cities of Lithuania are
12. Lithuanian national bird is
20. The Lithuanian language is one of the
b) History and general 24. When was the first and the biggest university of
culture

Lithuania founded?
28. The most popular sports in Lithuania.
41. The day of restoration of Lithuanian Independence.

The results of the questionnaire were submitted to a descriptive analysis of the

general questionsby countries (Portugal, Romania, Turkey and Lithuania) and of the
two categories (Physical, Human and Political Geography / History and General
Culture). The graphs 4-17 show the conclusions.
Four of the general questions in the questionnaire are related to the category
Geography (Q1, Q5, Q6, Q8) and the others are related to the category History and
General Culture (Q7, Q9).
Graph 4.General questions about
Geography: results
100%
90%

Graph 5.General questions about

History and General Culture: results
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

80%
70%
60%
50%
40%

28

28

29

22

29

28

30%
20%
10%
0%
0
0
0 1
1. Countries
5. Flags
of the
of
6.each
Countries
EU 8.country
Countries
in the of
map
the Eurozone
correct
incorrect

correct

incorrect

Analysing Graph 4, we can conclude that most of the Portuguese students

43

answer correctly to the items of the category Geography, showing they know which
countries of the study belong to the European Union (EU) (Q1: N = 22; 73%), their
respective flags (Q5: N = 28; 93%) and their position in the map (Q6: N = 28; 93%).
However, the sample also shows that the students have a limited knowledge about the
countries which have the Euro as their currency (Q8: N = 1; 3%); the same happens in
items of the category History and General Culture (Graph 5): only one student matches
correctly the country with its monument (Q7: N = 1; 3%) and two students identify
correctly the main religion of the countries in the project (Q9: N = 2; 7%).
Graph 6 presents a global view of the results obtained in the questions about
Portugal (Q3, Q10, Q11, Q13, Q17, Q21, Q25, Q29, Q33, Q38, Q42, Q46).
Graph 6.Portugal: results
100%
1
1
0
0
0
0
4
90%
6
7
10
80%
70%
20
20
60%
50%
30
30
30
30
29
29
26
40%
24
23
30% 20
20%
10
10
10%
0%
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

correct

incorrect

Globally the results of the correct answers related to knowledge of the sample
about Portuguese Geography, History and General Culture are over 50%, except what
concerns results of Q21 and Q46 (Graph 6). So we can consider the evaluation of the
Portuguese students knowledge about the Geography and History of their country as
positive and accurate (in average 76% of the students responds accurately).

44

Graphs 7 and 8 present the results of the questions grouped in the two categories
in the study.

Graph 7.Geography -Portugal: results

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

10

Graph 8.History and General Culture - Portugal: results

20
29

30

26

20
10
0

correct

6
20

30

30

29

23

30

24
10

correct

incorrect

incorrect

The results related to Portuguese geography (Graph 7) indicate that the students
have a positive evaluation in this field, showing that most of the students (over 50%)
correctly identify the date of Portugals entry in the EU (Q3: N = 20; 67%) andthe
highest mountain in Continental Portugal (Q10: N = 29; 97%), name the only river
which doesnt flow in Portugal (Q33: N = 26; 87%) and know the Portuguese capital
city (Q38: N = 30; 100%).
Only the question that requires the identification of the main products exported
by the country shows results inferior to 50% (Q21:N = 10; 33%). This result suggests
that the students didnt acquire this content taught during their third and secondary years
in the subject of Geographyor they couldnt apply this knowledge in a different context.
The results in the category History and General Culture are equally positive and
elevated (Graph 8), because 50% of the Portuguese students correctly identify Brazil as
the biggest Portuguese colony (Q11: N = 30; 100%), name Jos Saramago as the
Portuguese writer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature (Q13: N = 23; 77%), name
Fado as a unique Portuguese and most traditional music style (Q17: N = 29; 33%),
identify Madeira Island as the birthplace of the football player Cristiano Ronaldo (Q25:
N = 30; 100%), indicate Coimbra University as the only Portuguese university in the list
of the questionnaire CP (Q29: N = 30; 100%) and name the 25th of April 1974 as the
political revolution of the carnations (Q42: N = 24; 80%). Concerning this last question
(Q42) we can probably explain why some students couldnt answer correctly the name
45

of the Portuguese 1974 revolution by the fact that the questionnaire was in English and
some students dont know the English word carnation.
In this category, the only item correctly evaluated by a minority of students was
the one related to the year 1910, the end of the monarchy in Portugal (Q46: N = 10;
33%). This result shows that 67% of the Portuguese students didnt acquire all the
contents about this History topic taught during the three school years or they couldnt
apply them to a different situation of the school context. It also shows a lack of general
culture concerning the past history of their country.
Graph 9 shows the results from the questions about Romania.
Graph 9.Romania: results
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

1
8
15

21

18

17

19

17

15

13

15

29
22
15

9
0

12
0

13

11
0

correct

incorrect

Graph 9 indicates that 51% of the Portuguese students answer assertively the questions
about

Romanian geography, history and general culture and so we can consider

positive but average the students global knowledge in these two particular categories.
Graphs 10 and 11 present the results of the questions grouped in the two
dimensions of knowledge analysed in this study.

46

Graph 10.Geography - Romania: results

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

Graph 11.History and General Culture - Romania: results

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

1
15

19

21

29
15

11

9
0

correct

8
15

18

17

13

13

22
15
0

12
0

correct

incorrect

17

incorrect

By Graph 10 we can conclude that the Portuguese students knowledge about

Romanian geography is less accurate. In fact less than half students in the sample
identify the year of Romanias integration in the EU (Q4: N = 9; 30%) and recognise
river Danube as the biggest river crossing Romania as well as ten other different
countries (Q26: N = 11; 37%).
Graphs 12 and 13 show that only 37% of the students chooses correctly the
seawhich borders Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania (Q34: N = 11; 37%). Only half of the
students know that Leu is Romanias currency (Q43: N = 15; 50%). However, most of
the students know the colour of the Romanian flag (Q35: N = 29; 97%).
Concerning the students knowledge about Romanian History and General
Culture (Graph 11), the results show that less than 50% of them identify correctly the
year 1989 as the year of the modern democratic revolution in Romania (Q18: N = 12;
40%), know the nickname of the football player Adrian Mutu The Brilliant (Q30: N
= 13; 43%) and choose the correct Romanian translation of the phrase I love you
(Q39: N = 13; 43%). The results also indicate that half of the students identify the
Moldavian Daniela Silivas as the first Olympic gymnast who scored the highest score in
her sport(Q14: N = 15; 50%) and most of the students indicate Romanian language as
the main language of Romania, and Bucharest as the capital city (Q22: N = 22; 73%).
What concerns the results in this last question we cannot understand why the
percentage of correct answers isnt 100%, because the question Q22 is about Romania
and the options are very clear (1. Romanian, Bucharest; 2. Italian, Rome; 3. Latin,
Paris) and the students know that Italy and France are not partners in this project. So, to
47

explain the 27% (N = 8) of incorrect answers in Q22, we might consider the chance that
the students either answered at random or they were not concentrated in the task.
In Graph 12 we can see the global results of questions about Turkey (Q15, Q19,
Q23, Q27, Q31, Q34, Q36, Q40, Q44, Q47, Q49).
Graph 12.Turkey: results
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

5
14

14

17

19

24

25

12

21

23

25

25
16

16
0

13

11

correct

8
0

9
0

incorrect

Graph 12 shows that in average 43% of the Portuguese students answer correctly
the questions about Turkish geography, history and general culture. We can conclude
that the global evaluation of students knowledge about Turkey is negative, by the fact
that the average of the results in the twelve questions about this country is less than
50%.
The results of the questionnaire about Turkey are in Graphs 13 and 14, divided
into the categories of Geography and History/General Culture, accordingly.
Graph 13.Geography - Turkey: results
100%
90%
80%
17
70% 19
12
60%
50%
40%
30%
13
20% 11
8
10%
0%
0
0

correct

Graph 14.History and General Culture - Turkey: results

100%
5
5
90%
80%
14
14
70%
21
23
60% 25
24
50%
25
25
40%
30%
16
16
20%
9
7
10%
6
5
0%
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

correct

incorrect

48

incorrect

The evaluation made to Portuguese students about aspects of the Turkish Geography is
inferior to 50% (Graph 13), because only a minority of students is able to identify the
Black Sea as the one that bathes Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.(Q34: N = 11;
37%),chooses the right option concerning the approximate number of the Turkish
population (Q36: N= 13; 43%) and recognizes Ankara as the Turkish capital (Q40: N=
8; 27%).
Concerning the knowledge about Turkish History and General Culture (Graph
14), the results arent very high as well: The majority of Portuguese students indentify
kebab as the most famous dish in the Turkish kitchen(Q19: N = 25; 83%) and chooses
correctly a typical image from Turkey (Q47: N= 25; 83%); A few more than 50% of the
students name the famous Turkish hero Atatrk (Q23: N = 16; 53%) and the current
political regime of the country (Q27: N = 16; 53%); Less than half of the students
identifies correctly the Latin Turkish alphabet(Q15: N = 5; 17%), knows the date of the
National Children Day in Turkey April 23rd - (Q31: N = 6; 20%), identifies the
13thcentury Anatolian mystic, Mevlana Celaddiin-i Rumi, as the greatest Turkish
Philosopher (Q44: N = 9; 30%), as well as selecting the Turkish landscape presented in
the questionnaire CP (Q49: N = 7; 23%).
We consider expectable the low evaluation scored in Q31 and Q44, because they
report to knowledge never approached in our school context and it is remotely likely of
integrating the general culture of Portuguese teenagers.
The global results of the questionnaire about Lithuania are presented in Graph
15 (Q2, Q12, Q16, Q20, Q24, Q28, Q32, Q37, Q41, Q45, Q48, Q50).
Graph 15.Lithuania: results
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

20

18

25

10
0

12
0

19

19

11

11
0

12

13

18

21

26
18
0

correct

incorrect

49

23

17

12
0

26

9
0

The average evaluation of the results about Lithuania (Graph 15) is 33%, therefore we
consider the evaluation of the students knowledge about this Baltic country to be
negative.
In Graphs 16 and 17we can analyse the global results of questions
aboutLithuania.
Graph 16.Geography - Lithuania: results
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

18

20

13

18
26

12

10
0

23

26

17

12
0

correct

7
0

incorrect

Graph 17.History and General Culture - Lithuania:

results
100%
90%
80%
12
70%
19
19
21
60% 25
50%
40%
30%
18
20%
11
11
9
10% 5
0%
0
0
0
0

correct

incorrect

The results of the questions about Lithuania relating the category Geography
(Graph 16) show a less positive evaluation of the students knowledge in this domain,
revealing that only a few students identify correctly the date of Lithuanias entrance in
the EU (Q2: N = 10; 33%), knows the approximate number of the Lithuania population
(Q16: N = 12; 40%), identifies the biggest river in the country (Q32: N = 12; 40%),
names its first capital (Q37: N = 4; 13%), identifies the number of countries that boarder
with Lithuania (Q45: N = 4; 13%) and selects the approximate area of the country(Q48:
N = 7; 23%). More than half of the students identify correctly the three biggest
Lithuanian cities (Q50: N = 17; 57%).
Concerning the knowledge about Lithuanian History and General Culture
(Graph 17), the results reveal as well that less than 50% of the Portuguese students
identify correctly the white stork as the national bird in Lithuania (Q12: N = 5; 17%),
knows the Baltic origin of the Lithuanian language (Q20: N = 11; 37%), names the
biggest and the oldest university in the country (Q24: N = 11; 37%) and selects March
11th 1990 as the day of the reestablishment of Independence. (Q41: N = 9; 30%).The
results indicate that more than half of the students recognize basketball as the most
50

popular sport in Lithuania (Q28: N = 18; 60%).

We think that these results are to be expected specially the items regarding
Lithuania, particularly in questions Q12, Q16, Q24, Q32, Q37 and Q48, because they
report to knowledge never approached in our school context and it is remotely likely of
integrating the general culture of Portuguese teenagers.
Conclusion:
In general, the results point to a positive and elevated evaluation of the
geographic and historic knowledge of the Portuguese students about their own country.
However there is a lack of knowledge regarding the level of identification of national
monuments, the dominant religion in the different countries of Erasmus, in the main
products exported by the country and the date of the end of the monarchy in Portugal. It
is therefore suggested a stronger approach of these contents in the classes from the
teachers who belong to the Portuguese team.
As for the knowledge that the students have about Romania, it is possible to
identify evident errors about the geography of this country and some concerning its
history and culture. It is therefore suggested a stronger approach to the Romanian
geography in the classes from the teachers who belong to the Portuguese team.
According to the knowledge of the Portuguese students about Turkey, the results
are less encouraging because of the distant reality that this countrys role assumes in the
general culture of these students. Regarding Lithuania the knowledge of the Portuguese
students are equally inferior: Neither in Geography, nor History or general culture does
the knowledge of the Portuguese students reach satisfactory levels. From the four
countries involved in this project, Lithuania is effectively the least known country by
the students. Thus, in general the Portuguese students reveal little knowledge about
geographal, historical and cultural aspects about Turkey and Lithuania. Therefore the
development of school activities regarding these two countries is suggested.

II.3.3. Romania

During the transnational meeting organized in Romania in January 2015, the

project partners agreed with a cultural questionnaire among students of each partner
school.
The survey interpretation will provide information about the level of knowledge
of history, geography, political and social situation of partner countries by respondents.
51

The project partners have selected 50 representative questions to identify the

degree of knowledge of the concepts mentioned above.
There were nine general questions regarding the European Union and each
country then added 9-11 questions about their own culture. The answers given by
respondents to questions about the European Union are as follows:
100.00%
90.00%
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%

95.00%
85.00%
70.00%

30.00%

75.00%

70.00%

30.00%

Correct

25.00%
15.00%

Incorrect
5.00%

Tick the
Tick the date Tick the date Tick the date
Tick the
countries when Lithuania when Portugal when Romania countries
belonging to
joined the
joined the
joined the
belonging to
the European
European
European
European
the Euro
Union
Union
Union
Union
currency.
Graph 3.1. Facts about membership in the European Union of countries-partners and euro zone

From the charts we can see that only 30% of the interviewees know which
countries belonging to the EU area or the date when Lithuania joined the European
Union.
Also only 15% of the respondents know the date when Portugal became a
member of the European Union, in contrast, 75% of the respondents know that Romania
is a member of the EU since 1st January 2007.
Regarding countries that use the euro, only 5% of those interwieved responded
and correctly identified the countries that use the euro as a common currency.
We believe that the respondents were put in difficulty by the fact that Lithuania
joined the euro zone only on January 1, 2015.
The following four questions we asked in order to associate the name with the
flags of the appropriate countries, to locate on the map the countries, to recognize the
historical monuments built in partner countries and to identify the predominant religion
in each country.

52

95.00%

100.00%
90.00%

85.00%
75.00%

80.00%

75.00%

70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
25.00%

30.00%
20.00%
10.00%

25.00%

Correct
Incorrect

15.00%
5.00%

0.00%
Match the name of Complete the map Write the name of Write the name of
the countries to with the name of de the country and the
the dominant
their corresponding
country it
monument under religion for each
flags
represents
the picture.
country: Islam,
Orthodox
Christianity,
Catholic Christianity

Graph 3.2. General data about the culture of the partner countries

From the analysis of the responses to these questions we can see that surveyed
people know the flags of the four partner countries (85%), they can correctly locate on
the European map the 4 partner countries (95%). The respondents know, but to a lesser
extent, some representative monuments of each country (25%) and the name of
religions predominate in Romania, Lithuania, Portugal and Turkey (25%).
The following questions in the questionnaire have tried to capture the extent of
their knowledge of history and geography. So the Romanian students had to answer 8
questions related to Romania. To the questions related to the history and geography of
Romania, the students responded as follows:

53

120.00%
100.00%
100.00%

100.00%

100.00%

85.00%

80.00%
80.00%
60.00%
40.00%
20.00%

15.00%

20.00%
0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

0.00%
When was The What are the
Romanian
three colors in
modern
the flag of
revolution?
Romania?

What is the
What is the
Which is the
biggest river
primary
currency of
that crosses
language
Romania
Romania, the
spoken in
second of the Romania? What
whole Europe
is the city
and the only on
capital of
Earth that
Romania?
passes through
10 countries?

Correct
Incorrect

Graph 3.3. Romanian History and Geography

It can be seen that the respondents know very well the Romanian flag colors
(100%), which is the language spoken in Romania and the capital of the country
(100%). The students know that the country's currency is the leu (100%).
With very little hesitation students responded correctly to questions about the
year when the modern revolution in Romania began (80%) and the name of the river
which crosses Romania and other 9 European countries (85%).
About the general questions concerning Romania, students certainly know how
to say I love you in Romanian (100%), they know Nadia Comaneci as the greatest
gymnast in the history of Romania (90%) and they know that Adrian Mutu is a
Romanian footballplayer playing at Fiorentina, Italy (75%).

54

120.00%
100.00%
100.00%

90.00%
75.00%

80.00%
60.00%
40.00%
20.00%

25.00%
10.00%

Correct

0.00%
0.00%

Incorrect
Who is the Romanian
gymnast, born in the
region of Moldavia,
performing the floor
exercise at the 1976
Olympic Games in
Montreal and was the first
in obtaining the perfect
score, 10?

How do you say "I love

you" in Romanian?

Who is the best Romanian

player (Fiorentina, Italy),
the captain of Romanian
football team and so called
the Brilliant?

Graph 3.4. General things about Romanians and Romania

The questions about Lithuania and Lithuanians can also be divided into question
related to the Lithuanian history and Geography.
At the first set of questions about Lithuanian history can be seen that relatively
little data is known by Romanian students. Only 10% of the respondents know the name
of the national bird of Lithuania, only 15% of the respondents know information about
the Lithuanian independence war.
Romanian students know something more about the origins of the Lithuanian
language (25%) and about the old university in Lithuania (25%). Regarding the first
capital of Lithuania, only 10% of students identified the correct answer and only 20% of
students know what is the national sport in Lithuania.

55

100.00%
90.00%
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%

90.00%

90.00%

85.00%
75.00%

25.00%
10.00%

80.00%

75.00%

25.00%

20.00%

15.00%

Correct
Incorrect

10.00%

Lithuanian
The day of The Lithuanian When was the What was the The most
national bird is restoration of language is first and the first capital of popular sports
Lithuanian
one of the
biggest
Lithuania? in Lithuania:
Independence
university of
Lithuania
founded?
Graph 3.5. The history of Lithuania

Regarding the geography of Lithuanian, Romanian students know, to a small

extent, what countries are on the border of Lithuania (30%), which is the longest river
(25%) or which are the biggest cities (15%). Romanian students know little more about
Lithuania's population and area.

85.00%

90.00%
80.00%

70.00%

80.00%

75.00%

70.00%

70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%

30.00%

30.00%

30.00%

25.00%
15.00%

20.00%

Correct
20.00%

10.00%
0.00%
How many
countries is
Lithuania
bordered by?

The longest
Three biggest
What is the
Lithuanian river: cities of Lithuania population of
are:
Lithuania?

Graph 3.6. Lithuanian Geography

56

How big is the

area of
Lithuania?

Incorrect

The next are the questions about history, geography and politics in Portugal.
By analyzing the answers given by the Romanian students, we can see that they
know the name of the Portuguesse capital and they are more familiar with the rivers
flowing in Portugal (45%) or what is the largest Portuguese colony (35%). To a lesser
extent the students know When was monarchy abolished in Portugal? (25%), The
HIGHEST mountain in continental Portugal (15%) or How is the Portuguese revolution
of 1974 known? (5%)

120.00%
100.00%
100.00%

95.00%

85.00%
75.00%

80.00%
65.00%

55.00%
45.00%

60.00%
35.00%

40.00%

25.00%
20.00%

Incorrect

15.00%
0.00%

5.00%

0.00%
The highest
mountain in
continental
Portugal is

Correct

Which
What is the
Portuguese capital city of
colony was
Portugal
the largest?

How is the
When was Which of the
Portuguese
monarchy
following
revolution of abolished in rivers does
1974 known? Portugal?
not flow in
Portugal?

Graph 3.7. Knowledge about history, geography and politics of Portugal

To the questions about the social and political environment in Portugal, the
Romanian students responded correctly to a lesser extent. Students have knowledge of
the universities in Portugal (30%) know that Cristiano Romaldo was born in Portugal
(35%). But few know that Portugal is a winner of the Nobel Prize for literature (25%) or
that the traditional Portuguese music is fado (15%). Instead our students do not know
anything about Portugal's main exports (0%).

57

120.00%
100.00%
100.00%
85.00%
80.00%

70.00%

75.00%
65.00%

60.00%
40.00%

30.00%

Correct

35.00%
25.00%

Incorrect
15.00%

20.00%
0.00%
0.00%

Which of the Identify the Where was the What are the What is the
following
Portuguese famous player main products
most
universities is Nobel Price of
Cristiano
exported by traditional type
in Portugal
literature Ronaldo born?
Portugal?
of music in
Portugal?
Graph 3.8.Knowledge about social /cultural aspects of Portugal

Being a country geographically closer to Romania, it seems that Romanian

students have more knowledge about the lifestyle and organization of Turkey. That is,
the Romanian students know very well which is the traditional food in Turkey (80%)
and they recognise the traditional monuments (90%).
In a lesser extent, the respondents know the alphabet used in Turkish writing
(5%), or the name of the national hero who was successful in the Turkish independence
war (20%). Although our students are children thay still do not really know the date
when the Children's Day is celebrated in Turkey (5%).

58

100.00%

95.00%

95.00%
90.00%

90.00%
80.00%

80.00%

80.00%
70.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
30.00%
20.00%

Correct
Incorrect

20.00%

20.00%
10.00%
10.00%

5.00%

5.00%

0.00%
Which
What is the Who is the Which date is Which image Which view
alphabet is most famous
famous
celebrated reminds you can belong to
used in
food in
Turkish
for
Turkey ?
Turkey?
Turkey?
Turkey? national hero, childrens
who
day in
succeded in
Turkey
the
Indepence
War?

Graph 3.9. National aspects of Turkey

To the questions about the history and geography, the Romanian students know
a lot of information about the political situation in Turkey (55%), the name the Turkish
capital city (95%), or about the sea that lies between Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey
(85%).
Students gave less correct answers to questions about the population in Turkey
(30%) and they do not know the names of any Turkish philosopher (5%).

59

100.00%
90.00%
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%

95.00%

95.00%

85.00%
70.00%
55.00%
45.00%
30.00%
Correct

15.00%
5.00%
What is the
Which option
current regime
may
in Turkey ?
approximately
tell us the
population of
Turkey?

What sea
borders the
countries
Turkey,
Bulgaria and
Romania

5.00%

Incorrect

What is the
Which one is
capital city of
the most
Turkey?
famous Turkish
philosopher?

Graph3.10. Turkish History and Geography

Conclusion:
We can say that the Romanian respondents have a pretty large knowledge about
the countries involved in the project (Turkey, Portugal, Lithuania and Romania) but in
general they are interested in finding out information about sport and music. They do
not know very much about History and Geography, with the exception, of course, about
Romanian History and Geography. To a big extent they are not interested in the political
and social situation of these countries but they know only those information that are
often presented at news on television programs or radio.

II.3.4.Turkey
As mentioned in the Project work, the partner schools decided to apply a
questioannaire which includes 50 questions in total. These questions were prepared by
the teams of the Project of each partner. The first nine questions are about common
knowledge about European union and the religious aspects of the countries involved.
The remained 41 questions are divided into four countries and are generally about the
culture, history, magazine, famous heroes, and the geography of the each country. The
questioonaire was applied to Turkish students in the 9th of March in 2016. Our students

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were from 9th, to 12th grades, so we also had a chance to observe the age factor in the
questionnaire;
Because Turkey is not a member of the union, our respondents had some
difficulties with the first nine quesiton, they know that their country is not involved in
the Union, so, this situtation makes them less eager about the political or social life in
the European Union.
This can be clearly seen with the results of the first nine question;

100
80
60
40
20
0
True
False

It is very obvious from the results that our respondents have a general
knowledge about the Geography of Europe and the flags but we can not conclude the
same success when the topic changes into the dates of the countries joining the E.U.
There are 11 questions about the history, culture, geography and national heroes
about Turkey and our respondents showed a great success on these questions. It can be
also seen with the stats;

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100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
True
False

The questions about history and geography are well-known by our respondents
but they had some difficulties while answering the monuments and the image questions,
and thats because our respondents are generally from the poor villages and they dont
have so many opportunities to travel around the country. We can see the same success
witthin the other countries , answering questions about their own country and this is
very normal.
As mentioned before , because Turkey is not a member of the European Union,
we can speak out a lack of knowledge and interest about any aspects of Romania.
Asking in the class about Romania, teacher can only get answers about a world-wide
known celebrity, and this sometimes can be a football player or a singer. So the results
about Romania are not so good, but when compared with the results of Lithuania and
Portugal, it is pretty satisfying. This can be because the geographical position of
Romania, that it is closer to our country than the other two. Also it might be possible to
think that the trade between Romania and Turkey, in the past, made Turkish people
more aware of the Romaian people and the culture.
So here are the results of Romanian questions answered by Turkish students;

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100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
True
False

We can conclude from the stats that the knowledge about Romania is not very
good but it is obvious that in some questions , our respondents made a great success.
The %85 of the respondents know the famous football player but on the other hand only
%5 of them know the famous gymnast Nadia Comaneci. Also our respondents did well
in the question of spoken language and the capital cty of Romania. %60 of the
respondents marked the right choice, but in the same time %95 of them do not know the
currency in the country. Also ,only %5 of our students know about the Romanian
Modern Revolution.
Being the furthest country , our students had a very positive image about the
Portuguese country and the people. Again, the results are not so great, but after the
Project our students became more eager to learn about the culture and the history of
Portugal.
Here are the results of Portuguese questions;

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100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
True
False

As we can infer from the stats that the geographical and historical knowledge of
Turkish students about Portual is limited. Only %5 of them knows the mountain in the
country. Also only %5 of them knows about the Portuguese Revolution and the
abolishment of Monarchy in the Portuguese country that obviously tells us the lack of
knowledge or interest about the history or the political situation in the country whereas
the rate of the question which asks the birth place of the world-wide known football
player Cristiano Ronaldo shows us the tendency of the respondents in a very positive
way. We can observe an avarage knowledge about the questions of literature and music.
% 40 of the respondents know the Nobel Priced novelist and % 60 of them know about
the most famous traditional music of Portugal.

Also the rate with the university

question is quite satisfying with % 45 true answers.

Compared with Romania and Portugal, the results of Lithuanian country shows
us that it is the least known country within our students. The geographical situtation
and the climate of the country may effect this also. In general , the rates of the
geographical questions are less than the rate of the historical and social or cultural
questions.
Below we can see the results;

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100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
True
False

As we can conclude from the stats that there is a lack of knowledge about the
country. %5 of the respondents know the Lithuanian bird, the university, the longest
river, and the Independence Day of the country, whereas nearly all of the respondents
know the most popular sport in the country. Also the rate of the question about the old
capital city of the country is quite high with %60 true answers. The rates of the
bordering countries and the area of Lithuania are between %25-%35.

Conclusion ;
In general the rates shows us that, the level of knowledge about history and
politics is lesser than the knowledge about the social life and entertainment area like
sports or music. The rates of the right answers concerning the National Heroes or the
most popular historical aspects of each country are again lesser than the geographical
questions, like the capital cities or the current regimes in these countries.
Compared with Lithuania and Portugal, our respondents showed more success
with the questions of Romania. As mentioned before this may be because the histories
and the trade cultures of these two countries. Also compared with Lithuania, Portgual is
the second known country by our respondents.
This chart shows the general rates of the countries;

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120
100
80
Positive

60

Negative
40
20
0
Romania

Portugal

Lithuania

Turkey

II.4. General conclusions about the Cultural Questionnaires

In general, the results point to a positive and elevated evaluation of the

geographic and historic knowledge of the students about their own country.
Summarising the results of the questionnaire we can state that respondents show the
best results about their own country, about national, cultural, ethnographic and other
aspects of their own country. However there is a lack of knowledge regarding the level
of identification of national monuments and the dominant religion in the different
countries of Europe.
As for the respondents answers about the other countries (Lithuania, Romania,
Turkey, Portugal) we can state that similar situation with the number of correct and
incorrect answers exists about all countries, but the level of knowledge about these
countries is rather various and unstable. So we can make a conclusion that there is lack
of information among students about the other countries participating in this project.

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