EDUCATION AS A TOOL FOR TRANSITION TO MOTHERHOOD: A DEMOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Modern societies are facing major demographic challenges. Improving the quality of life, women's empowerment, the access to education, medical services and contraceptives methods, the postponement of marriage, migration, are just a few of the issues that influence reproductive behavior. As official statistics show, fertility rates have declined considerably over the past decades, generating - especially in more developed countries – numbers below replacement rates. This reality is also specific for Romania, especially since the 1990s, when fertility rates have declined significantly. However, the recovery of these figures is not a short-term process: besides socio-economic interventions, it is necessary to change attitudes regarding the family size. The purpose of this article is to analyze the relationship between the level of education of women and fertility rates in Romania, based on a descriptive analysis of the data obtained in the last censuses of the population (2002 and 2011). At the same time, the article proposes to bring to attention a series of theoretical approaches on the relation between education and the family dimension, as well as a series of general data on the evolution of fertility at international, European and national level.