Darbingo amžiaus asmenų tęstinio mokymo(si) veiklos ypatumai

The article analyses the essential qualities of learning activities of a present-day person. On the basis of the findings of the research, the article shows that persons of working age learn insufficiently and their learning is often constrained by their age. A frequent obstacle for learning appears to be persons’ inaptitude to organize their activity as well as a lack of funds and will

Evoliution of pupil's sensitive behaviour from primary school towards adolescense

The article discusses results of longitudinal research that lasted for three years and aimed to demonstrate how sensitive behaviour changes from the point of view of children, their teachers and independent observers passing from primary school age to adolescence. Methods of scientific literature analysis of educational documents, pupils’ surveys, questionnaires for their teachers and observational methods, as well as analysis of statistical data were applied. A comparison of a child’s and a teacher’s definition of sensitive behaviour revealed different opinions. Children consider their sensitive behaviour a bit better than adults do (hearing out, patronising, cheering). As far as comfort and help, pupils view their conduct even more strictly than the teachers

Opportunities of Continuing Adult Education

After becoming the member state of the European Union, Lithuania undertook all the obligations of a member state. One of them is the implementation of The Lisbon Strategy aiming at the worlds most dynamic and competitive knowledge– based economy by 2010. Under the strategy, a stronger economy will drive job creation, sustainable development, and social inclusion. These changes demand the modernisation of education systems in the E U states, Lithuania among them. To achieve this objective, political forces came to an agreement on the future of Lithuanian education. In 2003 The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania approved of National Education Strategy 2003–2012. This strategy is special not only because it is based on the experiences of the reform, addresses current and future world’s challenges and opportunities, maintains links with other strategic national reforms, but also emphasises efforts to ensure quality lifelong education for Lithuanian population and striving to become a partner in modern knowledge-based economy. Therefore, an extensive discussion on lifelong education strategies on individual and institution levels in all spheres of social and personal life has started in the E U and Lithuania. Nowadays lifelong learning is not just one aspect of education and training; it gradually is becoming the most important principle in the continuum of complex learning contexts. Such vision must be implemented this decade. The object of the research: the preconditions for the development of continuing adult education. The aim of the research: to examine the peculiarities of the preconditions for the development of continuing adult education in Pakruojis region. The methods of the research: analysis of references and documents on education; an anonymous survey in written form (a questionnaire); statistical analysis of data. The sample. The research was conducted in Pakruojis region in January-April, 2006. 300 respondents of different age, educational background, gender, and social status were surveyed. One of the major preconditions for the development of continuing adult education is the individual’s motivation to learn. It was ascertained that about three quarters (76 % ) of the respondents have learnt recently, the rest have not. The major factors that determine adults’ learning are increasing requirements in labour market, a need for self-development, expanding horizons and striving to gain more knowledge, have better career opportunities, consequently, improve welfare. The factors having least influence on adults’ learning are the opportunity of the transition to a new career and the possibility to interrelate with new people. It is important to analyse the reasons why adults do not learn. The most common reasons that prevent them from studies are as follows (in priority order): the lack of funds, it is difficult to combine work and studies, it is too late to learn, and it is difficult to combine studies and family matters. Hence, the reasons restricting the opportunities of continuing adult education are closely related to the research data. The respondents indicate the lack of funds for studies. This reflects the same funding problem that institutions organising and conducting adult education face. Therefore, financial possibilities in adult education are a sore problem not only to individuals, but to various organizations and the state as well. The respondents’ claim that it is difficult to combine work and studies reveals that employers are not concerned to encourage and organise employees’ learning; in the circumstances, such career givers’ policy is harmful both to employees and their education, and employers themselves as the quality of human resources comprises staff education, competences, skills, etc. The argument that it is too late to learn is rather abstract. It shows that people are not innovative; they are not interested in new developments and are rather indifferent to changing life. Presumably, this reason is influenced by fairly difficult social life conditions in towns, small towns, and villages. The answers to the question how often respondents have taken in-service training courses during the last five years are very different and reflect the same, not positive tendencies. The respondents usually gain higher qualifications in Training Centres and workplaces because there those, who are involved in in-service training, have an opportunity to improve their competencies several times a year. What study programs do respondents usually choose? The most popular ones among adults are computer literacy courses, and then follow professional development and foreign language courses; some respondents seek for managerial skills. The most efficient way to disseminate information on in-service events is to spread it via the Internet and offices, whereas, local press and e-mail turned out to be less effective placements. The need to change style, methods, ways, and forms of work is influenced by competitive labour market and the need for self-development. The wish to work in some other way or follow the colleagues’ experience (which might be inner development factors) and the directions of the administration have less influence on the change of employees’ work style. The research attempts to reveal the problems which are urgent to the whole Lithuanian adult education system. The major problem is the same as in institution-level activities - the lack of funds and funding. The respondents claim that because of the lack of funds on the one hand, teaching/learning technical materials and curriculum are on the lower level, on the other hand, potential learners can not afford to study. The absence of coherent adult education policy is rather often mentioned. The respondents indicate that they miss the coordinated system, coherence, financially reasonable posing and implementing of objectives in order “not to make learning only a learner’s business” as one respondent claimed. Experts approve of such an opinion e. g.:“ there is lack of interaction on state-level initiatives: there is no common data base on activities, projects, etc.” Another very important group of problems is related to subjective factors of adult education: the dissemination of the idea of adult education and promoting the culture of adult education. Half of the respondents indicated that officials lack understanding about the importance of adult education. Even more of them indicated employers’ unwillingness to develop employees’ qualifications and adults’ lack of motivation to learn as reasonable factors. The motivation level in the country is low: the data of the inhabitant survey revealed that one-third of the total would like to learn and only one-fourth of those who do not study or have not studied recently would like to do it. Employers’ attitude is an important factor especially in the situation when there is neither standardised acknowledgement system of even formal education certificates nor the system of requirements for qualifications in various fields, which would enable employers encourage and evaluate employers’ qualifications regardless their subjective opinion. Employers’ attitudes determine adult education opportunities especially in private sector. The data of the inhabitant survey proved employers’ low interest in promoting employees’ in-service training: a motive “an employer encourages” was indicated only by 16 percent of those who learn and 6 percent of those who do not learn, but would like to

Opportunities of continuing adult education

Today lifelong learning is not just one of the education and teaching aspects anymore; it has consistently become the most important principle. Continuing education of adults is not sufficiently developed in Lithuania, as compared to the EU average. This statement has been recently grounded by a number of facts and tendencies: the qualifications hold by a large share of population do not meet the requirements of the labour market or people lack formal qualifications; the development of the vocational training system is not focused enough, as compared to the developed EU Member States; a small share of adults take part in continuing learning programmes; furthermore, establishment in the labour market is impeded by the lack of recognition of non-formal and informal learning, etc. This shows that the development of continuing adult learning possibilities is definitely an important condition for the advancement of the state, organisations and individuals. Seeking to explore the peculiarities of preconditions for the development of continuing adult learning possibilities, a research was carried out in Pakruojis District. The research shows that people of prime working age are motivated to learn by the ever increasing requirements of the labour market; however, this motivation is interrupted by lack of finance and time. Most often people improve their qualifications in the centres that are closest to their place of residence or in their workplaces. They improve their foreign language skills, computer literacy and management competencies. The need to improve and competition in the labour market are also the stimuli for changing the working style. It is most advisable to announce the information about organised courses on the Internet or at workplaces

Gabaus mokinio identifikavimas pradinėje mokykloje

This article presents the theoretical studies of identification of gifted children and research data on primary school children abilities. The article also shows that during the identification process it is necessary to take into consideration not only their positive qualities but also the difficulties they face. It is not enough to take into account their achievements: testing should be complex. In Lithuania 99 types of intellect of the third form pupils were revealed. It is shown how many gifted pupils were identified in the tested classes

Cognitive and emotional aspects of the preparedness pf persons of working age to continue learning

Straipsnyje analizuojamas tyrimas, kurio metu išsiaiškintas darbingo amžiaus žmonių mokymosi visą gyvenimą svarbos supratimas ir būtinybės išmokti mokytis įsisąmoninimas (kognityvinis aspektas), taip pat mokymosi aktualumas jiems patiems bei pasitenkinimas mokymosi procesu (emocinis aspektas). Pateikiama šių duomenų analizė, atsižvelgiant į išsilavinimą, amžių bei darbo stažą.The article analyses the research findings which show the perception of the importance of life-long learning of persons of working age and the awareness of the need to learn studying (cognitive aspect) as well as relevance of learning to these persons and satisfaction with the process of learning (emotional aspect). The article introduces the analysis of these data taking into consideration the said persons’ educational background, age and working experience

Problems and prospects of the adult teaching (learning) abroad and in Lithuania

Mokytojo, kaip mokymo(si) proceso organizatoriaus, kompetencijų tyrimas buvo atliekamas netiesiogiai, atliekant penktos klasės mokinių adaptacijos pagrindinio ugdymo etape situacijos tyrimą ir identifikuojant adaptacijos procese kylančias problemas. Duomenų kokybinės analizės pagrindu buvo daromos prielaidos apie mokytojo, kaip mokymo(si) proceso organizatoriaus, kompetencijų būklę ir raišką. Mokytojo, kaip mokymo(si) proceso organizatoriaus, kompetencijų tyrimas parodė, kad aktualios šioje situacijoje yra tiek bendrosios didaktinės (mokymo mokytis, savarankiško darbo organizavimo, mokymo(si) proceso vadybos ir kt.), tiek ir asmeninės mokytojo kompetencijos bei vertybinės nuostatos, atitinkančios humanistinės psichologijos ir pedagogikos principus.Research into competences of the teacher as the organiser of the educational process was carried out indirectly, through the survey of the situation with adaptation of the fifth-graders at the stage of general education and identification of problems arising in the process of adaptation. Qualitative data analysis led to assumptions about the condition and manifestations of competences of the teacher as the organiser of the educational process. The survey of competences of the teacher as the organiser of the educational process has shown that what matters in this situation is both general didactic competences and values (teaching to learn, independent work organisation, educational process management, etc.) and personal competences and values of the teacher matching the principles of humanistic psychology and pedagogics

Some Aspects of Lithuanian Adults’ Readiness for Continuous Education

Mokymasis visą gyvenimą – svarbiausias principas dalyvaujant pilname mokymosi kontekstų kontinuume, o ne vienas švietimo ir mokymo aspektų. Per šį dešimtmetį tokia vizija privalo būti įgyvendinta. Tokia nuostata suformuluota „Mokymosi visą gyvenimą memorandume“. Ji nubrėžta atsižvelgiant į tai, kad Lietuva, būdama Europos valstybė, turi ne tik įsijungti į šio kontinento mokslo bei technikos erdvę, bet ir ją plėtoti. Tuo tikslu mūsų šalis, kaip ir kitos Europos valstybės, turi įžengti į žinių visuomenės erą. O šis žingsnis įmanomas tik tada, kai bus palankios vidinės ir išorinės prielaidos tęsti mokymąsi visą žmogaus gyvenimą. Anot P. Jarvio, tyrinėjusio mokymosi procesus, šiuo metu nuolat mokantis prisiminimai tampa asmens savasties raidos pamatu (P. Jarvis, 2001). Tam, kad žmogus mokytųsi, reikia tinkamų vidinių ir išorinių sąlygų. Tačiau tyrimų, plačiau analizuojančių šias sąlygas, nėra daug. Tiesa, D. Beresnevičienės (2000) tyrimai įrodė, jog be vidinio poreikio mokytis, neįmanoma pati nuolatinio mokymosi sistema, nes tokiu atveju žmogus bus autoritariškai verčiamas mokytis. Toks mokymasis taptų beprasmiškas. Siekiant šias vidines prielaidas valdyti, pirmiausia būtina jas atskleisti. Straipsnio tikslas – atskleisti darbingo amžiaus asmenų parengties mokytis visą gyvenimą kai kuriuos emocinio ir kognityvinio lygmens ypatumus. Tyrimo metodai: dokumentų ir pedagoginės bei psichologinės literatūros analizė; tiriamųjų apklausa raštu (anketa), faktorinė, koreliacinė, skirstinių ir grafinė duomenų analizė.The article deals with results of the survey on employable age adults’ understanding of life-long learning relevance and acquisition of the necessary learning skills (cognitive aspect); the relevance of learning for oneself and getting satisfaction from learning (emotional aspect). Data analysis is carried out while taking into account the educational background, age, and seniority factors. Life-long learning is the main principle in the continuum of complex learning contexts, but not just as one aspect of educational and training. This principle was stated in The Memorandum of Lifelong Learning. Our country together with other EU countries has to enter the era of knowledge-based society. According to P. Jarvis (2001), a researcher of learning process, at present, when a person is continuously learning, recollections become the basics of a person’s self-development. In order to facilitate one’s learning, appropriate inner and outer conditions have to be created. However, surveys on learning conditions are not numerous; D. Beresnevičienė’s research (2000) proved that lifelong learning system itself is not possible without inner demand for learning. Otherwise, a person is pressed to learn, and learning becomes senseless. In order to manage those inner preconditions, it is necessary to reveal them. The aim of the research was to indicate the peculiarities of continuous learning cognitive and emotional level and some factors, which influence them. The aim if the article was to reveal some peculiarities of employable age people’s readiness for lifelong learning cognitive and emotional levels. The methods of the research: analysis of documents and literature on pedagogy and psychology; a survey; factorial, correlative analysis

A Teacher's role in the formation of children's sensitive behaviour

The article, basing on the analysis of Lithuania education documents, philosophers of the past and present, works by psychologists and educators, reveals that sensitivity at present and in the past was and is an important criterion of a person‘s morality and spirituality. It proves that sensitivity in primary school is an urgent issue and there is a motivated necessity to investigate educators‘ influence on sensitivity development from primary school age to adolescence. The longitude research results by the experts, surveyed educators and children show that not only the child‘s behaviour changes in the course of years (children become more sensitive, the behaviour of boys and girls becomes similar in this aspect), but some aspects of the pedagogical approach change as well. It has been ascertained that non-traditional methods used in a lesson have less influence on pupils‘ sensitivity. The behaviour of a sensitive child depends on the teacher‘s qualifications, seniority, and the style of interaction