(RE)CONSTRUCTION OF THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN FUTURE TEACHERS’ VISIONS OF THEIR PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY

The article presents the results of a scientific research obtained after the phenomenological content analysis of future teachers’ visions of their professional activity. In future teachers’ visions of their professional activity the representations of the (re)construction of the educational experience are clearly observed. The informants of the research reflecting on their experience of learning at school and the vision of their professional pedagogical activity reveal the content of pedagogical activity and its transformations. The article analyses how the person’s relationship to significant “others” constructs the knowledge about the teacher’s role. The “sub-world” of the educational experience, that is experienced and internalized by future teachers during the period of their learning at school and (re)constructed during their pedagogical studies is, in fact, an integral reality. Thus the (re)construction of the previously internalized educational experience is revealed as the new content of the educational experience arises. The results of the research permit to state that future teachers in the processes of the (re)construction of the educational experience do not demonstrate a strong identification with the internalized content of pedagogical activity/educational experience during their learning at school. The problem question of the research – what content of the educational experience at school do future teachers reflect on and how is the (re)constructed educational experience reflected on or recognized in the visions of professional activity.

Kaimo teritorinės savivaldos seniūnų dalyvavimas mokyklų tinklo pertvarkos politikoje: tikslai, veiklos, sprendimų priėmimas

The article highlights strategies of rural local government heads’ involvement and participation in school network reorganization policy. Heads’ as participants’ roles (passive, active, indifferent) as well as nature and content of their decisions (administrative, strategic) is examined. On the basis of qualitative research the implementations on the nature of school network reorganization policy as well as on the importance of activity, delegated to local government heads in the processes of school network reorganization are formulated. The content of the “top to down” policy is disclosed; on the basis of its analysis, it is stated that centralized nature of decision making on closing of rural schools disparages not only the roles of local government heads as active participants in school network reorganization policy, but also narrows the functions of representation for local community, which primarily includes such groups as parents and children. The knowledge that has an impact on rural government heads’ competence is highlighted. This knowledge is significant in understanding the interconnection between closing of schools and human resource potential as well as with current situation in Lithuanian education system. On the basis of qualitative research data, the insufficient knowledge for local government heads in the activity of school network reorganization is revealed in such areas as: social informal education, pupils’ delivering. Rural government heads narrowly understand social problems of pupils and tend to identify them with pupils’ transportation service while opportunities of pupils’ participation in informal education (club activity) are not related with the quality of future pupils’ intelligence and developing of their social competence, especially in the area of pupils’ mobility (as horizontal as vertical).On the basis of conducted qualitative research conclusions on diminishing of rural local governments heads’ as direct participants’ , functions are formulated, because they are delegated by a higher level institution (Ministry of Education and Science; local Education Departments) to implement the adopted resolutions. This fact distorts the role of rural community in school network reorganization policy, because the main aim of the school network reorganization preparatory stage is the closure of rural schools because of the small number of students and pupils’ direction to reorganized schools, which are located quite far from places of residence. The situation stresses another significant role of local government heads, i.e. arrangements for appropriate pupils’ transportation. However, even in these processes, heads are not the main decision makers, because transport means (yellow school buses) depend on certain schools.Straipsnyje analizuojami kaimo teritorinės savivaldos seniūnų dalyvavimo mokyklų tinklo pertvarkos politikoje tikslai, veiklos, sprendimų priėmimo procesai (darbas grupėse, informacijos sisteminimas ir analizė, mokinių poreikių tenkinimo lygio nustatymas, informacijos sklaida kaimo bendruomenėje). Remiantis Lietuvos Respublikos švietimo ir mokslo ministerijos dokumentais, reglamentuojančiais mokyklų tinklo pertvarkos procesą, pagrindžiamas kaimo seniūnų, kaip dalyvaujančiųjų politikoje funkcijos, kompetentingumas priimant sprendimus pasirengiamajame mokyklų tinklo pertvarkos procese. Atlikto kokybinio tyrimo pagrindu formuluojamos išvados dėl kaimo seniūnų, kaip tiesioginių politikos dalyvių, sprendžiamųjų funkcijų menkinimo, nes jie privalo vykdyti tik aukštesnio lygio institucijų (Švietimo ir mokslo ministerijos, rajono tarybų švietimo skyrių) priimtus nutarimus. Tai iškraipo kaimo bendruomenės vaidmenį mokyklų tinklo pertvarkos politikoje, nes aktyvi seniūnų veikla leistų jiems atstovauti bendruomenės interesams. Pagrindinis tikslas pasirengiamajame mokyklų tinklo pertvarkos etape buvo kaimo mokyklų uždarymas dėl mažo mokinių skaičiaus ir mokinių perkėlimas mokytis į pertvarkytas mokyklas, kurios kartais yra gana nutolusios nuo mokinių gyvenamosios vietos. Šioje situacijoje tampa svarbus ir kitas seniūnų vaidmuo, o būtent – mokinių pavėžėjimo organizavimas. Tačiau ir šiuose procesuose seniūnai nėra pagrindiniai sprendėjai, nes transportas (geltonieji autobusiukai) priklauso konkrečioms mokykloms, todėl seniūnams skiriamos ir tarpininkavimo funkcijos

Conditions for spread of children's computer culture in the home setting : the importance of a computer for a child and his involvement in computer-based activities

Kompiuteris informacinės visuomenės sklaidos sąlygomis identifikuojamas ne tik kaip darbo įrankis, bet ir kaip laisvalaikio, bendravimo priemonė, namų aplinkos dalis, keičianti žmonių veiklos bei tradicinio gyvenimo būdą. Vaikai reprezentuojami kaip aktyvūs šios visuomenės dalyviai, įsijungiantys ne tik įjos kūrimą bet ir į pažinimą. Ypatingas dėmesys skiriamas vaikų kompiuterinės kultūros integracijai į visuomenės bendrąją kultūrą ne tik dialogo, bet ir socialinio konflikto (vaikai - suaugusieji) būdu. Straipsnyje pabrėžiama, kad šią kultūrą suaugusieji (dėl jos naujoviškumo bei tradicinio pobūdžio) atmeta kaip savaime neturinčią socialinės, edukacinės vertės. Tyrimo tikslas - empiriškai ištirti tėvų reprezentacijų turinį dėl vaikų kompiuterinės kultūros sklaidos sąlygų namų aplinkoje. Tėvų reprezentacijų turinys dėl vaikų kompiuterinės kultūros sklaidos sąlygų namų aplinkoje ištirtas taikant kokybinio tyrimo paradigmą. Kiekybinio tyrimo taikymas grindžiamas supratimu, jog išorės veiksniai lemia vaikų kultūrą ir turi įtakos jų kompiuterinės kultūros diskurso turiniui, jo sklaidai, todėl svarbu nustatyti, kurie iš jų labiausiai l š ryškėjo ir kokia kiekvieno iš jų statistinė reikšmė. Empirinio tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė, kad tėvams būdinga nuomonė, jog naudojimasis kompiuteriu vaikams peikia naujų galimybių visapusiškai tobulėti (73,9 proc), todėl šią technologinę priemonę tėvai suvokia kaip būtiną tuolaikinių vaikų kasdieninės veiklos dalį (67,8 proc). Be to, tėvai pripažįsta vaikų priklausomybės nuo kompiuterio egzistavimą kurią lemia besaikis vaikų naudojimasis kompiuteriu (90,1 proc), aplinkinių dėmesio stoka vaikui (60,2 proc ) bei bendravimo su draugais problemos (49,4 proc). Taip pat tėvai mano, kad draudimai nėra efektyviausias būdas siekiant išvengti vaikų priklausomybės nuo kompiuterio (45,7 proc), o besaikio vaikų naudojimosi juo prevencija galima įdominus vaikus alternatyvia veikla (91,1 proc.) bei mokant saugiai naudotis. Empirinio tyrimo rezultatai reikšmingi pedagogams, švietimo reformų strategams, mokslininkams, kurie, identifikuodami šiuolaikinės vaikų kompiuterinės kultūros prasmes, gali atrasti naujų vaikų kompiuterinės kultūros u8dymo(-si) idėjų ir kurti sąlygas, palaikančias šią kultūrą, kaip informacinės visuomenės fenomeną kuriam būdingas edukacinis kontekstas.With the development of an information society, a computer is identified not only as a work tool but also a mean5 for leisure, communication, a part of the home setting changing the way of people's activities and traditional life style- Children are represented as active members of this society who participate not only in its creation, but also in learning about it. The paper particularly focuses on integration of children's computer culture into general culture of society not only through dialogue, but also through social conflict (children-adults). The paper emphasizes that adults reject this culture (because of its novelty and non-traditional character) as having no social and educational value per se. The aim of the research is to empirically study the content of parents' representations about the conditions for spread of children's computer culture in the home setting. The content of parents' representations about the conditions for spread of children's computer culture in the home setting was examined by applying a quantitative research paradigm. The application of quantitative research is base on understanding that external factors determine children's culture and influence the content of their computer cultur6 discourse, its spread, therefore it is important to find out which ones became the most apparent and what statistic significance of each of them is. Results of empirical research revealed that parents are often of opinion that computer usage provides children with new opportunities to fully improve (73.9%), therefore parents understand this technological means as an integral part of daily activities of modem children (67.8%). Furthermore, parents admit the existence of children's addiction to computer, which is the result of children's excessive use of computer (90.1%), lack of attention to the child from people around (60.2%) and problems in contacts with friends (49.4%). Parents also think that bans are not the most effective way to evade children's addiction to computer (45.7%), and prevention of children's excessive use of it is possible by making children interested in alternative activities (91.1%) and teaching him to use it safely. The results of the empirical research are significant for educators, education reform policy makers, research^ who, when identifying the implications of children's modem computer culture, can find new ideas for the development0 children's computer culture and establish conditions supporting this culture as a phenomenon of an information society' its specific feature being an educational context

Pre-school education pedagogues’ professional (self-)development in the context of strategic planning of institutional activities

Article deals with problems of preschool education pedagogues’ professional (self-)development. The article presents the results of the empirical research and their analysis, disclosing the internal and external potential of pre-school education pedagogues’ professional (self-)development, identified in the context of strategic planning of activities of the educational institution. Based on the matrix of data categories of the qualitative research, advantages, shortcomings and possibilities of pre-school education pedagogues’ professional (self-)development are presented

Causes and effects of children's violence in the school setting (representations of children's experiences)

In dealing with school-related violence, complex and coordinated activities of various support services, oriented towards the measures of violence prevention and support for victims, are necessary. Violence prevention and control proems have to be developed at schools; their implementation should involve partnering of the school community: educators - school administration, a psychologist, a social worker, parents and children themselves. Therefore it is important to identify how children perceive the situation in their school setting in general, how they represent violence at school and whether they are willing to participate in its prevention. The results of the empirical research have showed that children's violence at school is conditioned (in a broader sense) by violence incidents experienced in childhood and being a witness of a violence incident. A feeling of jealousy has been identified as one of the main causes of children's violence at school; it is related to a special status of a child in the school setting and peer relations. Furthermore another cause of violence at school, as identified in the representations of children's experiences, is lack of tolerance towards disadvantaged children: academically (high or low academic performance), socially (otherness or no friends) and physically (being weaker than others). Lack of self-confidence, evidenced by a child's poor self-identification and academic failure, has been identified as a strong effect of school violence in the representations of children's experiences. There the context of a child's negate feelings (frustration, anger, helplessness, etc.) and experiences (humiliation, inability to concentrate, alienation, etc.) has become evident

Empirical research on contexts of manifestation of support provided by children day care centres for children from social risk families

Straipsnyje, remiantis vaikų patirties reprezentacijomis, nagrinėjama vaikų dienos centrų (toliau - VDC ) teikiamos pagalbos socialinės rizikos šeimų vaikams raiškos kontekstai (edukacinis, sociokultūrinis ir materialinis). Atskleidžiama, kaip šių raiškos kontekstų empiriniam tyrimui yra taikoma kokybinio tyrimo metodologija. Nurodomas VDC pagalbos kontekstų turinys, analizuojamos jo prasmės, atskleidžiančios pagalbos socialinės rizikos šeimų vaikams svarbumą jų socialinei kultūrinei raidai ir visavertei socializacijai bei individualizacijai.Based on representations of children's experience, the article analyses contexts (educational, sociocultural and material) of manifestation of support provided by Children Day Care Centres (further referred to as CDCCs) for children from social risk families. It is disclosed how qualitative research methodology is applied for empirical research of these manifestation contexts. The article indicates the content of contexts of support provided by CDCCs, analyses its meanings, which disclose the importance of support for children from social risk families for their sociocultural development and full-rate socialisation and individualisation

Conditions and opportunities of workplace teaching/learning of teachers of preschool education institutions (the case of Lithuania)

The problem of learning in the workplace related to the activity of the Lithuanian educational (especially preschool) institutions today is the part of the culture of school activity that is still not sufficiently being actualized. A preschool education institution is the field of the research. Conducting the research on PTs’ experiences of teaching/ learning in the workplace, a qualitative research strategy was applied using the method of the group interview (i.e. focus group). Eighteen teachers of preschool education institutions participated in the research. The article presents the results of the empirical research that describe the conditions and opportunities of workplace teaching/learning of the teachers of a preschool educational institution and highlights the essential interferences to such teaching/learning. A qualitative method of content analysis was used for the analysis of the research data

Adaptation peculiarities of early age children to a preschool education institution (a case study of Kaunas city)

Adaptacija ikimokyklinio ugdymo įstaigoje sudėtingas ir neramus procesas. Vaikas įpratęs laiką leisti su tėvais, būti jų prižiūrimas, todėl šis išsiskyrimas jam labai skausmingas. Ankstyvajame amžiuje vaikui rekomenduojama būti su mama, tačiau dažnai dėl susiklosčiusių aplinkybių nusprendžiama vaiką leisti į ikimokyklinę ugdymo įstaigą. Tėvai šiam procesui ruošiasi iš anksto, o pradėję leisti vaiką į ugdymo įstaigą privalo dirbti kartu su pedagogais. Niekam ne paslaptis, kad rasti laiko kokybiškam ir sėkmingam bendradarbiavimui darosi vis sunkiau. Nepaisant to, tiek tėvai, tiek ugdymo įstaiga turi suprasti, kad juos vienija tas pats tikslas – sėkmingas tolesnis vaiko ugdymas(is). Tyrimo probleminis klausimas – kokie ankstyvojo amžiaus vaikų (iki 3 metų) adaptacijos ikimokyklinio ugdymo įstaigoje ypatumai? Atlikto tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė, kad esminiai ankstyvojo amžiaus vaikų sėkmingos adaptacijos ikimokyklinio ugdymo įstaigoje ypatumai yra šie: nuolatinis keitimasis informacija (tėvai–pedagogai) apie vaiko savijautą; susitarimai dėl adaptaciją lengvinančių priemonių taikymo namuose ir ugdymo institucijoje, taip užtikrinant ugdomųjų veiksmų tęstinumą (grupės aplinka–namų aplinka); periodiniai pedagogų ir tėvų susitikimai adaptacijos klausimams aptarti; abipusis (tėvai–pedagogai) pasitikėjimas ir pagalba.Adaptation of a child to a preschool education institution is a difficult and troublesome process especially after his experience with parental care. Mother care is advisable for early age children but, due circumstances, parents often decide to enroll a child in a preschool education institution. Parents should prepare for that in advance and later collaborate with teachers. It is no a secret that it is difficult to find time for quality and successful partnership. Nevertheless, both, parents and the education institution, need to understand that they have a common goal - continuous and successful child education. The research results revealed the essential peculiarities of successful adaptation of early age children to a preschool education institution: regular parent-teacher exchange of information about the child‘s well-being, adaptation actions to be used at home and in the education institution seeking to ensure the continuity of educational activities in institutional settings and at home, periodic teacher-parent meetings to discuss adaptation issues, trust between parents and teachers and mutual support