The Development of Higher Education Establishment Autonomy in Latvia

The events, which were highly important for Latvian higher education development, were happened in the 1st part of 2011, incl. discussions about higher education establishment (university) autonomy frames and content. According to the national legislation and higher education establishment statuses, autonomy is mostly centred to the “inside” of the higher education establishment, bringing in “outside” duties to respect and comply with state regulation and standards etc. The analysis of current situation in Latvian higher education shows, that there are four models of autonomy, which have differences in legal regulation, management and daily practise. Also the targets of the founders, the priorities of educational activities are different and exactly influence educational relations, content of studies, study requirements, students, staff and administration duties and rights. In this context, discussions about the founder’s rights to supervise higher education establishment work and harmonization of society-statehigher education establishment still are opened for adjustment

RELATIONS BETWEEN STATE AND RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS IN INTERNATIONAL AND EUROPEAN LEGAL ACTS

Religion is one of the most important social regulators influencing the relations in the society and the choice (action) of an individual in the concrete situation, sacralize definite behaviour and standards, or quite vice versa – disavow them (sin), regulate the relations among people and the relations between human and the highest power (God), in separate cases allowing to overcome legal and ethical dilemmas, to act or refrain from action. Each religion exists in a definite community (society), therefore, the religious norms affect the life of community members and thus also the state, culture, and rights. Nowadays the impact of rights on religion, religious organizations as communities of believing persons, their organization, administration and activity is impossible to deny. This study is an attempt to offer a review on the regulation of the relations betweens state and religious organizations in international and European legal acts. Analysis of the legal aspects of the relations between state and religious organizations allow the conclusion that the freedom of religion has a fundamental basis which today determines the relations/attitude of the state with/to religion and religious organizations. The principle of freedom of religion as an integral part of human rights is respected and implemented in states where the church is fully or partly separated (segregated) from the state as well as in states where there is state church. This principle has been acknowledged also by the European Union and the European Council leaving the implementation details to the Member States themselves. The principle of freedom of religion comprises two principal aspects: person’s individual choice to not/belong to some religion and to not/participate in religious activities, and state’s responsibility is to respect, within the framework of the law, the freedom of activities of religious organizations. Implementation of the principle of freedom of religion is burdened by manifold interpretation of the notions “religion” and “belief”; by the necessity to consider this principle commensurate with other human rights and freedoms; by the vagueness of the limits of this principle. In this context, the practice of the European Court of Human Rights is essential, in interpreting correspondingly the principle of freedom of religion provided for in Article 9 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, particularizing the understanding of this principle in the relations between the state and religious organizations. Present-day practice, at least in the public sphere, facilitate a tolerant attitude and observance of the specific character of religious belonging in various social relations (work, contacts with state administration, military service) etc. Nevertheless, disregarding several implementation problems of the principle of freedom of religion, equality should be observed in the relations between the state and religious organizations, establishing precise limits of cooperation and supervision, which is a precondition for the existence of a legal secular state

DESIGN AND LICENSING TRENDS OF THE GENERAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS IN LATVIA

The general education program designing and licensing trends in Latvia in the period from 2010 to 2014 are analyzed in the article. Based on the general education program licensing data, it found that there isn’t a trend to license author’s program in primary education, while the secondary level of education author's programs are designed and licensed more often. The fact that primary education is more licensed programs in mathematics, science and technology, but in general secondary education – the humanitarian and social direction of the program suggest a possible gap in primary and secondary education. At the same time it found that a quarter of all licensed educational programs is not implemented, which could be result of socio-economic and political change in society

Pirmais psihologu profesionālās darbības regulējumam veltītais izdevums latviešu valodā

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SOCIAL EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS: PROFESSIONAL CHALLENGES OF THE POLICE OFFICER IN A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

In every profession, where basic activities are carried out in direct interaction with people, often solving diverse problem situations and providing assistance to victims, cooperating with representatives of different cultures, not only professional knowledge and skills are important, but also interpersonal cooperation and emotional skills. The aforementioned raises the issue of socio-emotional competence, which directly interacts with the professional ethics of a police officer, so that it is possible to effectively perform official duties and overcome personal and professional challenges, including in the context of a multicultural society. The purpose of the article is to describe important aspects of the interaction between the socio-emotional competence and professional ethics of a police officer, providing proposals for their promotion in professional everyday life, which would allow the police officer to overcome personal and professional challenges while performing official duties in a multicultural society. The research uses the analysis of documents and scientific literature, methods of interpretation of legal norms (historical method; teleological method; grammatical method; systemic method), analyzing regulatory acts, as well as induction and deduction methods, drawing conclusions and making proposals for the improvement of regulatory acts and police service practice.

Academic integrity in education in the context of sustainable development of society

t is beyond argument that education is a cornerstone of the sustainable development of any society and state. The more educated society and its individual members are, the more capable the state and its economy and security and technology systems are of giving a targeted response to challenges of today’s world. However, education should not be seen as an end in itself. Certain quality requirements and standards should be respected in the educational process, one of them being academic integrity. Academic misconduct is firmly condemned both at educational institutions and in society, and occasionally the lawfulness of acquired education may be questioned. This kind of misconduct represents a phenomenon leading to several threats, and it can be interpreted as an intellectual property theft, which compromises the quality of education, thereby reducing a state’s capacity for development, and undermines confidence in educational institutions and persons who have committed misconduct, adversely affecting society in general. It should be emphasised that, if ignored, academicmisconduct facilitates legal nihilism in the long term. Therefore, one of priorities in education should be associated with solidifying academic integrity as a component of sustainable development. In the light of the above, this article analyses the understanding of academic integrity and how students can be punished for academic misconduct in the context of sustainable development, for which purpose internal regulations of major higher education institutions of the Republic of Latvia have been examinedpublishersversionPeer reviewe

INTERDISCIPLINARY DOCTORAL STUDIES AS A NEW EDUCATIONAL AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY IN LATVIA

Doctoral studies are the first stage of an academic career, which applies to both the academic doctoral study programme and the professional doctoral programme. Over the past two decades, the role and tasks of doctoral studies have changed dramatically, especially in Europe. Doctoral studies have become an important link between the European Higher Education Area and the European Research Area and its main task is to provide those with doctoral degrees with the best qualifications for the creation, implementation and diffusion of new knowledge and innovations. Interdisciplinarity is trending. Nowadays scientists, researchers, professionals face up with the global problems. This global problem usually is unsolvable and complex by individual fields of science. Therefore, interdisciplinarity is vital in educational process as well as n science. Interdisciplinary approach in thus field is challenging tasks for researchers and persons involved in educational process. Nevertheless, if Doctoral Programme is designed based on Interdisciplinarity, doctoral level studies in areas that cannot be accommodated in one of the departmental doctoral programs, could give broader and more unique research results. Interdisciplinary approach on doctoral level programme helps as well meet the individually designed interests or researcher. Bridging many disciplines together there is possible to provide novel and significant researches

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICSPROFESSIONAL CHALLENGES OF THE POLICE OFFICER IN A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY

In every profession, where basic activities are carried out in direct interaction with people, often solving diverse problem situations and providing assistance to victims, cooperating with representatives of different cultures, not only professional knowledge and skills are important, but also interpersonal cooperation and emotional skills. The aforementioned raises the issue of socio-emotional competence, which directly interacts with the professional ethics of a police officer, so that it is possible to effectively perform official duties and overcome personal and professional challenges, including in the context of a multicultural society. The purpose of the article is to describe important aspects of the interaction between the socio-emotional competence and professional ethics of a police officer, providing proposals for their promotion in professional everyday life, which would allow the police officer to overcome personal and professional challenges while performing official duties in a multicultural society. The research uses the analysis of documents and scientific literature, methods of interpretation of legal norms (historical method; teleological method; grammatical method; systemic method), analyzing regulatory acts, as well as induction and deduction methods, drawing conclusions and making proposals for the improvement of regulatory acts and police service practice.Peer reviewe

Is the Repeat a Year Practice Effective in Latvian Basic Education?

Each country has pupils, who are not able to meet certain educational requirements (according, their health, behavior, social or other problems). One of the solutions of these problems is the repeat a year. The number of pupils remaining for the second year at the same grade in Latvia is 1% of total number of pupils. However, in Latvia have not been taken researches of the repeat a year on basic education, its causes and the activities of educational institutions. Therefore, it is not clear whether the repeat a year is effective in Latvia? The article presents the results of a comprehensive repeat a year survey, conducted in 2016, covering 70 Latvian educational institutions that implement basic education programs. The purpose of the research is to determine the causes of repeat a year phenomenon and the activities of educational institutions to prevent it in basic education in Latvia, ascertaining whether the repeat a year is effective in solving learning and behavioral problems of pupils. Methods of research – questionnaires and interviews with directors of educational institutions and other responsible persons (vice-directors of educational institutions, support staff – social pedagogues, speech therapists, etc.), who daily work with pupils remaining for the second year at the same grade. The survey has made it clear that the repeat a year is effective if the educational institution identifies its possible causes as quickly as possible and implements targeted and planned activities to prevent and implement it (including involving municipality and other specialists), as well as the interest of the pupil and their parents is cooperation in solving problems.publishersversionPeer reviewe