IKIMOKYKLINĖS UGDYMO ĮSTAIGOS LAUKO UGDOMOSIOS APLINKOS TOBULINIMO MODELIAVIMAS TĖVŲ REFLEKSYVIOJO VAIKŲ PATIRČIŲ SUVOKIMO KONCEPCIJŲ KONTEKSTE

In a changing society, the closest environment, in this case, outdoor educational environment of Lithuanian pre-school educational institutions, is undergoing reconstruction because of the meeting of specific needs of a certain culture society members, i.e. children. The research aims at finding out the directions for perfection of outdoor educational environment on pre-school educational institutions within the child-focused paradigm, by revealing reflexive conceptions of parents’ (as representatives of small children) perception of children’s experiences. KEY WORDS: outdoor education environment, children’s culture, pre-school education

Higher Education Students’ Perceptions of Environmental Issues and Media Coverage

This study aims to find higher education students’ perceptions about environmental issues and how the perceptions are related to perceptions of media coverage. This study investigates higher education students’ perceptions of the seriousness of environmental issues and their relation to perceptions of media coverage. Higher education students perceived a global problem, lack of clean water, as most serious environmental problem. Media has had an effect on students’ perceptions on environmental issues: when students perceived the problem as serious they also perceived the information in media concerning it appropriate. Students perceived that the media underestimate and obscure some environmental problems such as biological diversity and global warming. It was concluded that higher education educators need more knowledge of students’, future decision makers’ concerns and perceptions about environmental issues to develop more effective teaching practices in higher education. Through education environmental issues literacy, which is a precursor for engaged protection of the environment, can be fostered. This study offers some insights into higher education students’ perceptions of the media’s role in environmental issues.</p

Some factors limiting efficiency of road safety education in the family

Educating, informing and teaching are one of the strategies of traffic safety (Elvik et all., 1996). Traffic environment changes together with the process of automobilization. As the statistics of traffic incidents shows society adaptation to changes is not successful enough. The family is the main educational institution, but, by researches in some European countries, family influence on a child’s behavior on the rodi is frequently negative. The goal of this research was to find out family opportunities effectively developing children’s competence in traffic safety and competence limiting factors. The participants of this research - primary pupils’ parents, pupils, teachers, adult pedestrians having children and not having on roads. The methods of the research: interviews, questionnaires for parents, teachers, pedestrians’ observation (video shooting). 1581 person participated: 282 primary school children’s parents (majority of them women – 77,2%), 46 drivers. 280 primary school teachers, 246 primary schoolchildren were interviewed (56,9% girls, 43,1% boys), the behaviour of 773 pedestrians was fixed.The following conclusions were made: 1) presently the family is not prepared to develop effectively the competence of young generation as pedestrians in traffic safety. The negative factors of the development of pedestrians’ competence in traffic safety in the family is: parents’ low competence, their dangerous behavior on the roads, children's negative attitude to their parents as teachers of traffic safety. 2) Drivers’ qualification and their experience driving a car does not guarantee pedestrians’ traffic safety. 3) As an opportunity to assess pedestrians’ competence in traffic safety more adequately could be helping parents not only to develop their competence, but also control their behavior on the roads while walking with children. 4) It is necessary to develop pedestrians’ competence in traffic safety not only by formal education but also in the family. For this purpose it is necessary to create conditions for parents to feel lack of pedestrians’ competence in traffic safety suggesting changes in their behavior on the roads while walking with children

The Development of child road safety competence : the new approach tо road safety education

Saugumo kelyje pagrindas yra švietimas ir informavimas, tačiau tyrimai atskleidžia chaotišką, teoriškai nepagrįstą ir padriką saugumo kelyje ugdymą. Tai leidžia teigti, kad saugumo kelyje ugdymo sistema Lietuvoje dar nėra įtvirtinta, o teorinio ir empirinio pagrindo trūkumas stabdo šios sistemos raidą. Siekiant įvertinti vaikų kaip pėsčiųjų kompetencijų raidą, atliktas tyrimas, kuriame nagrinėtos prielaidos pradinėje mokykloje lavinti vaikų saugumo kelyje kompetencijas ir jas įvertinti atliekant edukacinį eksperimentą. Eksperimente dalyvavo 98 vienos Šiaulių mokyklos mokiniai (6-8 m. amžiaus), iš jų 27 mokėsi ikimokyklinėje klasėje, 38 - pirmoje klasėje, ir 33 - antroje klasėje. Mokslo metų pradžioje atlikus žinių, įgūdžių ir elgesio įvertinimą nustatyta, kad eksperimentinės ir kontrolinės grupių moksleivių saugumo kelyje kompetencijos nesiskiria. Mokslo metų pabaigoje atlikus pakartotinį įvertinimą, gautų rezultatų analizė atskleidė, kad pradinių klasių mokinių saugumo kelyje kompetencijų ugdymas, sudarant galimybes besimokantiesiems ne tik įgyti žinias, bet ir formuoti gebėjimą bei norą kurti saugesnę aplinką kelyje, yra efektyvesnis, lyginant su tokiu mokymu, kurio metu žinios apie saugumą kelyje suteikiamos tiesiogiai verbaliai ir yra reikalaujama taikyti šias žinias praktikoje. Savo gyvenamojo rajono pėsčiųjų saugumo kelyje problemų tyrinėjimas, asmeninio eismo patyrimo įprasminimas, saugaus elgesio kelyje modeliavimas padeda įsisavinti pėsčiųjų saugumo kelyje modelius ir leidžia efektyviai mokyti 6-8 m. vaikus saugaus pėsčiųjų elgesio.The education and information are the strategies of the Road safety. However, some of the documents and scientific findings revealed the chaotic, desultory and theoretically groundless Road safety education and it can be stated that Road safety education system in Lithuania is still being established. The shortage of the theoretical and empirical base of Road safety education is slowing down the process of the system development. Aim of the research is to disclose the assumptions for development of the children's road safety competence in the primary school and their im­provement, to interpret these assumptions theoretically and to examine in conditions of the natural educational experiment. Results of educational experiment are submitted in this clause. It was established, that Road safety education in a primary school trying to develop child road safety competence, creating conditions for pupils to get not only knowledge, but also ability, and desire to create more safe traffic environment, actually is more effective in comparison with training leaning on direct oral transfer of knowledge, demanding to apply knowledge practically

Training children in traffic safety: theoretical aspects

Analysis of the results of experiments, carried out throughout the world on the efficiency of training children in traffic safety is done in the article. Based upon the experiment results and conclusions found in the literature, the main conditions for efficient teaching of traffic safety and some unproven hypotheses are stated. The following has been established: 1) Parents may be able to train traffic safety in real traffic environment, basing their training upon their own examples and stimuli system. However, lack of parents' motivation to do so was noticed. They also lack knowledge in psychology and pedagogy, child's problems on the road. 2) Contribution of the pedagogues of special safe traffic teaching institutions (safe traffic clubs, special teaching centers), who are methodically prepared, using visual aids and meeting with children once or twice a year may also be useful, if dynamic audiovisual aids are used. 3) Real traffic environment is the location in which behaviour could be developed. Little may be expected from a semi-real traffic environment. Efficiency of a lesson in the classroom depends on the visual aids used. 4) Oral training methods (exclusively oral) may influence theoretical knowledge but cannot influence behaviour. It is noted that it is useful to explain the unknown or obscure behaviour models. Oral teaching methods may become efficient if combined with other methods, e.g. demonstration, practical training. 5) The efficiency of practical training, in spite of a number of recommendations, was not adequately investigated. Rare analysis notes the necessity of practical teaching of the preschool children. Results of teaching primary school pupils by practical method and model table method did not differ. Efficiency of the use of published materials has not been proved by experiments. It may be useful if combined with other teaching methods.6) Usefulness of slides and films in the training process depends on their methodical preparation. It was established that a continuous (even repeated) showing of a film is less efficient than showing stage by stage. Videotape efficiency was confirmed only partially. Few analyses were carried out, but they showed best results when modeling on the table, discussions and videotape sessions were combined

Competence of safe traffic of pedestrians of pupils of an primary school on the basis of knowledge

On the basis of the results of the interview and observation, the article reveals the primary school pupils knowledge on the safe traffic of pedestrians as one of the components of the safe traffic competence of pedestrians and analyses the influence of the formal education on the safe traffic competence of pedestrians of the junior school children

Teachers' educational researches carried out at the Lithuanian comprehensive school : the situation analysis

The article deals with the area of the comprehensive school activity that so far has not been studied in sufficient detail - educational researches carried out not by professional researchers, scientists but by teachers and administrators. The article is based on the analysis of the results of the qualitative research. The basic research method is the experts' survey employing the Dephi method. The article contains research results, disclosing problematic areas of researches, carried out by the comprehensive school teachers as well as dominating research methods and factors influencing the quality of researche

Teachers' educational researches carried out at the Lithuanian comprehensive school : the situation analysis

Straipsnyje analizuojama plačiau netyrinėta bendrojo lavinimo mokyklų veiklos sritis – edukaciniai tyrimai, atliekami ne profesionalų tyrėjų, mokslininkų, bet mokytojų ir administratorių. Straipsnis grindžiamas kokybinio tyrimo rezultatų analize. Pagrindiniai tyrimo metodai – ekspertinė apklausa Delfų metodu. Straipsnyje pateikta tyrimo rezultatų, atskleidžiančių bendrojo lavinimo mokyklose pedagogų vykdomų tyrimų problematiką, vyraujančius tyrimų metodus ir veiksnius, darančius įtaką tyrimų kokybeiThe article deals with the area of the comprehensive school activity that so far has not been studied in sufficient detail - educational researches carried out not by professional researchers, scientists but by teachers and administrators. The article is based on the analysis of the results of the qualitative research. The basic research method is the experts' survey employing the Dephi method. The article contains research results, disclosing problematic areas of researches, carried out by the comprehensive school teachers as well as dominating research methods and factors influencing the quality of researche