Turinys / Contents

COVER

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Cover page, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2010, SPVK/EPMQ

CONTENTS

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Contents, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2010, SPVK/EPMQ

THE TIME OF AUGMENTATION OF PROFESSORS

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In recent years, there has been a lot of discussion about the quality of studies and, in general, about the education quality. This article deals with problems related to the quality of education and studies in higher schools i.e., universities and colleges. As we know, the quality of studies depends not only on level of motivation and cleverness of students, how well developed the infrastructure of institutions is and so on. Probably, even more, the quality of studies depends on scientific pedagogical personnel, the one, which directly determines the preparation of a future student. However, it is impossible to neither increase nor grow up or expand artificially the qualification of the personnel. This depends on many things. It seems that those who form Lithuanian education politics have chosen an easier way- have reduced already small qualification requirements. Of course, traditionally essential differences remain here among physical, biomedical, technology and humanitarian and social field scientists. For the former it is quite understandable that the results of education have to be announced in the top rated international educational publications. It seems to be general truth. It is natural that so-called minimal requirements for the scientists of these areas are considerably higher comparing to other scientific field representatives. The requirements are especially lessened for those who work in humanitarian and social science fields. International practice is rather varied. The common thing is that it is sought to maintain rather high but flexible requirements. International practice is not monolithic. It is determined by both settled traditions and other factors. However, Lithuania should not follow only formal attitude. For those who seek science career, universally acknowledged standards and criteria have to be applied. Science, in some sense, has strong immunity, but in recent years, it has been rapidly weakened both in-ternally and externally. Of course, we have to believe, that universities will understand that it is firstly on them to save and strengthen both quality of activities and prestige and develop real but not demonstrated science. Europe “has been having a headache” for a long time thinking how to withstand ever - strengthening competition with such regions as North America (especially USA), South-east Asia and so on. Lithuania, artificially augmenting the number of professors, will not make improvements in the science itself. We will look better from the statistic point of view, but it will even more hinder any development of science in the country.

COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL INTERNAL AUDIT INFORMATION ON WEBSITES: THE ASPECT OF PRESENTATION

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In recent years, a lot of attention has been paid to internal audit problems in comprehensive schools. Seeking to analyze information about internal audits carried out in comprehensive schools, the information, which has been analyzed, is presented on websites. Results obtained during the research showed that schools encounter difficulties before presenting Internal audit data on website as well as while processing the obtained data and apparently, there is a lack of concrete directions about how this process has to be carried out. It is obvious, that Internal audit methods are applied ineffectively, it is not clear how information has to be presented and what information should be announced in public. The research showed that the content of presented information is not exhaus-tive, does not represent school evaluation process, schools do not tend to show on websites at what level they evaluated their activities, most frequently only the weakest, strongest points or areas re-quiring improvement are pointed out. This article presents research results, which reveal comprehensive school Internal audit in-formation on websites presentation nuances. After carrying out the research, we can assert that: • There is no common system in comprehensive schools of how to present information on school website about internal audit, access to direct information requires additional time and efforts. • The dominating data presentation form is text. This form is most frequently used by town basic and comprehensive schools. Town gymnasiums use more advanced forms for disclosing internal audit information (slides, tables, charts). • Only one out of 100 comprehensive schools presented information on performed internal audit, which corresponds to Internal audit methods of recommendatory type of information presentation about carried out Internal audit report. • Internal audit methodics in comprehensive school is not treated as important, seeking to inform the consumer about the quality of school activities, because 99% of information can be evaluated as not sufficiently exhaustive or not exhaustive. School location does not have influence on information quality. • 84 schools did not point out which year Internal Audit methodics they were using, the con-sumer has to analyze the presented information himself. • 67 schools did not indicate which year the audit was carried out, therefore analyzed meth-ods presented to the consumer can be interpreted differently as current year indicators, as previous year ones and so on, it becomes complicated to judge about the quality of school, information in itself loses actuality and seizes being informative. • Out of 100 schools, which carried out Internal Audit processes, only 12 schools were pre-sented with activity assessment results. Information dissemination in schools connected with Inter-nal Audit results is not treated as a very important source for disclosing the quality of school activi-ties. • Schools before presenting Internal Audit data on website face difficulties while processing the obtained data and apparently, there is a lack of concrete directions about how this process has to be carried out, the way information has to be presented and what data have to be pointed out seeking to reveal the school quality.

THE ACADEMIC LIBRARY AS THE ORGANISATION: ASPECT OF INFORMATION CULTURE

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During the last decade there were a lot of organizational changes in the academic libraries. The academic library become one of the leading divisions of the university in formation of information culture of students. It is obvious that academic libraries currently are caught up in a cultural and informational tsunami. The new global information-communication environment is formed very quickly. Modern ICT also is an integral part of modern academic library. These two main factors undoubtedly influences changes of classical schemes of organizational culture. The academic library nowadays is acting as educational change agent. Moreover, mass higher education, flexible delivery, student centred and problem based learning, information literacy and other graduate attributes, are accelerating curricular and educational change in progressive universities. Academic librarians need to be as partners for academic teachers and others in that change. The academic library directly takes part in educational process of university. It is clear that the universities should play the important role in human resource development to serve the needs of improving the efficiency and quality in all aspects of the people in the country. Such a mission can be solved only in very close participation of the academic library in educational process. The objectives of this study are (1) to study the basic concepts and levels of information culture, (2) to study the main criteria of the information culture in the academic libraries and related parameters affecting the development of the academic library to be a modern organization; and (3) to analyse practical aspects of display (expression) of the mentioned parametres of information culture. The main idea of this study is that in the academic library, as well as in other open organisation, it is possibly to create favourable conditions for effective formation of information culture. The mission of the university academic library must therefore move beyond excellence in information identification, acquisition, organisation, access and skills development. It should be described and asserted in educational terms. It is obvious, that academic library must continue to redefine own role within the teaching and research mission of the university. All necessary conditions should be created in order to guarantee continious process of formation of information culture. Based on an example of the academic library of the University of Siauliai the basic directions of modernisation of functioning of library and effective ways of its participation in educational process are shown in the paper.

DEVELOPMENT OF SYSTEM OF NATURAL-SCIENCE COMPETENCES FOR THE PROFESSIONAL TRAINING QUALITY ENHANCEMENT

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The main mechanism that guarantees the quality of education in Republic of Belarus is based on the state educational standards. According to the current standards, the aim of professional training is to obtain an integrated result: expert (professional) skills coupled with solid general education. This education is build upon the development of a common system of competences. Therefore, the quality of professional education is strongly connected with the problem of the specialist (who has to possess all necessary skills and competencies) formation method. The problem includes development and advancing of the system of competences in the conditions of the current educational process and elaboration of an evaluation methodology and techniques for this system. Taking into account, that the educational process of high school professional training in Belarus includes the studying of four cycles of disciplines (socially-humanitarian, natural-science, general professional and special professional), it is essential to investigate the influence of each of the cycles on the final system of competences formation. In the present article, the capability of the natural-science disciplines cycle for the handling of the professional system of competences development is discussed in reference to military specialties. It has been found that during the professional disciplines studying, the replacement (but not integration) of the knowledge received at the previous stage of the natural-science cycle is taking place. It interferes with principal understanding of natural sciences as a fundamental basis for the professional competence; it does not promote the recognition of cultural and social importance of natural sciences; and, consequently, it does not support the formation of general orientation on continuous self-education in the field of natural sciences. And that is considering that insufficiency of natural-science culture of graduates of military high schools can lead to possible serious economic consequences for the country and risks in the field of national safety. In the course of the experiment, the didactic conditions have been formulated and the model of the ped-agogical process, directed to the elaboration of a persistent natural-science system of competences, has been developed and approved. The incorporation of the conditions and the process does not assume an essential transformation of the volume and structure of class hours allocated to the studying of natural-science disciplines. Introduction of the course "Fundamentals of modern natural sciences » in syllabus of the internal security troops department of military academy of Belarus is essentially new. The technique of examination of the integrative abilities of students with use of the methods of fuzzy mathematics was applied for the evaluation of the developed model efficiency. The interest to this method is caused by the possibility use this approach to deal with estimations of competences, which cannot be unequiv-ocally structured in an algorithm presentation by definition.

DIVERSITY OF SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL CURRICULA IN ESTABLISHMENTS OF GENERAL SECONDARY EDUCATION IN LATVIA

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Within recent years significant changes have taken place in educational management as regards the development of democracy, decentralization of its management accentuating the importance of professional as well as effective management of schools. Aim of the Study. The aim of the research is to analyse several theories and the former practice of creation of educational curricula in general secondary education in Latvia. Materials and methods. The authors’ of the article analyse the legal and educational management aspects in developing a general education curriculum in accordance with the Normative Guidelines and Acts of the Ministry of Education and Science to accentuate educators’ as well as educational establishments’ autonomy to develop education curricula, licensing as well as their implementation in practice. The analysis of the structure of the curricula at general education establishments is based on the comparative approach; also, the interpretation of the obtained results is carried out. Results. Development of educational curricula requires a specific outlook of regularities which focuses on the development of pupils’ personality and community needs for a qualitative as well as appropriate knowledge. Scientists of educational management such as D.Pratt, J. Eglitis, G. Haydon in their research work deal with scientific grounds of the essence , development and innovation in the creative process of education curricula that are vitally important in the current circumstances in Latvia when schools balance each pupil, their parents’,municipalities and the State order for education promoting each youngsters’ career development in order to continue studies on a higher level of educating, foster their effective penetration into the labour market enhanced by availability of appropriate schools’ technical as well as financial resources. The authors explore school experience in developing general secondary education curricula as well as analyse their correlation with the sample education curricula. The research reveals that schools develop general secondary education curricula creatively, highly evaluating professionalism, the significance of further educational development, pupils’ requirements for a larger amount of lessons in certain subjects as well as the demands of the State Education Standard. Educational establishments carry out independently a vitally important job of planning; moreover, they add/supplement the offered samples of educational curricula by Ministry of Education and Science with new study subjects as well as suggest certain changes in the number of lessons in several study subjects.

SOME GUIDELINES OF EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT IN RUSSIA

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The editor-in-chief of the journal, Professor Vincentas Lamanauskas, is talking with the associate professor of the Karelian State Pedagogical Academy Eleonora Melnik. Currently, the academy is going through times of various reforms. For several years now, reforms of various levels have been in full swing in Russia. I wonder how this is reflected in the education system. It is curious to know the opinion of Eleonora Melnik on the education reform in Russia.

END

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End page, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2010, SPVK/EPMQ