Turinys / Contents

COVER

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

CONTENTS

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

DEFINITION OF THE MOST IMPORTANT EDUCATION SCIENCE TERMS

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In the latter years the main education terms became the point of rather active discussion. And it is natural, because over the last two decades education terminology expanded, a lot of new terms joined education sciences. On the one hand, such changes were caused by rapid education science development, abundant theoretical and empiric researches, on the other hand, after reestablishment of Lithuanian Independence, new possibilities opened to get acquainted with international practice, to adopt it to Lithuanian educational practice. In 2010, in Lithuania various discussions on educology terminology questions were initiated. This year, on February 11, Lithuanian Republic Education board and Vilnius Pedagogical University initiated the meeting of educology scientists on usage of educology terms in educology scientific publications, in pedagogic activity and educational documents. As practice showed, it is very difficult to find common decisions. Ambiguity, abundance of various synonymic terms became prominent in educology; the process of emergence of new terms is practically out of control, chaotic. Quite a big part of new terms are contradictory (e.g, development education, global and/or international education). It becomes unclear, what is the place of the main (axial) terms in the whole education terminology system, how the hierarchy of the whole term system is kept (or is it kept). Without attempting to go into exhaustive educology term analysis, we can give definitions of the main educology terms referring to systemic approach principle (Lamanauskas, 2004). Education – organized, expedient and purposeful life experience (knowledge, abilities and values) ac-quisition for life (cognition, consideration, acting) Education (enlightenment) - situational person (personality) and society’s orientation in current situa-tion expansion in various aspects. Upbringing – education process when person’s moral is formed through interaction of values and abili-ties. Training – personality maturity guaranteeing parameters’ comprehensive, constant and systemic ex-pansion and development. Teaching – education process when person’s intellect is formed through the interaction of knowledge and person’s abilities. In fact, there is no absolute agreement among educology specialists regarding the usage of terms. Such an agreement can hardly be reached, because the same terms in different contexts acquire different meanings and can be differently interpreted. Education, first of all, is a complex, diverse phenomenon. On the one hand, by education we seek that a person would acquire knowledge and abilities (intellect formation), on the other hand – could perceive the world of values (moral formation). Education, as a very complex system, features hierarchic structure and functional organisation. Changing easily any term or implementing a new one, we are trying, in fact, to change the system, very often not thinking about consequences. New terms matter cannot be end in itself. Education (enlightenment), obviously is multilevel, hierarchic, complex and developing social system requiring systemic attitude, systemic analysis, systemic research in general – in this case, on the education science terminology aspect.

COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL INTERNAL AUDIT INFORMATION ON THE WEBSITES: CONTENT ASPECT

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Education quality questions become urgent for all educational institutions regardless of their type, the kind, size of provided services and so on. Thus, it is natural, that quality questions become more urgent for comprehensive schools as well. In the latter years, quite a lot of attention has been devoted to comprehensive school internal audit thematic. We can state, that internal audit is only a tiny sphere of quality management. Such type of examining of institution activity (internal state) in any case is only partial, insufficiently objective and so on. However, internal audit (IA) carried out in an appropriate way, without doubt, helps to improve school’s activity, if educational institution is interested in this itself. The results obtained during the research revealed that schools before presenting internal audit data on their website, both during the processing the received results and later on face difficulties. Also, there is, ob-viously, lack of concrete directions on how this process has to be carried out. It is obvious, that internal audit methodics are being applied not effectively, it is not clear what information presentation form has to be and what information should be announced in public. The research showed that the presented information content is not exhaustive, does not reflect school assessment process, schools tend not to show on their website at what level they evaluated their activity, usually only the weakest, the strongest and improvement requiring school activity sides are pointed out. This article presents research results which reveal comprehensive school internal audit information content aspects. Activity sphere evaluation based on concrete evaluation indicators: on average, both in the old IA methodics and in the updated IA methodics, activity spheres are evaluated 2.5, i.e, as an intermediate variant between 2nd and 3rd evaluation level: there are more strong features than shortcomings, however, the activity is adequate, but has to be improved. The highest quality having assessed school activity sphere in the old IA methodics – learning achie-vements – is evaluated at level 3, in the updated methodics – educability and learning and student support. Both in the old and in the updated IA methodics these activity spheres are evaluated equally (2,6) – school management, learning and education, student support, resources; (2,8) – school culture, achievements, ethos. The evaluation of advantages, disadvantages and activity spheres that need improvement: In both IA metodics the most frequently assessed activity sphere is related with the applicability of the education content to the learner. These spheres were the least evaluated: in the old IA methodics the fifth sphere – ethos, in the updated IA methodics – also the fifth activity sphere, however, it is related with the strategic management of the school. Gymnasiums, comparing the results of both IA methodics analyses, tend not to evaluate activity spheres, pointing out advantages, disadvantages and activity aspects requiring improvement in the way basic, secondary and special schools do. The old IA methodics was applied more in secondary schools; the updated IA is most frequently applied in basic and secondary schools.

CURRENT LITHUANIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM PROBLEMS: SENIOR CLASS PUPILS’ POSITION

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Interest in Lithuanian Education system problems is naturally understandable thing. On the one hand, in the process of constant changes appearing in the education system, it becomes important to know the current situation at every moment in time; on the other hand, it is important, referring to the available information, to be able to model effective changes or to carry out certain prevention measures in the case of undesirable phenomena. Attitude researches in Lithuania have already become an inseparable part of public discourse and are rather popular. An opinion exists that surveys are not a reliable method especially that very often we can guess what the predominant answers of the respondents will be. Such presumptions usually come true. However, even if the research confirms the presumptions it is not bad, because a survey carried out in a qualified way gives a lot of new and extra information about various analysed subjects. Especially that very often in the instruments of surveys, (e.g, questionnaires) open questions are presented as well, by which much deeper information is obtained. Research object is the assessment of Lithuanian education system. The aim of the research is to find out how Lithuanian comprehensive school pupils value current education system, quality of teachers’ provided knowledge and ability to prepare pupils for further studies at universities and other higher schools. The research was carried out between February and May, 2010, i.e, during the second term of the school year. The method of the research was survey in written form (questionnaire). The research is based on the attitude that pupils’ opinion and assessment researches are important because they allow to identify urgent problems or to specify already known ones. 11 and 12 form pupils of Lithuanian comprehensive schools participated in the research. On the whole, 1150 questionnaires were acknowledged acceptable. Generalising research results we can claim, that: • Senior class pupils critically evaluate current education system, express rather big distrust. • It was found, that respondents are prepared best in Lithuanian language and literature and natural science field. The respondents are the weakest in maths and foreign language field. • It was found, that girls are the strongest in the field of Lithuanian language and literature and boys in maths and natural sciences field. In fact, respondents agree that the atmosphere in schools is suitable for learning (SI=0.66), quality of knowledge provided at schools, on the whole, is good (SI=0.65), and teachers willingly give advice to pupils on different topics being learnt at school (SI=0.68). However, we need to emphasize, that significance indexes are relatively not high, though higher than 0.50. Respondents do not think that in bigger schools the quality of teaching is better than in smaller ones (SI=0.34), or that learning difficulties arise because of the problems of communication with friends (SI=0.30).

WORKING ENVIRONMENT IN THE SCHOOL: PEDAGOGICAL AND ERGONOMICAL ASPECTS

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Ergonomics as a science about a human or a group of humans in the process of work is gaining its im-portance in environments like schools. The reason for this is the importance of suitable working environment in ensuring any teacher as well as learners’ health, welfare and comfort, which guarantee good results in teaching/ learning process, as well as to train the future employee who share responsibility for his/ her working place and environment. In this situation a teacher who has been well prepared and educated is of greatest help to learners. Apart from that the teacher’s own example is of greatest importance. For the young teacher to acquire the necessary theoretical knowledge and practical skills, Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy (RTTEMA) has introduced a special course - Ergonomics and school hygiene- in all teacher training curricula, and course “Pedagogical Ergonomics” for Master study program “School management”. The new courses are designed to introduce students of pedagogy with modern views on the designing and functioning of working environment in school, including the general issues of work safety and occupational health, with practical application of ergonomics in educational institutions in order to maintain health and working capabilities of both students and teachers as well as with the teacher’s duties and responsibilities in order to ensure work safety as a part of general safety in schools. We have to bear in mind that, unlike in classical cases, educational institutions have a specific contingent: on the one hand there are employees (teachers, administration, technical personnel) and on the other hand – students. For each group there are different normative documents regulating their working life which provides for the special position of ergonomics in educational institution in the context of school hygiene and valeology (science of healthy lifestyle). Besides, the great age difference between teachers and learners, makes school community a unique group from the point of view of ergonomics frequently taking totally opposite approaches to various issues including views on work and working environment and having specific, often objectively well grounded, demands regarding this environment. Among the factors most strongly affecting learners’ health we should mention unsuitable furniture and heavy school-bags, and some organisational problems. But every pupil, just as every teacher has the right to learn and work in ergonomically well organized environment. It requires that every teacher and every head of educational institution, as well as their learners would have up-to-date ergonomic literacy of the modern working environment.

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