Turinys / Contents

COVER

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Cover page, Vol. 6, No. 3, 2014, SPVK/EPMQ

CONTENTS

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Contents, Vol. 6, No. 3, 2014, SPVK/EPMQ

EDUCATION QUALITY MANAGEMENT: SOME REMARKS

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It wouldn’t be right to say that quality management questions in Lithuania are perfectly known, analysed and there’s nothing to do in this sphere. On the contrary, this sphere remains very urgent, on the other hand, rather complicated. Comparing with the other countries, having a big and long-term experience in the quality management sphere, Lithuania is an undoubted novice. Speaking about education system, quality problematic is especially important. Here, the purpose is not raised to exhaustively discuss education quality management, but it is sought to make some of the most urgent quality management questions in the higher education sphere more distinct. It is hopeful, that regardless of all the existing obstacles and contradictions, quality management questions will be solved more effectively in Lithuania. From the formal point of view, quality management system implementation shows, that all organisation - every member of it - contributes to constant changes and activity improvement. On the other hand, quality management is not only internal higher school competence thing. A responsible higher school has also to align to national and international quality management standards, to seek its carried out activity to satisfy the universal quality management standards. Both universities and colleges, as service providers, should orientate to international quality standards in their activity and to really take a responsibility to satisfy their consumers’ demands and to constantly improve service supply. There can be a lot of discussions about various present and future challenges, market demands and so on. However, no instruments will be effective, no procedures will work, if the thinking is not changed. This is a vitally important question for Lithuanian university and college societies.

POLICY OF CHANGES IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: PRECONDITIONS FOR NEW TRENDS AND MANIFESTATION CONTEXTS

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The research deals with theoretical and methodological policy-making problems with regard to changes in the teaching and learning environment. In the conditions of the rapidly globalizing world and in the course of change processes in education the learners’ community encounters new challenges. Emerging trends of lifelong learning necessitate to conceptually rethink and theoretically ground goals and objectives of the policy of changes in the teaching and learning environment, arising to the system of education, draw new or revise guidelines of the strategy of its formation and implementation. Looking for new ways of formation and implementation of policy of changes in the teaching and learning environment, it is particularly important to fully perceive the context of its functioning, to adequately assess the type and scope of new objectives arising to it, and to reflect on contexts of manifestation of new trends in the teaching and learning policy. The article deals with issues of the policy of changes in the teaching and learning environment in two key aspects. First, it is aimed to disclose links between theoretical discourse and the current policy of the teaching and learning environment, demonstrating how the postmodern shift in education transforms the conceptual model of the teaching and learning environment. Second, it is sought to discuss the state of the current discourse on changes in the teaching and learning environment in Europe and Lithuania, analysing how various preconditions for changes function in the public domain of the educational policy and in the educational area, and the type and content of their manifestation. The shift of scientific thinking to the area of narration about change processes visualized the discursive narrative. This originates from the refusal of essentialist concepts of politics, which directly led to political deconstruction-reconstruction procedures of changes in the teaching and learning environment.

HIGHER-LEVEL THINKING SKILLS DEVELOPMENT BY READING LITERARY AND INFORMATIONAL TEXTS IN LITHUANIAN LANGUAGE TEXTBOOKS IN 3-4 GRADES

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Reading and reading comprehension is necessary for almost every area of life. Therefore, it is important to start develop reading comprehension skills already in primary school. According to the international (PIRLS, 2001, 2006, 2011) and the national (2005, 2007, 2012) student achievement is observed that some 4 grade students literary and informational texts comprehension skills are deteriorating. Particular attention should be given to higher-order thinking skills development, i.e. textual information interpretation, integration, evaluation, because the results of these skills significantly descended over the past five years. Study of two alternative Lithuanian language textbooks for 3-4 grades helped to identify that given comprehension tasks develops student’s lower and higher-order thinking skills but some differences noticed as well. One textbook contains questions and tasks oriented to the lower level of thinking, i.e., the knowledge, understanding and the application of skills. In another textbook there are more questions and tasks that focus on higher-level thinking, i.e. analysis, synthesis and evaluation skills. Either in researched textbooks differ the number of questions and tasks for understanding literary and informational texts. This article presents results of the study, which revealed a higher-level thinking skills development by reading literary and informational texts in alternative Lithuanian language textbooks for 3-4 grades.

MODERN MYTHS OF HISTORY OF PEDAGOGICS

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The unique material returning us to the history of a question on possible primogenitors of the Russian State Pedagogical University, the long years, was a smithy of the best teacher's staff of the Russian empire and then the USSR is offered to attention of readers. Whether it is lawful to adhere only to one version of the occurrence of the pedagogical university? The reader can find some answers to an asked question in an offered material. And all of them, probably, have the right to existence. Scientific researchers are guided first of all by the facts (the facts, as speak, a stubborn thing). However, the facts powerless before politicians who interpret history randomly. Nevertheless, we insist that the history of pedagogical university, began in 1903 with the creation of Women's teacher training college.

CAREER EDUCATION: THROUGH SELF-COGNITION INTO A SUCCESSFUL FUTURE

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Career education - not a one-off, but a continuous process, integrated into the whole school community. In this interview, there is a discussion about the promotion of career opportunities in Alsėdžiai high school (gymnasium). Gymnasium has a career center. Various career education program is successfully implemented in this center. Career coordinator Daiva Gramalienė works not only with the gymnasium students, but also their parents, teachers, and other career professionals. In the process of career education different forms and techniques are applied.

END

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End page, Vol. 6, No. 3, 2014, SPVK/EPMQ