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Tyrimo tikslas – atskleisti mokinių įsitraukimą ir pasitenkinimą mokymusi taikant ,,atverstos klasės“ metodą. Tyrimo objektas – 12–14 metų mokinių įtraukimas ir pasitenkinimas mokantis ,,apverstoje klasėje“. Veiklos tyrimui dalyviai atrinkti taikant tikslinės atrankos procedūras. Projekto dalyviai buvo atrinkti iš savanorių K-12 mokinių, turinčių A2 ir aukštesnį (pagal CEFR) anglų kalbos mokėjimo lygį ir galinčių lengvai naudotis skaitmeninėmis platformomis. Šiame veiklos tyrime po pirminio projekto kontaktinio etapo buvo surengtos dvi internetinės mokymo/si veiklos, kuriose dalyvavo K-12 mokiniai iš keturių šalių partnerių: Nyderlandų, Ispanijos, Turkijos ir Lietuvos. Pirmose Olandijos komandos organizuotose internetinėse mokymo/si veiklose dalyvavo 48 K-12 mokiniai iš šalių partnerių: 34 proc. dalyvių buvo olandai, 23,4 proc. ispanai, 17 proc. turkai ir 25,5 proc. lietuviai. Antrose Ispanijos komandos organizuotose internetinėse veiklose dalyvavo 48 K-12 mokiniai: 28,26 proc. dalyvių buvo olandai, 23,91 proc. ispanai, 21,73 proc. turkai ir 28,26 proc. lietuviai. Veiklos tyrimas parodė, kad, taikant ,,apverstos klasės“ metodą, mokiniai tampa aktyvesni ir labiau įsitraukia į ugdymo veiklas. Tai padeda parodyti žinių pritaikymą realiame gyvenime. ,,Apverstos klasės“ metodas, taikytas veiklos tyrime, atskleidė, kad 12–14 metų mokiniams sėkmingiau sekėsi bendrauti ir bendradarbiauti, procesą buvo galima lengviau diferencijuoti, sužaidybinti, įtraukiant tarpkultūrinius aspektus. ,,Apverstos klasės“ metodas leido plėtoti aukštesnio mąstymo gebėjimus ir buvo stebima padidėjusi motyvacija bei įsitraukimas į ugdymo procesą. Esminiai žodžiai: apverstos klasės metodas, veiklos tyrimas, įsitraukimas. Action research has shown that using the Flipped classroom method, students become more active and engaged in educational activities. The Flipped classroom method, used in the activity study, revealed that students were more successful in communicating and cooperating, the process could be made easier by differentiating, playing, including intercultural aspects. This method made it possible to develop higher thinking abilities and increased motivation, and involvement in the educational process was observed. Keywords: Flipped classroom, action research, engagement

Straipsnyje analizuojamas vadovų požiūris ir veiksmai įgyvendinant mokyklos pasirinktą įtraukųjį ugdymą stiprinantį projektą. Projekto įgyvendinimas Lietuvoje remiamas programos „Renkuosi mokyti – mokyklų kaitai!“, kuria siekiama įtraukiojo ugdymo kaip dėmesio kiekvienam vaikui bei nuolatinės jo mokymosi pažangos didinimo. Aptarta situacija aktualizuoja mokyklų vadovų vaidmens analizę mokyklos kaitos procese, ypač turint omenyje tai, kad tyrimų, analizuojančių vadovo vaidmenį sistemiškai kuriant įtraukią mokyklą, yra nedaug. Tyrimo tikslas – atskleisti vadovų požiūrį ir veikmę įtraukios mokyklos transformacijų procese. Probleminiai klausimai: kokia įtraukiojo ugdymo samprata ir kokiomis vertybėmis vadovaujasi mokyklų vadovai? kokie yra jų veiksmai ir lyderystė planuojant ir valdant mokykloje vykstančius transformacinius procesus, stiprinančius įtraukųjį ugdymą? Tyrimas atliktas taikant bendrąją kokybinio tyrimo metodologinę prieigą (angl. Generic Qualitative Research). Bendrieji kokybiniai tyrimai yra sociokonstruktyvistine interpretacine epistemologija besiremiantys tyrimai, kuriais siekiama suprasti, kaip žmonės interpretuoja savo patirtį, kaip jie kuria savo pasaulius ir kokią reikšmę jie suteikia savo patirčiai (Merriam, 2009), taikydami pagrindines bendrąsias imties formavimo kokybinių duomenų rinkimo ir analizės technikas ir nesilaikydami kokių nors nusistovėjusiomis filosofinėmis prielaidomis grįstų metodikų, pvz., fenomenologija, etnografija ar grindžiamuoju tyrimu (Percy, Kostere, K., Kostere, S., 2015). Tyrimo dalyviai atrinkti taikant tikslinės imties metodą. Interviu buvo apklausti keturiolika programos „Renkuosi mokytis – mokyklų kaitai!“ pirmajame etape dalyvavusių Lietuvos bendrojo ugdymo mokyklų vadovų, atsakingų už mokyklos politikos kūrimą (direktoriai ar jų pavaduotojai). Kaip duomenų rinkimo metodas pasirinktas pusiau struktūruotas interviu. Mokyklų vadovai pagal parengtą pokalbio struktūrą pasakojo apie pokyčio įgyvendinimą mokykloje projekto metu, tiesiogiai ar netiesiogiai atskleisdami jų suvokiamą įtraukiojo ugdymo sampratą, jos interpretaciją, požiūrį į įtraukiojo ugdymo stiprinimą mokykloje ir kaitos patirtis. Pagrindinės pokalbių temos: asmeninis požiūris į įtraukųjį ugdymą ir vertybes: nuostatų kaita, požiūris į mokinių įvairovę, lygias galimybes; įkvėpimas ir lyderystė: asmeninio požiūrio į įtraukųjį ugdymą sklaida mokykloje, dalijimasis vertybėmis, kitų įkvėpimas ir skatinimas; transformacijos ir jų įgyvendinimas: sprendimai, stiprinantys įtraukiojo ugdymo raišką. Tyrime dalyvavusiems vadovams įtraukiojo ugdymo samprata ir prasmingumas yra glaudžiai susiję su tokiomis įtraukiojo ugdymo vertybėmis kaip kiekvieno mokinio individualumo pripažinimas, lygių galimybių kūrimas kiekvienam besimokančiajam. Mokinių individualumo pripažinimas skatina vadovus galvoti apie skirtingus mokinių poreikius, galimybes, pasiekimus ir kiekvieno vaiko pažangos ir dalyvavimo užtikrinimo svarbą. Vadovų asmeninis pasirengimas stiprinti įtrauktį glaudžiai susijęs su kaitos prasmės internalizacija, patikėjimu įtraukiojo ugdymo idėja, laikant ją vertybiškai sava ir svarbia. Stebimos pozityvios vadovų nuostatos vertinant įtraukųjį ugdymą idėjiniu konceptualiu ir vertybiniu lygiu, tačiau skepticizmo ir kritiško požiūrio daugiau atsiranda kalbant apie praktinį įtraukties realizavimą. Tyrime dalyvavę vadovai pabrėžė ypatingą vadovo, kaip organizacijos lyderio, vaidmenį išryškinant ir aiškiai apibrėžiant mokyklos vertybinius prioritetus, juos įprasminant ir realizuojant asmeniniu pavyzdžiu ir įsitraukimu į aktualių problemų sprendimą, pozityviu mokytojų profesionalumo taikant įtraukiojo ugdymo paradigmą palaikymu, motyvuojančiu grįžtamuoju ryšiu. Kuriant įtraukią mokyklą svarbu įgalinti ir skatinti bendruomenę diskutuoti, mąstyti ir veikti kūrybiškai, siekiant bendrai išsikeltų tikslų, palaikyti mokytojų lyderystę. Vadovai įžvelgia savo vaidmenį ir atsakomybę kuriant ir įgyvendinant įtraukiojo ugdymo politiką mokykloje. To siekiama inicijuojant naujus bendruomenės susitarimus, grįstus lygių galimybių principais, juos formalizuojant vidinėmis tvarkomis, mobilizuojant išteklius ir kuriant kolegialaus mokymosi sistemą organizacijoje. Užtikrinant efektyvius naujų susitarimų praktinio įgyvendinimo procesus ir valdant galimą pasipriešinimą, pabrėžiamas būtinumas nuolat ieškoti individualių sprendimų ir poveikio būdų, padėsiančių keisti konkretaus mokytojo nuostatas, skatinančių jo mokymo praktikos kaitą siekiant kokybiškai ugdyti kiekvieną mokinį. Esminiai žodžiai: įtrauki mokykla, vadovo požiūris ir veikmė, mokyklos transformacija. The article analyses the attitudes and actions of school leaders in implementing a project enhancing inclusive education, chosen by a school. The implementation of the project in Lithuania is supported by the programme “I choose to teach – for school change!”, which aims to increase inclusive education as a focus on each child and the child’s continuous learning progress. The discussed situation actualises the analysis of the school leaders’ role in the process of school change, especially bearing in mind that there are few studies analysing the leader’s role in the systematic development of the inclusive school. The research aim is to reveal the leaders’ attitude and actions in the transformation process of the inclusive school. Problem questions: What conception and values of inclusive education are followed by school leaders? What are their managerial actions and leadership in transformational processes taking place in the school while enhancing inclusive education? The research was conducted using the generic qualitative research. Generic qualitative research is research based on socioconstructivist interpretivist epistemology, aimed at understanding how people interpret their experiences, how they create their worlds, and what meaning they give to their experiences (Merriam, 2009), using basic generic sampling, qualitative data collection and analysis techniques and not adhering to any methodologies based on established philosophical assumptions, such as phenomenology, ethnography, or grounded theory (Percy, Kostere, K., Kostere, S., 2015). Research participants were selected using the purposive sampling method. School principals of Lithuanian general education schools, responsible for the development of the school policy (principals or their deputies), who participated in the first stage of the 14th programme “I Choose to Study – for School Change!”, were interviewed. Semi-structured interviews were chosen as the data collection method. Data were systematized using the method of inductive qualitative content analysis (Kyngäs, 2020; Thomas, 2006). The interview transcripts were carefully read, significant lexical-semantic units were selected and coded, the system of partial categories was formed, and thematic groups describing the informants’ personal attitudes towards inclusive education and interpretations of their managerial practices helping to strengthen inclusive education were identified. To increase the reliability of the study, the categories were discussed in the researchers’ group. The leaders involved in the research maintain that the conception and meaningfulness of inclusive education are closely related to such values of inclusive education as acknowledgment of every student’s individuality, creation of equal opportunities for each learner. Acknowledgment of students’ individuality promotes leaders to think about different needs, possibilities, achievements of students and the importance of ensuring each child’s progress and participation. School principals’ personal preparation for strengthening inclusion is closely related to internalization of the sense of change, belief in the idea of inclusive education, considering it personally valuable and important. The approaches of leaders towards inclusive education at the conceptual and value level are positive, but there is more scepticism and criticism when it comes to the practical realisation of inclusion. School leaders who participated in the research emphasized the special role of the principal as the organization’s leader in highlighting and clearly defining the school’s value priorities, making sense of them and implementing them by personal example and involvement in the solution of relevant problems, positive support for teachers’ professionalism to work in the paradigm of inclusive education, and motivating feedback. In creating the inclusive school, it is important to empower and encourage the community to discuss, think and act creatively in seeking shared goals, support teacher leadership. Leaders understand their role and responsibility in developing and implementing the inclusive education policy in school. This is sought by initiating new agreements of the community, grounded on the principles of equal opportunities, and formalizing them in internal procedures, mobilizing resources and creating a system of collegial learning in the organization. Ensuring effective processes for practical implementation of new agreements and managing possible resistance, emphasis is placed on the necessity to constantly look for individual solutions and methods of impact, which would help change the specific teacher’s approaches, encourage change in his/her teaching practice to provide quality education for every student. Key words: inclusive school, the leader’s attitude and actions, school transformation.

This article investigates methodological problems of measuring family wealth among secondary school students with home possessions indicators. It employs multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) in order to explore (1) the dimensionality of home possessions items, (2) the nature of relationship between these items, and (3) the substantive meaning of the first and other relevant dimensions. It also employs regression analysis in order to study potential explanatory factors of the second dimension of the MCA solutions that may be related to measurement problems of the instrument. Two sources of data are used: (1) open access data from the National Survey of Student Achievement (NSSA) in Lithuania that provide a series of national educational studies conducted from 2002 to 2016, and (2) data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study conducted in Lithuania in 2018 that is used to corroborate findings produced using the first data source. Results of the data analysis show that the first dimension of MCA solutions obtained from home possessions items in both NSSA and PISA data sets reflect high vs. low socio-economic status (SES) of the students. However, there is at least one more important dimension, and it reveals multi-dimensional nature of the measurement instrument. Analysis of potential explanatory factors of the second dimension of the MCA solutions revealed that reading abilities and school-related affect is related to this dimension. Thus, the second dimension of MCA solutions might also reflect methodological problems related to the measurement of home possessions in adolescent surveys. Keywords: socioeconomic status, home possessions, secondary school students, multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), dimensionality.

Klasės valdymas yra vienas iš veiksnių, darančių įtaką mokinių pasiekimams. Teoriniu atžvilgiu galime matyti šešias klasės valdymo prieigas, kurių įvairūs elementai, siekiant koreguoti netinkamą mokinių elgesį, paprastai yra integruojami. Straipsnyje, remiantis į elgesį ir mokymo programą orientuotomis klasės valdymo teorijų įžvalgomis, pristatomi 12-os mokyklų 2020–2021 m. mokymosi duomenys ir analizuojama mokytojo elgesio kintamųjų sąsajos su mokinių matematikos pažangumu. Esminiai žodžiai: mokinio pažangumas, klasės valdymas, vertinimo dažnumas, pagyrimai, pastabos, mokymosi duomenų analizė. Effective classroom management, setting classroom rules, and responding appropriately to students’ disruptive behaviour comprise some of the most significant factors influencing students’ math achievements. At a theoretical level, we can distinguish six different approaches to classroom management: behavioural, internal control, ecological, discourse, curriculum, and interpersonal relationships. At a practical level, teachers usually integrate elements of all six approaches to correct students’ disruptive behaviour. This paper presents learning data analysis from 12 schools in one city for the period from 2020 to 2021 and analyses the impact of different teacher behavioural variables (frequent assessment, praise, remarks) on students’ mathematical achievements. The primary analysis of learning data shows that students’ achievements in mathematics are not dependent on certain teacher’s behaviour variables managing the classroom. The frequency of assessment, teacher’s praise, and making remarks on students’ behaviour sent to parents or students do not have any impact on mathematics achievements of the latter. However, have been found that teachers are several times more likely to make remarks than praise, although some researchers suggest that praise can be effective. Recognising that classroom management, as one of the highly significant elements of quality teacher’s performance, is a complex phenomenon, further research is needed. Keywords: students‘ achievements, teacher‘s behaviour, classroom management, frequent assessment, praise, remarks, learning data analysis.

This study was funded by a project Learning to Be: Development of Practices and Methodologies for Assessing Social, Emotional and Health Skills within Education Systems (#4120034) in the framework of Erasmus+ KA3 program (582955-EPP-1-2016-2-LT-EPPKA3-PI-POLICY). We are also grateful for funding by the Academy of Finland (#308352) and Finnish Strategic Research Council (#327242)., In recent years, the school curricula in many European countries have introduced social and emotional learning (SEL). This calls for the teachers to have SEL competencies. The present study evaluates teachers’ and their students’ readiness for SEL during an intervention in five European countries. The participants were teachers (n = 402) in five European countries; Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Spain. The pre- and post-measuring points for both the intervention and the comparison group were at approximately the same time before and after the intervention. Comparison data consisted of 159 teachers in the same countries. The training for the intervention group lasted 16 h for the teachers and a maximum of 16 h for the principles and headmasters. An additional 9 h of further monitoring took place. There were two student groups participating in the study: the age group of 8–11 years (pre puberty) and the age group of 12–15-years (adolescents). Students, whose teachers had participated in the intervention, formed the intervention group (n = 2,552). Those students, whose teachers did not participate in the intervention, formed the comparison group (n = 1,730). The questionnaire data were collected at the beginning and at the end of the school year for both age groups. The results indicated that there was a favorable development in the intervention group in some of the measured skills among students, but the effects were different for the two age groups. This study adds to both theoretical and practical development of continuing teacher training about SEL and its possible role in reducing problem behavior among the students., Development of Practices and Methodologies for Assessing Social, Emotional and Health Skills within Education Systems 4120034, Erasmus+ KA3 program 582955-EPP-1-2016-2-LT-EPPKA3-PI-POLICY, Academy of Finland European Commission 308352, Finnish Strategic Research Council 327242

While many studies explain the contributions of economics and environmental protection to social sustainability, and discuss how to achieve sustainable development (SD) through education, less is known about change processes in order to ensure the sustainable development at school. The authors emphasize that as active members of the school community, students should get involved in the school transformation processes. However, is a contemporary school ready for this? The study aims at answering the following questions: How are students as active participants of educational relationship involved in the change processes and how should their involvement be managed seeking sustainability by examining the education institution located in Lithuania? The findings demonstrate that the process of the student involvement in the school transformation process has been explored applying the qualitative approach strategies (integrated theoretical model for change management and case study) from two points of view: theoretical (by analyzing the documents governing the school transformation process) and practical (by analyzing the reflections of the school principalís in-depth interview concerning the student involvement in school transformation processes). Key words: student, rules for students, sustainability, process of change.

Straipsnyje analizuojama pedagogų nuomonė apie agresyvaus mokinių elgesio apraiškas ir galimas jų pasekmes – AMOK. Tyrimo tikslas – išanalizuoti pedagogų nuomonę apie agresyvų mokinių elgesį ir galimas jo pasekmes – mirtinai pavojingus smurto išpuolius – AMOK. Uždaviniai: 1. Ištirti Klaipėdos „Žemynos“ ir Klaipėdos Eduardo Balsio menų gimnazijos pedagogų nuomonę apie agresyvų mokinių elgesį ir mokytojų veiksmus susidūrus su tokiu mokinių elgesiu; 2. Išsiaiškinti Klaipėdos „Žemynos“ ir Klaipėdos Eduardo Balsio menų gimnazijos pedagogų nuomonę, ar agresyvus mokinių elgesys gali išprovokuoti mirtinai pavojingus smurto išpuolius – AMOK. Tyrimo metodai: teoriniai (mokslinės literatūros analizė), empiriniai (anketinė apklausa raštu), statistinė duomenų analizė. Tyrimo metu nustatyta, kad „Žemynos“ ir Klaipėdos Eduardo Balsio menų gimnazijose egzistuoja agresyvaus mokinių elgesio problema, o dėl nuolatinių mokinių patyčių bei agresijos ir kitose Lietuvos mokyklose gali susidaryti sąlygos kilti mirtinai pavojingiems smurto išpuoliams – AMOK. Daugiau nei pusės tyrime dalyvavusių mokytojų nuomone, mokyklose egzistuoja agresyvaus mokinių elgesio problema, o vaikai norėdami būti populiarūs ir sulaukti daugiau aplinkinių dėmesio dažnai elgiasi agresyviai. Bullying and violence among students are becoming a sensitive issue not only for the school community and parents but also for the society, where is the increase in the growing number of aggressive students. It can cause severe social outcomes or even deadly mass assaults, in this case, AMOK. The aim of the research – to analyse teachers’ opinion on students’ aggressive behaviour and its possible consequences, deadly mass assaults, AMOK. The objectives of the research: 1. To analyse the opinion of teachers, who are working at Klaipėda Žemyna Gymnasium and Klaipėda Eduardas Balsys Art Gymnasium about student’s aggressive behaviour and teachers‘ actions when they are confronted with such student’s behaviour. 2. To reveal the opinion of teachers at Klaipėda Žemyna Gymnasium and Klaipėda Eduardas Balsys Art Gymnasium whether aggressive students’ behaviour can provoke deadly mass assaults, i.e. AMOK. The sample of the research consists of 33 teachers from Klaipėda Žemyna Gymnasium and 41 teachers from Klaipėda Eduardas Balsys Art Gymnasium. The methods of the research: theoretical (the analysis of scientific sources), empirical (a written survey), statistical data analysis. The schools’ community face with the issue of students’ aggressive behaviour, and constant bullying and aggression among students in Lithuanian schools. This may lead to deadly mass assaults – AMOK. The findings of the research show that more than half of the total number of teachers, who participated in the research, believes that the issue of students’ aggressive behaviour exists in schools, as children usually behave aggressively, as want to be popular and get more attention from other people in their environment.

Šiuolaikinio gyvenimo dinamika, skatinanti priverstinę ir savanorišką migraciją pasaulyje ir reikalaujanti tyrėjų dėmesio jos sukeltų problemų kompleksiškumo ir įvairovės analizei, neaplenkė ir švietimo institucijų. Švietimo erdvei tampant vis labiau daugiakalbei ir daugiakultūrei, didėja skaičius vaikų, kurių pirmoji arba namų kalba nėra mokyklos kalba. Šio tyrimo centre – įtraukiančiojo ugdymo komponentų paieška besikeičiančios lingvistinės erdvės kontekste, pateikiant kalbai jautrų mokymą kaip vieną iš galimų šios problemos sprendimo perspektyvų. Tyrimo tikslas – nustatyti būsimų mokytojų požiūrį ir įsitikinimus, patirtį ir gebėjimą rasti kalbai jautraus mokymo įgyvendinimo klasėje sprendimus, kuriant įtraukią aplinką bendrojo lavinimo mokykloje. Duomenys tyrimo analizei rinkti pasitelkiant du kokybinės metodologijos instrumentus – kalbai jautriam mokymui skirtą refleksijos įrankį (sukurtą LISTIAC projekte) ir tikslinės grupės (Focus-group) modelį. Šie instrumentai leido surinkti duomenis keturiais pjūviais – asmeniniu (mokinio ir studento/ studento-mokytojo), didaktiniu (mokytojo), institucijos (mokyklos) ir visuomeniniu. Šiame straipsnyje pristatomi tik pirmieji du problemos pjūviai. Tyrimo rezultatai leidžia daryti išvadas, kad kalbai jautrus mokymas gali būti pasitelkiamas kaip vertingas įtraukiojo ugdymo įgyvendinimo bendrojo lavinimo mokyklose komponentas, sprendžiant daugiakalbės kompetencijos trūkumo problemas. The study focuses on an inclusive learning environment for children whose L1 is different from the language of schooling suggesting linguistically sensitive teaching (LST) as the response to challenges of increasing multilingualism. It aims to identify prospective teachers’ attitudes, beliefs, experiences, and viewpoints on how to achieve inclusive teaching using LST. Two qualitative frameworks – Reflection and Focus-Groups – were used to gather data on four dimensions: personal, instructional, institutional, and societal, two of which are presented here. The findings showed that LST can serve as a valuable component of inclusive general education.

Aptariami mokinių gebėjimai suprasti gimtąja kalba skaitomo teksto esmę, detales, interpretuoti, rasti argumentus, daryti išvadas; analizuojama, kaip tie gebėjimai atsiskleidžia nelygu teksto tipas, kurie veiksniai šiems gebėjimams daro reikšmingą įtaką. Tiriamoji medžiaga – 3 Vilniaus ir 2 mažų miestų 120 mokinių atsakymai į sociolingvistinį klausimyną ir teksto supratimo testo atliktys. Atlikta kokybinė atsakymų analizė, vėliau taikyti aprašomosios ir išvadų statistikos metodai. The objective of the research was to find out whether the specific reading abilities (to understand the essence of a text, to understand important details, to interpret, to find arguments, to draw conclusions) of Lithuanian eleventh-grade students are equally well developed and whether different abilities manifest equally irrespective of the type of the text. The paper also sought to provide insights as to which sociolinguistic factors have a significant impact on the reading skills of the students. The research material consists of answers of 120 students to the sociolinguistic questionnaire as well as performance results of the reading skills test, which have been analysed using the methods of descriptive statistics and conclusion statistics. The regression analysis has also been carried out. Analysis of the results revealed that the students have best developed the ability to understand important details and find arguments, and most of all they lack ability to properly interpret the thoughts of the text and draw conclusions. In terms of all abilities, a descriptive text was the easiest for the students, and a narrative text was seen by the students as the most complex. Statistically the results of the students from small towns did not differ significantly from the results of Vilnius students (p = 0,247). Statistically, the overall reading test results of the male students are significantly lower than those of the female students (p

Purpose– The purpose of the article is to describe the transformations in the perceptions of the consequences of the use of psychoactive substances between 9-12’th grades pupils in the context of the implementation of the psychoactive substances abuse prevention program “My Way”. Research methodology– the authors performed a quasi-experiment and according to the methodological requirements related to the use of such scientific method in the educology studies, used an unequal control group and the primary/initial (pre-test) as well as final (post-test) measurements to achieve the aim of the research/article. Findings– the data of the quasi-experiment research showed that as the whole after intervention the pupil’s perceptions about the use of psychoactive substances in the experimental group has changed; the pupils who were assigned to the control group assessed the effects of the use of psychoactive substances better than those who were assigned to the control group. Research limitations– during the implementation of the program and the experiment, the activities related to the quasi-experiment were held only by social pedagogues in certain selected schools and classes (considering various factors such as the behaviour of children or their attributability to the families at social risk). Accordingly, in the next similar studies, children can be sampled evenly, without differentiating them based on their behavioural problems. Practical implications– the results of the research could be used in practice in the following ways: (i) by motivating the schools of general education in the Republic of Lithuania to choose prevention programs as the purposeful and meaningful instrument to develop healthy life skills; (ii) to develop and expand the range of new prevention programs based on the experience of the program “My Way” which is presented and evaluated in this article. Originality/Value– there are no similar previous educological and other educational science studies (in Lithuania) how the pupils’ attitudes change during the pre-planned and systematically implemented preventive activities in general education schools; the article presents and outlines the experience and practice of the first such Lithuanian program for the prevention of psychoactive substance abuse (“My Way”).

Surveys on education intended to test student learning achievement often analyse which educational environment factors have the biggest impact on student achievement. Determination of such factors and assessment of their impact is important in order to control the change in student achievement. Most surveys showed that student achievement is influenced by economic home environment factors, and student’s socio-economic status. The purpose of this article is to analyse impact of socio-economic home environment of Lithuania’s students on learning achievement. Lithuania is a country of limited economic resources. Therefore, it is interesting to analyse whether student’s home socio-economic environment has the same significant impact on learning achievements of Lithuania’s students as the results of surveys in other – and often more rich – countries show. Moreover, it is important to analyse which specific aspects of home environment have stronger or weaker impact on student achievement. Quantitative approach was used for the research. Survey and test were used for data collection.

The purpose of the present study was to discuss the way of organizing free lunch at public schools as an important precondition for social equality and sustainability in school, by revealing acute forms of social disjunction in Lithuanian schools as a major incongruity with Children Rights, and an obstacle to the achievement of general education goals. The objective of the study: to study the experience of pupils subject to free lunch in public schools, as well as the experience and viewpoints of pedagogues involved in the organization of free lunch in relation to social equality and sustainable schooling. A qualitative research was conducted in several Lithuanian schools focusing on the experience of the pupils, who had the privilege of having cost-free lunch at schools, as well as the pedagogues involved in organizing free lunch. The research data indicated the violation of children’s rights to healthy nutrition, as the respondents complained about the quality and the way of implementation of free lunch in schools. The research data revealed some discriminatory practices of separate queues to provide dishes to pupils from needy families, and limited or lacking opportunities for them to choose dishes. The analysis of the research data led to the recommendation to professionally assess the correspondence of the organization of free meals in the aspects of effectiveness, legal regulation and ethics with children’s needs.

Darbo tikslas – išanalizuoti Klaipėdos mokinių požiūrį į narkotikus ir narkomanijos reiškinį bei narkotikų nustatymo testų, kaip prevencinės priemonės, panaudojimo galimybes. Tyrimo 2008 m. atlikta anoniminė anketinė Klaipėdos bendrojo lavinimo ir Klaipėdos profesinio lavinimo mokyklų mokinių apklausa. Iš viso analizei panaudota 544 anketos: 276 anketos iš bendrojo lavinimo ir 268 iš profesinio lavinimo mokyklų. Iš jų – 48,7 proc. sudarė vaikinų anketos, o 51,3 proc. – merginų anketos. Respondentų amžiaus vidurkis: 17,6 m. – iš bendrojo lavinimo ir 18,4 m. – iš profesinių mokyklų. Straipsnyje aptariama, kaip mokiniai vertina narkomanijos problemą Lietuvoje politiniu, moraliniu, ekonominiu ir socialiniu požiūriu, aptariamos narkotikų vartojimo paauglystėje priežastys. Antroje dalyje bandyta išsiaiškinti, kaip mokiniai vertina narkotikų nustatymo testus. Nustatyta, kad 44,3 proc. vaikinų ir 41,5 proc. merginų pritaria nuomonei, kad moksleivius reikia testuoti dėl nelegalių narkotikų vartojimo. 39,8 proc. vaikinų ir 39,7 proc. merginų tam nepritaria, bet atitinkamai 15,9 proc. vaikinų ir 18,8 proc. merginų dar neturi savo nuomonės šiuo klausimu. Daugiau kaip pusė mokinių galvoja, kad jų tėvai norėtų, jog mokyklose būtų vykdomas moksleivių testavimas dėl narkotikų. 79,6 proc. mokinių teigia, kad iš mokyklos reikia pašalinti narkotikus platinančius, o 48,2 proc. – kad ir vartojančius narkotikus mokinius. The aim – to examine students‘ views of Klaipeda in drug addiction and drug-detection tests. Completed an anonymous questionnaire of general education and vocational training schools survey. Total of 544 questionnaires were used for analysis: 276 questionnaires from general education and 268- from vocational education schools. Of them – 48.7 percent were boys and 51.3 percent – girls . Respondents‘ average age: 17.6 – from general education and 18.4 – from professional schools. The article discusses how students evaluate drug problem in Lithuania politically, morally, economically and socially. Also, were discussed, what are the causes of teenage drug use. The second part attempts to explore how students evaluate the drug-detection tests. It was found that 44.3 percent boys and 41.5 percent girls agree that students should be tested for illegal drug use. 39.8 percent boys and 39.7 percent girls does not agree, but 15.9 percent boys and 18.8 percent girls do not have an opinion on this issue. More than half of students think that their parents would prefer that the school would be school drug testing. 79.6 percent students believe that schools should eliminate drugs – spread students and 48.2 percent – and drug-using students.

Straipsnyje nagrinėjama SOLO taksonomija kaip mokinių rašinių vertinimo priemonė. Aptariamos Bloomo ir Naujoji taksonomijos, nurodomas SOLO ir Bloomo, SOLO ir Naujosios taksonomijų sąryšingumas. Atskleidžiami SOLO taksonomijos lygmenys, pateikiama kiekvieną jų iliustruojančių pavyzdžių iš mokinių rašinių, taip pagrindžiant SOLO taksonomijos naudojimo galimybę tiems rašiniams vertinti. SOLO taksonomija atskleidžia, kaip gerai išmokstamas ar suprantamas koks nors dalykas, o ne kiek to dalyko medžiagos įsimenama. Ji lengvai pritaikoma įvairioms vertinimo ir įvertinimo reikmėms, nes ji neatskiria žinių nuo intelektinių gebėjimų, t. y., nuo kognityvinių procesų, kurie vyksta naudojant tas žinias. SOLO taksonomija, naudojama kaip hierarchinis modelis mokinių pasiekimams matuoti įvairiose srityse, galėtų būti tinkama įvertinti ir lietuvių kalbos rašiniams, nes ji integruoja teksto turinį ir struktūrą, lengvai keičiama pritaikant brandos egzamino reikmėms, t. y. prireikus išskiriant daugiau lygių, siejasi su Bloomo taksonomija, kuria remiantis kurtos bendrojo ugdymo programos, ir su šiuo metu Lietuvoje aktualia Naująja taksonomija, remiasi empiriniais tyrimais, kurie sudaro galimybę koreguoti pačią taksonomiją, atsižvelgiant į realią mokymo(si) situaciją. Pateikiami mokinių rašinių pavyzdžiai rodo, kad SOLO taksonomiją pritaikyti rašinių turiniui ir struktūrai vertinti nėra sunku, tačiau teksto vertinimo specialistai turėtų nustatyti, ar reikia mokinių rašinių vertinimui ir įvertinimui tarpinių SOLO taksonomijos lygmenų. SOLO taksonomija, pasižyminti imanentiniais dėsningumais, galėtų paskatinti holistinį požiūrį ir į ugdymo procesą. This article analyses the problem of the student essay evaluation, which currently is very topical in Lithuania. Tithe starting point for the article is the analysis of the student essays written during the state final examination of the Lithuanian (native) language 2008. It reveals the difficulties encountered when evaluating reasoning essays and interpretations of extracts from literary writings, with particular focus on the evaluation of the essay content and structure. The article centres on the question if the SOLO taxonomy is a suitable instrument for the evaluation of student essays and aims at presenting SOLO as a possible essay evaluation instrument. The subject of the study is the SOLO taxonomy in respect of the essay evaluation. The simulation and the analysis of the academic literature and research were chosen as study methods. The article also discusses Bloom's taxonomy and the New taxonomy as well as presents the interconnection of the SOLO taxonomy and Bloom's taxonomy. It also lists the levels of the SOLO taxonomy along with their corresponding examples from the student essays, which proves the suitability of the SOLO taxonomy for the evaluation of those essays. The conclusion stresses the potential of the SOLO taxonomy for the encouragement of a holistic attitude towards the process of education.

Ugdytojai, žinodami vaikų socialines nuostatas, gali organizuoti kryptingą profesinį orientavimą, ieškoti jaunosios kartos poreikius tenkinančių aplinkos ir vidaus veiksnių, padėti pasirinkti tinkamiausią darbo veiklos sritį. Pristatomo tyrimo objektas - pagrindinės mokyklos mokinių būsimos darbo veiklos projektavimas. Tyrimo tikslas - atskleisti jaunesniojo mokyklinio amžiaus vaikų ir vyresniųjų pagrindinės mokyklos mokinių profesinius idealus ir jų motyvaciją. Tyrimo metodas - anketinė nuomonių apklausa (2000-2001 m.) apie būsimos pageidaujamos darbo veiklos sritis tapus suaugusiais duomenys. Straipsnio išvadose teigiama, kad ketverių-šešerių metų amžiaus skirtumas keičia ugdytinių vertybines orientacijas. Populiariausiomis išlieka aptarnavimo (paslaugų), meno, teisės ir pedagogikos sričių profesijos. Mažai mokinių rinktųsi mokslo darbuotojo, vadybininko, materialinių gėrybių gamintojo specialybes. Mergaitės labiau norėtų dirbti aptarnavimo, mažiau ugdymo, medicinos, meno srityse. Berniukai labiau domisi aptarnavimo, gamybos, vadovavimo, pedagogikos sritimis, gerokai kritęs teisės ir profesionalaus sporto reitingas. Apie 8 proc. jaunuolių negali jvardyti savo būsimos veiklos perspektyvos, beveik pusė mokinių pasirinkimą grindžia ne konkrečiomis priežastimis, bet potraukiu. Kas antras vaikinas ir du trečdaliai ketvirtokų berniukų nesirengia siekti aukštojo išsilavinimo. Visa tai rodo, kad savaiminiai mokinių vertybinių orientacijų pokyčiai nėra efektyvūs. 1378 pupils of the fourth classes and 636 pupils of the eighth - tenth classes have participated in the questionnaire. The fields of the services, art activities, law and pedagogics have rated highest. The professions of a scientist, manager, worker were unpopular. The basic differences in priorities regarding age and sex of the respondents have been established. The girls prefer specialities of higher education. The initial stage of motivation process - the attachment is dominating. The younger respondents underline more the wish to help people, the elder ones - achievements in personal welfare. 7,9 % of teenagers still have not decided about their future working activities. The systematic work on professional orientation of pupils is necessary.

This study examined teacher perceptions of social competence and school adjustment in a Lithuanian sample of 403 elementary school children followed from the 1st to the 2nd grade. All children were aged 7 or 8 years in the 1st grade. The teacher–reported school adjustment indicators measured concurrently in the 1st and 2nd grade included academic achievement, student–teacher relationships, and school anxiety. Results indicated that in the 1st and 2nd grade both interpersonal and learning-related aspects of social competence as reported by teachers were significantly correlated with all aspects of teacher-assessed school adjustment measured in this study. Further analysis using structural equation modeling revealed that both aspects of social competence together accounted for about a third of variance in academic achievement in the 1st and 2nd grade. Learning-related social competence alone accounted for a similar amount of variance in student–teacher conflict, while interpersonal social competence was moderately linked to social anxiety in school and student–teacher closeness.

Straipsnyje aptariamas įvairių mokymo priemonių naudojimas per mokomųjų dalykų pamokas bendrojo ugdymo mokykloje. Analizuoti 6 575 Nacionalinės mokyklų vertinimo agentūros išorės vertintojų parengti pamokos stebėjimo protokolai iš 98 įvairiose Lietuvos savivaldybėse veikiančių bendrojo ugdymo mokyklų. Pamokų stebėjimai vykdyti 2010-2011 mokslo metais, kai išorės vertintojai atliko planinį šių mokyklų išorės vertinimą. Pamokų stebėjimo protokolų analizė atlikta 2011 metais. Taip pat straipsnyje pateikiamas autoriaus parengtas ir analizei naudotas mokymo priemonių klasifikatorius. In the present study, 6575 lesson observation protocols from 98 general education schools located in various Lithuanian municipalities, prepared by the National School Evaluation Agency exterior assessors, have been analysed. The lesson observations were organized when exterior auditors were making an audit in these schools. Lesson observation protocol analysis was made in 2011. Also, the teaching aids classificator, prepared by the author and used for the analysis, is included in the article. It has been estimated that approximately in two thirds of the observed lessons general education teachers use some additional teaching aids besides a coursebook. Additional teaching aids are especially often used during the Information Technology (IT) and music lessons (almost always), as well as in teaching geography and biology. Most rarely additional teaching aids are used during mathematics and the Lithuanian mother tongue lessons. Teachers mostly use traditional visual aids (posters, maps, models, etc.) audiovisual teaching aids oriented towards general work (slides, films, etc.) and handouts prepared by themselves. Teachers, even without knowing that an exterior auditor might come to the lesson, usually use the teaching aids that are oriented towards individual pupils’ work. The analysis has also shown that teachers of experimental sciences even in “demonstrational“ lessons allocate too little time to show practical processes and instead are oriented towards the whole class and not to idividual work and use audiovisual, visual digital teaching aids (mostly slides).

Tyrimu siekiama atskleisti, jog katalikiškojo religingumo ugdymas(is) ankstyvojoje jaunystėje aktualizuojamas gimnazijos III klasėje į tikybos ir muzikos dalykų pamokas integravus modulį „Katalikų liaudiškasis pamaldumas“ ir sustiprinus mokinių muzikinę raišką. Straipsnyje pateikiamos problemos tyrimo teorinės-metodologinės prielaidos, aptariami 2010-2011 m. m. Klaipėdos „Žemynos“ gimnazijoje vykdyto pedagoginio eksperimento duomenys, atskleidžiantys tiriamųjų katalikiškojo religingumo ugdymo(si) liaudiškojo pamaldumo muzikine raiška (giesme, giedojimu) pokyčių tendencijas. Tyrime dalyvavo 25 šios gimnazijos III klasės mokiniai (12 merginų ir 13 vaikinų). Tyrimo metodai: anketavimas, rašinys, statistinė bei fenomenologinė duomenų analizė, sisteminimas, apibendrinimas. Research aims to demonstrate that Catholic popular piety and its musical expression (song, singing) is a real factor in education of catholic religiosity (further CR) in early adolescence that is actualized in gymnasium III grade in religion and music lessons through the integration of the module “Catholic popular piety” and by strengthening students’ musical expression. This article presents some major problems of this research and theoretical-methodological assumptions and presents Žemynos gymnasium teaching experiment that was conducted in 2010-2011 and its data revealing tested CR and changes in trends of education through popular piety musical expression (song, singing). The study involved 25 students of III grade of gymnasium (12 girls and 13 boys). Research methods: questionnaires, essays, statistical and phenomenological data analysis, systematization, generalization. The following theoretical-methodological issues and constructs are based on the scientific literature analysis such as: religiosity is understood as an influence of religion on human consciousness, human behaviour and its expression of religious life. CR is a sum of personal social-psychological qualities that reveals through cognitive, emotional, identificational, conative and normative-evaluative levels. Faith in God is a foundation of Christian religiosity. The influence of religious music on CR is identified through these functions: cognitive-perceptual, theological expression, emotional, aesthetic, communicative, ethical-moral. The statistical analysis of quantitative research at the beginning and the end of the experiment (questionnaire method) reveals positive changes in expression of CR according to these features. The position of the researched on the influence of religious music to CR (cognitive, normative-evaluative of CR levels); the influence of religious music to personal development of CR (cognitive, identificational, normative-evaluative, emotional, conative CR levels). Comparing the beginning and the end of the experiment positive changes are noticed in all evaluations of religious music functions (cognitive, theological expression, emotional, aesthetic, communicative, moral). Personal experience of the researched of Catholic popular piety expressed by hearing others sing and personal singing, emotional and value relationship with singing and their position towards the importance of Catholic popular piety to young people (cognitive, conative, identificational, emotional, normative-evaluative CR levels). Position on the values that are important to the researched personally and common to all human beings promoted by Catholic popular piety (cognitive, normative-evaluative, identificational levels of CR). The most important to the participants of experiment are personal religious-moral values, followed by values that are common to all human beings, Christological values and religious-moral values. Religious beliefs (identificational, normative-evaluative and cognitive levels of religiosity). The data of the end of the experiment reveals that number of the believers in God slightly increases – from 48.8 % at the beginning of the experiment up to 54.2 % at the end; there is a decrease of non-believers and those who have doubts. The phenomenological analysis (essay method) of qualitative analysis of the data collected at the end of the experiment presents the changes and tendencies of CR according to time and age. [...]

Šiame straipsnyje analizuojami Lietuvos gimnazijų ir vidurinių mokyklų baigiamųjų klasių (11–12) moksleivių žinių testo rezultatai. Testo klausimai sudaryti pagal autorių anksčiau naudotą klausimyną, kuriuo buvo tikrinamos VPU studentų žinios. Duomenys rinkti 2010 metais nuo balandžio iki rugsėjo mėn. Anketa buvo patalpinta svetainėje www.apklausa.lt. Žinių tikrinime dalyvavo 1596 Lietuvos mokyklų moksleiviai. Jo tikslas: užfiksuoti iš vidurinės mokyklos į aukštąsias mokyklas atsinešamas informacinių technologijų žinias, nustatyti mažiau dėmesio reikalaujančias temas. Kompiuterinių žinių tikrinimo klausimynas buvo sudarytas iš penkių teminių dalių: kompiuteris ir vartotojo sąsaja, informacijos tvarkymas, tekstas – hipertekstas – įvairialypė aplinka, skaičiuoklės, pateiktys. Mūsų straipsnyje aptariamos tik pirmųjų trijų temų žinios. The paper analyses the results of the computer literacy survey conducted among the 11th and 12th form students in gymnasiums and secondary schools in Lithuania. The basis for the questionnaire was taken from previous surveys carried out in Vilnius Pedagogical University. The questionnaire is divided into five topics, such as computer hardware and software, information handling, text and hypertext, the Internet, spreadsheets and presentations. The following article discusses only the first three topics. The data was collected from April to September 2010 through an online survey internet site www.apklausa.lt. The sample of the survey includes 1596 students from Lithuania. The aims of the paper are to record students’ knowledge about information technologies, explore the main topics and recommend improvements for the discipline of information technologies.

Straipsnyje atskleidžiama mokinių ir studentų mokymosi mokytis kompetencijos ugdymo(si) aktualumas ir svarba siekiant visą gyvenimą trunkančio mokymosi. Lyginami aukštesniųjų klasių mokinių ir pirmojo kurso studentų požiūriai į jų kompetencijas įžvelgti mokymosi svarbą, planuoti, organizuoti, vertinti ir analizuoti mokymąsi. Nustatyti abiejų grupių respondentų mokymosi mokytis kompetencijos raiškos panašumai ir skirtumai. Išryškinti studentų pranašumai planuojant mokymosi laiką ir pasirenkant tinkamą mokymuisi aplinką, o mokinių – taikant įvairias bendradarbiavimo formas mokantis. A noticeable interest has been observed in the formation of learning to learn competence in both the documents of educational policy and in scientific sources, where the importance of this process is highlighted, which is treated as a lifelong learning activity. Therefore, the need to reveal different learners' ability and preparation to learn how to learn becomes comprehensible. Thus the research problem could be expressed by the question if there exists differences between higher grade schoolchildren's and first year students' learning to learn competence, what complementary parts of this competence are more developed within the two groups of the respondents. To fulfill the objective of the research - to reveal and to compare the level of learning to learn competence of higher grade schoolchildren and first year students, the following research tasks have been defined: 1) to determine differences between schoolchildren's and students' competence of planning and evaluation of learning 2) to analyze the priorities of organizing learning of both groups of respondents 3) to reveal differences of the respondents' viewpoints on the perception of the importance of learning to learn and emotional learning experience. The research data revealed some statistically relevant differences between the development of schoolchildren's and students' learning to learn competence, although in the author's opinion these differences do not have essential influence on the development of this competence. Most significant changes were determined in the schoolchildren's and students' ability to organize learning. Students' priorities are evident: creation of a suitable learning environment and preparation for learning. Besides, it became obvious that schoolchildren are better at applying various communication forms in learning. It has become clear that students are able to have a deeper insight into personal importance of learning, whereas schoolchildren demonstrated higher self-confidence and courage to communicate in a foreign language.

Straipsnyje aptariami šiuolaikinės mokyklos pedagogų požiūriai į mokytojo kompetencijos sklaidą, išryškinama, kaip mokytojo kompetencijų raiškos atitinka šiuolaikines kompetencijos sampratas. Atliktas empirinis tyrimas taikant kokybinį metodą. Tyrimo dalyviai atsakė į atvirą klausimą „Manau, kad mokytojo kompetenciją labiausiai atskleidžia...“. Buvo atlikta gautų atsakymų turinio analizė. Tyrime dalyvavo 538 pedagogai, atsakymus į klausimą pateikė 489 respondentai. Nustatyta, kad pedagogai mokytojo kompetenciją dažniausiai sieja su bendravimu, ugdymo procesu, mokytojų pasirengimu, mokytojų asmenybe, mokymosi rezultatais. Apibendrinant tyrimo duomenis kompetencijos struktūriniu rakursu matyti, kad bendrame kontekste mokytojai apima visus kompetencijos dėmenis, kartu ir vertybines nuostatas, o mokinių pasiekimai nėra svarbiausias pedagogo kompetencijos parametras. Vertinant duomenis pagal kompetencijų skirstymą turinio atžvilgiu, remiantis Lietuvos nacionalinės kvalifikacijų sąrangos metmenimis, akivaizdu, kad jos iš dalies apima funkcines, pažintines ir bendrąsias kompetencijas. Remiantis „Mokytojo profesijos kompetencijos aprašu“ matyti, kad mokytojai svarbiomis kompetencijomis labiau linkę laikyti bendrąsias (bendravimo, komunikacines) ir profesines (aplinkų kūrimo, mokymosi proceso valdymo) kompetencijas, o bendrakultūrinių ir specialiųjų beveik nenurodo. Mokytojų kompetencijos dažnai yra fragmentiško pobūdžio, apibendrintu požiūriu atliepiančios kompetencijos struktūrą, bet nepakankamai plėtojančios jos turinį. Todėl pedagogų kompetencijų ugdymas yra aktuali problema, nuo kurios savalaikio sprendimo priklauso šiuolaikiškų ugdymo tikslų įgyvendinimas. The importance of competences attached to teacher's profession is gaining better perception in the context of the 21st century challenges. Teacher competences are often associated to learning / teaching achievements, communication, teacher knowledge and teacher personality. These are the highest contours of teacher competences. Encoding the research data according to categories, they are ranked in the following order: communication, education process, and teacher's preparedness, personality and achievements. It was observed that communication and achievements are often linked with school learners, whereas personality is related to an educator. The content of categories shows that teachers refer to classical paradigm of education, which is grounded on direct contribution of an educator to school learners' learning. New education technologies and learners achievements are presented only episodically. Structural generalisation of the research data revealed the fact that teachers include all the elements of competence in the general context; however, only one respondent refers to them all jointly. The research confirms the vitality of competence structure and its reality. In terms of content, the attitudes of teachers are more similar to the conception of competences presented in the 'Outline of the national qualifications framework of Lithuania', where personal, social and ethic competences are distinguished. Teacher competences are often of fragment character and reflect the structure of competence in a more general way with insufficient escalation of its content. Therefore, education of competences is becoming an urgent problem, whose timely solving may positively affect implementation modern goals of education.

Straipsnyje nagrinėjamas UNESCO ugdymo kokybės imperatyvo ir su juo susijusių švietimo politikos rekomendacijų aktualumas ir galimos transformacijos Lietuvoje. Siekta išsiaiškinti, ar aktualus Lietuvos švietimui UNESCO (EFA) šeštasis tikslas -gerinti švietimo kokybę ir ar UNESCO švietimo politikos rekomendacijos perspektyvios gerinant Lietuvos švietimo kokybę? Buvo analizuojami UNESCO švietimo politikos dokumentai, gretinant jų akcentuojamus švietimo kokybės politikos veiksnius su rezultatais, gautais statistiškai apdorojant nacionalinių mokinių pasiekimų tyrimų 2003, 2004 ir 2005 m. duomenis. Rezultatų analizė atskleidė, kad ugdymo individualizavimas yra perspektyvi Lietuvos pradinio ir pagrindinio ugdymo politikos kryptis, galinti padėti pasiekti didelio mokinių pasiekimų pagerėjimo. Neblogų rezultatų galėtų duoti tolesnis mokinių vertinimo ugdymo procese praktikos tobulinimas. Daugiau dėmesio reikėtų kreipti į mokytojų kompetencijos kėlimą, nes potencialiai tai yra viena iš perspektyviausių švietimo kokybės gerinimo priemonių. Mokinių pasiekimai nuo fizinės mokymosi aplinkos mokykloje šiuo metu priklauso palyginti nedaug. Keliama hipotezė, kad fizinės mokymosi aplinkos gerinimas galėtų duoti geresnių rezultatų keliant ugdymo kokybę, jei mokytojai būtų specialiai rengiami dirbti renovuotose ir geriau aprūpintose mokyklose. Analizės rezultatai nesuteikia pagrindo tikėtis, kad mokinių pasiekimus būtų galima per trumpą laiką pagerinti mažinant mokinių skaičių klasėse. Rekomenduojama plėsti tyrimus, siekiant išsiaiškinti, kaip veiksmingiau gerinti mokinių testų rezultatus. The paper focuses on the evaluation of the relevance of UNESCO Education for All (EFA) Dakar goal six (to improve the quality of education) for the education in Lithuania and the viability of applying recommendations of UNESCO education policy in improving the quality of education in Lithuania. Based on the data of the National Students' Achievements' Research carried out in the years 2003, 2004 and 2005, factors determining the quality of general education have been analyzed. The factors are compared with the education quality determinants pointed out in UNESCO documents, i.e. high professional level of teachers, individualization in education, improvement of the quality of education, improvement of physical educational environment, reduction of the number of students per class. The basic conclusion drawn up in the paper is that improvement of quality of student achievement is essential both for basic and secondary education in Lithuania. Currently, student achievement rather insignificantly pertains to the physical educational environment at school. Results of the analysis do not give grounds to believe that students' achievements' might be shortly improved by reducing the number of students per class. Individualization in education, improvement of student evaluation in the process of education and developing teacher competence are considered to be perspective trends of the Lithuanian education policy.

Straipsnyje per verbalinio kūrybiškumo sampratą atskleidžiamas verbalinio kūrybiškumo modelis. Verbalinio kūrybiškumo raiškomis laikant verbalinį iškalbingumą, originalumą ir lankstumą, atskleidžiami jaunesniojo mokyklinio amžiaus mokinių, turinčių kalbos sutrikimų, verbalinio kūrybiškumo ypatumai elgesio ir emociniu lygmeniu. In this article it was tried to reveal the peculiarities of development of verbal creativeness of I-11 classes' schoolchildren having speech disorders. While trying to reach this goal firstly the conception of verbal creativeness was revealed, the main manifestations of verbal creativeness of schoolchildren of this age having speech disorders are singled out. The model of verbal creativeness of schoolchildren of younger age having speech disorders is made. Basing on the created model the scale of the main manifestations of verbal creativeness was made in order to evaluate the significance of the most important manifestations of verbal creativeness, and its (scale) reliability is checked with the help of statistic analysis. With the help of factor analysis the main features of verbal creativeness, that is eloquence, originality and flexibility are being described and singled out. Factor of expressing the degree of internal coordination of the scale of manifestations of verbal expression (Cronbach alfa) is being found. Characteristic of verbal creativeness of I-II classes' schoolchildren having speech disorders is presented in the article. It reflects the peculiarities of verbal creativeness of the studied schoolchildren not only with respect to age, but also to sex and place of residence. It was also tried to compare the expression of verbal creativeness of the schoolchildren of the mentioned age having and not having speech disorders and to reveal the same tendency of manifestations of the verbal creativeness manifesting themselves in both groups of the schoolchildren.

Understanding one's sense of belonging is a central part of identity formation and self-awareness; feeling safe somewhere, with specific people is identified as a basic human need. This paper explores the ideas of children from three age groups in five different European as they discussed the concepts of ‘home’ and ‘belonging’. Findings showed that the children's ideas could be organised into six interrelated aspects: Spatiality, Materiality, Multiplicity, Social Relations, Affect, and Dislocation. Whilst there were differences in the ways that the children conceptualised home across the classes, even the youngest children were able to describe their ideas using metaphors and abstract concepts, and they agreed that a home was more than just a building. Keywords: Belonging; Concepts of home; Primary and secondary students; Classroom discussion; Cultural understanding.