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Despite growing interest in evaluating the social and emotional learning of students and the development of standardized assessment tools for this purpose, there remains a dearth of validated instruments for evaluating teachers' social and emotional skills. We set out to address this knowledge gap by investigating the psychometric characteristics of the Social-Emotional Competence Teacher Rating Scale (SECTRS) questionnaire, an instrument originally developed and validated in North America. Participants were 572 teachers from Italy (n=324), Latvia (n=139), and Portugal (n=109) ranging from 40 to 59 years of age. We performed confirmatory factor analysis procedures to validate a four-factor model measuring Teacher-student relationships, Emotion regulation, Social awareness, and Interpersonal relationships. The data supported this factorial structure, with a total of 14 items included in the final model. The outcomes of a multi-group comparison indicated that the model exhibited partial invariance, up to and including metric invariance, across the three cultural settings. We discuss these findings in relation to selecting appropriate instruments for assessing the social and emotional skills of teachers in different cultural contexts.

The goal of the study is to analyse the relation between students' digital learning and transversal skills, as well as between students' digital learning and virtues. In the correlative study, 73 teachers of Class 12 of general education institutions participated, filling out a questionnaire in the Google Docs environment. As a result of the theoretical analysis, the criteria for digital learning have been identified - access to digital technologies, cooperation, teachers' digital competence and availability of activities in compliance with cognitive engagement levels. The findings of the correlation analysis show that the availability of activities in compliance with cognitive engagement levels is the most important in the development of transversal skills, while in the inculcation of virtues - cooperation. The access to digital technologies has a statistically significant correlation with both transversal skills and virtues. The teachers' digital competence promotes digital literacy and such virtues as responsibility and wisdom. The recommendations developed as part of the study include compilation and promotion of the positive experiences of digital learning at the state and local government level; continuous monitoring and feedback analysis of purposeful digital learning and educational quality at school and classroom level; the application of digital learning resources based on the offer of activities in compliance with the students' cognitive engagement levels at the personal level.

It is characteristic that besides other duties teacher competence management and development is becoming a part of school responsibilities. Still, school leaders lack the experience and instruments to accomplish these duties. From a teacher's perspective competence management and development can be seen as the process of identification and implementation of professional development (PD). An effective competence management approach that is widely used in business environments is the identification of required and actual competence profiles to judge which development is needed. Such a competence management approach isn't characteristic of school environments, still a promising perspective on how to solve challenges regarding teacher PD (TPD). TPD interventions are often criticized as being too general ("one size fits all" dominates); therefore, the search for practices on how to "tailor" PD initiatives to individual teacher needs is topical for TPD research. An effective way to personalize TPD could be the determination of TPD profiles and the design of the PD around these profiles. Person-centered approaches dominate in the identification of science teacher profiles, as surveys and tests are commonly used. Examples, of how the identification of science teacher profiles can be done using lesson observation data are missing. Science teaching is a complex process; to limit the complexity of this study, the authors focus on teaching that promotes student conceptual understanding (CU). A mixed method study was designed and conducted in a sample of 26 science teachers, who represented urban municipalities' science teacher population. The study included science teacher lesson observation and analysis, and determination of science teacher performance regarded teaching that promotes student CU. Science teacher performance data were used to identify teachers with similar performance across the selected criteria and to create science teacher profiles. A methodology for how lesson observation data can be used to identify teacher profiles in small teacher samples is described. Six various science teacher profiles in teaching that promote student understanding were identified, characterizing the variety of science TPD needs.

Questions regarding the most effective teaching modality in foreign language instruction remain especially important for adult educators, since adult students have conflicting demands on their time and need to see the value of training. This research was centered around three cohorts of students taking courses of English of the same content and volume from the same provider. The students were university faculty and thus, of comparable demographics, and the courses were funded by the university. Over several years, and as the result of COVID-related restrictions, the courses were delivered in face-to-face (F2F), online, and blended modalities incorporating flipped classroom in the latter two. The aim of the research was to investigate the impact of a course modality on the perceived teaching effectiveness of a language course for adults. A quasi-experiment was used as a type of sequential mixed method. Relative perceived effectiveness of each modality was drawn from a combination of student evaluation of teaching (SET) and semi-structured interviews with former students who acted as both alumni and experts in education. SET comparison revealed no significant differences in results among the three modalities while interviews indicated a preference for the blended learning. At the same time, SETs of fee-paying students with comparable demographics taking similar courses at the same institution and analyzed previously showed a distinctive preference for a blended approach. That might be due to the differences in resources these two groups invested in studies: time vs time and money. The results imply that adult language educators have the flexibility to choose a modality while ensuring teaching effectiveness.

Persuasiveness in oral communication in English can be expressed with various vocal phonetic cues that may not be readily accessible to English second language (L2) learners whose native language may employ a different set of cues. With a goal to increase L2 learners' perceived spoken confidence and persuasiveness, and obtain empirical evidence for phonetic adjustments that native English speakers make to influence listeners, the current study explored the use of consonant prolongation in stressed syllable onsets for emphasis by native British English speakers and English L2 learners. The native speakers' durations of continuant consonants and voiceless stop consonant voice onset times (VOTs) in (1) neutrally-produced speech and (2) persuasively delivered motivational/shocking/emotional messages were compared to Latvian L2 English speakers' productions. The results revealed that in persuasive speech, the British speakers' consonantal durations, particularly those of continuants, got significantly longer relative to the vowels that followed them; for English L2 learners, the duration of consonants did not change as a factor of speech type. This is in line with our previous research with American English speakers and carries implications for L2 speech learning and teaching.

Globally, there is considerable investment in education technologies leading to increased attention from stakeholders (Trucano, 2017). For a deeper understanding about the implementation of various technologies, research is needed to examine how teachers are incorporating them in teaching and learning. This study focused on eight countries to examine how teachers used ICT in mathematics instruction and factors that contributed to ICT use. Results show that teachers' education levels and cooperation amongst educators are associated with ICT use in instruction. The paper includes recommendations and implications for practice and future research.

In the last two years, a growing number of studies have focused on the promotion of students' mental health to address the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, less studies have been conducted on sustaining teachers' mental health which has been affected by the sudden changes in online teaching and the difficulties in keeping and building relationship with students. Even before the pandemic, teaching has long been recognised as one of the most challenging occupations characterized by high levels of stress. Although the research highlighted the key role of mental health promotion among teachers, there is still a lack of programs enhancing teachers' wellbeing. This study examined the impact of the PROMEHS program, a school-based curriculum, on teachers' mental health. A total of 687 teachers participated in the study. Applying a pre- and post-training study design with experimental and waiting list groups, teachers were evaluated in social and emotional learning, resilience, and self-efficacy. The results showed that there was a significant improvement in all competences of the teachers in the experimental group compared to those in the waiting list group. The paper discusses the implications of the findings with recommendations for further studies in the area.

Both the external socio-economic, safety and health conditions, as well as the changes implemented by the education sector (reforms of the curriculum content and approach, the shift of educational development strategy and organizational structure paradigm, technological changes, pandemic restrictions, shortage of teachers) are changing rapidly in the world, which forces educational institutions to raise the awareness of the teachers' professional competence potential in new working conditions and move towards the training of highly qualified, competent and excellence-oriented teachers -- educational institutions have encountered the need to search for the most efficient ways to improve the quality and efficiency of the teaching process. Therefore, the goal of the study has been set to identify the teachers' professional development needs and the self-assessment of competences, determining the fundamental principles of efficient school administration. The research methodology is based on the theoretical research method (scientific and methodical literature analysis); empirical research method (survey of teachers in one of the comprehensive education institutions in Latvia); data processing and analysis methods. Analysing the data obtained in the study, it can be concluded that the factors influencing the teachers' qualitative and efficient professional development are the lack of a systematic approach in the country in general and the work overload. The teacher attends courses and seminars, but is unable to implement the acquired knowledge, insights and innovations in their daily work due to the lack of time, workload and responsibilities, as a result, teachers feel demotivated and are pessimistic about their future path in the profession.

In order to acquire science, it is necessary to perform hands-on activities, make experiments and scientific inquiry with the obtained data, to be able to evaluate critically and understand the scientific concepts, as well as to collaborate and communicate. STEM learning promotes inquiring minds, logical reasoning, and communication and collaboration skills. Studying science at the university, students need both hard -- cognitive and subject specific skills and soft -- interpersonal and intrapersonal skills. The aim of the study was to clarify the appropriateness/usefulness of the learning skills acquired at school for STEM studies at the university. The study consisted of two parts: a systematic review of Web of Science and SCOPUS databases and surveys of 242 first-year science students of the University of Latvia about the learning skills acquired at school performed in 2018-2020. The qualitative data processing program AQUAD was used for processing data obtained from students' survey. Data coding was performed according to the code system developed specifically for this purpose. The qualitative data was transferred into a quantitative format, based on relations between students' statements, and linkages among codes were created. The study allowed concluding that cognitive, interpersonal and intrapersonal skills acquired at school are intrinsic learning skills during the first study year in higher education. There are no principal differences in the evaluation of hard and soft skills in the systematic review and students' responses that proves the appropriateness/usefulness of the 21st-century learning skills acquired at school for science studies at the university.

In contemporary society, constant dynamic change presents a challenge that should be perceived as a determinant factor leading to progress. The aim of this study was to explore the extent to which educational practitioners in general education institutions in Latvia are prepared for change. Additionally, the study seeks to identify the main enabling factors and obstacles in implementing the "School as a Learning Organisation" (SLO) model in general education in Latvia. That was achieved through quantitative data analysis from various perspectives, such as comparing data based on the type and size of educational institutions, as well as the positions and seniority of employees. Research data were collected using a web-based survey designed and maintained through QuestionPro. The final analytic sample comprised 671 respondents from 62 general education institutions in Latvia. The research results revealed that educational practitioners in Latvia, including leading, teaching, and supporting staff from general education institutions, are open to changes, new practices, and innovations. However, there were exceptions influenced by the educational practitioners' seniority and position, institution size, and type. These factors could both positively and negatively predict employees' attitudes towards change. A positive attitude towards change among teaching staff is a crucial element for the successful implementation of educational reforms in Latvia, such as the adoption of the SLO model. To foster a positive organizational culture, school leaders must provide supportive and transformative leadership, which is crucial for employees' positive attitude towards change.

The scientific problem of the paper is related to the need to improve corporate marketing communication by using innovative technologies to improve consumer experience in the purchase decision process and to reduce purchase risks. The use of augmented reality is one of the innovative marketing communication technologies. So far, the impact of the use of this technology on the consumer experience in the purchase decision process has not been sufficiently explored in both qualitative and quantitative aspects, and no statistical data on the use of augmented reality in marketing communication are available. However, the use of augmented reality became an important milestone during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the aim of this study is to assess the role of augmented reality tools in the purchase decision process and to develop proposals to improve the use of augmented reality tools in corporate marketing. The research hypothesis has been confirmed and it has been concluded that the use of augmented reality in marketing communication enhances the consumer experience in the purchase decision process.

The aim of this study was to identify how key actors in school practice understand character education (CE) and virtue education (VE) in Latvia. For addressing the research question ('What advanced understanding of CE and VE do the key actors of school education hold?'), the study uses qualitative analysis and synthesis of participants' (N = 700) (pupils, parents, pre- and in-service schoolteachers, and school heads) opinions about the meaning of and differences between CE and VE. The inquiry elicited participants' views regarding the essence (purpose, 'why'), manifestations (educational focus, 'what'), and the practical implementations (kind of activities, 'how') of CE and VE. The results point to the education of a 'virtuous character', as a synthesis of CE and VE balancing their individual and social dominants and focusing on pupils' friendship attitudes, relationships, behaviours, and actions, which are the sources of well-being and flourishing and are internalised through substantive long-term actions.

Early career investigators (ECIs) in the Social Sciences and Humanities need to receive adequate information so that they will be empowered to progress in their academic career and deal with the various evaluation processes that constitute an essential part of their professional development. This article relies on an informational-ecosystemic approach originally developed in the context of resilience studies and crisis communication and uses it as a theoretical framework to analyse and understand the "early academic career building information ecosystems" (EACBIEs), into which ECIs professionally develop. The characteristics of these ecosystems are then refined through the analysis of interviews conducted with ECIs from all around Europe in the framework of the European Network for Research Evaluation in Social Sciences and Humanities (ENRESSH), European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action. The analysis reveals the remarkable heterogeneity of the information ecosystems into which early career researchers have to build their career in Europe, articulating a diversity of formal, non-formal and informal learning environments, and several related information channels, as well as showing a geographical spread that covers institutional, national and international levels. Furthermore, although the diverse information channels at hand and geographical levels at which they operate appear in some cases to be complementary, and even mutually reinforcing, they can also, in other cases, be dysfunctional, fragmented and unfair to some extent.

The Latvian Song and Dance Celebration's 150th Anniversary (2023) offers a unique case study of community performance's capacity to express solidarity on a spectacular scale. This article argues that the choral concerts may be viewed as applied theatre given their historical and continuing expressions of political resistance, cultural resilience and community renewal. In 2023, the UNESCO listed Celebration incorporated 40,560 performers, around 500,000 in-person spectators and the world's largest choir of 16,500 singers. The mega-event invokes solidarity and spectacle's nested paradoxes amidst historic and continuing socio-political tensions and the Russo-Ukraine War (2014-) while simultaneously highlighting their powerfully affective impact.

In recent decades, much international research has been carried out on school climate and its relationship with learning, socioemotional, and health outcomes (Berkowitz et al., 2017; La Salle, Rocha-Neves, et al., 2021; Pizmony-Levy et al., 2019). Limited research has been carried out to investigate the relationship between school climate and educational inequalities, with particular reference to the results obtained by minoritized students. This contribution focuses on this issue, and it is organized as follows. First, The International School Climate Collaborative, which led to the cross-cultural adaptation of the Georgia School Climate Survey, is presented with normative data for the use of the survey with secondary school students in four countries: Germany, Italy, Latvia, and the United States (La Salle, Rocha-Neves, et al., 2021). Second, the theme of the relationship between School Climate and Educational Equity is focused on the basis of the most recent scientific literature. Third, the theme of the relationship between School Climate and Educational Equity is focused on comparing four countries: the United States, Germany, Italy, and Latvia. Fourth, the practical implications are investigated, focusing on three possible interventions that could be useful for improving the school climate while promoting equity and valuing cultural differences.

The growth and competitiveness of any business, especially micro and SMEs, will increasingly depend on the ability to apply new knowledge, organisation and working methods, as well as the capacity to engage in the commercialisation of research and development to develop new products, services, or processes. In the information society, the development of new products, services, and processes requires the use of innovations resulting from the intellectual activity of creative people. For creators and successors in title of intellectual property rights (various projects, trademarks, inventions, computer programs, etc.) to be able to successfully develop and market their products, they need a functioning IPR protection system. The research found that it is essential for the company to acquire the rights to the works created during the employment contract, and it would be necessary to reasonably limit the author's right to withdraw the work created during the employment relationship.

This paper discusses contemporary societal roles of German in the Baltic states (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania). Speaker and learner statistics and a summary of sociolinguistic research (Linguistic Landscapes, language learning motivation, language policies, international roles of languages) suggest that German has by far fewer speakers and functions than the national languages, English, and Russian, and it is not a dominant language in the contemporary Baltics anymore. However, German is ahead of 'any other language' in terms of users and societal roles as a frequent language in education, of economic relations, as a historical lingua franca, and a language of traditional and new minorities. Highly diverse groups of users and language policy actors form a 'coalition of interested parties' which creates niches which guarantee German a frequent use. In the light of the abundance of its functions, the paper suggests the concept 'additional language of society' for a variety such as German in the Baltics - since there seems to be no adequate alternative labelling which would do justice to all societal roles. The paper argues that this concept may also be used for languages in similar societal situations and, not least, be useful in language marketing and the promotion of multilingualism.

This study continued an in-depth investigation of the Plurilingual Creativity paradigm. It examined how Big Five personality traits moderated the relationship between plurilingualism/pluriculturalism and creativity. Data collection included assessments of plurilingual experience (measured by the abridged version of the Multilingual and Multicultural Experience Questionnaire), multicultural experience and desire (measured by the Multicultural Experience Questionnaire), intercultural competence (measured by Integrative Intercultural Competence Survey), and divergent thinking (measured by Unusual Uses test). A series of regression analyses using moderation models obtained evidence that neuroticism interacted with the plurilingual index (composed of the number of languages spoken by participants and their overall language proficiency), contributing to flexibility in divergent thinking. Extraversion interacted with the intercultural competence component, namely the management of intercultural interaction, contributing to fluency, flexibility, and originality in divergent thinking. It also interacted with multicultural experience in contributing to fluency. These findings emphasized the importance of considering personality traits in plurilingual creativity.

International student mobility has been rising as a global phenomenon in the last few decades, while its impact could be various in different contexts. For the European Union (EU), studying in another EU member country could be regarded as an important factor for the solidarity and integrity of the Union. The current study elaborates on the role of studying abroad regarding the attitudes of people toward immigration in the EU. It shows that people who are studying in an EU member country, belonging to higher social classes and from EU15 countries, are more likely to have positive attitudes toward immigration. But after controlling several socio-demographic variables studying abroad still contributes positively to the attitudes of EU citizens toward immigration. Accordingly, current study provides promising pieces of evidence on the social contribution of studying abroad for both future research and policymakers.

The relation between academic achievement and various measurements of cognitive abilities, problem-solving skills and self-managed learning has been established in the research before the COVID-19 pandemic and distance learning. The aim of the current research was to analyze the extent to which these aspects predicted the educational achievement of 9th grade students (mean age 15.4 years) during distance learning, when students had to do relatively more tasks independently, organize their daily learning and deal with problems on their own. Relations between self-assessed problem-solving skills, self-management skills, tests of reasoning abilities and the results of diagnostic tests in Mathematics and Latvian were analyzed for n = 256 and n = 244 students, respectively. The results show that: (1) diagnostic test results in Mathematics are best predicted by the parental education level, fluid nonverbal reasoning and verbal reasoning; (2) the best predictors for the results in the diagnostic test in Latvian are parental education, flexibility to change the solution, fluid nonverbal reasoning and verbal reasoning; (3) self-management cannot significantly predict the results of either of the two tests, although it correlates to the results of the tests in both Mathematics and Latvian; (4) only one of the aspects of problem-solving, flexibility to change the solution, can significantly predict results in diagnostic tests. The results confirm the significance of cognitive abilities as an important predictor of academic achievement, as well as the role of parents' education level. The results also suggest that the flexibility to change the solution, an aspect of problem-solving, might play a role in students' success in academic tests.

The longitudinal changes of the average grades in four study semesters before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and distance learning are presented in the current study. 11th grade students' (n=586; age M=17.38, SD=0.53) average grades were assessed, as well as their verbal and non-verbal reasoning abilities, and self-evaluations of problem-solving and self-management skills. The main findings of the study are: (1) There is a general pattern for the grades to increase during the four semesters from the autumn 2019 to the spring 2021; (2) The general tendency of changes in the grades is similar to various students' groups based on their level of skills; (3) Higher level of students' skills and cognitive abilities determined that students' grades were higher and were more likely to increase during the "second wave of the pandemic", compared to the middle and low-level skill groups. Results of the current study show a tendency for the average grades to increase during the pandemic and distance learning, however, there are group differences in the findings, relating the grade level to the individual level of students' skills and abilities.

The competency-based approach is currently introduced throughout the whole pre-school education system, and this process reveals the uncertainty, doubts, confusion, and unpreparedness of teachers for the implementation of this task. It also highlights the need to provide new guidance for the professional development of in-service teachers. The article presents the results of a survey on the professional needs of pre-school teachers for implementing a competency-based approach. The research data is obtained from focus group discussions, teacher surveys, and self-assessments from teachers' professional development courses. The research data shows that the most topical professional development needs of pre-school teachers are linked to the need for an in-depth understanding of such components of competency-based approach as equity, meaningful assessment, personalized learning, transversal skills, and learning environments, allowing to identify the tasks for the professional development of teachers to promote a common understanding for implementing a competency-based approach in pre-school education.

The life quality of society and the stability of national economy is largely connected with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The complex character of STEM education demands informed teaching/learning strategies in order to make the 21st century youth interested in learning. The aim of the research was to find out the views of prospective pre-school teachers on Grade 9 students' STEM learning, thus addressing the topical principle of continuity in education. A survey of 261 prospective pre-school teachers of the University of Latvia was performed. The obtained results show that in general the prospective pre-school teachers have some notion about the level of teaching/learning requirements in Grade 9 of the basic school, the integration of STEM and teaching/learning strategies. They acknowledge cognitive interest, inquiry-based learning and the importance of STEM knowledge and skills in the national development as significant, but little value is given to the exploration of nature in out-of-school time and to the importance of mathematical skills. More experienced respondents assess STEM learning higher. The given research raises the issue of the principle of continuity in education and gives a possibility to understand better the needs of prospective teachers in order to improve teacher education programs at the University.

The pressure to publish in scholarly journals has been increasingly pervading doctoral education worldwide and has become a high-stakes activity for any novice writer who wishes to pursue an academic career. In this manuscript, we explore how doctoral students of management from Eastern Europe identify and evaluate authorial voice and compare their perceptions with those of established academics. Perceptions of authorial voice, as manifested in conclusions to six articles published in top-tier management journals, were collected from 24 students and six academics, and analyzed from their responses to a questionnaire. The study highlighted differences in what these groups considered as the rhetorical nature of a convincing authorial voice. The examination of students' perceptions was expanded through interviews which revealed that for this group, a reader-considerate voice is essential for a text to be convincing. To enable novice academics' visibility and participation in their discipline's global discourse community, we provide a compelling case for de-emphasizing the methodological and theoretical soundness ("rigor") in reporting scholarly work and prioritizing the effective communication of meaningful and practical research ("relevance"). It is also argued that the provision of strategic writing instruction at graduate level will help achieve this goal.

The COVID-19 pandemic has left significant consequences at every level of education, including adult education. In order to adapt to the restriction caused by the pandemic, adult education institutions all around the world were forced to transform the way how the educational process was being organized. By introducing various web-related technologies, the physical place of teaching and learning processes has become a less significant factor, thereby, potentially, contributing to the inclusiveness of education and, as a result, to sustainable development. The paper aims to analyze how the recent transformation of adult education caused by the pandemic between 2020 and 2022 contributed to the sustainable development of Latvia. To achieve the aim, the following research methods are used: a scientific literature review to investigate the concepts of sustainable development and online adult education as well as their potential correlation, a survey of adult education institutions in Latvia, as well as statistical data analysis of adult education indicators. The main findings of the article: during the pandemic when the in-person teaching process was restricted, the Latvian adult education sector experienced unprecedented digital transformation. The transformation positively contributed to the improvement of not only the digital skills of teachers and learners but also to the sustainable development of Latvia by facilitating access to potential learners living in rural areas and regions.

Soviet higher education had a distinctive institutional landscape. It combined two institutional types in a uniform model that embedded higher education in the national economy. This paper focuses on the post-Soviet system-level changes in the institutional landscape in all 15 countries of the former USSR. It shows that over last three decades the Soviet two-type institutional model evolved into a three-type model, with the specialized university as a new institutional type. Highlighting the instruments of horizontal and vertical differentiation for each country, the paper explains how structural reforms and market forces led to the rise of the university/multiversity form of institution, and the strengthening of vertical stratification at system level. The comparative analysis shows that there have been different patterns of transformation in the 15 countries, shaped by unique combinations of structural reforms and marketization policies, with certain countries having made more distinctive steps away from the Soviet institutional model. There are now 15 formally different systems of higher education which poses further questions for comparative analysis.

Supporting a sustainable world in a situation of war is the background to this study. Additionally, interdisciplinarity forms a part of the dialogical ecosystem of searching for suitable solutions in a complex reality. For such purposes, in this contribution, the co-authors reflect on an actual instance of war. The first author provides a theological, socio-political and philosophical framework for an understanding, based in realism, of the relationship between theology and politics. The second author provides a first-hand case description from Riga, Latvia, of a politically-linked ecumenical project to assist Ukrainian refugees from the Russian invasion.

This paper examines the internationalisation processes in the higher education sector in Latvia and explores the motives of international students to study in Latvia, their experience and their plans. The study uses a quantitative data collection method -- a survey -- the results of which allow us to judge the main trends of internationalisation processes in Latvia. The differences between different groups were investigated, highlighting the countries with the most respondents -- India and Germany, and comparing them with each other and with students from other countries. The results show that there are substantial differences between the groups. For German students, Latvia was more of a second option when they failed to get into their preferred university in their home country or elsewhere. They chose to study in Latvia mainly because of the university's study programmes. At the same time, students from India were also interested in factors such as culture, the Baltic region and the attractiveness of Riga.

It is now 10 years since the "European Declaration on the Health of Children and Young People with Intellectual Disabilities and their Families: Better Health -- Better Lives" was adopted by the World Health Organization. Through discussions with key informants and an online literature review, we reflect on actions and progress made in line with this Declaration to improve the health and wellbeing of children with intellectual disabilities and their families. Despite finding positive examples of policy, legislation and practice in support of children with intellectual disabilities, there are clear gaps and areas for improvement. Countries must continue to take action, as supported by the World Health Organization and other such organisations, in order to support children with intellectual disabilities in realising their fundamental human rights.

This article is based on texts recorded during field studies carried out in Daugavpils in the summer of 2019. It compares the language of two representatives of older-generation intelligentsia and juxtaposes the findings with materials from an unpublished doctoral thesis by Malgorzata Ostrówka "Wspólczesna polszczyzna mówiona na Lotwie" ("Contemporary Spoken Polish Language in Latvia"). The author collected her material in the 1990s. In this article we describe both the contemporary and past sociolinguistic situation highlighting changes that occurred in the Polish language.

One of the current problems in the context of education is the question of how to achieve students' maximum knowledge acquisition capacity, while simultaneously taking into account the diversity of each student. The aim of the article is to analyse how to more effectively achieve the standard set in the Latvian legislation, taking into account the individuality of each resident as defined in the Education Law. In this article the author analyses the results of a survey conducted in the spring 2021 as well as an interview. The participants for the survey were 50 and the participants for the interview were 9. Data was analysed using SPSS. The findings of the study and recommendation shall provide answers to all educators who seek the way how to teach more effectively in heterogonous classes. [Note: The page range (3343-3352) on .pdf is incorrect. The correct page range is p3343-3353.]

Due to the global pandemic caused by the spread of coronavirus disease, the educational process has experienced very significant transformations -- in the pedagogical process both pupils and parents, teachers and education policy makers have encountered essential challenges and an unprecedent experience The aim of the research, based on the theoretical study of the distance learning concept and empirical research, and finding out the teachers' attitude towards distance learning, is to describe the Latvia experience in distance learning during COVID-19 conditions. The research's methodology is based on teacher survey, regulatory analysis, and concessional analysis. The study highlights problems in the context of distance learning and makes a significant contribution to further research. Analysing the results of the empirical study and outcomes of the survey, it has been concluded that teachers feel psycho-emotional and physiological overload due to distance education.

Life-long learning, including development of professional competence, is an essential paradigm of the 21st century. The goal of this research is to analyse the quality and efficiency of the educators' professional competence enhancement programme dubbed "Fundamentals of Programming in Visual Programming Environment Scratch" in accordance with the following criteria: organization, lecturer's competence, quality of handouts, content, expectations, usefulness, applicability, and the overall assessment of the programme. The target group of the research is 98 educators of Latvia. Data was collected using close and open questions to ensure triangulation of data. Results were analysed using SPSS 20. The correlation coefficient was used to analyse the data. Per the results of the analysis, the acquisition of the professional competence enhancement programme, educators have significantly improved their knowledge in programming, as well as the digital competence in general.

Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, most students were forced to study remotely, including students in Latvia. This publication aims to reflect on the remote learning process during COVID-19, analysing the results obtained by students during their internships. The research study involves 81 full-time and part-time students of Liepaja University study programmes. This publication is based on qualitative empirical research, using the case study method within a natural environment. The results were analysed using content analysis. As the result of this study, the conclusions are drawn, revealing the identified problems, strong points and contradictions in the learning process, providing a basis for improvements. The obtained research results can serve as a foundation for the research in future.

A learning environment that offers the opportunity for the child to explore the world, express him/herself and use everyday life as a learning experience forms the basis for a child's self-directed learning. This research's objective is to discover the determining factors of the child's self-directed learning, revealing the challenges faced by the teachers in organizing self-directed learning process. This is a phenomenological research study, designed as a mixed sequential qualitative and quantitative study, which implies a qualitative processing of the initial data. 150 teachers from different regions and cities of Latvia completed the survey. The interviews were conducted with seven participants. In this study, 50 self-assessments of pre-school teachers were analysed focusing on the quality of their professional activity. We discovered a shift in teachers' understanding of their professional pedagogical activity, its content and implementation methods related to metacognitive abilities, in order to effectively plan, organize and evaluate their pedagogical strategies.

Due to the shortage of teachers at schools, the Ministry of Education and Science in Latvia has devoted special attention to fast track of teachers to teaching starting new teacher education project to attract capable and motivated professionals from various fields to the work of a teacher. This also raised the necessity for the development of programme and training competent teachers to act as mentors in school-based teacher education programme. The study aimed to explore and evaluate mentor education in the context of work-based (school-based) initial teacher education. The research sample consisted of 55 participants of mentor professional development programme and 2 mentor trainers. The data analysis of participants' questionnaires, reflections, mentor trainers' self-evaluations and feedback on participants' assignments led to the guidelines for building partnership between schools and universities to promote a common understanding of school-based teacher education.

Several studies have been published on disengaged test respondents, and others have analyzed disengaged survey respondents separately. For many large-scale assessments, students answer questionnaire and test items in succession. This study examines the percentage of students who continuously engage in disengaged responding behaviors across sections in a low-stakes assessment. The effects on calculated scores of filtering students, based on their responding behaviors, are also analyzed. Data of this study came from the 2015 administration of PISA. For data analysis, frequencies and percentages of engaged students in the sessions were initially calculated using students' response times. To investigate the impact of filtering disengaged respondents on parameter estimation, three groups were created, namely engaged in both measures, engaged only in the test, and engaged only in the questionnaire. Next, several validity checks were performed on each group to verify the accuracy of the classifications and the impact of filtering student groups based on their responding behavior. The results indicate that students who are disengaged in tests tend to continue this behavior when responding to the questionnaire items in PISA. Moreover, the rate of continuity of disengaged responding is non-negligible as can be seen from the effect sizes. On the other hand, removing disengaged students in both measures led to higher or nearly the same performance ratings compared to the other groups. Researchers analyzing the dataset including achievement tests and survey items are recommended to review disengaged responses and filter out students who are continuously showing disengaged responding before performing further statistical analysis.