Lithuanian Schools Research Articles

Emotional and behavioural problems of left behind children in Lithuania: a comparative analysis of youth self-reports and parent/caregiver reports using ASEBA.

Children being left behind (LBC) in their home countries due to parental emigration is a global issue. Research shows that parents' emigration negatively affects children's mental health and well-being. Despite a high number of LBC, there is a dearth of data from Eastern European countries. The present study aims to collect and analyse self-reported data on LBC emotional and behavioural problems and compare children's reports with those of parents/caregivers. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 24 Lithuanian schools, involving parents/caregivers and their children aged 12 to 17. We employed self-reported measures, including the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) tools -Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL 6/18) and Youth Self Report (YSR 11/18), to evaluate the emotional and behavioural problems of the children. These instruments had been translated, standardised, and validated for the Lithuanian population. Data collection took place between January 2022 and April 2023. In addition to descriptive analysis, multivariate regression was used to adjust for various sociodemographic factors. A total of 760 parents/caregivers and 728 of their children participated in the study. LBC exhibited higher total problem scores (57.7; 95% CI 52.0-63.4) compared to non-LBC (47.1; 95% CI 44.7-49.4). These differences were consistent across all YSR 11/18 problem scales. However, no significant differences were observed in CBCL 6/18 scores. Furthermore, LBC self-reported a higher total problem score (57.7; 95% CI 52.0-63.4) compared to their parents/caregivers (24.9; 95% CI 18.9-30.9), and this pattern persisted across all scales. Being female, having school-related problems and having LBC status were associated with higher YSR 11/18 scores in the multivariable regression, while female gender, living in rural areas, school-related problems, and having hobbies were associated with higher CBCL 6/18 scores. This study highlights that LBC report more emotional and behavioural challenges than their non-LBC peers, while parent/caregiver assessments show lower problem scores for LBC. Gender, living environment, school-related issues, and engagement in hobbies have influenced these outcomes. These findings underscore the multifaceted nature of the experiences of LBC and the importance of considering various contextual factors in understanding and addressing their emotional and behavioural well-being.

XIX a. antrosios pusės Prūsijos Lietuvos protestantų knygos su giesmių melodijomis skaitmenimis

In Prussian Lithuania, several religious works were published in Lithuanian in the second half of the nineteenth century, in which the melodies of hymns were marked not in the traditional way, but in numbers and other conventional graphic symbols. The introduction of numerical notation should be linked to Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi’s (1746–1827) pedagogical attitudes and changes in the educational system of the Kingdom of Prussia. These changes were driven by changing attitudes towards the education of young people from the lower social stratum. Elementary schools and teachers’ seminaries were paying more attention to the musical education of young people. The aim of this article is to identify, register, and describe the hymnbooks of Prussian Lithuanian schools and surinkimai (home-prayer service) as well as other Protestant books published in Prussian Lithuania in the second half of the nineteenth century, in which the melodies of hymns are given in numbers. The article presents the reconstruction of a number of melodies and their transcription in modern musical notation. The melodies reconstructed are those to which the compilers of the books added musical explanations.

ŽALIOJI PAMOKA „SKAIDYTOJAI IR JŲ VEIKLA“ KETVIRTOS KLASĖS MOKINIAMS: BŪSIMŲJŲ MOKYTOJŲ PATIRTYS

Natural science is a unique school subject that cannot be carried out without the implementation of real examples from nature. Despite this, in today’s Lithuanian schools, the lessons of natural science are still mostly organized in a classroom environment, without taking into account the benefits of practical, experiential learning. All over the world, learning outside the classroom is perceived as the key to the formation of students’ social skills. Also, education in the natural environment allows to connect and deepen existing natural science knowledge, fosters a positive relationship with nature and creates a holistic understanding of human impact on the environment. One of the models for organizing a lesson in a "non-traditional environment" is a so-called green lesson, during which the learning process is organized in nature and theoretical knowledge is supplemented by exploratory activities. According to Verbickienė (2022), a correct initial understanding of the environment and its processes helps to discover and recognize the world around us and forms the appropriate moral attitudes. This article presents the plan of a green lesson conducted in a school in Vilnius on the topic "Decomposers and their activities" for the 4th-grade students and introduces the materials needed for the lesson activities. The experience of organizing this green lesson is also discussed, the strengths and limitations of the activities are identified, and an analysis of the students' work is presented. Keywords: green lesson, education outside the classroom, natural environment, natural science education, decomposers

Population-Based Screening for Coeliac Disease in Lithuanian Children from 2009 to 2014.

Background and Objectives. Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disorder provoked by a dietary group of proteins called gluten in genetically predisposed individuals. Over the past several decades, the prevalence of coeliac disease has been steadily growing and it is now recognized to be occurring worldwide. The prevalence varies greatly between ethnic, racial groups and regionally. Such variability makes local epidemiological studies important for spreading awareness and setting a threshold for suspicion of coeliac disease. We explored the potential application of a quick point-of-care test for the purpose of detecting a presence of IgA class TG2 antibodies for coeliac disease and screening in a Lithuanian pediatric population. Previously, there were no data regarding coeliac disease prevalence in Lithuania. Materials and Methods. Overall, we included 1458 children 11-13 years of age from several Lithuanian schools selected randomly in this study. Utilizing one point-of-care test using a single blood sample taken from a fingertip, we identified the existence of IgA class TG2 antibodies. Only children whose parents gave consent were enrolled in the study. Those with positive IgA class TG2-ab were directed to a tertiary hospital for additional clinical assessment and confirmation of suspected coeliac disease. Results. A total of two (0.14%) of the 1458 enrolled children were detected with the presence of TG2 antibodies and the coeliac disease diagnosis was further confirmed with histological examination of duodenal biopsy samples. Additionally, we checked that patients had not previously reported any clinical symptoms and signs that could suggest coeliac disease or any other disease of the gastrointestinal tract. Conclusions. The detected prevalence of coeliac disease in the Lithuanian pediatric population is 1:729. The rapid finger prick test for the presence of IgA class TG2 antibodies is a reasonable and accurate method to screen for celiac disease in children.

Future Scenarios of the Lithuanian School: “What’s the Point?“

The article presents the results of our research project and development of four futuristic scenarios for the Lithuanian school attempting to answer the question: What’s the point? The idea of the article matured during the ongoing presentations of the project insights in public academic space, where two questions were often posed: What’s the point of this? What are the practical benefits? Therefore, the article features the methodology of scenario development and describes the benefits of these and similar scenarios, why they are created, and the possible benefits of the scenarios developed within the framework of this project.

Education Professionals’ Cooperative Learning for the Development of Professional Capital

This article presents the research results on developing professional capital in Lithuanian schools during the national project “Time for leaders”. The longitudinal national initiative aimed to develop professional capital as the synergy of human, social and decisional components of schools through educational professionals’ various cooperation-based learning experiences. Using the descriptive case study approach, the article investigates the question of how the cooperative learning approach, applied in a long-term professional development project for education professionals, develop individuals’ professional capital. The paper provides an overview of project interventions (i.e., activities that stimulated cooperative learning of educational professionals) in the light of cooperative learning principles. The assessment of change over two project years in education professionals’ perceptions of professional capital, which is presented using Cohen’s d effect size measure. The measurement sample consisted of teachers (n(I) = 5105; n(II) = 4683) and school leaders (n(I) = 439; n(II) = 405) from 189 schools in 30 Lithuanian municipalities. The findings show a statistically significant medium positive change in professional capital. The most considerable change was estimated in the social and decisional capital dimensions and the relative smallest in the field of human capital.

National Identity and Patriotic Attitudes: A Case of Lithuanian School Students


 
 
 This paper discusses the situation of people in the current modern nation state in terms of their relation to their own nation and state. They are situated between patriotic and economic interests, between individual rights and national interest, between empirical needs and abstract requirements. These tensions, described more elaborately in a previous article, are illustrated by the research of focus groups on the attitudes of Lithuanian school students. A majority of students was found to prefer economic and personal motivation over patriotic. Historical education based on comics was tested as a way to implement more patriotic attitudes.
 
 

Interaction and collaboration in Lithuanian schools during COVID-19 pandemic distance learning

Abstract Interaction and collaboration are essential pillars of successful learning.. The study aimed to find out how school communities collaborated during the COVID-19 pandemic and to assess the importance of collaboration in addressing the challenges faced. The selection of eight schools was made in a targeted way, considering that the participating schools would have chosen different virtual learning environments or technologies used for distance learning; and that schools would be of different types and sizes, and from different regions of Lithuania.. Three methods were used in this qualitative study: analysis of scientific literature, expert interviews, and focus group discussions. The results of our study confirmed that the focus of distance learning is on technological solutions, but not on the methodologies and strategies used to organise learning in virtual learning environments. Moving ‘traditional’ teaching to virtual space has become a key strategy for organising learning in virtual learning environments. The transfer of ‘traditional’ teaching strategies to distance learning not only limits the impactful interaction in virtual learning environments but also encourages ‘academic dishonesty’ among students. The success of distance learning strongly depends on students’ motivation, as well as their ability to organise their learning, solve problems in teams and critically evaluate the information provided.

Connections between the Academic Achievement, Vocational Selection, and Careers of Pilots

Research demonstrates that a pilot should have specific skills and abilities. Therefore, professional aptitude tests developed by AGAI are used to select the best graduates for the pilot profession. This research investigates the connections between pilots’ academic achievement, vocational selection, and careers. The sample comprises 52 subjects who started studying in 2009, 2010, and 2011. They were evaluated based on their maturity examinations, vocational selection, academic achievement, and professional career. We observed that the average scores for the pilots’ Lithuanian language, mathematics, and physics maturity examinations are statistically significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the average scores of Lithuanian school graduates. The vast majority of the enrolled students completed their studies and began work in their field of specialty. The academic achievement of those working as pilots (a person who has completed 5 years of pilot studies and works as a captain or first officer) differ in that their average scores in physical study subjects are statistically significantly higher. The graduates who received higher study scores during this study show a statistically significant frequency in their employment as pilots (2–4 quartile). These research findings show that academic achievement and vocational selection are characteristics of those who work as pilots.

Lietuvių kalba kaip klaida. Raštingumo samprata ir kalbos taisymai mokykloje

This special issue documents the history of formal writing education in Lithuania in the second half of the 20th and early 21st centuries by taking a (socio)linguistically informed approach to school literacy. The study consists of four contributions, one theoretical and three empirical. The authors explore authentic pupils’ written language practices by focusing on variation in spelling, morphology and syntax, word choice as well as stylistic expression, as corrected by teachers, and critically contrast the data with the dominant normativist (or prescriptivist) approach to school literacy in Lithuania. The data for the empirical contributions were retrieved from an anonymised database “Rašinėliai” (‘School Essays’) which some of the authors of the study have been collecting since 2014 for the purpose of investigation of school writing in Lithuania. At the time the study was conducted, the researchers could choose among more than 7,500 PDF files documenting writing by almost 950 different pupils between 1st and 12th grades, of which almost 80% were teacher-corrected. The results of the study can be interpreted as revealing the cognitive and social diversity of the literacy phenomenon. There were virtually no cases in the data of the pupils’ written essays that could not be explained by natural cognitive or social causes. Among the main causes of linguistic variation, the findings identified (1) the influence of spoken language with its own phonetic and grammatical rules; (2) the cognitive mechanism called analogy, whereby pupils internalise a certain spelling convention and then generalise it; and (3) the potentially interconnected factors as the genre, the motivation of the pupils and pedagogical practice. The authors hope that the study will show both the originality and productiveness of the sociolinguistic approach when applied to data from Lithuanian schools, as well as its theoretical potential of developing sociolinguistics of school literacy. Besides that, there is an expectation that the research will have important implications for local educational policies and pedagogical practice.

Jūratė Baranova and the Way of Philosophy to the Lithuanian School

The article analyses the contribution of Professor Jūratė Baranova to the introduction of philosophy teaching into the Lithuanian general school. There is a discussion about the need of philosophy teaching, the initiatives of Baranova and her colleagues’ mutual activities preparing textbooks and other teaching tools. The courses initiated, the philosophy education programmes for teachers and teacher re-skilling programmes, as well as students’ Philosophy Olympiads are presented. The educational projects of Baranova and her co-authors are reviewed, focusing on teaching cultural literacy at school whilst using dialogue, argumentation and multimodality. The author concludes that Baranova was one of the key contributors amongst Lithuanian professors and teachers, who made an input to the introduction and development of philosophy education at schools.

MOKYTOJŲ PASIRENGIMAS ORGANIZUOTI IR REALIZUOTI GAMTAMOKSLINĮ UGDYMĄ PRADINĖJE MOKYKLOJE

There is no doubt that the purpose of general natural science education is the systemic study and knowledge of the basics of natural sciences and the individual, most general laws of nature. Natural science education as a process is directly aimed at assimilation of experience in the field of natural sciences (formation of the system of natural science knowledge, skills, and abilities). In the process of natural science education, a person's orientation toward nature is developed, taking into account the ideas formed in society about the system of relations between nature and man. Personal qualities based on a value approach to nature and the surrounding world are also formed and developed. Primary science education should be systemic, consistent, and of high quality. In a pilot study conducted in 2018, it was established that primary school teachers’ professional preparedness in the field of natural science education remains relevant. Although teachers tend to demonstrate various experiments, researching is not a dominating activity. Also, a similar situation is observed speaking about the use of technology in the educational process. Teacher preparedness to organise and implement science education in primary school is quite uneven. Thus, the main goal of this study is – to analyse preparedness of primary school teachers to organise and implement science education in primary school according to the main scientific fields and their knowledge (the level of knowledge) in the essential fields of natural sciences. This research study based on a prior conducted pilot study, supplements and expands it. 115 primary school teachers from more than 30 Lithuanian schools participated in the study. All subjects by gender are women. It can be reasonably stated that preparedness of primary school teachers in the field of science education is basically average. Preparedness according to the main fields of natural sciences varies quite widely. The best preparedness is fixed in such areas as environmental protection, healthy lifestyle, ecology, etc. These are the areas that express not only the natural science component but also the component of social education. However, in the fields that express the issues of chemistry and physical sciences, the preparedness, though evaluated as positive, is significantly lower. Teachers’ knowledge in the essential fields of natural sciences is also diverse. Teachers feel knowing environmental protection issues best, but the knowledge in the new fields such as Nanotechnology and Genetic Engineering is extremely low. It is necessary to consistently and systematically develop primary school teachers’ natural science competencies, i.e., the ability to organise research-based learning, practical activities in various educational environments (especially in nature). Subject preparation of primary school teachers in the field of natural sciences and especially strengthening the preparedness of future primary school teachers in the field of natural science education, and the change of study programmes in the aspect of natural science content is an urgent problem. Keywords: natural sciences, primary school, professional preparedness, science education

The Benefits of Learning Analytics for Education: An Analysis of the Experiences of Lithuanian General Education School Teachers

The article discusses the benefits of learning analytics for education: the theoretical part reveals the concept of learning analytics, discusses how learning analytics technologies help to improve the teaching / learning process. The focus is on the most important group of learning analytics beneficiaries - teachers. The benefits of learning analytics in teachers’ pedagogical work are discussed. The empirical part of the article presents the results of a qualitative study for the analysis of teachers’ experiences. The study involved 17 teachers from Lithuanian general education schools with experience in working with learning analytics tools. The semi-structured interview method allowed to gather the research participants’ insights into the use of learning analytics in Lithuanian schools from the perspective of teachers. Qualitative analysis of the content of the informants’ answers revealed teachers’ opinion on the benefits of learning analytics for teaching and learning, teachers’ competencies to work with learning analytics tools, empowering teachers to use learning analytics tools and to make data-based pedagogical decisions.

Towards the Effective Motivation: Adaptation of the Situations in School Questionnaire (SISQ) to Lithuanian Educational Context

To help teachers understand their role in students’ motivation and well-being, the researchers within SDT (Aelterman et al., 2019) have recently proposed a Circumplex model – the integrative and fine-grained approach to analyze the variety and interactions of (de)motivating teaching styles. The purpose of the current study is to adapt the student version of the Situations in School Questionnaire based on the Circumplex model for Lithuanian educational context. 715 seventh- and eighth-grade students (50.9% girls, Mage=13.42 years) from ten Lithuanian schools participated in the study. The SISQ was used to measure (de)motivating teaching styles, also behavioral and cognitive engagement in learning as well as well-being (positive and negative emotions, satisfaction with math classes) were assessed as indicators of students’ functioning. 
 Multidimensional scaling, confirmatory factor analysis, and correlational analysis showed the match of the SISQ structure to the Circumplex model. (De)motivating teaching can be best graphically represented by a two-dimensional configuration that differed in terms of need support and directiveness. Correlations between eight subareas and indicators of students’ functioning followed a systematic sinusoid pattern, suggesting a gradual effect of teaching on students’ outcomes. With the adaptation being successful, student version of the SISQ can be used in Lithuanian educational context.

Developing General and Subject Competences of Primary School Pupils in the Context of Integrated Education: the Case of one Lithuanian School

Aim. The aim of the research is to provide a scientific justification for the integrated development of general and subject-specific competences of primary school pupils. Methods. The exploratory qualitative case study was conducted in a private school in Lithuania. The integrated activities covered the content of Lithuanian language and science education, as well as general competences such as communication and digital competences. The activity was implemented in grade 4 with 12 pupils (8 boys and 4 girls). A semi-structured interview with the class teacher was also conducted. Results and conclusion. The data from the empirical study were analysed according to the following thematic clusters: interest in the activity, group work, searching for information in the encyclopaedia and in electronic sources, working with a robot when integrating the digital skills and the content of science education, descriptions of animals as a summarising and consolidating activity. The study found that if the educational process is well thought out, if the pupils are interested, they can work independently and support each other in explaining the content, while the teacher becomes an observer, a facilitator, and can concentrate on the pupils’ individual activities during this process. Well-designed tasks with the robot develop not only digital literacy skills, but also the reinforcement of subject content related to the use of concepts. Originality. The case study provides valuable insights into the implementation of an educational process that integrates general and subject-specific competences, and the detailed description of the activities shows which tasks support students’ independent learning.

Social emotional health, life satisfaction and school climate of junior school students in the context of Covid-19 pandemic crisis: Longitudinal research in Lithuania

Research on students’ social-emotional health is important for quality learning and well-being at school, especially during the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic times. Purpose: to investigate younger school-age students’ social-emotional health, satisfaction with life, and perceived school climate in the Covid-19 pandemic crisis and the predominance of distance learning by longitudinal research strategy. Method: Social and Emotional Health Survey-Primary (SEHS-P; Furlong et al., 2013) and Multidimensional Students Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS; Huebner, 2001). The sample was 84 junior school-age students (10 –12 years old) from Lithuanian schools. The results and conclusions: The first months of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis led to the deterioration of social-emotional health and satisfaction of younger school-age students. However, after 8 months of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis (re-test), some improvements in students’ emotional health, satisfaction with life, and classroom microclimate were observed. No gender-based differences were identified among students. The results revealed positive and significant correlations between the younger school-age students’ social-emotional health, satisfaction with life, and perceived school climate; the conducted regression analysis showed that family plays a significant role in junior school students’ social-emotional health. The teachers’ support for distance learning students could have improved their classroom microclimate and the knowledge of students’ health status could have helped them to adapt to distance learning more effectively during the Covid-19 pandemic crisis.

The Perception of Linguistic Performance among Primary School Students when Collaborative Learning

The framework document Good School Performance (Koncepcija 2015), regulating the curriculum of Lithuanian schools, states that school curriculum should engage, motivate, be wide in scope, as well as exhaustive and challenging, and encourage problem solving; it should develop competences necessary for modern life; enable learning through research, experiments, discovery and invention, creation, communication, and collaboration. Self-identification as a member of a group/class is a fundamental value that enables quality learning and socially responsible activities. Students demonstrate a positive learning approach if they feel they belong to the class/school environment and identify themselves as its full-fledged members. The sense of belonging to an educational group/community is of great importance. It is when students feel as outsiders that complications arise. The failure to identify with the community leads to learning difficulties, subject irrelevance and therefore goals that are not only beyond reach but also goals that student are not willing to pursue. This article discusses how Lithuanian primary school students perceive collaborative learning, which integrates the development of language skills.

Forecasting of Successful Completion of University Study Programs: Data Pre-processing and Optimization of LAMA BPO Algorithm

Lithuanian school graduates wishing to be admitted to state-funded places at universities undergo a competitive selection based on their final school and state exam grades. The problem of organizing competitive selection is that in Lithuania there are different types and scales of school knowledge assessments. Algorithm developed by LAMA BPO address this problem by adjusting grades into a single scale. But choice of final arithmetic values into which pupil's grades are converted is not justified theoretically. Proposed by the authors algorithm is a development of the LAMA BPO algorithm and allows to achieve a consistently higher accuracy of predicting learning results at the university. The higher accuracy of the models indicates a better capture of the central trend: a positive correlation between the level of performance in individual school disciplines and the results of university education in certain study programs.

The Language of Returning Emigrant Children: Preliminary Insights

The article overviews the Lithuanian language of returning emigrant children. It is based on the project “Linguistic Integration of Returning Emigrant Children: Proficiency in Lithuanian and its Development” (RCL Agreement No. S-REP-21-1), implemented in 2021–2022. The data were selected from two Lithuanian language children’s corpora (returning emigrant children (KG) and permanently residing in Lithuania children (KL)) collected during the project at eight Lithuanian schools. The corpora consist of the Lithuanian language production by children aged 8–12 who returned to Lithuania from English-speaking countries 1–2 years ago and by their peers in Lithuania. The article aims to identify differences in the linguistic expression of KG and KL by comparing the word frequency lists and overviewing verb, noun, and adjective. The quantitative findings show no significant differences in the use of the selected parts of speech. The results suggest that according to the available language skills and competences, the returning emigrant children can communicate on everyday topics quite freely, and their linguistic expression is similar to the language of their peers in Lithuania.

(Dis)Satisfaction with the Body Image Among 13-14-Year-Old Students of Lithuanian Schools

(Dis)Satisfaction with the Body Image Among 13-14-Year-Old Students of Lithuanian Schools