Development of education policy in Lithuania during the years of transformations

Development of education policy in Central and Eastern Europe is a specific type of educational transformations. Though almost all the countries in the region began their reforms from a similar starting point—the Soviet-type education system—eventually they moved towards different educational models. As a result of the full EU membership of the eight post-communist Central and Eastern European countries, one may recently observe a certain convergence of reform patterns, determined by the development of the common EU education policy. Lithuania is a typical example of educational transformations in the region. The article highlights the development of education policy in Lithuania from a highly inspirational and spontaneous transformations in early 1990s to more pragmatic and economically grounded reforms in late 1990s and early 2000s. Further integration into the EU evoke new systemic changes in Lithuanian education.     

The impact of Nordic adult education ideas on the development of a democratic society in Lithuania

This article analyses the role of the cooperation with and the influence of the Nordic countries on the development of a democratic society in Lithuania through adult education since the reinstatement of its independence from Soviet regime in March 1990 to the present. The authors focus on three main areas: (1) the training of Lithuanian adult educators; (2) the establishment and development of NGOs; and (3) the implications for a Lithuanian policy of adult education. Within the framework of Nordic-Baltic cooperation established among five Nordic and three Baltic countries (NB8) in 1992, Lithuanian adult educators seized the opportunity to visit Scandinavian institutions and projects. Experiencing Nordic adult education ideas has resulted in a marked shift in Lithuanian adult educators’ values, methodology and careers; and in the establishment of a series of very influential umbrella associations as well as hundreds of NGOs in Lithuania which work with adults and support functioning democratic values in society. This shift is related to the civic responsibility and active participation growing out of the bottom-up approaches of group work, cooperation, discussions and learning circles which are so inherent in the Nordic tradition of adult education. The internalisation of new democratic values was more complicated than expected for many Lithuanian politicians, adult educators and NGO leaders in terms of how political decisions were perceived and implemented. Furthermore, the influence of the Nordic-Baltic cooperation in adult education may also be traced in adult education policy implications in Lithuania. Some changes in the policies of contemporary Lithuania have not been successful and even failed to promote a democratic society.     

培养负责任的数字公民——国际数字公民教育政策文本的多维比较

数字公民教育受到国际组织和各国的关注。国际数字公民教育政策文本的比较分析对于公民教育政策制定具有重要意义。通过体系架构、总体目标、发布机构与起草人员、内容比较四个维度,分析国际上七个具有代表性和影响力的数字公民教育政策文本,结果发现,当前国际数字公民教育政策文本呈现出教育主体多元、教育内容动态更新、教育目标鲜明、政策制定多方协同的特征。     

拉美高等教育一体化建设:目标、路径及困境——联合国教科文组织参与区域治理的视角

联合国教科文组织在推动发展中国家高等教育发展中所起的作用越来越重要,参与跨国层面、区域层面的治理工作日渐频繁.拉丁美洲一直是教科文组织重点关注的区域,1997年,教科文组织特别成立了拉丁美洲及加勒比地区国际高等教育研究所,致力于完善该区域高等教育体系,提高高等教育质量,鼓励高等教育系统专业人员流动等,缩短拉美国家与发达国家的差距,推动该地区高等教育一体化的发展.联合国教科文组织在推动拉丁美洲高等教育一体化建设取得一定成效的同时,存在资金不足、政策实施不力、对不同地区支持不均衡等问题.此外,在拉丁美洲高等教育一体化建设过程中,拉美国家还应该进一步改善自我认同缺失、凝聚力不足、国别异质性显著等自身问题.     

Gap year students in Lithuania: the value orientations of children from wealthy social groups

The paper seeks to understand the trajectories of students who defer entry to university. The study was conducted in Lithuania, a former Soviet Union republic. The phenomenon of a ‘gap year’ is usually associated with young people, who decide not to enter higher education schools immediately after receiving secondary education, instead they choose to spend a year volunteering, working or engaging in other activities. This article analyses the choice of taking a gap year from the perspective of rational choice theory, complemented by human development theory, which was developed by R. Inglehart and his colleagues. The latter theory allows discovering relation between the spreading of the gap year phenomenon in developed European countries and the emergence as well as development of post-materialist values from the macro-level perspective. The theoretical analysis is based on semi-structured interview data collected in Lithuania.     

改革开放30年民族高等教育政策的历史回顾及特点探析

随着社会历史的发展,我国的民族高等教育政策也不断进行着改革与调整。针对改革开放30年来民族高等教育政策的发展,通过对相关资料进行全面系统的搜集和梳理,力争理清我国民族高等教育政策30年的发展脉络,归纳总结出我国民族高等教育政策的五个特点,进而为民族高等教育政策的下一步发展作出几种理论探索,以求为现实政策的制定和民族高等教育的实践发展提供一定意义的参考价值。     

The Bologna process and its impact on higher education at Russia’s margins: the case of Kaliningrad

Embracing the Russian Federation since 2003, the Bologna process is no longer exclusively confined to western European countries. As early as 1999, Vladimir Putin declared the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, wedged between Lithuania and Poland, as a potential pilot region for intensified cooperation between Russia and the EU on a number of policy areas, including higher education. In this paper, we study whether the Bologna process has served to underpin these ambitions. With a view to the EU, we will ask to what extent the European Union has proffered a model or directly influenced the path for transformation of Kaliningrad’s higher education system. We argue that a number of Kaliningrad-based actors in higher education have recognized the salience of European models and the need to work closely with partners from the EU, while Moscow only allows for marginal discretion in terms of Kaliningrad’s higher educational policy.

Changing professional discourses in teacher education policy back towards a training paradigm: a comparative study

Modern definitions of professions connect professional knowledge to scientific studies and higher education. In the present article we examine the changing nature of this relationship in initial teacher education in two European countries: Sweden and England. The article is based on policy analyses from recent decades of teacher education reforms. The findings suggest a policy convergence through a shared policy return that has moved teacher education back toward a teacher training paradigm.     

SHORT OVERVIEW OF CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS IN LITHUANIA IN THE DOMAIN OF QUALITY ASSURANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION AND RECOGNITION OF HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

This article describes current developments in regard to quality assurance and the recognition of higher education qualifications in Lithuania. With the aim of internationalizing its higher education system, Lithuania acceded to the UNESCO European Diploma Convention in 1994 and to the Council of Europe Convention on the Equivalence of Diplomas Leading to Admission to Universities in 1996. The Ministry of Education created the Lithuanian Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education in January 1995. It has been very active in a number of directions since then. In addition, Lithuania has subjected its science to international evaluation, is a partner in the Baltic Higher Education Coordination Committee, and is participating in two PHARE projects for the development of co‐operation in higher education. The main obstacle to greater co‐operation in regard both to the recognition of academic qualifications and to quality assurance is lack of financial resources.     

Why context matters: a comparative perspective on education reform and policy implementation

This article explores the significance of context within the process of contemporary education reform and policy-making. It draws upon evidence from a comparative study of educational change and transformation in seven education systems: Australia, England, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Russia, and Singapore. The article focuses on school leadership preparation, training, and development, which has become a policy priority and central improvement strategy in many education systems. The article explores how seven education systems are using this strategy to promote school and system improvement. The article reflects upon the centrality of context in the process of policy implementation and in the broader pursuit of system transformation. The article concludes that more contextually appropriate approaches to educational policy selection are needed and that borrowing approaches from other countries many bring unintended consequences and unfortunate side effects. Further, the article concludes that the process of policy implementation, in context, requires far more attention, if the intended outcomes are to be achieved.     

Language‐in‐education across the Baltic: policies,practices and challenges

Since their political reorientation that started in the late 1980s, the Baltic states have experienced profound social reforms to rebuild their democratizing societies. Education has featured as a key vehicle to this transformation process of overcoming the limitations of the Soviet past. National legislative frameworks were therefore soon provided to restructure educational systems and allow for ‘liberal’ approaches to schooling. The process of policy‐making for a new concept of education, however, entailed numerous challenges, and it has resulted in a diverse tapestry of educational provision across the Baltic. With specific focus on minority education, this paper presents a comparative analysis of education policies and practices in contemporary Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in response to emerging language needs in these intensely multiethnic settings.     

韩、中两国职业技术教育演变比较与改革建议

文章从社会变革的角度,在跨历史与制度的国际比较视野中,分析韩国与中国职业技术教育的演变历程与特征及发展趋向。作者从三个方面进行分析与比较：第一,从宏观层面对韩、中两国职业技术教育演变的基本特征作以比较；第二,从微观层面探讨了两国职业技术教育政策制定的演变过程、特点、影响因素；第三,在前两部分的比较之基础上,讨论了两国职业技术教育发展的环境与背景、前景与挑战、发展的方向与新的特征。最后,在把握两国职业技术教育的“来龙”与“去脉”的演变轨迹之基础上,提出切实的改革建议。     

Development of the profession and qualifications of adult educators in Lithuania in the context of reforms of adult education

The Baltic countries regained their independence from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and joined the European Union in 2004. This article seeks to explore institutional development and reforms of adult education and lifelong learning in Lithuania with respect to the processes, the actors and the context of socioeconomic change over the past 20 years. It also looks at the implications of these processes for the professionalisation of adult educators, referred to here as “adult learning teachers” (ALTs). The authors begin with an analysis of the historical-institutional and political-economical aspects of the development of adult education and lifelong learning by providing a retrospective of institutional change in Lithuania. They then move on to analyse the existing institutional and legal arrangements of adult education which shape and institutionalise the profession and qualifications of ALTs. Their empirical research reveals the opinions of Lithuanian ALTs on their current professional occupational profile and its future development.     

Social Demand Versus Political Economy in Higher Education at the Turn of the Century Higher Education Financing: Policy Options

This article gives a broad outline of policy issues in the financing of higher education given the major quantitative expansion of higher education in recent years, its diversification, financial constraints, internationalization, democratization, globalization, regionalization, polarization, marginalization, and fragmentation. Policy options bearing these trends in mind should be judged in terms of efficiency and equity, bearing in mind such basic sources of funding as taxpayers, students, parents, and higher education institutions. Regardless of the source of funding, the single most important policy issue facing those concerned with overall policy responsibility for the operation of higher education systems is the proper formulation of the rules and mechanisms used to allocate resources from governments to institutions. The various financial mechanisms are classed according to four principal dimensions: institutional/student finance, full/partial finance, budget/formula finance, and input/output finance. Choosing the right funding formula is a complex process that is always beset with the need for trade‐offs for various reasons.     

高水平教育对外开放视域下来华留学生奖学金政策转型的困境、逻辑与进路

来华留学生教育是构建高水平教育对外开放格局的关键组成部分,但相关奖学金政策亟须转型。基于对来华留学生奖学金政策结构、类型和功能的研判,并结合对国内外多个城市的实地调查和经验研究,分析提出奖学金政策转型面临的挑战集中在发展理念、政策实施形式、政策结构、政策效益等方面。来华留学生奖学金政策转型的逻辑在于提升政策的核心议程地位、构建多元的政策主体结构、开发多样的政策工具类型、设置多元关联的政策目标。奖学金政策转型的进路如下：转变指导理念,增强服务中国式现代化的能力;开发政策新类型,拓展留学生教育新功能;搭建政策新组合,扩展政策实施单元;切实下放政策实施权,提升多元主体参与度。     

政策转移过程中的差异与选择——以中美教育券政策为个案

全球化中,通过借鉴发达国家先进的教育理念和政策来完善本国教育体制的现象越来越普遍,如何在两国的体制差异中作出恰当的选择是政策转移成败的关键。目前关于这方面的研究多偏重于政策理念的比较,缺乏对制定历程和执行面的过程探索。近年来源自于美国教育券(Education Voucher)政策是政策转移的一个典型个案,通过结合道洛维茨、马什(Dolowitz,Marsh)的政策转移架构以及大卫·菲利普斯(Phillips·David)政策转移过程的理论对中美教育券政策制定和转移过程的研究有助于为今后教育领域的相关政策转移提出具有启发和借鉴意义的思考。     

职业教育集团发展的政策问题研究

职业教育集团是顺应职业教育发展的一个新生事物,在发展过程中还存在很多政策性障碍。制定和完善相关政策是消除障碍、化解矛盾的根本措施。这些政策包括集团身份的认定政策,集团企业的鼓励性政策,集团的教育管理政策,集团的后续发展政策等。     

Breaking Fresh Ground: Regional Co‐operation in Higher Education

One of the most recent European developments in the internationalization of higher education is the stimulation of regional co‐operation among institutions. In the so‐called border countries policy, Flanders, The Netherlands, and the German Länder of North‐Rhine Westphalia, Bremen, and Lower Saxony are collaborating in different ways to establish an “open higher education space”. Within the framework of this border countries policy, various initiatives have been taken in order to support co‐operation among higher education institutions from the countries involved. Amongst other things, research was undertaken in order to gain insight into the differences and similarities of the programmes offered in the five countries. In addition, the Ministries of Education of the participating countries have begun to allocate funds to institutions that have taken co‐operation initiatives that coincide with the policies of the countries concerned. These two aspects of the border countries policy will be discussed in this article.     

澳大利亚高等教育成本分担计划概述

高等教育成本分担计划(HECS)不仅促进了澳大利亚高等教育规模的持续增长,还被国际上公认为是一种接受高等教育的公平途径,对澳大利亚高等教育成本分担计划出台的背景、实施过程及实施效果进行研究,将会对我国高等教育成本分担政策的制订有所启示。