Tiltai

The article focuses on the issues in meeting the needs of foster parents and fostered children. Current process of deinstitutionalisation of foster care which seeks to increase the number of foster families requires a deeper understanding of their attitudes towards the process of care, needs of foster children and parents and cooperation with profesionals. The need for social work support is analysed utilising three components of educational rights and obligations model of foster parents: biological, legal and emotional. The results of the research provide social workers and organizers of trainings for foster parents with implications for identification and meeting the needs of fostered children and foster parents.

Usage of a special psychology concept – chronotope of communicative activity of preschool children with delay of mental development is substantiated by the author in the paper. It is made clear, that chronotope of communicative activity is the complex socio-psychological phenomenon which is constructed by personality as a result of his / her real and virtual co-operation and communication in measuring of everyday and unordinary reality with Other, that is opened out in timeline and value-semantic continuum of life. The constituents of space of communicative activity at everyday level of consciousness that are incarnated in research of direct co-operation and communication with adults and same-year fellows are marked. The constituents of space of communicative activity have been exposed at extraordinary level of consciousness which is realized in the mediated co-operating and communication with a favourite toy and imaginary partner, with animation personages. It was emphasised that the conceptual framework of the developed concept is integrity based at different approaches, at systematic, axiology, cultural, historical; social and psychological; subject-environmental and body-based, technique scientific approaches that are synthesized in the personality-oriented paradigm of education.

Literacy is a concept, which almost has taken over and included concepts like reading, writing and inter human social communication in general. However, it has only recently been integrated into the AAC-fields connected to social work, special education and assistive technologies. This paper focuses on some key-questions regarding AAC and literacy, mentioning that the holistic approach of AAC in combination with a general linguistic theory as the one by Charles Peirce, creates a more whole or holistic perspective for thinking and looking for answers on these questions. The social model created by Uri Bronfenbrenner is also very applicable. Even though a holistic approach demands openness on the behalf of the teacher or interventionist as well as of the user her/himself, it is important to remember the need for good methods and methodology, based upon good practical evidence with the common target to acquire literacy.

This article analyzes paternal time allocation with children in Lithuania and explores paternal and spousal cross effects in time investment. Effects of paternal health status, alcohol consumption and health insurance status on paternal-child time allocation are also examined. The research finds a modest after-tax family income effect for paternal time, but not when examining paternal-spousal cross effects for child time investment. Regarding paternal-spousal cross effects, while both are very highly significant statistically, this research finds almost twice the complementarity for the Lithuanian paternal hour with children for spousal time with children than for a spousal hour for paternal time with children. The paper identifies several possible factors in the Lithuanian context contributing to a complementary effect and away from a substitutionary effect. Spousal age and educational effects – the former negative, the latter positive – are found for spousal time allocation with children but not found significant paternally. To our knowledge this is the first study to examine paternal time allocation in Lithuania for children including health status, alcohol consumption, insurance status and paternal/spousal cross effects for time allocation with children. Compared to our previous research, it also supports caution against assuming that parental cross effects on time allocation in a Lithuanian social context mirror such in the U.S.

The authors of this article examine the evaluation of education service quality from parents’ perspective, since parents as well as their children are the consumers of these service. Often there is a trend in Lithuania that education services are provided to children; even though, the service provision contract is signed between the education institution and parents. On the other hand, a part of services of specialists of education assistance are dedicated to parents. Moreover, parent education, cooperation and communication process is between the education institution and parents. The education institution is not able to solve most of the problems without the assistance of parents. Therefore, the authors present the point of view of 400 parents towards the quality of the provided education services.

A changing socio-economic situation, constant stress at work and in personal life, receding retirement age and increasing tension in the world in general highly influence well-being of people. Secondary analysis of literary sources revealed that well-being of elderly women was impacted by the following factors: low social and economic status; stress caused by physical or psychological load at work, unfavourable interaction between work and family, genetic and biological factors, women’s participation in the system of health care, influence of family circumstances, lifestyle and personal self-expression. The narrative research (a narration created on the ground of the life stories of five women) does not contradict the factors found in the scientific study, but rather complements them, it is revealed in new aspects, with a different content. The interaction of the factors is emphasised.

The article analyses the independence of children with mental and behavioural disorders, and the importance of its development and background, which creates the preconditions for a better quality of life. Psychomotor development and building up the independence of children with disabilities basically predetermine better conditions for the child’s integration into the community, the reduction of stress and dependence on family members, and better harmony in the family. The child’s psychomotor development covers major areas of child development: gross motor skills, fine motor skills, cognition, perception of language, verbal expression, self-regulation, and social and emotional development. But in terms of mental and behavioural disorders, the formation of skills proceeds in a more complex way. This disorder often manifests itself together with sensory problems: too high/low response, high stress felt, anxiety, and detachment from specific activities/measures, which may result in the delayed formation of independence skills. The development of the independence of a child with a disability is very important when individually selecting a suitable environment and factors that increase the motivation to learn, seek and interiorise newly acquired skills. These skills predetermine the possibilities for a person with a disability to feel independent in their daily activities in the future. Engagement in social interaction is an inevitable and important element of a high-quality daily life. Children with a disability face increased difficulties in their daily routines. Children with poorer social skills undergo social exclusion, and experience more difficulties in perceiving the feelings of other people, recognising and expressing emotions, complying with regulations and norms, and respecting themselves and others.

An analysis of Lithuanian legislation has shown that documents regulating the development of teachers’ qualifications provides the teacher with an opportunity to improve personal, institutional and national educational needs for development, and defines requirements for educators and qualification development opportunities. However, research conducted in Lithuania shows that this process is frequently characterised as fragmentary, and that it lacks research on the needs of the development and planning of teachers’ qualifications, the connection with the educational process, and its practical application. In the meantime, teachers commonly disregarding the significance of the subsidiarity principle to the effectiveness of the development of teachers’ qualifications desire direct cooperation and the coordination of the need for the development of personal qualifications with the andragogue organiser, while ignoring the people responsible for it in educational institutions. The perception that the andragogue organiser’s activities must be designed taking into account not only the personal expectations of teachers but also the objectives and priorities of educational institutions and of the development of teachers’ qualifications raises a scientific issue: what type of andragogue organiser’s activity is effective for achieving the main goals (quality) in the development of teachers’ qualifications? The qualitative research conducted revealed the andragogue organiser’s role and the effectiveness of the activity and direction of improvement with respect to the performed functions, activity areas and competences, and justified the fundamental principles of the development of teachers’ qualifications. In the practical approach, empirical data presented in this article can be significant in: 1) seeking the effectiveness and improvement of activity of the andragogue organising teachers’ qualification development services in the Klaipėda district; 2) identifying the roles and responsibilities of the participants’ process in ensuring its quality.

Internet users using digital diplomacy techniques can generate state soft power on social networks through the promotion of traditional power resources – culture, values and behaviour. In this way, the digital dissemination of information by states becomes an instrument of their power policy. This article analyses the concept of digital diplomacy, the transformation of its characteristics and activities in the digital space. The text examines the interaction between digital diplomacy and soft power, also focuses on the European Union’s digital diplomacy, which has become an important part of the EU’s foreign policy. Due to the novelty of the topic and the lack of research in the public discourse, the article is relevant to research in order to find out what digital diplomacy methods the EU institutions, diplomats, individual Internet users are and how it forms the European information geopolitics.

In recent years the European Union has experienced an unprecedented influx of refugees and asylum seekers that has continued up until now. This issue is relevant to Lithuania as well, since the country has committed to host 1105 asylum seekers from Greece and Turkey, and their successful integration to large extent depends on legislation adopted by the Government. The present article analyses the concept of the international asylum law and the peculiarities of legal regulation of the refugee integration system in Lithuania. Both the analysis of legislative documents and experience in working with refugees has disclosed a gap between the existing theoretical system and its implementation in practice. The author discloses the problems of the refugee integration, when regulation of the social relationships is required; however there is no relevant legal norm that could be applicable in a particular case. The article also discusses the priorities and regulatory documents of the Lithuanian policy on integration; however the main focus is made on the theoretical analysis of the Description of the Procedure for Providing State Support for the Refugee Integration and – referring to the practical experience – on insights into its implementation measures. The analysis has disclosed that implementation of the refugee integration measures is hindered due to lack of a long-term policy on the refugee integration in Lithuania, lack of collaboration between the state and private sector and prevalent negative attitudes in the society; the above factors result in loss of interrelation between the legal norms and the social relationships that are to be regulated.