Tiltai

Caring professionals are one of the largest groups working in the field of human services. Important personal qualities in this area include strong communication skills, the ability to empathise with individuals’ experiences and manage one’s own emotions, a sense of responsibility, patience and helpfulness, and self-confidence. This article compares attitudes towards professional activity between two caring professions: social workers and pastoral care professionals. The results of the survey revealed that both groups have similar views on the specifics of their work, with more noticeable differences in attitudes related to spirituality. This aspect is significantly more important for pastoral care professionals than for social workers, although the ultimate goal of both professions remains the same: providing professional support to those in need.

With the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), the Catholic Church reintroduced the ministry of the permanent diaconate. Since then, ministers have been living and working in many regions of the world, now also in Lithuania. What is their mission? How will they have a lasting and fruitful impact? This article clarifies which biblical sources of diakonia and diaconate and which early Church texts can provide orientation, and raises the urgent question of a diaconate for women, as only men have been admitted to this ministry to date. This article goes on to examine those sources that can be considered fundamental for the reintroduction of this ministry by the Second Vatican Council, before turning to the Amazon Synod initiated by Pope Francis. The resulting synodal and post-synodal documents are presented, discussed and taken further, towards the vision of a Diaconal Church.

In the article, a qualitative study aims to reveal the possibilities for applying mediation as a method to empower clients in making decisions in conflict situations in social work. Mediation initially emerged in Lithuanian society in the judicial sphere, but entirely new opportunities have begun to take shape in social work. The analysis of the participants’ reflective experiences reveals that social mediation is gradually becoming a competence or specialisation for social workers. Active listening to the client, their involvement in the mediation process, where equality and openness between the conflicting parties prevail, opens up opportunities for the client’s personal transformation process, aimed at empowering them to take responsibility for the process, seek solutions, and adhere to them. The analysis shows that mediation influences clients’ empowerment to make decisions in conflict situations in social work, and enables them to act in real life as well.

The article reveals the phenomenon of alcohol dependence and assesses the situation of people in a situation of dependence who seek support. In this context, the authors assess the impact of social work interventions on recovering health and the improvement of the quality of life at mental care centres. The study reveals that social workers face many challenges in their work, including professional burnout, emotional exhaustion, and strategies for maintaining motivation in addicts in the context of social stigma towards these people. The emotional burden of working with individuals who often suffer from repeated relapses is presented as a critical problem that needs to be addressed by better support measures for specialists. The article reveals the difficulties of interdisciplinary team cooperation due to resource limitations and professional differences. In order to improve the effectiveness of social work interventions, it is emphasised that the support and participation of relatives, friends, colleagues and neighbours in the process of recovery and integration into society allow social workers to seek innovative intervention methods in solving the problem of alcohol dependence in society.

Trends in population ageing, the growing demand for public resources to care for older adults, and social policies aimed at formalising informal care, all underscore the need to develop a unified and efficient care system in modern welfare states. However, the prevailing discourse that pits formal care against informal care, along with deep-rooted traditions of family caregiving, expectations of receiving family care in old age, and mistrust in the quality of formal care, create significant barriers to integrated care provision. Integrated care for older adults seeks to bridge these two systems: one perceived in the public discourse as altruistic, loving care, and the other as a rational choice motivated by compensation. A critical question for their integration is whether there are common points of connection that can reconcile such differently defined systems of care. This paper aims to identify the preconditions for integrating formal and informal care for older adults by exploring the concept of care work. Through a secondary analysis of research findings, the study compares the perspectives of formal caregivers (individual care workers) and informal caregivers (family members) on caregiving. The results indicate that, when examined through the lens of the ‘work’ concept, formal and informal caregiving have many similarities. These two forms of care not only complement but, in some cases, substitute one another. The study’s findings convey a positive message to society and care recipients, showing that formal care, as a fulfilling work choice for caregivers, shares more commonalities with informal caregiving than differences.

In this study, we examine the psychological well-being of older adults who have experienced the loss of a child. The study delves into whether psychological well-being differs between those who have and those who have not experienced the death of a child, and whether the time since the loss helps to predict well-being. Data from Waves 7 and 8 of the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) (N = 37 649) were used. Psychological well-being was assessed with the Control, Autonomy, Self-Realization, and Pleasure (CASP-12) scale. The results show that while bereaved individuals tend to have lower psychological well-being, the difference is small. It was also found that the time after bereavement is positively associated with levels of well-being, indicating the possible long-term recovery of well-being.

Parenthood is quite rare among physically disabled adults in Finland, and becoming a parent can be labelled as a taboo act. In this paper, we shed a light on this salient topic by scrutinising the experiences of Finnish mothers and fathers with physical disabilities. The research questions are: (1) How do mothers and fathers describe their agency as parents? and (2) How is their agency constructed within social structures and relations? The analysis is based on qualitative teller-focused interviews with 17 mothers and fathers. The results reveal their agencies as multidimensional, and demonstrate how parenthood is constructed through interaction within institutional spaces. Personal support, peers and NGOs also play an important role in the construction of agency. Interaction can either limit, question or support the agency of disabled people as parents. The results show that the parents have strong agency in using their knowledge, and flexible resources when meeting the demands.

In this review-type article, the authors present project management in public sector institutions, with a particular focus on the application of Agile methodology. This review seeks to address the potential benefits of Agile methodology in addressing public sector challenges and the key obstacles to its successful implementation. Termed ‘Agile Government’, the approach aims to align public institutions with citizens’ needs, enhance efficiency, productivity, innovation and digital capabilities, improve decision-making processes, and foster collaboration between teams. Moreover, it serves as a response to global crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, refugee issues, climate change, and more, all while optimising the use of resources. Methods applied in the article are the following: systematic analysis, comparison, and synthesis.

The aim of this paper is to substantiate the process of enabling learning by students when facing radically new information in business and management studies. Starting from the introduction and the research methodology, the paper follows by referring to Piaget’s theory, which presents the accommodation process by explaining the formation of new thinking structures necessary for learning radical new information. The Seven steps educational process (SESEP) is then presented by using secondary analysis. The principles of the SESEP model were described by the authors in their previous study while researching the development of education students’ competence in using potential learning environments. Secondary analysis allows for a concentrated discussion, revealing how the SESEP enables students (who are studying for a master’s degree in education) to learn when they are facing radically new information. The results of interviews with experts (experienced teachers in business and management studies) are presented, which show the possibility to transfer the SESEP into a model for enabling learning by students when facing radically new information (ENARNI) in business and management studies. The discussion of the results leads to a more detailed justification of the model.

Teacher shortages have become a critical issue in various educational settings, with urban schools experiencing disproportionate levels of teacher attrition (Lamboy, 2023; Wiggan et al., 2021). This study investigated the philosophical and pedagogical perspectives of teachers who demonstrated longevity in urban educational settings. The research focused on the question: how do teachers who sustain long-term careers in urban schools approach their work? Sub-questions explored the relationship between teacher beliefs, preparation, and perspectives in fostering job satisfaction and career commitment in these settings. The study used a qualitative approach, including semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis to explore the lived experiences of teachers with five or more years of service in one urban educational setting. An appreciative inquiry framework guided the methodology. A key finding was that teachers with longevity believed their work made a positive difference in students’ lives, demonstrating care for student well-being, passion for their content, and innovative pedagogy.