Tiltai

This article offers an analysis of soft skills acquisition in children through animal training programmes within the framework of a two-year Erasmus+ project. The article overviews important aspects of shaping and introducing new approaches towards the acquisition of soft skills in children through animal training programmes. In this context, children participated in research in three countries (Lithuania, Belgium and Bulgaria), in three animal-assisted educational programmes: dolphin-assisted therapy, hippotherapy, and canine therapy. The results of the narrative analysis show a significant improvement in the skills of children, improving the quality of their relationships with themselves, with others, with animals, and with the environment. This reaffirms that exposing students to authentic, hands-on experience can significantly enhance their cognitive, social and emotional development. Moreover, the article shows that the process also increased the soft skills of teachers and of external actors involved in the process, reinforcing the importance of an open schooling approach as a way of improving all society. The article contributes to empirical evidence to support the integration of experiential learning into the pedagogical realm.

This article is an analysis of the historical roots and ethical semantics of the social work concept ‘a marginal person, a client’ (the Greek words ξένος, ksenos and αςτος, astos). The question is relevant in modern social work in relation to the concept of ‘strange’ or ‘marginal’. The article analyses how the concepts ‘strange’, ‘other’ and marginal’ have re-entered the modern world from the Ancient world, as they were used in Ancient Syria (in the fourth century), Greece, and Medieval Europe. However, nowadays in social work theory they should be described anew using the discourses of social work and anthropology. The article explores the question of how to communicate with the ‘other’ or marginal person, based on reciprocity and internal solidarity.

The purpose of the paper is to discuss recent immigration trends, and the policies that have been adopted by the state to facilitate the process of the integration of immigrants and their access to the labour market. The first part of the paper discusses theoretical aspects of migration, and labour migration in particular. The second part of the paper is aimed at disclosing current immigration trends among third-country nationals in Lithuania. Labour migration and the migration policy framework in Lithuania are analysed, as are integration policies. The research results reveal that Lithuania lacks an effective migrant integration policy. The evaluation of the migration policy index allows us to conclude that the policy of the integration of immigrants is the area of migration policy that needs to be improved the most in Lithuania. Lithuania’s score is lower than the average MIPEX country score, and together with Latvia it is one of the lowest in Central and East European countries. Lithuania’s approach to integration is classified by MIPEX as equality on paper. While immigrants enjoy basic rights and protection in Lithuania, they do not enjoy equal opportunities to participate in society. 

The present paper discusses the role of gender equality policy in the military. The aim is to find out, paying due attention to unconscious bias, whether or not soldiers enrolled in mandatory initial military service in Lithuania support any stereotypes regarding women, and if so, then what are the stereotypes they adhere to, and what are the stereotypes that women in mandatory initial military service are confronted with. The paper analyses gender equality issues in the following two important contexts: the democratic value of gender equality in military service, and the need and readiness of the military to accommodate different genders. The latter context forms a stark contrast with the former two, especially given the traditional point of view that military service is meant to ensure effective security and defence, rather than the effective implementation of gender equality. The paper analyses how stereotypical attitudes towards women as a gender support the above-mentioned tradition. Based on the results of empirical research, stereotypes have proven to be still maintained by soldiers in the target group. The dominant stereotypical attitude is that active military service may be putting women at greater risk of harassment and sexual abuse. Female soldiers in the target group are confronted with stereotypical attitudes. They link the reasons underlying the overall support of stereotypical thinking to the age of the individuals concerned, their inherited stereotypical attitudes, and their education.

Social work has its roots in life itself. The profession of social worker is a creative combination of knowledge, values and skills. In recent years, social work with families facing social risk has received more and more attention in the country, and it can be said that social work with these families has become one of the priority areas. The article discusses the difficulties experienced by case managers when working with families facing social risk. The analysis of the problems faced by the case managers will help to improve the quality of social work, and, accordingly, to develop and expand social services for families facing social risk. Four case managers participated in the study. The results of the study revealed that a common phenomenon in families facing social risk by not having a job and not looking for one is low self-esteem. Many families facing social risk live in poverty, and this determines their further life, development and improvement. The study revealed that case managers working with families facing social risk had the following difficulties: alcoholism, a lack of social skills, violence against children, neglect of children, and lack of motivation. A close, trusting relationship between case managers and families improves the quality of the services provided, and helps to address the problems faced by the family more effectively. Case managers empower the family to be proactive in dealing with difficulties. Cooperation enables families to meet their needs for security, self-esteem and social support.

In this article, we analyse the process of case management in the context of inter-institutional cooperation while providing aid to families at social risk in Lithuania. According to the theoretical framework, effective inter-institutional cooperation depends directly on the communication practice, and is oriented towards certain strategic goals, building a more effective system of social services, and improving opportunities for aid for families. In order to argue for the importance of inter-institutional cooperation as a significant aid tool for families at social risk, it is appropriate to examine the experiences and expectations of the participants in the process related to the management of interdependency between organisations and involvement in the exchange of necessary resources. With the help of analyses of the practice of inter-institutional cooperation in the case management process, we attempt to emphasise the essential factors in and obstacles to effective inter-institutional cooperation, assembling aid providers, planning, providing aid to the child and (or) family, and cooperating with government and local authority institutions, and other organisations.

Acting is inseparable from the art of improvisation; it is an all-encompassing and holistic context that requires not only acting skills, but also relevant personality traits, a virtuoso mastery of techniques of expression, psychosocial resilience, and most importantly, unique and authentic expression. It is useful for an actor to be able to choose the necessary vocal techniques and apply them in performances of various kinds, to various roles, including musical roles and improvisation. It is important to be able to integrate the most progressive vocal techniques in the work, and to understand the perspective of using methods and experimenting without losing one’s individuality, which includes all styles. The article presents the Complete Vocal Technique (CVT), which covers all styles from Classical singing to hard rock, provides the opportunity to experiment with timbres and vocal effects, and allows for the application of voice techniques in speech, based on physiology and anatomy. The study and its results are presented in order to integrate this method into theatrical activities.

Social anxiety is a problem in modern society because it can affect many areas of a person’s life. This can negatively affect not only interpersonal relationships but also learning outcomes. The study analyses the relationship between students’ social anxiety and self-esteem and the perception of feedback, in order to find out the prognostic value of the variables as well. The study revealed that individuals with stronger social anxiety usually perceive the feedback received in the academic environment negatively, and their self-esteem is lower than among students who do not feel strong social anxiety.

The professional development of health-care workers is a key prerequisite for professional success, and its effectiveness contributes to the quality of health-care services at any level of health-care institution. Health-care professionals face constant changes, as a challenge to adapt to the competitive environment around them. This makes it important to ensure that health-care workers have effective training to meet their professional development needs. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyse the theoretical assumptions of professional development, and to reveal the attitudes of health-care professionals towards the needs and specifics of professional development. The study has indicated that the professional development for health-care workers is result-oriented, yet of insufficient quality, with organisational, financial and other problems. It has been found that the planning and implementation of professional development for health-care professionals is subject to specific requirements. The combination of these requirements and the way they are evolving imply that the needs and specifics of health-care professionals in the field of professional development need to be addressed beyond doubt.

The childcare system in Lithuania is going through extensive changes in order to ensure the preparation and assessment of people who want to care for or adopt a child, on-call guardians have appeared, care centres have started operating in all municipalities, a unified agreement of guardians (carers), on-call guardians, adoptive parents and community children has been approved, as has the GIMK training and counselling programme for nursing home workers. Individuals who want to become a child’s guardian are trained and evaluated, and mutual support groups have started being organised. This is one of the measures aimed at strengthening, supporting and providing assistance to guardians (care givers), and there is an opportunity to solve issues relating to child custody. There are more and more guardians (care givers) who face difficulties in communicating with the ward, their relationship is strained, and the child experiences learning and adaptation difficulties, as a result of which the guardianship process is becoming more and more complicated. The current problem is manifestations of non-constructive behaviour that arise in adolescence, which worsen if these problems are not solved. A frequent guardian (carer) turns to care centre specialists, social workers and psychologists for help. Children’s guardians (carers) need constant qualified assistance from specialists and the state, because only in this way can guardians properly and competently perform their duty and meet the child’s needs and interests. This article analyses the experience of a mutual support group for care givers, and presents a qualitative study. The results of the study confirm the effectiveness of this type of support, and allow us to predict and design other support measures for care givers.