Klaipėdos universitetas

The author of the article, by way of applying theoretical analysis and using empirical evidence, as well as by analysing international documents ratified by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, the laws in force, and the resolutions of the Government, argues that a prerequisite for the success in building a well fare state is sustainable development of society. The aspiration of sustainable development is a challenge not only to the interaction of the economic, ecological, and social systems, but also to the interaction of sub-systems within said systems. The deficit of sustainable development in the social system destroys the structure of the society, creates prerequisites for the discrimination of some social groups, for the marginalisation of social groups, and for the rise of social exclusion. The increasing level of social exclusion poses a threat to national stability and security, therefore, it is important to timely identify the causes of the rise of social exclusion and, by removing them, to eliminate the preconditions for the formation of crisis situations.

Shared Service Centres (SSCs) may lead to job creation in the professional field in the less developed EU region. By 2015, in the CEE region, the number of employees in this sector exceeded 335 000 and the trend tends to be increasing heavily. Looking at the actual numbers of the sector, the author tries to define the main decision making factors for a SSC to settle down in the region. The paper focuses on the evaluation of possibilities, arguing if the development of the SSC sector can continue creating jobs in this region.

In this article the efforts of social workers to promote inclusive practices in children day care centres is analysed. Changes in education based on life-long learning culture require active and conscious participation of parents in child’s education process. However, this participation becomes overburden if family is socially excluded because of the deviant lifestyle or poverty. Indeed, practical observations together with results of the studies reveal that the collaboration between social professions, which aim to implement child welfare and parents is insufficient. In order to help these families children day care centres were established. The aim of the article is to reveal how social workers construct professional help with parents on the purpose to help overcoming child’s issues at school. The study is based on hermeneutical methodology. During Soviet period development of child’s skills belonged to the educational institutions outside the family. Research participants still struggles for the ownership of these developments, pushing neglectful parents aside. The research revealed that within transformation process social workers adapts the forms of professional posture, however, the content of their performance is inherited from the past experiences and historical development.

The 21st century is identified in the country’s strategic documents as a century of rapid technological, climatic and economic change, and countries must not be afraid of innovation and knowledge of the world through information technology. According to strategic documents, the education of gifted children is also one of the country’s priorities. Gifted pre-school children need to develop and continuously improve their abilities, and the stimulation of these abilities can be enhanced by information and communication technologies. The article analyses the educational possibilities for gifted pre-school children using information communication technology, the characteristics of gifted pre-schoolers, and the possibilities for the identification of gifted pre-schoolers. The study suggests that gifted pre-school children are educated in an individualised way according to their needs, they are identified by their abilities which stand out from their peers, information communication technologies are used to diversify the education of gifted pre-school children, and that the biggest problem educators face while developing gifted children is the lack of information and the lack of communication tools.

The German occupation of Ober Ost during the First World War represented an undeniable incentive for further nation and state-building in the occupied lands. Although in the early 20th century education societies had already spread their networks, it was during the years of the German occupation that the centralisation and consolidation of the education network could take place. Regardless of the fact that some ideological divisions between education societies endured, both the limitations imposed by the occupying regime and the existence of a relief committee, the Lithuanian War Relief Committee, with the task to coordinate virtually all Lithuanian activities, functioned as means of rationalising the whole education system. Not only did the Lithuanian War Relief Committee try to overcome ideological divisions in the field of education, but its quasi-state structure also helped to create, finance and effectively direct the whole official network of Lithuanian educational institutions.

The following three aspects of European noble journeys will be presented in this report: peregrinatio majores, peregrinatio academica and the Grand Tour. Chronology, form and function of noble journeys in the Late Middle Ages are examined from different scientific view points and represent the focus of this report.

Present research is based on source materials which point at the importance of education in mother tongue to Poles inhabiting Lithuania in preserving their national identity. At the same time they disprove the thesis about the polonization of Vilnius region, which allegedly took place during the Soviet period as a result of the government’s permission for the existence of schools teaching in Polish. The percentage of students receiving education in the Polish language was always lower than the percentage of Poles inhabiting Lithuania. However, the process of russification was pressed in Vilnius region, which was stopped by regaining of the independence by Lithuania. Poles, who won the right to education in mother tongue in 1950s, in independent Lithuania opted for a traditional model of school with education in mother tongue as well. More and more students were receiving education in schools teaching in Polish, also the number of school leavers continuing studies at universities was increasing.