Regional Formation and Development Studies

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.

Scientific literature, LR legal acts and analysis of research conducted in Lithuania shows that the process of teachers’ qualification development is related to adult education and organization of teaching / learning, is relevant as a source of improvement of teachers’ pedagogical as well as andragogical activity and acquisition of new competences. But this process is complicated and consists of professional activity’s self-assessment / assessment, planning, self-improvement / improvement, practical application, reflection and as an aspect of quality assurance it is a repeated cycle of actions to improve quality. Knowing that andragogue organiser’s professionalism is one of the most important conditions for this process to be successfully and qualitatively implemented, the issue raised in this article is: what is the role of andragogue organiser’s professionalism in striving for effectiveness of teachers’ qualification development? The conducted quantitative research confirmed the importance of andragogue organiser’s professionalism for the effectiveness of this process. It is found that the main objective of teachers’ qualification development, that is, the quality of their professional activities and the acquisition of new competences will be achieved if the andragogue organiser will professionally implement the teachers’ qualification development process beginning with analysis of learning needs and ending with practical application of acquired competences. In the practical approach empirical data presented in this article can be significant in: 1) seeking to reveal the effectiveness of activity of Klaipeda District Education Centre that provides teachers’ qualification development services; 2) improving and ensuring the quality of this process; 3) achieving andragogue organiser’s professionalism (internal professionalism – improvement of professional competences by examining the analysis of research results, external professionalism – justification of andragogue organiser’s role of professionalism in the effectiveness of teachers’ qualification development).

The ability to measure public sector performance is a necessity for policymakers as well as academics and citizens of a country. This article aims to identify ways of measuring public sector performance using the measurement applicable to all countries and outlining opportunities for comparability among them. Thus, the authors highlight opportunities for performance measurement and public sector efficiency using various methods of non-parametric and parametric analysis. The starting point of the analysis considers the concept of performance, encompasses the proposed terms of productivity, efficiency and effectiveness; therefore, the measurement of public sector performance requires an exhaustive analysis in multidimensional terms, covering all core areas of a country. Moreover, understanding and developing robust international comparison possibilities will give in practice a structural framework for measuring the performance of particular relevance. Study findings indicate that performance measurement and implicitly public sector efficiency is a complex and difficult task that goes beyond simply measuring of productivity and efficiency, and requires aggregation of several key areas related to the results of a state. In summary, the analysis framework of the performance and efficiency of public sector is outlined both in terms of relevance of indicators and the methodology used. It demonstrates that methods of non-parametric analysis work at their best when all aspects of the production process can be captured in a limited number of input and output dimensions.