Tiltai

Scientific journal TILTAI/BRIDGES/BRÜCKEN published by Klaipėda University (established in 1991) is devoted to the issues of social sciences. The publications attempts at analysing and solving actual problems of economy, management, demography, social geography, geopolitics, political sciences, history, education, religious, regional planning and land use, other social problems. Science hasn’t borders. Therefore scientific cooperation is one of the most important elements in the progress of world’s community. Scientists from different countries of the world are kindly invited to write for and contribute to the journal.TILTAI/BRIDGES is the scientifical periodical magazine, which publications, by the decision of Lithuanian Science Council, are recognized as convenient for doctoral dissertations and pedagogical scientific names.

Today’s technological advance and rapid development provide teenagers with a lot of opportunities for learning, free time and self-expression. Main factors encouraging teenagers’ risky behavior online are distinguished into internal and environmental. Internal factors are structured in accordance to the individual level, which distinguishes the significance of age characteristics, personal features and behavior problems in regard to the expression of risky actions on the internet. Environmental influence is an important factor in point of risky actions of teenagers on the internet as well. Environmental factors are structured into the levels of family, peers and school. Quality of family relations, family context and circumstance may become a factor of risky behavior online. Negative influence of peers plays a significant role during the adolescence. Social isolation experienced among peers may have coherence with teenagers’ tendency to the risky behavior online. Psychological and social school aspects, academic achievements and self-realization opportunities through school work are also distinguished as factors of such behavior. Analysis of teenagers’ risky behavior online showed that it is important to look for theoretically grounded and practically checked ways of ensuring teenagers’ safety in virtual reality.

The aim of this study is to seek answers to the following questions: 1) How has the formation and development of the history of education interacted with teacher training in universities? 2) How did the Iron Curtain influence the development of the history of education in Latvia and how can the consequences of Soviet era in the history of education be overcome? 3) What kind of history of education is suitable for teacher training programmes today? These questions are researched based on the analysis of the history of pedagogy as a course in Latvian and Belgian universities.

The goal of the research presented in this paper – to characterize effective mentoring in the context of nursing studies. Modified evolutionary concept analysis method, that includes theoretical and empirical analysis of the concept, was used to achieve this goal. The group discussion method was employed to conduct the empirical research. Three groups of discussion composed from the 7 members of nursing faculty and 18 nursing students were created to collect data. The research has revealed concept of the effective mentoring in the context of nursing studies. The performed concept analysis lets state that the effective mentoring of nursing student is a complex process, because it includes integration of individual needs and curriculum objectives, highlights importance of relationship, mentor’s pedagogical knowledge, personal qualities, self-motivation, professional competencies.

The aim of the research is to explore the application of health promoting PA education methods applied by teachers of physical education in basic school. The survey included 136 teachers of physical education working in comprehensive schools of five Lithuanian cities and districts (Klaipėda, Kaunas, Kretinga, Šilalė, and Mažeikiai) selected by the convenience sampling method. Teacher survey was conducted in November – December 2012 by the academic staff of the Department of Physical Education of Klaipeda University. The article deals with some aspects of health promotion of non-exercising schoolchildren by physical activity in the context of the contemporary society. The outcomes of the conducted qualitative research and their interpretation are presented. The views of teachers of physical education on the physical activity promotion methods are analyzed, as well as their insights into the issue of physical activity promotion methods at school and major motives of schoolchildren’s exercising.

The study analyzes the healthy nutrition education in younger school-age children. The focus is on healthy eating habits education at primary school level, emphasizing the importance of healthy eating habits and its education at primary school. The research studies conducted over recent years revealed that children nutrition nowadays is incomplete, insufficient or intemperate. It enforces to analyze the assumptions of healthy eating habits education in children and to investigate the effective methods of education. The qualitative empirical study was accomplished, and primary school teachers were interviewed. The study revealed the opinion of teachers about children eating habits, parents care of children nutrition, healthy eating habits education at primary school, and the possibilities of improvements in educational process.

The conception of creativity is introduced and the specifics of development thereof at pre-school age are discussed in the article. It is argued that the pedagogues play a decisive role at this stage when organizing the educational process focused on the development of children’s creativity. A research aimed at revealing the peculiarities of the pedagogues’, who are employed in a pre-school institution, conception of creativity and development thereof in the kindergarten is presented in the article. A questionnaire survey was chosen in order to achieve this objective; 174 pre-school pedagogues took part in this survey. The content analysis method and the descriptive statistics method were applied in order to process the data obtained.

This article presents the review of the development of Lithuanian higher schools during the Soviet period. Chronological data of establishment and transformations of Lithuanian high-schools in 1940–1990 are presented, beginning with the Soviet occupation and ending with the Revival events. The article highlights the structure and specifics of Soviet Lithuanian high-schools, the content of specialists training, provisions of science and studies. Chronologically integral, comprehensive scientific works about higher education development in Soviet Lithuania have not been prepared yet. Most of the information about this period is provided by individual archival documents, Soviet periodical press, commemorative books, different high school publications on the history of their institution, as well as individual researchers memoirs, some features of the development of higher education are revealed in individual scientific works. This article provides an summarized material of various authors and sources and integral analysis of Lithuanian higher education during the Soviet period.

Present social and personal spiritual crises make it necessary to actualize the significance of a personal return to God. The Church invites to evaluate again the importance of religious conversion in preventing various social and personal spiritual pathologies. In this context, discussion and specification of a multidimensional phenomenon of religious conversion is problematic. Following the objectives of the Church to deepen the faith and renew evangelisation, this research aims to answer the following scientific questions: what are the typical features of a religious conversion? What are the factors that can influence the dynamics of this process? What are the changes a personal religious conversion may inspire? This article presents a theoretical analysis of a phenomenon of conversion. The research has shown that personal transformation and existential fulfillment of one’s personal life is an essential meaning of a religious conversion. Religion performs a positive psychotherapeutic function, it gives a meaning to a human existence and contributes to a personal maturity, also leads to a wholesome relationship with God where the meaning of human existence is completely fulfilled. Religious conversion may be considered as one of the fundamental elements of a spiritual health within the context of the present life challenges.

In the article individual work as a significant factor for the education of management competencies of a social care teacher has been analyzed. In order to reveal how individual work based on constructivism theories at higher school helps students to educate management competencies quasi-experimental research has been chosen. 4 higher schools (2 universities and 2 colleges) have participated in the research; 2 experimental (40 students) and 2 control (40 students) groups have been formed. Quasi-experimental study has been organized in separate stages: written survey of students (pre-test) before experimental intervention; experimental intervention (test-factor) by developing individual work of students; written survey of students (post-test) after experimental intervention. After the comparison of differences in results of the pre-test and the post-test, the impact of individual work based on constructivism theories on the education/self-education of management competencies of students of social pedagogy studies programmes. This research helped students to educate management competencies for work of a social care educator at systematic level, i.e. for providing social support through organizations or institutions that form the system of social support.