Klaipėdos universitetas

This study presents an internationally (cross-border) representative picture of the school environment, atmosphere and action taken by schools aiming at the involvement of students in their actions. The study was conducted within the framework of the CaSYPoT project (Capacity Building for Strategic Youth Policy and Transnational Cooperation) under the Interreg South Baltic Programme 2014-2020 (Project No STHB.05.01.00-SE-0024/15). The main aim of the CaSYPot project was to encourage young people to get involved in local democracy, and to present youth as a resource in the development of society. Furthermore, for the design and implementation of the southern Baltic youth strategy, it is important to gain an insight into the current situation regarding the environment in schools. One section of this survey was addressed to the situation of youth in schools. The international survey for the CaSYPoT project was conducted among 1,593 students, in six towns in the southern Baltic region, in Sweden, Poland, Russia and Lithuania, from April to June 2017. The project partner’s towns carried out a survey on teenagers aged 16 to 19, identifying their needs and problems in school, and providing comparable data. The questionnaire contained questions addressing young people’s well-being and atmosphere of safety, the climate at school, and their experience in getting involved in the work of the school and their influence on decision making. To sum up, the study describes the current situation in schools, which is essential for the development and evaluation of future policies and actions. The survey covers a wide range of student opinions on school, and begins with a summary of the key findings drawn from an analysis of the survey, and strategic recommendations for the future.

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.