| Abstract [eng] |
The accelerating pace of life has a huge impact on the chosen occupation and career growth. Teachers must also keep up with changes in society. Acquisition of knowledge and capacity building are becoming increasingly important in the context of continuous improvement and development. Currently, improving education is a topical issue in Lithuania. Changes in the world lead to changes in different areas of life, including schools. In the context of intense societal changes, teachers must also improve. Flows of knowledge accompany us the entire life and pose new challenges. Therefore, the update of competenciesis not only an aspiration, but a necessity to keep an eye on the changing environment. (Kučinskienė, 2004). Object of the research.Improving qualifications of primary school educators in Lithuania and Scotland. Aim of the research.To reveal the possibilities of improving qualifications of pedagogical staff in primary schools in Lithuania and Scotland. Tasks of the research: 1. To analyze the theoretical background of qualifications improvement of pedagogical staff in primary schools. 2. To analyze documents regulating qualifications improvement of Lithuanian and Scottish educators in the context of comparative analysis. 3. To reveal the attitude of pedagogical staff towardsimproving qualifications in Lithuania and Scotland. 4. To present proposals regarding qualificationsimprovement of pedagogical staff in primary schools in Lithuania. Methods of the research: Analysis of scientific literature, quantitative research method– questionnaire survey in Lithuanian and Scottish primary schools with 122 respondents attending. Quantitative research data are processed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) - 22.0 software. Having analyzed the sources of scientific literature, it was found that the qualifications and competencies are closely related. The results of the research suggest that the qualifications of Lithuanian and Scottish educatorsare improved outside working hours. Scottish and Lithuanian teachers have identified theoretical and practical training as the most useful. The study has also revealed thatseminars, pedagogical fairs of ideas and educational trips arethe most effective training methods for Lithuanian teachers, while courses and lectures have been found to be most effective in Scotland. The survey has shown that Lithuanian and Scottish educators learn from their colleagues about training events. Lithuanian educators tend to share the information they obtain with their colleagues, and Scottish educators tend to apply their knowledge in practice. Personal motivation has been found to be the determining factor in improving qualifications in most cases. The results of the research have revealed that there is a lack of consistent teacher motivation frameworks. |
