Nowadays, the acquired professional qualifications alone are no longer enough – the previously acquired subject competencies no longer have the same value. The modern knowledge society needs a large number of high-level vocational teachers, whose subject competence, which was already being developed during their studies, should be improved due to changes in the labor market and the education system. This article reveals the content and development of subject competencies of vocational teachers. The aim of the research is to assess the importance of improving the acquired competencies for vocational teachers. The research identified the need for subject competencies, the reasons for which are the desire to make the subject taught interesting, to be competent in one‘s professional activity. More than half of the vocational teachers who took part in the survey have all the opportunities to learn and improve, they work in a job where they can express themselves. Most subject competencies allow them to express themselves more professionally and to learn and improve.

Learning to speak is one of the most important achievements of early childhood. By learning to speak, the child acquires the opportunity to perceive and reflect reality, think logically, summarize, plan and regulate ideas and actions (Ališauskas, 2002). When trying to overcome speech disorders, often appropriate tools and methods are needed. One such method is applying play activity. For preschool and preschool children, play is a means of getting to know the outside world, expressing their emotional attitude towards it, identifying with social roles, developing language and communication skills, and so on. While playing, children depict the environment around them, showing how they value the observed life phenomena. A child‘s play is very variable: cognitive interests are constantly changed by communication, movement, artistic self-expression and other needs (Girdzijauskienė, 2005). Clever educators use games to educate children, model them to achieve one or another educational goal. Therefore, the aim of this article is to review applying play activities that help to overcome children‘s speech disorders in pre-school and preschool education. Methods used: review of scientific sources, semi-structured interview. The study involved: 6 informants (pre-school and preprimary education speech therapists). The results of the study will reveal whether play activities help to eliminate speech disorders in preschool and preschool children.

The article presents an overview of the changes in vocational education and training and challenges posed to social partners, seeking for more efficient organization of vocational training and education. In order to create knowledge, high technology and skilled-based economy in Lithuania, it is necessary to have an effective training and business world interaction, providing not only the professional’s ability to compete in the European labor market, but also enable them to ensure Lithuania‘s quality of life. By this reason, the State involves in vocational training system other stakeholders – social partners: employees, trade unions, employer’s representatives associations. Performing the reform of vocational education and training since 1994, social partnership has taken specific forms, and the Lithuanian Republic Law on Vocational Training defines the competences of the social partners in vocational training processes (Lithuanian Republic Law on Vocational Training, 1997). Ten years later, after the adoption of new Lithuanian Republic Law on Vocational Training in 2007, the social partners‘ activities were expanded. Such a turn towards social dialogue requires qualitative development of human resources in social partner organizations – development of the qualification. The significance of the research and the novelty. The issue of social partnership in vocational training is discussed in various articles, conferences, but the Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Crafts and the Chamber of Agriculture of the Lithuanian Republic (hereinafter Chamber), as social partners and their qualification development has not yet been widely studied. The main problem dealt with in the article is the development of the qualification needs for social partners, because real competences in their activities do not comply with the required knowledge, skills and abilities.[...]

The world is facing with requirements, which are changing the way people and the environment interact, changing needs, and long-term challenges. School is no exception, where endless reforms cause a great deal of chaos that teachers, students, and their parents are tired of. The article discusses the extent to which professional burnout is expressed in Lithuanian teachers 'community as a whole, and its relation to teachers' professional satisfaction. The aim of the research is to reveal the interaction between burnout and professional satisfaction of Lithuanian teachers in order to increase their professional satisfaction. The analysis of scientific literature was selected due to the theoretical explanation of the research problem. The quantitative research method was selected due to empirical research. The indicators on the questionnaire scales provided an opportunity to determine the links between Lithuanian teachers' professional burnout and professional satisfaction according to different structural stress dimensions. Statistical analyses were performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 23) for Windows. The survey included 398 teachers (a representative sample of the study was 381 respondents). The main results. Based on the results of theoretical and empirical research, the main factors influencing the interaction between professional burnout and professional satisfaction were identified. A significant negative interaction between professional satisfaction and professional burnout was also confirmed.

The professionalism of vocational education and training (VET) teachers and the related career and competence development processes of VET teachers face many challenges related to institutionalization and reforms in the VET system of Lithuanian schools. Despite these challenges and problems, many VET teachers are aware of the meaning and importance of their work. The aim of the article is to present the results of the research on the needs of VET teachers in terms of content, learning and competence assessment, and to provide insights into how VET teachers construct their careers by developing pedagogical and professional competencies. The study involved 324 VET teachers from 10 VET centers (2 VET centers in larger cities, 2 VET centers in regional centers and 6 VET centers in rural areas. Age range: 38% aged 41–50, 35% over 51 years, 21% were between the ages of 31–40 and 6% were between the ages of 21 and 30. The study used structural equation modeling. Data were evaluated using the WLSMV tool Software: Mplus Version 8.3. The results of the research will allow the development of an online self-assessment tool that will allow vocational teachers to self-evaluate their professional and pedagogical competences and to plan their professional career development.

Changes in science, technology, social transformations encourage changes and raise new requirements for teachers’ career – development, reflection, analysis, enhancement of possessed competencies and acquisition of new ones, i. e. lifelong learning skills necessary to adapt to constantly changing life conditions. The problem of the research – qualification requirements for teachers are changing in line with rapid changes in teaching and learning environment and changing requirements in the area of teaching / learning. This situation creates new needs for teachers’ qualification development and determines lack of information about these needs. Therefore, emerging necessity to identify these needs and opportunities of their realization is apparent. The object of the research is teachers’ needs for professional development. The research aimed at identifying general education school teachers’ needs and opportunities for professional development.[...].

Education in Lithuania is undergoing great transformations that are affecting higher education. Today's education at large experiences challenges caused by new technologies, abundance of information resources, thus being forced to search for new and effective methods of teaching / learning. The issue of information literacy at university level in Lithuania has not been researched in more depth so far. Integration of information literacy into the curriculum of higher education is a key question closely related to the shift in conception of university mission and functioning principles of the knowledge-based society. The relevance of information literacy emerges in the context of the shift in teaching and learning paradigm when learning is considered as self-directed, autonomous activity steered towards lifelong learning in programme documents. The importance of information literacy is viewed in the context of ICT use for learning purposes. ICT provides a great variety of information and learning material that is pedagogically unprocessed, therefore information literacy dimension is indispensable for efficacy and effectiveness of learning with ICT. Information literacy is an essential prerequisite to successful lifelong learning and very often an integral element of this learning. The paper presents the research findings obtained during the educational experiment in years November 2005 - May 2006. The experiment aiming at enhancement of information literacy was conducted with the research sample of 32 full-time first-year university students. The phenomenographic inquiry into information literacy conception provided with insights into students' understanding of information literacy as the necessity of the future society with domination of ICT in all spheres of life.[...]

In the development of a child’s emotional intelligence, one cannot rely solely on intuition. Instead, as in all sciences, we need to build on the knowledge gained from the lessons learned in order to make informed decisions in educating small preschoolers.Lithuania has already been adapting foreign practices aimed at the social and emotional development of children, but not all of them. Only a few percent of educational institutions follow them, as educators themselves do not have enough knowledge to develop children‘s emotional abilities. B. Elkjaer (2009) claims that experience is primarily related not to knowledge but to human life as a process. Human life is a continuous relationship between the human and the environment. This relationship has the same importance and meaning as an experience, but it also includes emotions, aesthetics, ethics and knowledge. When one is seeking to obtain knowledge, experience is not enough. Essential learning, according to R. Usher (2009), is based on practicing the way or style of life. This claim rejects the idea that learning originates from the experience. Nevertheless, experience and learning are interrelated, interactive and dynamic processes. Taking these issues into consideration, the following research question is suggested: How do teachers integrate the development of children’s emotional intelligence into practical activities when planning the educational process?[...]

Straipsnyje analizuojamas socialinių gebėjimų įgijimas savanoriškoje veikloje. Autorės aptaria socialinius gebėjimus ir savanorystę, kaip artimo meilės išraišką. Tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė, kad savanoriai savanoriškoje veikloje daugiausia įgyja bendravimo, bendradarbiavimo ir mokymosi iš kitų socialinių gebėjimų.

Straipsnyje analizuojamas požiūris į santuoką kaip į bendrystę šeimoje. Santuoka susijusi su sunkumais, krizėmis, konfliktais, problemomis, atsirandančiomis tarp vyro ir moters. Tačiau bendravimas yra priemonė, kurią sutuoktiniai gali pasitelkti, siekdami tarpusavio artumo, bendrumo ir supratimo. Tai santuoką palaikanti priemonė. Pateikiama psichologinė konfliktų charakteristika, išryškinama konfliktų tipologija. Atskleidžiamas šeimos konfliktų specifiškumas ir aptariami šeimos konfliktų sprendimai. Straipsnyje pateikiami konfliktų sprendimo šeimoje empirinio tyrimo rezultatai.