The content ofteaching natural sciences provides a possibility for establishing of dynamics and system. However, the knowledge would depend on the teacher (his/her teaching methods and forms, and how appropriate is their application etc.) as well as on the student (capability, motivation, methods of learning etc.). Natural sciences education can be characterised by a variety of content provisions, forms and methods of teaching/learning, and practical activities. All these are expected to make the process more effective to widen intellectual knowledge and skills ofstudents, to provide conditions for students activities, to develop students reasoning skills, to influence their aesthetic outlooks etc.

Įvairių kultūrų ir etinių krypčių atstovai, skirtingai žvelgia į gyvybę, jos vertę. Vieni teigia, kad bet kokia gyvybė yra verta pagarbos. Gyvenimas yra šventas savaime. Kiti mano, kad vienintelis užuojautos objektas yra žmogus. Gyvūnai -tai tik drauge su mumis egzistuojantys Dievo kūriniai. Dar kiti pasakys, kad gyvybė yra vertinga tiek, kiek ji teikia naudos.

Vienas iš pagrindinių pradinės bei bendrojo lavinimo mokyklos programų tikslų - pagarbos gyvybei ugdymas. Tačiau pasaulio pažinimo vadovėliuose nepakankamai dėmesio skiriama pagarbos gyvybės ugdymui. Kai kuriomis temomis akcentuojama tik gyvūnų nauda (pragmatinis aspektas). Trečiosios ir ketvirtosios klasės pasaulio pažinimo vadovėliuose pateikta daugiau pažintinė medžiaga. Juose mažai akcentuojama pagarba gyvybei (vertybinis aspektas). Šiuo požiūriu mokytojų nuomone yra itin svarbi.

Straipsnyje analizuojamas pradinių klasių mokytojų požiūris į pagarbos gyvybei ugdymą. Pateikiami empirinio tyrimo rezultatai. Tyrimas, kuriame dalyvavo 110 pradinių klasių mokytojų, atliktas 2003 m. sausio-balandžio mėn.

The article discusses how (in what ways) natural science educations teachers motivate students with special educational needs in order to encourage students’ motivation to learn. Researches reveal that students with learning needs have experienced a variety of learning difficulties, which often causes the loss of their learning motivation and even willingness to attend school. In nowadays school, which aim is to ensure proper education for each pupil, the teacher has to pay special attention to developing pupils’ learning motivation. The article presents a study aimed at finding out how to effectively educate children with special educational needs in general education schools. In the survey participated 146 teachers of nature study, who have experience in working with students with special educational needs. The results of the study revealed that teachers rely on the provisions of the Teachers’ Ethics Code to encourage students to work independently and persistently. This is a very new insight, as the Teachers’ Ethics Code was approved only on 11 June 2018 by order No. V-561 of the Minister of Education and Science. From the teachers’ point of view, for students with special educational needs to increase learning motivation teachers use interesting innovation teaching methods, practical work, use of ICT, creation of educational environments, oral and written honors, gratitude. Also, they use fair evaluation, better marks for progress, even if it is small, adopted tasks, create the conditions for success, pursuit to raise interest, attention, encouragement, communication, cooperation.

The article considers the possibilities of motivation education for pupils with special educational needs while studying the subject of natural cognition. As the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania states, the majority of pupils with special educational needs are educated at general education schools together with their peers through inclusive education. STEM method is best suited for pupils with special educational needs due to the integration of the pupils in the curriculum with the whole class, allowing them to choose tasks. In order to highlight how to strengthen the learning motivation of pupils with special educational needs, qualitative research is chosen. During the qualitative research, a structured interview is conducted, the data of which is processed by the content analysis method. The study included 7 pupils with special educational needs. Interviewed pupils indicate, that their learning motivation is influenced by good relationships a pupil – a pupil, a teacher – a pupils, a parent – a pupil; possibilities to work in a group; variety of learning environment (e.g. outdoor class); discussion of successes and failures, highlighting progress.