Vocational Training: Research and Realities 2018, vol. 29, iss. 1

The aim of this study is to furnish a reliable theoretical overview on metacognitive awareness. This research is carried out to (1) familiarize the researchers with the definition, components and sub-components of metacognitive awareness (2) discuss a brief outline of metacognitive awareness along with its origin and essence from the point of view of its historical development (3) link metacognitive awareness to a number of other constructs, including motivation (4) illustrate the features of self-regulated students and their recruited metacognitive strategies and (5) briefly examine the major challenges in the implementation of metacognitive awareness. In conclusion, this research reveals that the analysis of metacognitive awareness and its components gives rise to a new notion of auto-noetic (self) knowledge of learners through planning, monitoring and reflectively evaluating task performance, and creates higher levels of self-efficacy which provides students with different educational contexts in which they are able to have more self-confidence, get more positive feedback both from an instructor and classmates and cultivate in learners more self-regulatory characteristics that enable them to learn autonomously, be completely equipped with motivation and be welcoming to challenges. The study provides benefits to both learners and educators. Learners can receive guidance on how to foster metacognitive awareness for being more competent learners. Furthermore, it provides meaningful insights for curriculum developers to provide metacognitive awareness-based curricula.

The article is based on descriptive theoretical research and focused on ethical principles in social research. It involves considerations on ethical principles and dimensions in social research as well as challenges and limitations for social researchers / scientists when they implement the social research studies. The following research questions are raised in the article: What are the challenges for social researchers / scientists and how to solve them in order to maintain the ethics of research? What commitments include ethical dimensions of social research? What ethical principles are relevant to scientific research, regardless of it‘s specific discipline? The purpose of the research is to consider the possibilities of implementation of ethical principles, limitations, obstacles, and challenges in social research. The author concludes that ethical considerations in social research are critical as they help to determine the difference between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. The essential ethical considerations in social research ethics remains professional competence, integrity, processional and scientific responsibility, respect for research participants' rights, dignity and diversity, and social responsibility of social researchers / scientists. In the conclusions also is accentuated that social researchers / scientists must be sensitive to cultural, individual, and role differences in serving, teaching, and studying groups of people with distinctive characteristics. In all of their social research-related or based activities they should acknowledge the rights of others to hold values, attitudes, and opinions that differ from their own. Thus social researchers / scientists should be aware of their professional and scientific responsibility to the social sciences communities and societies in which they live and work. They are responsible to apply and make public their knowledge in order to contribute to the public good.

The article aims to emphasize the role of foreign language teaching in fostering sustainable development competence in higher education. Foreign language classes enable students to analyze actual topics about sustainable development, to discuss problems, to share personal emotions and experiences. English as a foreign language curriculum aims to build students’ basic language communicative skills with the focus on sustainability, communication for the enhancement of sustainable development competence. The present paper aims to analyze the correlation of sustainable development competence between English as a foreign language studies in the system of higher education. The article overviews the importance of the sustainable development competence development on the theoretical level as well as introduces the practices of the importance of sustainable development competence elements in foreign language classes on the empirical level. The research was planned and performed in 5 universities of Lithuania, in which the respondents studying English (average age of participants was 22 years old) expressed their opinions on the sustainable development topics and usefulness of sustainable development competence. The results of the research demonstrate that students are more engaged in topics and materials on sustainable development and it is challenging for pedagogues to constantly update their materials, to apply innovative English as a foreign language teaching strategies related to sustainable development in foreign language classroom. Therefore, the research findings with the embedded elements for sustainable development competence development encourage educators to search for innovative ways of English as a foreign language teaching in higher education.

The article represents the theoretical or conceptual description of the phenomenon of charisma, which is related to social work as professional activity and is focused in social worker, who is the leader in his / her professional activity. So why it is accentuated that personal charisma of a social worker is a constellation of complex social and emotional skills that allows charismatic individuals to influence others at deep emotional levels, communicate effectively with them, and build strong interpersonal relationships. Authors of the article discuss the possible answers to the following research question: How to recognize, accept and (self)develop personal charisma in social work? In the article the interdisciplinary pont of view is provided and amotional and social skills are discussed in relation to social worker‘s charisma. Authors conclude that Some of charisma-related skills are born innate, others are perfected over time, but the most important is proper application of skills. Charisma of a social worker is related to emotional intelligence, which consists of self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. Different social work situations require differently developed skills, which must be developed through long life education, in which the self-managed learning through interactions and within the professional environment must be the priority.