Lituanistinio vaikų ugdymo užsienio šalyse ypatumai

Abstract

The attitude of parents towards their children’s Lithuanian-oriented education in foreign countries as well as their efforts in creating a program for such schooling is influenced by the reasons they emigrated, their plans for the future, and their attitude toward Lithuania. Depending on these factors Lithuanian emigrants are to a greater or lesser extent concerned with educating their children in a Lithuanian spirit at home and in specially established Lithuanian schools running on weekends. The latter become a factor in cementing the Lithuanian community because the parents interact among themselves not only after dropping their children off at school but also by participating in school events. Respondents in the survey here described also noted some perceived shortcomings of these schools: their alleged ineffectiveness in that the children supposedly got no benefit from them and the difficulties in transporting children to the schools due to the great distances involved. In addition to Lithuanian schooling in classes the children are also educated at home. The least that parents can do at home is to talk with their children in Lithuanian. But often the children resist this; they favor the foreign language because after a certain amount of time spent abroad they find it difficult to express their thoughts in Lithuanian. Similar problems occur in mixed families, in which there may even be opposition to a Lithuanian-oriented education for the children.