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INTRODUCTION

GENERAL COUNTRY BACKGROUND

STRUCTURE AND THE CURRENT NEEDS OF EDUCATION IN LITHUANIA

THE PRIORITY OF THE NEEDS IN EDUCATION FOR OSFL

MISSION IN EDUCATION OF THE OSFL

THE GOALS IN EDUCATION OF THE OSFL

STRATEGIC APPROACH

PROGRAM AREAS WITH A BRIEF SUMMARY OF EACH

GOVERNANCE AND EVALUATION

The aim of transformation of education in the first decade of Lithuania’s’ independence was to liberalise and decentralise the system of education in the way that it could better meet the needs of the pupils and to help them acquire the skills that are needed for their life in a democratic society.

In the course of the last decade the educational reform in Lithuania was implemented in a rather intense way. As is stressed in a General Concept of Education in Lithuania the aim of the reform was to liberate the creative energies which were repressed during the communist years. This historic shift in the country’s development demands a change in the mental climate of society: the basic comprehension of democratic values, a new political, economic and civil literacy, the maturation of moral culture. History shows that the high quality education, accessible for all is the essential means of developing of modern, open, pluralistic and harmonious society.

In order to achieve these aims, educational policy, the educational system and the school as an organisation needs to undergo essential changes throughout all levels from kindergartens to universities. The macro and micro management of education should be revised and reformed. Schools should establish partnership with the community and parents, change the rigid school structure and relations between the members of the community, and reconsider basic values.

Values of democratic, open society, respect and tolerance to individual, social and cultural differences are to be promoted through education. Curriculum development and instruction should be ideology free, modernised and child centred. Teacher training needs a deep reform in order to prepare teachers to meet the new objectives.

The role of OSFL in the processes of educational reform was essential. During the years 1993-1998 the Open Society Fund implemented a large project "Education for Lithuania’s Future", which had a great impact on the development of Lithuanian education. The important aspects of the project were curriculum development, school improvement, spreading of modern ideas on education management and encouragement of the professional development of educators, implementation of new technologies into education. The Network educational programs also contributed significantly to the new vision of education. The HESP program influenced the strengthening of scientific capacity and international networking of the new generation of scientists.

GENERAL COUNTRY BACKGROUND

Lithuania’s population is 3,701 thousands (1998 est.). The ethnic structure is: 82% of the population are Lithuanians, 8,3%-Russians, 7,0%-Polish, 3,3% belong to other ethnic groups.

The Government of Lithuania faces considerable difficulties with reforms in the face of economic and social stagnation and even decline. The country is in economic crisis with a high current account deficit (the budget is revised by the Parliament this autumn), and fiscal problems. Poverty and unemployment are widespread, especially in rural areas, among large, young families, farmers, and pensioners. Research show that income depends highly on the educational level obtained by citizens.

Rural areas face extreme challenges. There is a planned change of employed in the agricultural sphere from 20% to 5% in ten years. Social stratification and disproportions of regional development are significant. A divorce rate is high. Crime rates are increasing especially among teenagers. Suicide rate of young people is one of the highest in the world (World Health Organisation). The drop out rate and non attendance of school children is increasing.

According to UNDP (Human Development Index) Lithuania is in 73^rd position in the world. A high proportion (estimated at 25%) of the population is living below poverty level. Poverty, unemployment (14,3% in 1998) and social stratification (Gini 0.31) of families is a new challenge for schools.

STRUCTURE AND THE CURRENT NEEDS OF EDUCATION IN LITHUANIA

The Law of Education was passed by the Seimas in 1991. The reform of education is driven by the General Concept of Education.

Enrolment in schools. Teachers. There are 2 379 (23 private) primary and secondary schools with 566 410 students and 43 thousands teachers in Lithuania. Approximately 84% of teachers have an university degree.

Enrolment in kindergartens. The enrolment rate into kindergartens is estimated to be 40% of age group (less than 10 % in rural areas).

The school structure. The present structure (implemented in 1999) of primary and secondary education is 4 + 6 + 2 years. Basic education is compulsory through grade 10. Approximately 40% of graduates from basic school do not graduate from secondary education afterwards. This is fare behind the average of European Union.

Small schools in rural areas are planned to be closed in order to raise cost effectiveness in education. Drop-out and non-attendance of basic school students are thought to be a major issue, but no reliable figures are available. Some sources estimate numbers of dropout as high as 20000, numbers of non-attendance are not available. Large group of school age ‘street children’ fall into the risk group of crime, drug dependency and child abuse.

Up to now at secondary level all the subjects were studied at uniform level. Starting the year 2000 secondary schooling (2 years) is planned to be diversified into the following types: (1) humanitarian gymnasium; (2) real gymnasium and (3) technical gymnasium with integrated vocational training. This restructuring will require a lot of additional efforts from school management.

The new Matura testing institution - National Examination Centre started a reform of centralised examinations in 1998.

Vocational education is delivered at 107 vocational schools for 53 670 students. Some vocational schools also provide basic and secondary education.

Tertiary education. The tertiary sector is comprised of 15 state universities, which provide free and fee-based programs in a variety of academic and professional areas with 67 068 students and 1 Catholic higher school. Universities are autonomous and financed directly from the state budget. University faculties control admission through (from the year 1999) centralised school leaving examinations and faculty-specific entrance tests. A reform of tertiary education is planned by the MOE, but it faces deep resistance from universities. There are 69 higher vocational colleges with 30 329 students that are planned to be transformed to non-university higher education institutions.

The governance of educational system . Management of the school system remains largely with the central (state) and 10 regional level (county) educational units, which report to the Ministry of Education. Municipalities (56) finances and maintains schools. The local share of total education expenditure is more than 60%. Education costs per student are different in different municipalities. After the last elections in 1997 about 80% of ed. units’ staff was changed. They are mostly former teachers without training in educational policy and management. Not enough attention is paid to in-service training educational managers of all levels. There is no academic program for such studies in Lithuania.

In-service teacher training. Teaching methodology is mainly subject-centred and rigid. The use of innovative and interactive teaching methods still does not reach a critical mass. A large state run in- service training institute in Vilnius in 1999 was restructured, but the new system of in-service training for teachers is still unclear. At the moment the in - service training system is decentralised and mainly is delivered through regional or municipal Teachers’ Centres, which are poorly financed. There is no transparent system for financing in-service teacher training. Some in-service training courses are free, some-fee based. Only a few universities are delivering in-service programs.

The third sector in education is weak. There are several professional teachers associations.

The information and monitoring system in education is at grassroots. MOE established several working groups to work on the establishment of a system of external audit and school self-evaluation, system quality indicators.

The priority of needs OSF Lithuania is going to address in the field of education are considered to be: the education of values of open, democratic, humanistic society; equal opportunities in education; education for vulnerable, marginalised, oppressed children; addressing the educational and social needs of children in underprivileged rural areas; encouragement of initiatives of individuals and self organisation of educational communities; capacity building in educational management; capacity building for educational policy analysis and public debate; promoting openness and change in initial teacher training.

In order to clarify the needs of the education system and to choose fields of operation to be addressed by OSFL, consultations were undertaken with teachers, key institutions at the local and school level, the Ministry of Education, Institute of Pedagogics, National Examination Centre; lecturers, students and doctoral students from Vilnius University, Vilnius Pedagogical University, Vytautas Magnus University, Šiauliai university, Klaipeda university.

The main mission in education of the OSFL is to promote open society values through education and to increase the capacity of the education system to support positive change.

THE GOALS IN EDUCATION OF THE OSF LITHUANIA

The goals of OSFL in education are:

• to support equity and social justice in education; to monitor and support education of Roma and other disadvantaged minority groups;
• to promote human rights and democratic values through education;

• to support education policy analysis and public debate.

• to support advocacy and educational opportunities for vulnerable and at risk children;
• to help the young generation to develop skills, values and awareness for effective citizenship;
• to foster a positive educational environment for the needs of learning society;
• to make advancements in teaching methodology, teacher training, school management;

• modernisation of educational system ,
• supporting the third sector in education ;
• strengthening of the policy analysis and decision making capacity in education.

The OSFL will seek of the modernisation of educational system by means of:

• supporting initiatives of school improvement, education management, reform of teacher training;
• supporting the improvement and capacity building of self-management and decision making at school and local level.

Considerable strengthening the third sector in education is expected to be achieved through the activities of OSFL programs and NGO’s founded by OSFL and supporting other existing NGO’s in the field. NGO’s founded by OSFL will build their activities upon experience and capacity of former educational programs of the Foundation.

In the area of policy analysis and decision making capacity building OSFL will act by means of:

• the strengthening of the policy research on strategic issues of equal and quality education for all;
• building teaching capacity for all levels of educational management and decision making;
• dissemination of information and international networking in educational policy research and consultations;
• encouraging the public debate on educational policy.

Our Education strategy is a sunset and transition strategy. The big educational project "Education for Lithuania’s Future" terminated in 1998. The regional programs terminated or are going to the end. The islands of excellence were created, but the assurance of scaling up and systemic impact into the educational system is extremely necessary in order not to waste investments already made. Maximum use of obtained and developed resources is planned by means of the careful termination, continuation or independent existence of the programs.

On the basis of human and material resources developed in the previous stages of OSFL educational activities the institutionalisation of the most successful OSFL national and network programs was encouraged. The analysis of possibilities for sustainability of spin-off's was undertaken in a year 1998 through international and local expertise and evaluation, market analysis and matched with possibilities of shrinking funding capacity from OSFL. The decision was made to support these spin-off’s with bridge grant which consisted of that year program budget approved by the Board and the commitment grant for programmatic activities.

The educational programs will remain at the auspices of OSFL Education Program (see the Education Program Structure in this paper) – the Egmont project, Education Policy Program, Visual thinking strategies, UWC and HESP.

The OSFL has a commitment to support The Egmont Project with the donor partner –Egmont Petersen Foundation, Denmark. The Democratisation of pre-school education project , started in 1992, before Step by Step network program started. It is a long-term OSFL partnership obligation. The Egmont project is considered as needed for further elaboration in terms of future institutionalisation or continuation within formal education at tertiary level. They are assisted by OSFL in becoming an NGO. The Egmont project is seeking to extend activities into pre- service teacher training and developing distance pre- service courses at Klaipeda University. The Dane partner covers the costs on 60/40 basis. There is national interest in this program as very successful (in democratization of pre-school system, raising initiatives from ‘the bottom’) in terms of strong systemic- impact at relatively low cost.

We would like to share several considerations on this strategic approach:

The new strategic approach focuses on three lines: education policy line elaboration; sustainability and commitments; grant giving only on matching basis.

1. The Education Policy Program is the new line in the OSFL educational strategy and is supported by the needs assessment of current situation in educational system. This program will base on previous experience of the Centre for Educational Studies and will be elaborated together with the partners- Vilnius University, Pedagogical Research Institute, National Examination Centre and other tertiary educational institutions and co-ordinated jointly with HESP. The main programmatic lines will be capacity building in educational policy studies at tertiary level; dissemination of targeted education policy research information (theory into practise), information based reviews, fostering of the public debate in education. This program intends to work in close co-operation with international network of the policy centres across the region.

2. The newly established NGO’s will strengthen the third sector in education. The OSFL grants that will be allocated to the spin-off institutions are considered to be a start up platform for them. Foundation will support these institutions on grant basis for three –five years from the moment of establishment. Allocations will be given for their projects and administrative costs if the projects coincide with the mission and priorities of OSFL. The governance and evaluation procedures of spin-off institutions by OSFL are planned in progress (see Governance and Evaluation section of this paper). The decision to support the achievement of stated goals through supporting NGO's, founded by the OSFL, is based upon a strong belief of a possible future sustainability for the experience and capacity of former OSFL educational developments.

3. The new model of educational program in Lithuania (and the first in the network) is the establishment of the Foundation for Educational Change (FEC) by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Open Society Fund-Lithuania, registered on May 4, 1999. The FEC will operate as a grant giving body, will continue to promote the educational changes and strengthen the co-operation between all institutions, that are involved in the modernisation of the education process.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE OSFL EDUCATION PROGRAM

See Appendix 1

OSFL EDUCATION PROGRAM AREAS WITH A BRIEF SUMMARY OF EACH

The programs operating at OSF Lithuania

Educational Policy program . There is a need of policy analysis, expanding the influence of schools, teachers and parents on educational policy through dissemination of information and stimulation of educational debate across all levels of educational actors, involved partners and stakeholders. The lack of compatibility between different reform actions, structural units of educational system and the levels of education is considered as limiting factor of educational development at systemic level. Systematic analysis of an educational policy is non-existent. The above problems require certain solutions to be made, and it will be the priority of the Educational Policy program which will operate under the auspices of OSFL HESP in year 2000.

Egmont Project – will seek to realise humanistic and democratic approach, flexible and responsible attitude towards changes in the pre-school system, having a firm methodological backbone. Pre- service studies are integrated into the plans of the project development. The Egmont project "Democratization of pre-school education system", financed jointly by OSFL and Egmont Petersen foundation ( Denmark ) is to influence systematic changes in pre-school education in the areas of kindergarten practice, teacher training and pre - service student training.

HESP (The Higher Education support program) will work in a close co-operation with Education Policy program and concentrate on the modernisation of humanities and social science studies, the creation of alternative forms of studies and the encouragement of policy making in this field in order to evoke systemic changes, develop new courses - policy analysis, governance of education, etc.

Interdisciplinary doctoral students’ seminars and innovations in university teaching methods will be encouraged and supported on inter-university basis.
The Visual Thinking Strategies program is considered by the OSFL Board as very important for the promotion of innovative teaching strategies. It has not yet finished a full cycle. Allocations for the last cycle are planned.

The United World Colleges program fosters the international communication between young people and transfer of democratic values in a multicultural environment. The program will be continued on small grant basis. It is to be noted that the ratio of attracted and granted money is high.

NGO’s founded by OSFL

There are two types by nature of NGO’s, established by the foundation: those based on the previous activities and resources of the national Transformation of Education project, and those, established on the basis of the network programs.

Foundation for Educational Change (established on matching basis with MOE) will operate as grant – giving body and seek to encourage the Lithuanian educational community for a creation of positive educational milieu in order to provide opportunities for the best possible development of future citizens of open and democratic society.

The Centre for School Improvement (incorporates Step by Step ) will strive to help Lithuanian schools develop as organisations, to encourage schools’ participation in development of educational policy, to foster the documentation and research of change processes in schools and to secure spreading of open society values to the schools and the educational community.

The Step by Step Program will continue implementing child-centered approach, individualized teaching methodologies for children birth through age eleven. The educational concepts in Step by Step support development of democratic principles and an open society. The program focuses on the needs on undeserved children in the country. Special emphasis is placed on community support and family involvement.

The Debate Centre will have a mission to help the young generation of Lithuania to become socially-aware citizens, involved in dealing with the problems facing the country and the world, creating an active and positive attitude in finding solutions for a better future. The Debate centre will promote critical thinking through various debate related activities such as seminars for teachers and students, summer camps, tournaments, Students’ Congresses and provide schools with informational assistance.

Centre of Modern Didactics (incorporates regional program Critical Thinking in the year 2000). The centre is planned to be a bridge between general secondary schools and universities and to contribute to the reform of pre-service teacher training. The Centre will offer optional credit courses for students, organise teaching practice at the sites earlier supported by OSF, invite serving teachers, develop inter-university connections. These courses will be based upon methodologies, using lecturers trained by the regional OSF educational programs. The Centre would operate as an NGO, founded by the Open Society Fund and Vilnius Pedagogical University.

Children’s Support Centre. During tremendous changes in social and economical life today a lot of families experience enormous pressures. Children and adolescents, in particular, are vulnerable group and require exceptional help, support and understanding to become more healthy, creative, independent, conscious and responsible members of society. To address this need we are able through providing advocacy, prevention, education and direct services, including the development of one-to-one mentoring relationships at the Children’s Support Centre. The mission of the Children Support centre is to serve the needs of children and families by implementing broad range of services, prevention and training programs and providing professional interventions that effectively encompass the uniqueness of each child, adolescent and family.

The Career Centre will be the first and only institution in Lithuania dealing with the human career in the broadest meaning of the term - as the formal or informal occupation an individual chooses. This broad view of the concept of a career encompasses issues of self-realisation, self-esteem and social development. Helping the educated young people to find appropriate career options at home will be essential to stopping the "brain drain" and to building a strong society and economy upon a democratic foundation. The culture of choice will be promoted.

GOVERNANCE AND EVALUATION OF THE EDUCATION PROGRAM

See Appendix 2

The governance of OSFL educational programs

1. In 1999 when the OSFL biggest project "Transformation of Education for Lithuania’s Future" was terminated, the governance of remaining at OSFL educational programs was combined with that of higher education and governed by joint Educational sub-board. An expert in secondary education has been added to the membership of the newly formed Sub-Board of the above programs.

2. A separate expert group has been established to assess educational programs and projects. The expert group’s task is to provide recommendations to the OSFL Board regarding activities and recommendations for further funding of the educational programs at OSFL and institutions established by the foundation (spin-offs). The approval allocations for these programs will be reconsidered annually.

The governance of OSFL spin-off’s

1. After consideration, the OSFL Board has decided to provide funding for the spin-offs in gradually decreasing amounts for the period of 3-5 years from the moment of NGO’s establishment. The Board will reconsider allocations on annual basis after evaluation of annual report of the NGO.

2. The founder of all the spin-offs is the Open Society Fund-Lithuania. Pursuant to the Lithuanian legislation, the founder shall form a governing body - the Board for all its established institutions. Seeking to maintain immediate contact with them, the OSFL has nominated a member of its Board or senior staff to each Board of the newly established institutions.

3. Spin-off activity reports to the OSFL shall consist of:

1. Annual activity report to be submitted to the OSFL Board (contents of implemented projects, number of their partners and participants, fundraising progress);
2. Financial report to be assessed by the auditor nominated by the OSFL.

4. The annual evaluation of the activities and impact of spin-off institutions after the evaluation of expert group will be the OSFL Board responsibility.

5. The external evaluation shall be carried out after 1.5 – 2 years of their activity.

The Modern Didactics Center is an inter-university center. Activities of the Center are predetermined by current material and human resources, needs of Lithuanian institutions of higher education, and general situation in education. The Center is continuously monitoring, studying and analyzing the situation in higher education; initiating the process of looking for and carrying out innovations; consulting on initial and in-service teacher training. The Center is establishing and maintaining partnership relations with local and foreign universities; encouraging openness, tolerance and collegial communication between educators. While planning, implementing or changing its programs, the Center is continuously assessing its own activities.

The activities of the Modern Didactics Center are based on the cooperation between the regional OSF programs: "Developing Critical Thinking", "Strategies of Visual Thinking", "Egmont", "Developing Health Care", "Conflict Resolution", "Debates" and "Professional Career". The programs voluntarily agreed to carry out joint activities and share their responsibilities. Main directions of the activities - designing optional accredited courses for university students; organizing teaching practice in general secondary schools; in-service courses for teachers from institutions of higher education and general secondary schools; organizing seminars and conferences; publishing activities.

• approved methodologies.
• trained lecturers, who have gained experience of working with general secondary schools and institutions of higher education.
• schools - project centers, which use modern teaching methodologies. There is a possibility of using them as a venue for teaching practice.
• lecturers - teachers from universities and general secondary schools.
• links with Lithuanian institutions of higher education, e.g. the existing optional courses, lecturers - university teachers, etc.
• links with authors of various projects, foreign universities.
• existing practice of paid courses.
• acquired video and reading materials for the library.

• providing possibility of choice of courses, which introduce different methodologies.
• linking courses with teaching practice at schools, where teachers already use modern methodologies.
• cooperating with schools - involving serving teachers into the process of teacher training, inviting them to courses in order to share their experience; presenting new textbooks; methodological materials, etc.
• developing inter-university links - both within the country and abroad.
• acquiring skills of searching for and using the information.

• settling down in the premises of Vilnius Pedagogical University (repair works, acquiring equipment and establishing information center).
• preparing and approving the regulations and the treaty of setting up the Center.
• establishing new links of cooperation with old partners (Open Society Institute and OSF; Ministry of Education and Science; local and foreign universities; teacher education centers; general secondary schools, etc.).
• looking for new partners and possible sources of funding - making projects.

International projects and other activities

Long-term (continuous) programs

• students will have an opportunity of freely choosing various courses, not necessarily directly linked with the didactics of their study discipline;
• courses will be directly linked with the teaching practice;
• courses and new methodologies will be presented by means of the newest technologies;
• universities will cooperate more closely with general secondary schools, teachers will have an opportunity to participate in the process of initial teacher training;
• students will get acquainted with newest teaching materials; will make use of the library and other sources of information;
• inter-university links will expand and long-term programs will be carried on;
• students and lecturers will participate in joint projects and seminars;
• regular partners and colleagues of the Center will emerge;
• in-service training courses will be of high quality and in big demand;
• Center will earn income from in-service training courses, seminars and conferences, designing and publishing of methodological publications, consulting.

The Board of the Center, staff, colleagues will be involved in continuous internal assessment of activities. Participants of the activities, organized by the Center, will evaluate them with the use of checklists and questionnaires. Winter conference, planned by the end of the year 2001, will review and evaluate two years’ activities of the Center.

1. Permanent staff

Coordinator (director) of the Center

Librarian - administrator

2. Associated members

The Center will unite various regional OSF educational programs, specialists from local and foreign institutions of higher education as its permanent partners. They will participate in the activities of the Center and will be hired for concrete tasks (e.g. reading lectures, leading seminars, consulting, assessing assignments of students and teachers). The Center will coordinate this kind of communication and cooperation, encourage professional development and sharing of professional experience.

Activities of the Center will be approved and regulated by the Board, established by the founders. Activities will be carried out by the permanent staff of the Center.

Education Governance Chart

During the years 1993-1998 the Open Society Fund implemented a large project "Education for Lithuania’s Future", which had a great impact on the development of Lithuanian education. The important aspect of the project was school improvement, spreading of modern ideas on education management and encouragement of the professional development of educators. These activities laid a foundation for the establishment of the Center for School Improvement in 1999. The Center strives to help Lithuanian schools develop as organizations, to encourage schools’ participation in development of educational policy, and to promote ideas of the open society in educational community.

NEED ASSESSMENT

In the course of the last decade an educational reform was implemented in a rather intense way. Its aim was to liberalize and decentralize the system of education in the way that it could better meet the needs of the pupils, to provide them with the greater variety of choice, and to help them acquire the skills, which are needed for their life in a democratic society. In order to achieve these aims, school as an organization needs to undergo essential changes: it should establish partnership with the community and parents, change the rigid school structure and relations between the members of the community, and reconsider the basic values. The national strategy of education raises high requirements for schools; however, not a single state educational organization provides support for schools as organizations, does not consider schools as a whole. Pedagogical universities, local educational authorities may provide support for the subject teachers, but no one can help the schools as a whole. In the year 2000 the Ministry of Education and Science plans to launch the program of assessment and accreditation of schools, but, again, it is not considered yet, who and how will provide support for schools on the national level. The Center for School Improvement is the only organization in Lithuania, which works with a school as a whole, helps the schools in making the plans of development and self-assessment, and spreads new pedagogical ideas. During the first month of the activities of the Center more than 80 Lithuanian schools approached the Center in order to get various services. In 1998 we conducted a survey of teachers in five regions. It showed that schools need the overall help and reorganization of the professional development in order to meet the needs of the specific school. On that ground we designed our program of activities.

Another aspect of the activities of the Center is expanding the influence of schools, teachers and parents on educational policy. Social policy in Lithuania is still determined by political groups and the interests of participants and users of education are often ignored. The Center will encourage various public actions and campaigns, aimed at involving the society in the discussion on important questions of education. Development of educational policy is impossible without professional research. In the year 2000 the Center will undertake several projects of investigating the situation of education in cooperation with independent groups of sociologists, as it is not convenient in Lithuania to consider education as social phenomena.

INTELLECTUAL CAPACITIES AND LEVEL OF READINESS OF THE CENTER

The basis for the activities of the Center is the intellectual capital, which was accumulated while implementing the project "Education for Lithuania’s Future". A lot of work was done, the consultants were trained, the books were published, school networks and new educational organizations were established. In our work we mainly rely on adult teachers and consultants, trained by the OSF. They are practitioners, who implement successfully the newest pedagogical and school development ideas in their schools. While implementing the project, we maintained close links with the universities of Toronto, McGill and London. We used to receive and still get a vast intellectual support. When the Center became an independent organization, involved solely in the activities of school improvement, our work became more purposeful and professional. Currently we may provide more thorough and complex help for the schools.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Long-term aims of the Center:

• To secure spreading of the ideas about open society and democracy via the cooperation between schools and community, to encourage the society to solve questions on education and other kinds of social policy.

• To create a system of consulting for schools and other educational institutions.
• To encourage liberalization and decentralization of professional development of teachers in order to meet better the needs of every particular school and teacher.
• To initiate and foster the documentation and research of change processes in schools.
• To assess the theory and practice of school effectiveness and improvement in Lithuania.

Objectives of the Center for the years 2000 – 2001

1. To gather 30-40 educators, who are interested in improving the activities of schools, to support their professional development and to train them work as consultants.
2. To prepare 4 new modules of professional development, e.g. "The methodology of schools’ self-evaluation", etc.
3. To make 2 large scale surveys on school change.
4. To organize consulting in schools and to consult up to 100 schools in a year.
5. To organize about 200 seminars and other activities per year on various topics requested by schools.
6. To organize about 10 seminars in Russian for minority schools in order to ensure their normal integration into the Lithuanian education system.
7. To organize continuously actions of provoking greater activity of the society, to involve mass media and different civic groups.
8. To create small libraries and to create possibilities of using it by specialists in the following fields:

• education management;
• sociology of education;
• school effectiveness and school improvement;
• investigating and teaching the problem of holocaust.

SUCCESS CRITERIA

1. The activity of teachers and schools and their interest in the problems of school improvement will increase.
2. The surveys will point out the most important and problematic areas of school development and the necessary help will be offered.
3. Schools will positively evaluate the programs offered by the Center and will ask for more.
4. A group of professional school consultants will be created and the programs required by schools will be developed.
5. The system of professional development of teachers will start to undergo essential changes.
6. Communities of national minority schools will become more self-confident, and their co-operation with Lithuanian and other schools will increase.
7. Society will be more actively involved in discussion about education and other topics of social policy.

WAYS AND PRINCIPLES OF ACTIVITIES AND THE PARTNERS

The Center is the organization, which implements important educational projects and programs in cooperation with other governmental and non-governmental organizations. It also offers various paid services to teachers and educational institutions. Major partners of the Center in Lithuania are the Ministry of Education and Science, regional education centers, club of Initiative Schools and other non-governmental organizations. Center is actively cooperating with numerous foreign partners, e.g. the Beth Shalom Holocaust Memory Center, the National Council of Economic Education, the International Center for Educational Change, etc.

The Center will exist as long as its services will be needed and demanded, or until its functions will be taken over by state institutions or until the Center will be incorporated into some state institution, e.g. Pedagogical University or Vilnius County Educational Center. A rather active market of educational services is currently in the process of development, and, if the Center will maintain high professional level, its services will be on demand for a long period of time. It is very important to become professionally strong, carefully observe and investigate the situation in schools, and be able of continuous self-renewal during the first and the second years of the Center’s existence. There are signs showing that after the year 2001 the Center will manage to exist even if the support from the Open Society Fund will substantially diminish. The main source of financing the Center will be paid services and state funding allocated for the implementation of various projects (e.g. project "Evaluation of School’s Activities").

In 1999 the Center implemented the programs of three types:

1. Long-term or continuous programs of professional development of teachers, which could be booked by schools or educational centers, e.g. "Methods of Active Learning", "School Development Planning", "Managing the Process of Change", etc. These events were very popular as the consultants of the Center visited all the schools, which showed interest in the program. Teachers not only learned new things, but also experienced the joy of common work, acquired skills of cooperation, which they usually lack in schools. The seminars often gave the impetus for the radical school change.
2. Complex projects, which incorporate a variety of analysis and research, the organization of events for teachers and wider society, e.g. "Holocaust in the Context of Contemporary Lithuania" or "School as learning organization: developing in-service training in schools".
3. International projects, e.g. "Teaching Economics in the Schools of the Baltic Countries", international conference on school improvement, etc.

In the year 2000 we intend to maintain the same principles of our activities. However, we will give more attention to school counseling, work with national minority schools, research on educational policy, various civic actions.

Long-term or continuous programs of professional development of teachers

Complex projects

1. In the year 2000 main attention will be given to the long-term project "School as a Learning Organization: Developing Model of In-Service Training of Teachers in One's ’Own School ", which started in 1999 and is aimed at creation of the model of professional development. It should be oriented towards the needs of the school and would help to optimize the use of state funding, allocated for the in-service training. The project is implemented under the special agreement with the Ministry of Education and Science and gets its partial financial support.
2. The long-term program "Teaching about Holocaust" will be continued. It includes intense work with teachers and students, activities for historians, representatives of the church and organization of civic actions. The main partners are Beth Shalom Center for the Memory of Holocaust, the Washington Holocaust Museum, Center for Civic Initiatives, Vilnius University, Vilnius Seminary of Clergy, etc.
3. Educational research of the situation in education will be conducted: "Situation of the National Minorities Schools in Lithuania", "Professional Development of Teachers and the Needs of the School", etc.
4. The Center is coordinating the regional initiative of the network of the Soros funds on school improvement. In the year 2000 an international conference will be organized in order to discuss the school improvement movement in Western and post-communist countries.

ASSESSMENT

The Center conducts continuous internal assessment of its activities with the help of the members of the Board of the Center and school consultants. The clients evaluate all the events, organized by the Center, and the staff of the Center makes a thorough analysis. In mid-2000 we will conduct the external audit of the Center activities with the help of independent auditors.

MANAGEMENT OF THE CENTER

The management structures of the Center are the administration and the Board. The OSF Board, which is the founder of the Center, approves the composition of the Center Board. The OSF Board also approves the annual program of the Center activities and the budget. The 1999 Board is composed by the representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science, representative of the OSF Board, representatives of schools and other funds and non-governmental organizations.

The Board of the Center approves strategic directions of the Center activities and new programs, defines organizational structure of the Center and approves the reports. Members of the Board provide professional help to the Center. The administration runs the everyday activities of the Center. It consists of three full-time members of the staff: director, project director and administrator. The part-time workers and volunteers run all other activities. We do not intend to increase the number of full-time staff members in 2000.

FUNDING

The year 1999

The year 2000

The year 2001

Prepared by Egle Pranckuniene Center for School Improvement Director

STRATEGY OF FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATIONAL CHANGE

Needs assessment

The reform of education in Lithuania started ten years ago. During these years considerable results have been achieved in the area of curricula modernization and development, in restructuring education, in-service training of teachers. However, the dissemination and implementation of new ideas, understanding of how essential is to change educational process and its policy, did not reach critical weight. The impact of reform ideas and results on the system of values and teaching process, on the mentality of teachers, educational scientists is still too week and not widely spread. More effective promotion of educational changes requires a tight cooperation between all institutions which are involved in the education process, first of all, the Ministry of Education and Science, schools, universities, non-governmental organizations. The example of OSFL project "Education for Lithuania’s Future", which was ended in 1998, has shown how effective this cooperation between the governmental and independent institutions could be.

The Foundation for Educational Change seeks to consolidate the efforts of the Ministry of Education and Science and the OSFL by providing more significant support to educational changes and, dissemination of new ideas, to encourage participation of the third parties in this process.

Intellectual capacities and level of preparedness of the Foundation

The Foundation relies on the experience, accumulated by the Ministry established institutions, currently operating programs, the most effective projects of "Education for Lithuania’s Future" and other institutions, and seeks to expand this experience.

Goals and objectives

The long-term goals of the Foundation:

• To introduce modern ways of assessment of educational processes within the educational community;
• To encourage Lithuanian educational community for a creation of positive educational milieu in order to provide opportunities for the best possible development of every pupil;
• To encourage Lithuanian citizens’ influence on educational change by supporting educational initiatives of schools, teachers and communities;
• To accelerate the modernization of Lithuanian system of education by implementing strategic projects, which could lead to essential improvement of the quality of general education;
• To involve society into deeper discussions of educational problems;
• To encourage different layers of society for a greater contribution to the proceedings of educational change.

Strategic directions

The Foundation will support long-term projects in the following important areas of education:

• Modernization of education management;
• School community development;
• Curriculum change;
• Publication of new textbooks and teaching materials;
• Civic education;
• Modernization of school libraries;
• Multicultural education and integration of national communities;
• Roma education;
• Reform of initial teacher training;
• Development of professional education;
• Introduction of new technologies;
• Support of various educational institutions (except institutions of higher education), school communities, projects, designed and initiated by students and teachers;
• Initiation of new models of financing education;
• In-service training of educational leaders.

The Foundation will provide priority support to the projects, which:

• Encourage the wider "grassroots" development of public initiatives;
• Develop regional educational policy;
• Involve cooperation with other educational institutions, municipalities, non-governmental organizations, foreign partners;
• Assure the project’s continuity and its dissemination in other regions.

Anticipated results

1. Provided financial support will help Lithuanian educational community to implement its initiatives and will encourage their further development.
2. Cooperation between schools and other institutions will be strengthened.
3. Educational reform will get support in the regions, the network of initiative schools will expand and productive cooperation will be encouraged.
4. A more effective integration of the communities of national minorities schools into Lithuanian education will take place and a greater variety of choice will be provided;
5. Wider opportunities for education will open for the socially vulnerable groups of people.

Ways and principles of activities, partners

The Foundation will not take over the functions of implementation of projects and programs. It will seek to provide focused help for educational initiatives in an effective and qualified way in order to assure the development and expansion of educational reform. In order to rise funding for Lithuanian education, the Foundation is looking towards active cooperation with other Lithuanian and foreign funds, which support education.

The Foundation is non-political, non-profit organization. It actively promotes values of an open democratic society. Its ideology is based on tolerance and polylogue of different cultures and outlooks. The Foundation bases its own activities on the principles of publicity and transparency. The Foundation continuously reports to its founders and the society about its activities and expenses. The annual report of the Foundation is published by the end of each year.

The Foundation cooperates with all institutions, which are implementing educational reform and act in accordance with the goals and mission of the Foundation.

The Foundation seeks to involve into the reforming process not only state institutions, but also innovative citizens, their groups and educational communities. The Foundation also encourages cooperation between different educational communities, coordination with state institutions of different levels and non-governmental organizations.

For an updated analysis of different aspects of Lithuanian educational situation, in order to name the most important educational problems and to offer solutions, the Foundation is going to organize open discussions on the most urgent educational topics.

Evaluation

The Foundation will continuously report about its activities both to the founders and to the society. By involving members of the Board and independent experts, the Foundation will organize regular monitoring of the funded projects. It will also conduct sociological surveys to measure effectiveness of open competitions when they are completed.

Governance

The Board and the administration manage the Foundation. The founders – Open Society Fund - Lithuania and Ministry of Education and Science, determine the composition of the Board. If new shareholders (sponsors) will emerge, they will be also represented in the Board. The Board determines strategic and priority directions of the Foundation, the subjects of open competitions for receiving support, and approves financial decisions. Administration of the Foundation consists of the director, the program coordinator and the financier. In the case of necessity administration can make temporary work agreements with other persons. For the evaluation of the presented projects the Foundation can invite experts of various fields. Expert commissions are presented by the administration and have to be approved by the Board. The maximum number of members of the expert commission - three experts.

Funding

In 1999 OSFL and Ministry of Education and Science will contribute to the Foundation’s budget $300,000 each (total budget - $600,000). In 2000 and 2001 OSFL will allocate $250,000 and $200,000, respectively. Ministry of Education and Science will match this amount of money.

Higher Education and Research Program

Strategy 2000-2001

 Background

The program aimed to modernise research and studies in Lithuanian social sciences and humanities by the way of integrating the latter into European and worldwide academic community.

The program focused its attention on building potential for research and studies of the higher education institutions during the period of 1995-1998. It supported: international conferences and seminars; publication of original monographs and textbooks; organisation of summer universities for young faculty members; preparation and introduction of progressive MA courses into curriculum; visiting professors; research projects involving PhD and graduate students; PhD studies abroad; and purchase of academic literature. Especially, it should be distinguished, a great deal of aid given to sociology in the 1996. The sum of money allocated to various institutions amounted to 36,000 USD. The new journal "Sociology. Thought and Action" has been established.

The program also initiated projects that were intended to become replication models for long-term successful activity in Lithuanian universities. The projects of Invisible College, Centre for History of Western Lithuania and Prussia, doctoral seminars and Centre for the Study of Judaica and Cultural Communities may be mentioned as worthy examples. The latter has been approved just recently while expecting that such centre will activate studies of Yiddish culture and civilisation, and research of other minorities and cultural communities in Lithuania as well. It is envisaged that such centre will successfully contribute to combating ethnocentrism in Lithuania. The centre’s idea was born during the very successful course of the Yiddish language (which has been held at Vilnius University last summer with the help of OSF-L) while having been confronted with the picture of dying out Yiddish culture and the lack of its systematic studies. It should be mentioned also a research competition "Holocaust studies" organised by the program which resulted in six interesting and promising projects dealing with this sore issue.

It is being launched, also, the organisation of several research seminars for PhD students with the participation of outstanding western professors this year. A PhD course "Main Issues in Contemporary Social Anthropology" delivered by Professor Jonathan Friedman from Lund University and Paris School of Advanced Studies and Social Sciences (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales) has taken place this April. This course has significantly caused an interest in this still new discipline in Lithuania. The course became a model for the organisation of similar course. The next course titled "Narrative Interviewing – Interpretative Text Analysis: History and Life Story" will be lectured by Professor Gabriel Rosenthal from Kassel University this summer at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas.

The program actively supported two summer schools together with International HESP last year. The summer schools provided an opportunity for young scholars from post-communist countries to analyse and discuss the current social processes occurring in the region, some historical problems and phenomena. This summer another school devoted to the theory of international relations "Constructivism and security: New frameworks for analysis" will take place. There are preliminary arrangements being already made to organise two or three summer school in semiotics and social anthropology (tentative title Transformation of Everyday Life in Post-Communist East Central Europe) together with above-mentioned Paris School of Advanced Studies and Social Sciences in year 2000.

It have been attempts to research higher education systems of other countries and to compare their reform experience to Lithuanian situation. Subsequently, discussions in media were launched and seminars organised aiming to draw attention and to influence opinion of lawmakers, state officials, academia and general public. International conference "Science in an Open Society" (1994), seminars "Evaluation of Political Science" and "Criteria for Evaluation of Humanities and Social Sciences" could be counted as fruitful examples of such activities.

Current Problems in Lithuanian System of Higher Education and Science

There is an obvious lack of a clear, consistent strategy and effective means for a development of higher education and research on a national scale in Lithuania. There appear to be an apparent tendency to diminish financing of higher education and research too. The sum allocated to this purpose for 1999 comprise only 1.12% of GDP while in 1998 was– 1.24% GDP). Therefore, not only shortage of funds but also systemic contradictions and setbacks impede the reforms in higher education and research in Lithuania.

Due to vague perspectives for scientific and educational career and low salaries gifted young people more often and often abandon academia. During the last five years the number of people awarded a doctoral degree felt down twice. Irrational proportions of young scholars develop in different disciplines. Many young lecturers and scientists leave the country for indefinite period. The number of scholars working in higher education institutions shrank by 9% since 1995. The average age of universities’ faculty was over fifty in 1998.

This short sketch of the situation indicates that the reform of higher education and research has not achieved its aims yet (or is stalled):

• Private sector and other strata of the society are loosely involved into the reformation and maintenance of the infrastructure of higher education system;
• The legal and social conditions and procedure for establishing private universities are still undefined;
• The mutual rights and obligations among administration, faculty and students of the universities, between the latter and the state and employers’ organizations are not sufficiently clear. The mechanisms for the bringing together their interests are also missing;
• The financing of higher education and research is irrational that compels lectures and gifted students to work in several places or even give up academic career.
• The integration of Lithuanian scholars (especially in humanities) into global academic discourse remains unsatisfactory;
• Information system of higher education is fragmented and unproductive.

Program Goals (2000-2001)

Open Society Fund-Lithuania is one of important non-governmental organisations which is able and willing to participate actively in the policy formation of higher education and research (paying substantial attention to humanities and social sciences) in order to attain subsequent objectives:

• To stimulate and strive for adoption of laws and legal acts which produce a favourable social and economic environment for the professional growth of university faculty members and encourage gifted students to seek career in academia;
• To create and propose to society clear and consistent models that would define the mutual rights and obligations and mechanisms for the compromising between administration, faculty and students of the universities, between the latter and the state and employers’ organizations;
• To strengthen qualifications of the Lithuanian scholars and their cooperation among themselves and with foreign partners.

Institutional Implementation

The program would actively contribute to the higher education policy making on the national scale by establishing and supporting (at least at the outset) policy and research institutions in cooperation with universities: Higher Education Policy Unit and Educational Policy Centre. Higher Education Policy Unit could successfully operate as a department within a prospective Public Policy Centre (or Institute) which is to be established jointly by the network Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative program and Civic Society Program (OSF-L). The unit would be supposed to carry out analysis and prognostics in higher education sphere. The unit would seek to speed up and expand the development of the national education and research system: effectiveness of government decisions and active reflective participation of academic community and wider public in decision-making process.

Unit’s activity would include:

• Production of annual analytic research report on situation in higher education and science and development perspectives in Lithuania;
• Organisation of public seminars, conferences and meetings for politicians, state officials, academics and representatives of interest groups;
• Publication of the annual report and various ad hoc publications dealing with specific issues of evolving circumstances. They were to be addressed to state institutions, political parties and other NGO, academic institutions, libraries, etc.

The program would support certain projects initiated by other prospective non-governmental institution Educational Policy Centre that is planned to be established under auspices of OSF-L. It should manage research in secondary education system.

Thus, Higher education and research program would integrate and co-ordinate a whole network of non-governmental educational institutions (Invisible College, Educational Policy Centre, Higher Education Policy Unit) while operating in grant-giving operation mode. In other words, it would provide for infrastructure of these organisations (at least in the initial phase), ensuring further democratisation of study system in the country on the whole.

The support of Invisible College and young faculty members through the organisation of doctoral seminars and summer schools remain direct objectives and immediate priorities of the program. The program will keep up on the arranging of a series of research competitions on themes related to clarification of shortcomings of market societies and methods of their alleviation too.

Partners

External partners:

Ministry of Education and Science, Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education, administration of universities, student unions, academic societies.

Internal partners:

International HESP, Library Support Program and Internet program. The Higher education and Research program will compose target collections (books, encyclopaedias, CD-s, etc) and share financing with Library Support Program and libraries themselves. Also an interlibrary loan and a subscription to on-line scientific journals will be jointly covered. The program will go in for introduction of new courses by offering expertise for organisation of distance learning courses together with Internet program.

Budget for 2000

Evaluation and Governance

The projects supported by the program have been evaluated in respect of content results and finance spending on a basis of reports provided by the grantees up to date. The Board of the foundation evaluated an overall activity of the program based on a report of program co-ordinator at the end of each year.

The success of the supported projects would be assessed by statistic and qualitative analysis methods (interviews, participant observation, etc.) grounding the analysis on quantitative and qualitative indicators.

Quantitative indicators:

• The increment of publications dealing with analysis and prognosis in higher education;
• The growth of citation index of Lithuanian scholars and number of publications in humanities and social sciences;
• The rise of activity of academic societies supported by the program;
• The growing numbers of scholars and lecturers who primarily and solely work in higher education and research institutions;
• The growing numbers of young faculty members in the universities;
• Discussions on higher education reform and problems in media; seminars devoted to this problematique;
• New courses in humanities and social sciences being introduced in universities’ curricula.

Qualitative indicators:

• The creation of clear legal and rational socio-economic base that stimulate growth of higher studies and research;
• The formation of relationship pattern based on mutual respect and trust among administration of universities, faculty members and students.
• The rise of public prestige of lecturers and scholars.

Grantees themselves and program co-ordinator will assess the results of the projects. Ultimately, the Board will evaluate the program at the end of the year and correct activity objectives if necessary.

Termination

The program could be closed down when the Public Policy Centre, Educational Policy Centre and Invisible College will become financially sustainable, and the governmental and university funding of research and higher studies will develop into reasonable and effective system. It is impossible to determine the exact time limits, since this is long-term process of change.

Prepared by Nortautas Statkus HESP Director

STRATEGY OF EDUCATIONAL POLICY CENTER

The idea of establishing the Educational Policy Center emerged as one of the possible ways of using, developing and disseminating the experience and resources of the OSFL Center for Educational Studies, New Technologies program and regional educational programs: Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking project, Conflict Management and Communication program, Step by Step and Egmont projects, Debate and Career Development programs. Analysis of these projects and overall system of Lithuanian educational institutions has shown that the most effective way is to establish the Educational Policy Center within an existing university (negotiations are under way with Vilnius Pedagogical University). Though university is an autonomous and very inert institution, eventually the establishment of such an open unit may guarantee its renewal and influence on the modernization of the educational system.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Lithuanian educational reform started after the reestablishment of independence. However, the reform can not be considered as the outcome of purposeful efforts of Lithuanian political forces or wide public consensus on main educational issues. The lack of compatibility between different reform actions, structural units of educational system, levels of education, etc. is pointed out by a large number of researchers of the reform. The criteria for continuous monitoring of reform and evaluation of educational situation are not developed, nor the mechanisms of disseminating educational research information. Systematic analysis of an educational policy is non-existent. The above problems require certain solutions to be made, and it could be one of the priorities of the Educational Policy Center. On the other side, the Center for Educational Studies, operating within the OSFL, has accumulated intellectual resources and significant funds of modern educational and informational literature. The Center is a recognized partner among teacher training institutions. The Educational Policy Center could make use of the above potential.

With technological invasion in all spheres of life, education gets a new important task – to educate members of an information society. Schools do not employ all the possibilities of new technologies for the modernization of education and management process. There is a lack of teaching materials and handbooks on computers, a small number of teachers get acquainted with possibilities of new technologies. New computer learning facilities often are not combined with new teaching methods (they are just used as useful means of demonstration during the traditional lesson). At present it is extremely important to rise the level of information literacy in Lithuania by including information literacy and information skills training courses into the programs of initial and in-service teacher training. However, interest in the development of effective introduction and use of new technologies in the teaching process is insufficient, neither on state, nor on local level. OSFL New Technologies program has sought to be good exception.

The system of initial teacher training is the field, least affected by educational reform. Due to the university autonomy and inertia, initial teacher training in fact remained unchanged, inherited from the Soviet times. Teacher training does not meet the demands of educational reform and the needs of the changing school. The newly trained teachers learn about changes in education only when they start working at schools. It is completely ineffective, as teachers need to be "retrained". The newly established institution could offer optional accredited courses for students on the didactic basis of regional programs. Programs of studies on educational policy, management, modern educational research could be designed and presented to students.

PRECONDITIONS, POSSIBILITIES, LEVEL OF PREPAREDNESS

The Educational Policy Center will be established on the basis of the experience and accumulated resources of the OSFL Center for Educational Studies, New Technologies program and regional educational programs – Critical Thinking project, Conflict Management and Communication program, Step by Step and Egmont projects, Debate and Career Development programs. It will be established in accordance with the OSI-Budapest EPI recommendations and on the basis of the experience, partnerships, intellectual and material resources of the OSF.

Accumulated resources

Intellectual:

• Tested methodologies; prepared courses and trained lecturers with substantial practice of teaching in general secondary schools and institutions of higher education;
• The network of model schools and expert teachers, who use modern methods and new technologies. There is a possibility of using them as a basis for teaching practice;
• The network of doctoral students in education, trained by the OSFL;
• Partnerships with Lithuanian institutions of higher education. E.g. university lecturers, doctoral students and teachers, trained by the OSFL, deliver optional courses of regional programs.
• Partnerships with the authors of various projects; foreign universities.
• The acquired experience of organizing paid courses;
• The acquired experience of introducing information technologies in the teaching process;
• Qualified coordinators of the OSFL programs.

Material:

• Library of the Center for Educational Studies
• Computer classroom and the Internet reading room for students and lecturers;
• The library of computer teaching programs;
• The teaching literature, published by the Center for Educational Studies and the New Technologies program; periodicals "Journal of Educational Studies" and "Computerization";
• The operating information system: the Internet server for education (http://ntpl.osf.lt), informational electronic newspapers.

GOALS

Long-term goals

• To encourage the further development of Lithuanian educational reform and successful implementation of the national education policy, based on the principles of openness, informativeness, continuous learning and equal opportunities;
• To support the creation of an effective system of educational information;
• To train and develop high quality specialists on education management and educational policy;
• To expand inter-university links – both within the country and abroad;
• To introduce newest information technologies to university lecturers;
• To create opportunities for students to choose the courses which introduce a variety of methods;
• To combine courses with the teaching practice in model schools;
• To involve teachers into the process of initial training.

Anticipated results:

• The creation of the research center of educational policy and reform;
• The creation of the center for distance education and education technologies;
• The creation of modern didactics center on the basis of regional programs;
• The creation of modern library of educational resources (printed and electronic information);
• The creation of effective network of educational information;
• Preparation for the Masters studies on education management and educational policy;
• Better-trained students – would-be teachers, which meet the requirements of the modern school; lecturers, acquainted with the newest technologies and didactics.

ACTIVITIES

Directions of activities

The Center is an institution, operating in three directions:

• Analysis, dissemination and studies of educational policy and information;
• Introduction of new education and management technologies at schools and in teacher training;
• Introduction of new information and communication technologies at schools and in teacher training.

Ways of activities

• Analysis of education policy and spreading information for the society;
• Organization of studies on educational policy and education management;
• Creation of educational information center; collection and dissemination of information, literature and new teaching materials; creation of new information system on the Internet;
• Optional and distance education courses on the basis of regional programs for students, teachers and lecturers;
• Optional courses for students on application of new information and communication technologies in educational process and organization of education;
• Presentation of new methods;
• Combining optional courses with teaching practice at schools.

We intend to carry out the activities by conducting research and analysis of important topics of educational policy, organizing public discussions on educational problems, offering paid optional courses for university students, as well as paid in-service training courses for teachers and school teams, accumulating educational information and spreading it to the public via the Internet and during the seminars, publishing informational periodical on education policy analysis.

PARTNERS

The founder of the Center is the Open Society Fund. The partner of OSFL is Vilnius Pedagogical University, which provides premises free of charge in 1999 and 2000. From the year 2000 the University’s contribution will be premises as well as payment for the optional courses for university students.

Main partners in Lithuania are: the Ministry of Education and Science, Information Center, Institute of Pedagogics, National Examination Center, regional and local educational authorities, educational centers, teacher training colleges and institutions of higher education, school and teachers’ associations. In the field of education policy analysis close cooperation will be maintained with the OSFL HESP program, Civic Society program and other regional educational programs. Foreign partners: OSI -Budapest EPI, Gothenburg University, Halmstad College, Oslo University and Iowa University.

EVALUATION

The participants of events will conduct continuous parallel internal evaluation, followed by evaluation analysis. The Center Board will make an annual expert evaluation. Financial audit will be conducted yearly. Periodical sociological surveys of students, teachers and lecturers will be initiated, aimed at corrective identification of needs and changes. The independent evaluators with the participation of the OSI EIP experts will conduct evaluation every second year.

MANAGEMENT

Activities of the Center will be regulated and approved by the Board, and implemented by the staff. Center staff will consist of director, coordinator of educational policy programs, coordinator of the modern didactics programs, coordinator of the new technologies programs, engineer, librarian-administrator.

FINANCING

The budget of the Center will consist of the contributions of the founders, grants and incomes from paid services.

1. In the year 2000 – 200 000 USD, including the OSF grant of 100 000 USD.
2. In the year 2001 – 150 000 USD, including the OSF grant of 100 000 USD.

EGMONT PROJECT

"Democratization of pre-school education system"

 A. Executive Summary (Introductory Paragraph)

The OSF-L – Egmont Foundation program started in 1992 and was at first going one direction – changing kindergarten practice. Gradually field of activity increased and the project started to initiate changes in the areas of students’ training and pre-school in-service training. Today Egmont project is influencing systematic changes in pre-school education.

The project is not blindly copying Danish methods, but is the the initiator of changes, it suggests new ways of acting and supports in their realisation. Pre-school system is getting enriched with new, perspective models ( summer camps in the institutions, the 8 established Early Childhood Centres (in-service training centres); projects of original play-grounds; initiating the establishment of parents’ rooms .

Separately should be mentioned successful implementation of Project Method in all mentioned levels Adjusting Project Method in kindergartens and becoming a model of activities helped pedagogues solve professional problems that are actual to most pre-school institutions, such as: integrating children with special needs, integrating children of different age, "softening" schedule for children in the kindergarten ,integrating content of education, making transition from kindergarten to school fluent, integration of ethnic minorities and others.

Project method is spreading also in the places of students’ training as a new teaching subject included into teaching plans. In the system of in-service training Project Method is presented in 8 Early Childhood Centres.

1997 – 1998 during the international study visit program 100 students and lecturers and practitians learned Project Method in Denmark.

B. Need:

For 10 years already educational reform in Lithuania has been going on. In the process of implementation Egmont project as disseminator of the ideas of this reform (in the area of pre-school education), it became obvious, that changes in pre-school practice are not enough, and that - a more systematic influence on the pre-school system is necessary.

Changes in pre-school system are one of the activity areas of Research Institute of Pedagogy, Lithuania’s Pedagogues’ Qualification Raising Institute and Regional Teachers’ training centres (they are about 20).

In state system the innovations are "let down from above", and in Egmont project the initiative is given to pedagogue (and the child). Gently speaking, Egmont project declares and seeks to realize a more flexible and responsible attitude towards changes in the pre-school system, at the same time being not only pure words about democracy, but having a firm methodological backbone.

But even if pre-school system is striving for changes, and a lot has been achieved owing to state and private initiatives (e.g. activities of OSFL), new democratic ideas are not yet its inner property and necessity. We see many work in perspective and feel our partenrs’ concern and readiness to support.

The Egmont Foundation, starting with 1992, is Egmont project’s great teacher in the areas of practice, methods and theory.

C. Capabilities, expertise and past experience:

Egmont project has always been planning its activities bearing in mind successes and failures. For example, when it became obvious, that students’ training area yielded to changes with most difficulty, (and the project is planning to concentrate its potentials in future on it), in-service training was started, and the especially effectively functioning 8 Early Childhood Centers were established.

D. Goals:

Egmont project has been always seeking to "refresh" and "modernize" mentality ( and prestige ) of pre-school and primary school pedagogues, raise their understanding of citizenship, independence, activity, creativity, professionality and initiative and help them to bring-up a new-quality generation. We are striving for a kindergarten as an open institution with more discussions, where the entire kindergarten community is decission makers .

The main goals and priority of the project have always been to speed up and turn to the right direction practice, methods and theory ,changing it from reproductative to interpretative.

The project in the future can go on in 3 directions, but 2 of them gradually will decrease before 2001, and the main attention will be paid to improving student training.

The whole fundamental strategy of Egmont project is being co-ordinated with partners – the Egmont Foundation. Perspective plans have been discussed many times, a joint meeting of representatives of OSFL and the Egmont Foundation is planned in the beginning of June 1999.

3 pages of Detailed Plan of Egmont Project Strategy are enclosed (pages 5-7).

What results are you expecting? What will be the effect of the program?

We hope to have initiative, active, creative and professional pedagogue in the kindergartens; renovated - humanized environment of kindergarten classes and playgrounds; close relations between pedagogues and family; active kindergarten community.

In qualification raising area in state system the 8 Early Childhood Centers activity has consolidated. Being approbated and legal, it is a positive alternative and suggest pedagogue possibility to choose.

The most significant changes we expect from students’ training mega-project. It is difficult to give prognosis, because this initiative has only been started this year and Egmont project is beginning to realize it (strategy, vision, curriculum).

E. Strategy

1. approach

Egmont project has been operating projects itself for a long time, only in 1997 it started giving grants (besides operation of the very project). The project is running open and targeted competitions. All these activities fit into main strategic directions of Egmont project. In recent years our competitions require getting sponsoring from other sources – state, NGO, etc. Some grants are long-term grants .

2. sustainability

It is planned to narrow the program, concentrating all the potentials in the beginning on two areas (in-service training and students’ training), later – on one – students’ training – area.

Changes in kindergarten practice should turn into Egmont assotiation and no longer will be financed.

In-service training direction – the 8 ECC– have got financial support and will get a certain support in future, too, but, as they are established by the state institutions, they will be sustainable very soon. (The state has contributed in some places by establishing staff for methodical function in the centers).

The most resourses will be required in students’ training area. If Egmont project transforms into a special institution, we hope to get support from OSFL and the Egmont Foundation, also including state structures.

3. delivery models

Egmont project will give institutional support , at the same time will go on creating initiated projects and then it could be various – seed or bridge - financing.

In students’ training area a general long-term development will succeed. So, delivery models are planned various – depending both on life requirements and on project goals.

F. Activities

Some examples of activities, which Egmont project is going to support (see table of detailed strategy attatched, p. 5–7):

• creation of curriculum for two years training of the 8 ECC pedagogues (4 – 5 courses );
• a study visit to Denmark for the teams of ECC;
• publishing of the book of projects, made by lecturers and students;
• longitudinal evaluations – study of changes in kindergarten practice .

G. Partners ( and "objects of influence" )

1. Network of kindergartens (65) ( including kindergardens-primary schools). I.e. 1/12 of all functioning in the country pre-school institutions.
2. Pedagogical universities and Higher pedagogical schools.
3. State institutions (e.g. Ministry of Science and Education).
4. The Egmont Foundation in Denmark and other Danish partners – Pedagogical colleges, etc.

Egmont Foundation alotted for realization of Egmont project 4,829,636 DKK or about 850.000 USD in the period from 1992 till 1998.

5. Ethnic minorities kindergargens outside Lithuania –in Russia, Poland, Latvia and Belarus.

H. Implementation (Please, see the table enclosed, p. 5-7).

1. Evaluation

The evaluation was made during the longitudinal research (I stage in 1995 , II – in 1999). Pedagogues and parents from 65 institutions are taking part in it. The data is being analyzed afterwards on different levels. In the area of in-service training the participants are filling in forms.

The book by our Danish partners – lecturers from Jutland Pedagogical college , ( "Pedagogy and Democracy – Experiments of Developmental Work in Lithuanian Pre-schools ", 1999) is an evaluation and generalization of Egmont project in the eyes of our Danish colleagues.

J. Governance

Egmont project has 2 staff members – a co-ordinator and an assistant co-ordinator / book - keeper.

Egmont project has an expert group for educational and financial decissions, consisting of 4 persons from Ministry of Science and Education, from Pedagogical University, Higher pedagogical school and Service of pedagogical and psychological assistance.

All strategic decisions are approved with the Board of OSF L .

Prepared by Vitalija Graziene Egmont Program Director

DETAILED PLAN OF EGMONT PROJECT STRATEGY

Strategy of the Debate Program

Country Background Information and Needs Assessment

After regaining its independence in 1991 Lithuania needed profound reforms in all spheres of life: economy, social and political life and education. Soviet system of education was based on memorizing redy-made truths presented by a teacher. No critical thinking or personal judgement was needed.

The Debate program was as if a blow of fresh air in our out-of-date educational system based on teacher as the only source of knowledge, a teacher who believed to have one truth, his own truth.

The program was established in 1994 and imediately started filing the gap. The first seminars on debate for teachers and the first summer camp for students showed that critical thinking, argumentation, team building and cooperation were the burning issues of the day.

So the strategy of a Debate program has become to promote critical thinking through various debate related activities such as seminars for teachers and students, summer camps, tournaments, Students’ Congresses and provide schools with informational assistance.

1. Mission statement of the National Debate Program

We state our mission as a pledge that, through debates, we can help the young generation of Lithuania to become socially-aware citizens, involved in dealing with the problems facing their native country and the world, creating an active and positive attitude in finding solutions for a better future.

2. Goals of the National Debate Program

Our most immediate goal is to establish a non governmental debate organization. Once this goal is accomplished, we can proceed to fulfill other goals such as:

1. to improve the quality of debate and incorporate it as an academic subject into the school curriculum.
2. to train coaches in management in order to develop the program of fund-raising meant to involve the community and the debaters’ parents in the efforts to ensure self-sustainability for the organization.
3. to establish the Board of Trainers that will plan, coordinate, and implement nationwide activities.
4. to improve the quality of judging by organizing regular training sessions in judging and critical thinking skills.
4. to enlarge the pool of independent judges by recruiting University students to judge high-school debates after receiving proper training.
5. to establish contacts and develop cooperation with other existing NGOs in Lithuania that would enable debate NGO to be better known and more efficiently run.
6. to increase the number of students and coaches invited to participate in summer debate camps.
7. to invite experts for top-rate instruction on debate.

1. Objectives

To make debate activities (either as a subject at school or a club activity) availabe to students of all regions of Lithuania.

Strategy

To achieve one of the main goals of the program (incorporate debate into school curriculum) we’ve already made the following steps:

1. wrote the debate program for high shools, which was approved by the Ministry of Education
2. prepared a debate textbook which will be published in time for the next school year.

1. to present the program to the officials of the Ministry of Education and all educational centres of teacher qualification of Lithuania
2. to prepare a necessary number of qualified debate trainers
3. to establish a teachers’ certification system.

We’ve made the following steps to make the program self-sustainable:

1. received a formal approval of the program by the Ministry of Education.

This provides with the opportunity of sustaining debate clubs on school resources (teachers receive salary from the school, clubs receive rent-free space for their activities, schools provide debaters with school transport to travel to competitions). It also enables teaching debate as a school subject.

2. established good contacts with schools having debate clubs
3. trained a large number of teachers on debate

1. to be taught as a subject at school
2. used as a method of teaching different subjects at school

1. establish contacts with other NGOs having similar goals
2. write proposals to international foundations supporting educational goals of the debate program
3. establish contacts with local businesses and find areas for mutual cooperation
4. advertise program in all possible ways through media
5. recruit a team of volunteers helping in organizing all debate related activities
6. teach debate coaches and members of the staff in program management and fund raising
7. involve parents and other members of the community into the program as:

1. as active audience (floor debates)
2. judges for tournaments
3. sponsors
4. facilitators of tournaments and camps
5. trainers and consultants

 Activities

The main activities of the program:

1. seminars for teachers:

1. introducing debate as a method of teaching
2. preparing coaches for the school clubs
3. improving qualification of the existing teachers and coaches

1. debate clubs:

1. sustaining the existing clubs
2. establishing new ones (debating in Lithuanian, Russian, Polish and English)

1. tournaments:

1. local (of the same city or region)
2. national
3. international

1. summer camps (for students debating in Lithuanian, English and minority languages)

 Partners

We’re planning to cooperate:

1. with other NGOs (e.g. Center for Qualifying Schools)
2. debate NGOs of other countries (planning joint projects with Latvian and Estonian debate NGOs. We are planning to register a Baltic Debate NGO to make it easier to get funds from the Baltic foundation and Baltic community in the USA)
3. international corporations having businesses in Lithuania (e.g. Coca-Cola)

 Implementation

We’re planning to implement our goals into practice and make the program self-sustainable (receiving only small funds for administering of the program) since 2002.

 Evaluation

• Site visits and observation of activities of local debate clubs
• Pre- and post- tournaments evaluation sheets
• Comparative analysis of qualitative and quantitative evolution of each debate club

We’re planning to hire an independent team of evaluators for:

1. evaluation of the educational part of the program (by the end of 2001)
2. auditing the program (once a year)

Governance

Responsibilities of the staff:

1. to ensure smooth running of high quality debate activities
2. provide schools with information, possible equipment and research materials
3. provide teachers and coaches with high quality training
4. write projects searching for funds

1. establish criteria for certification of teachers and judges
2. evaluation of the program

1. create educational programs for teacher and student seminars
2. create programs for summer camps and tournaments

1. implement all the programs created and approved by the Program board

Prepared by Virginija Paksiene Debate program coordinator

STRATEGY OF THE PROJECT "DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING IN READING AND WRITING"

Second half of the year 1999 and first half of the year 2000

From September 1999 the third and the last year of the project is to begin. The first year focused on training of trainers. During the second year new groups of teachers were selected and trained. Students of Vilnius University and Vilnius Pedagogical University had an optional course "Developing Critical Thinking in Teaching of Different Subjects". During the last year of the project new groups of teachers will be selected and optional courses will be provided in Vilnius University, Vilnius Pedagogical University and Klaipeda University. Candidates, willing to deepen their knowledge in strategies and methods of “Developing Critical Thinking" and capable of training other teachers, will be selected from 500 teachers who participated during the second year of project. A project book is to be published and an external evaluation is to be conducted in the year 2000.

PARTICIPANTS OF THE PROJECT

A group of 30 persons began the training in autumn 1997. 21 of the participants, who were more or less involved in project activities, remained in the project during the second year, including 4 primary, 10 secondary teachers and 7 lecturers from Vilnius Pedagogical University. There are 4 project centers – "Vyturys" primary school, S. Daukantas secondary school, Šilute’s 1 gymnasium and Vilnius Pedagogical University. These centers independently organize seminars for teachers, conduct open lessons. They also provide the basis for students’ teaching practice.

In 1998 about 500 teachers were selected from different Lithuanian schools and education centers. More than 100 students took the optional course.

It is planned to work with 30 would-be trainers of teachers and 26 teachers of high schools during the second half of the year 1999 and the first half of the year 2000. New groups of teachers will be formed in regional education centers and project centers. The work is planned with the fifth-grade teachers in "Step by Step" schools. Summer schools are arranged for students and lecturers from high schools and universities.

WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT

Exceptional feature of the project is that it’s not a single act. The project is continuous; it could and should go on after the end of the planned period. Working on project is a consistent process, which includes training during the seminars, approbation of acquired methods during lessons, lesson observations, discussions, analysis and improvement of the teaching process. A course of that kind lasts for at least one academic year. The nature of the project is universal; i.e. it is applicable to children of different age groups and to schools of all levels. It is also suitable for teaching all subjects from the first grade to university students. Both general secondary school teachers and university lecturers take part in the project. Some of them are teachers and lecturers at the same time. The work is done in pairs. Primary teacher can work with university lecturer and vice versa. Therefore the link between schools and universities is maintained.

SUPPOSED STRATEGY OF THE PROJECT "DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING BY READING AND WRITING" AFTER THE YEAR 2000

THE NEED TO CONTINUE THE PROJECT

First of all, there is a demand. At the present moment we already have 400 applicants, who are willing to join the project from autumn 1999. Another institution of higher education – Klaipeda University – would like to introduce the optional accredited course. There are acting project centers – model schools, which plan to expand their activities and strengthen their ties with universities. The optional course in Vilnius Pedagogical University will be connected with the teaching practice in project schools. The matter of equal importance is that the methodology of the project, which encourages the development of critical thinking and independent learning, perfectly fits the requirements for the modern school. As many as three participants of the project are included in the group for developing a new system of national examination. Therefore there is a possibility of making direct influence on the process of making new exams, teaching programs, textbooks and teaching materials (there are three authors of textbooks among the participants). In order to ensure successful continuation of the work, further coordination of the project is necessary.

POSSIBILITIES OF CONTINUING THE PROJECT

Teachers, lecturers, methodical project centers will be trained to continue the project. They will acquire skills and experience and will act as experts in this field.

HOW TO CONTINUE THE PROJECT

The way of continuing the project after the time allocated for it expires will depend on the possibilities of further support. Authors and coordinators of the project are thinking about different possibilities of its continuation. In any case it depends on the country needs and general situation in education. If there will be a possibility, the most preferable option is to hand on the project to state in-service training institutions. In our country the system of in-service training is not completely formed and stable. On the contrary, it’s constantly changing. The in-service training institute undergoes reorganization. The Ministry of Education and Science is still making a new draft of regulations on the in-service training, and it’s totally unclear, when it will start to operate. There are two possible ways in this ambiguous situation. The first – to terminate the project. The second – to continue the project and to look for sponsors. All the assumptions and possibilities mentioned above are in favor of continuing the project.

As we have already mentioned, the project is a bridge between general secondary schools and universities. Quite often the universities, and even the pedagogical university, prefer to remain as strictly academic institutions. They are not inclined to become the learning organizations of teacher training. Summer schools, accredited courses for the students, winter school for the Rector’s office and lecturers of the Vilnius Pedagogical University demonstrate that it is possible and even necessary to work together with institutions of higher education. Negotiations have started with Vilnius Pedagogical University about the possibility of establishing the Center of Modern Didactics. The Center could offer optional courses for students, organize teaching practice, invite serving teachers, develop inter-university connections, and create the library. The program "Developing Critical Thinking" could form the basis for the Center. It could unite all regional OSF programs, which also have prepared methods and trained lecturers, capable of working with students and teachers. This could be said about the programs like "Step by Step", "Strategies of Visual Thinking", "Conflict Resolution", "Career", "Debates", "Health Education" and "Egmont". The Center would operate as an independent institution, and the founders would be the Open Society Fund and Vilnius Pedagogical University. The Center for Educational Studies is also negotiating with Vilnius Pedagogical University about the possibilities of cooperation. Both centers could unite their efforts, expand and strengthen their activities.

FINANCING

All that time a single main donor – the Soros Foundation - funded the project. However, the Soros Foundation didn’t pay and is not currently paying the lecturers, which lead the seminars. From last September we have paid courses. Teachers’ training centers and teachers themselves cover the training costs. Universities pay for the optional course. The same principle will remain in future. If the project will become an independent institution – the Center of Modern Didactics – the main sponsors will be the founders: the Open Society Fund and Vilnius Pedagogical University. One of the possible sources of funding is the World Bank, which looks favorably at the activities of the project. Authors of the project are negotiating about the possibilities of further support of the project. It is also possible to receive support for joint projects by establishing links with other universities (e.g. North Iowa University). As one of the authors of the project is the World Reading Association, we could also address the Association. However, at least during the first years of independence the greatest support is expected from the Soros Fund. Of course, the activities of this kind could be much more focused if the perspectives of continuing the project were clearer.

PARTNERS

Main partners – the Center for Educational Studies and the regional programs, which agreed to participate in the activities of the Center of Modern Didactics. Other partners – institutions of higher education, general secondary schools and teachers’ training centers.

EVALUATION

The project was continuously assessed in a variety of ways – by talking to teachers, lecturers, students, by filling the questionnaires during the seminars, by non-structured note writing, by observation and discussion of the lessons. US lecturers-volunteers, authors and coordinators of the project were continuously observing and evaluating the project. The project is considered as one of the main leaders among joint international projects. An external evaluation will be conducted this year: both locally and internationally. Questionnaires were already filled and sent for the international evaluation. Local qualitative and quantitative evaluation will be done with the help of sociologists, who are evaluating the whole "Education for Lithuania’s Future" project.

Prepared by Daiva Penkauskiene Critical Thinking Project coordinator

THE STRATEGY OF THE CHILDREN SUPPORT CENTER

The years 2000 – 2001

A. Introduction

The development of the Children support center started in 1995 with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lithuania program - the project of volunteer non-professional aid for children and teenagers from incomplete or single parent’s families. In 1995 was established OSFL Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lithuania program. During 1995 and 1996 number of children coming for the service significantly increased and the spectrum of their psychological needs and problems started to vary from loneliness and lack of friends to severe sexual and/or emotional abuse. In 1996 we joined OSI network Child abuse prevention program and started co-operation with colleagues of different disciplines. Interdisciplinary team consists now of child psychiatrists, psychologists, juvenile police officers, lawyers and pediatricians. In 1998 the center became involved in joint project of Open Society Fund – Lithuania and King Baudouin Foundation - Street Children/ Children in the street. All these activities laid a foundation for the registering Children support center as independent NGO in March 1999.

B. Need:

The mission of the Children Support center is to serve the needs of children and families by implementing broad range of services, prevention and training programs and providing professional interventions that effectively encompass the uniqueness of each child, adolescent and family.

Center is to respond to massive changes in healthcare and social environment. Families in Lithuania are facing many social, economical and psychological issues that significantly affect the development of their children. During tremendous changes in social and economical life today a lot of families experiences enormous pressures. Children and adolescents, in particular, are vulnerable group and require exceptional help, support and understanding to become more healthy, creative, independent, conscious and responsible members of society. To address this need we are able through providing advocacy, prevention, education and direct services, including the development of one-to-one mentoring relationships.

On-going need assessment in local communities demonstrated that there is big number of children who need support that is to be provided by professionals or/and adult trained volunteers.

Local communities showed readiness to share some human and material resource for the start of the BBBS program.

Children Support Center have got 18 request from the schools regarding suicide and child abuse prevention programs during the one year, on going request for the psychotherapy of abused children from the SOS Kinderdorf Village, need for conducting multidisciplinary complex project in foster home, on going need for the methodological help in working with street children.  

C. Capabilities, expertise and past experience:

There are three psychologists on a staff who works in close cooperation with inter disciplinary professionals in achieving goals and providing services. Professional skills, believes, devotion and commitment of the staff is the guarantee of the success of the Children Support Center.

The Children support center is unique organization in using volunteer forces in helping children to overcome psychological crises. Vilnius BBBS program was recognized as a model program for other BBBS programs in Central and Eastern Europe and case managers of the Center became a part of the Consultant team for BBBS program network. We maintain close cooperation with BBBS of America and BBBS International organizations and it’s President Dagmar McGill. Big Brothers Big Sisters program was successfully implemented in three other cities of Lithuania – Kaunas, Klaipeda and Kretinga.

While implementing Child Abuse prevention program we work in close cooperation with professionals of different disciplines from other institutions and organizations. A lot of work was done in training Juvenile police officers, pediatricians, teachers, school psychologists who now makes interdisciplinary intellectual capital of our center as well as partners in implementing complex projects. The resource center for the people working with Street children was opened recently and offers professional support as well as library on Child abuse and Street children issues.

D. Goals:

Long-term goals:

• to enable children and adolescents at-risk and their families to cope with psychological crises and emotional disturbances that disrupt daily life and functioning at home, at school, or in the community.
• to empower at-risk children and adolescents to become independent, constructive adults by helping them to develop positive self-esteem and skills to make positive life choices.
• to develop network of professionals dealing with children for professional collaboration, support, training and supervision.
• to provide new knowledge ant skills for professionals and volunteers in children care.
• to increase public awareness about children’s needs and problems and to facilitate community involvement through volunteering shared support.

Objectives for the years 2000 – 2001:

1. Development of the national Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Lithuania organization network:

• To facilitate establishment of BB/BS programs in other 5 cities;
• to develop, print and publish Manual of BB/BS Of Lithuania standard procedures;
• To initiate programs network formalizing including professionals, volunteers and children;
• To organize first National BB/BS of Lithuania conference;
• To organize National Forum for children and volunteers participating in the program

1. Child abuse prevention and treatment

• To organize on going group training in child abuse prevention - "Parenting skills school" ;
• To implement psychological – educational intervention project for temporary foster care home for abused and neglected children "Atsigrezk";
• To organize international conference on Child and Adolescence suicide prevention and treatment;
• To organize continuous evaluation and treatment possibilities for child abuse victims;
• To translate and publish book on Questioning Children for professionals in the field of child abuse.
• To conduct suicide prevention education for teachers and school psychologists.
• To start to implement violence prevention program in school.

1. Street children/Children in the street program

• To operate Resource center for the people working with Street children;
• To manage training and special seminars according to the needs of the participants;
• To coordinate planing and activities of NGO’s / individuals involved into the work with children in the streets and to create a network;
• to raise public awareness on the problem of street children/children in the streets;

E. Management of the center:

Center is an independent public institution. The management structures of the Center are the Administration and the Board. The OSF – Lithuania Board - the founder of the Center - approved the composition of the Center’s Board. Members of the Board are following:

1. Audra Juodeskiene – President of the Board – representative of Eli-Lily (Suisse).
2. Ausra Maldeikiene - Baltic News Service, Editor of Economics Section.
3. Loreta Zadeikaite – Ministry of Education, Chief of the Learning Content Department.
4. Kristina-Ona Polukordiene – Youth Psychological aid center, director
5. Violeta Toleikiene – Open society Fund – Lithuania, program coordinator.
6. Arunas Siksta – HansaBank, Executive Director.

The Board of the Center approves strategy directions and activities, defines administrative and organizational structures and approves annual reports. The administration organizes and runs daily activities of the Center. The staff consists of the three full time professional psychologist: director, Big Brothers Big Sisters program coordinator, Street children program coordinator and a part time technical assistant.

F. Strategy. Program and services

The long term goals and nearest objectives are to be achieved through the continuos program and services. The Center is providing day-to-day services for children and families as well as organizes and participates in special projects involving local and international partners.

EDUCATION

• training programs for building interdisciplinary team for child abuse prevention and intervention
• training programs and supervisions for Children hot-line volunteers
• training programs and supervisions for school psychologists
• special training programs for nurses, pediatricians and social workers
• "Parenting skills school "
• training and consulting coordinators for establishing and developing the program "Big Brothers Big Sisters ".

CHILD ABUSE AND SUICIDE PREVENTION

• child abuse prevention programs for teachers, nurses and social workers
• suicide prevention program for social workers and teachers
• Activities for increasing public awareness about child abuse problem, designing and distributing publications, booklets and posters.
• Organization of seminars, conferences and consultation on child abuse issue for child field professionals.
• Cooperation with state and NGO children protection agencies, juveniles police, education institutions.
• School-based social skills education for children and youth in violence prevention.

MENTORING

• "Big Brothers Big Sisters" program - making professionally supported one-to-one relationships between child in need and caring adult (trained volunteer) and supervising the match.
• Promotion and coordination of "Big Brothers Big Sisters" program expansion in Lithuania.

PREVENTION PROGRAM "STREET CHILDREN / CHILDREN IN THE STREET"

• Operating the resource center
• Developing and organizing training for the people working with the "Street children/children in the streets".

PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELLING

• Providing individual, family and group psychotherapy for children and adolescents at risk of substance abuse, school problems, family conflicts and other psychological crisis.
• Providing counseling for parents and teachers in child guidance, child development, constructive problem solving and discipline styles.
• Providing treatment for victims of physical, emotional or sexual abuse.

The Center is seeking to become a self sustain organization. For that purpose we are going:

• To offer various paid services for the families and children and for the larger community.
• To participate in fund raising activities through the BBBS International organization
• To collaborate with state institutions and seek state support.
• To apply to the various International foundations for the new project development and implementation.

G. Partners:

For the year 2000 and in the future our main partners are to be:

• Child Development Center, Vilnius University Clinic;
• Safe Child Center, Kaunas;
• Children’s Right’s Protection Agency;
• Vilnius Juveniles Police office;
• SOS Kinderdorf Village, Vilnius
• Vilnius Psychotherapeutic Center;
• School Psychological Service Center
• Big Brothers Big Sisters International , president Dagmar McGill;
• King Baudouin Foundation;
• Mental Health Alliance, NY
• Association for promoting social and emotional competencies, Denmark
• Nobody’s Children Foundation, Poland

 Projects applied for the year 2000:

1. Council of Europe Programme for Children. "Big Brothers Big Sisters Lithuania: National Network Development"
2. Nordic Council of Ministers "School Based Social Skills Education for Children and Youth in Violence Prevention"

H. Evaluation

Local and international experts in the field constantly evaluate the activities of the center. The success of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program is measured by the growing number of matches, by the growing interest and number of BBBS programs in Lithuania, by the quality and time length of the matches. The Pedagogical University and Ministry of Education recognize volunteer training program as a solid training program for the social pedagogues.

The pilot study in Vilnius evidenced of considerable impact of volunteering support for children in BB/BS programs where 40-70% of children has improved their academic achievements, behavioral patterns and relationship with parents and peers. The same study proved that 87% volunteers see the meaningfulness and impact of their work for children and for themselves.

The Children Support Center achieved publicity and is identified as by it’s name in social, educational and other state institutions and NGOs in Vilnius. It became known in the community as a valuable service for the children at risk and as a partner in implementing prevention and intervention projects in the field of Child abuse.

In the year 2000 we are planing to conduct audit of the Center activities by the independent auditors.

Contact person: Address:

Ausra Kuriene Saltoniskiu 58 - 106

Director Vilnius 2034

Children Support Center e-mail: ausra@osf.lt

THE STRATEGY OF THE CAREER CENTRE FOR THE OPEN SOCIETY

The years 2000 – 2001

INTRODUCTION

As we approach the close of the twentieth century, the world in which we live and work continues to change and become more complex. Far-reaching changes are occurring in the nature and structure of the personal, social, political and economic systems in which people live and the occupational and industrial structures where they work. More and more people are looking for meaning in their lives, particularly through personal development, family relationships, education, work, community involvement and leisure activities. Do support structures exist within formal and informal social institutions that enable people to pursue the satisfaction they want?

NEEDS ASSESSMENT

The Open Society Career Center will be the first and only institution in Lithuania dealing with the human career in the broadest meaning of the term—as the formal or informal occupation an individual chooses. This broad view of the concept of a career encompasses issues of self-realization, satisfaction, self-esteem and social development.

The overarching need, of which the particulars below are part, is to combat the negative perception of the concept of "career". Formerly, "careerism" implied conforming to official policies in order to secure a job or professional advancement. If people are to find the personal satisfaction they seek through their jobs, then a "career" must connote a freely chosen, personally directed occupation that is consistent with personal development.

During the past ten years our society has been developing from the closed, soviet model, toward an open, civil society. For instance, the free market economy that is developing in Lithuania has had, and will continue to have, a great impact on our social structures because it implies freedom of choice. As freedoms continue to develop and expand, Lithuanian youth, who did not directly experience the repression and indoctrination of soviet times, will be a primary conduit of democratic ideas and a vehicle of the development of an open society. By creating a confident generation of young people who are well informed about their career options, and well equipped to shape and direct their own professional development, according to their own choices, we can encourage the development of the open society we seek.

Currently, employment initiatives focus on finding the unemployed jobs. However, insufficient attention is given to the task of matching people—especially the young educated and talented—with appropriate, motivating jobs that coincide with their particular skills and interests. It is this type of "matching" that will enable each person to flourish and to contribute optimally to his/her job and to the democratic and economically strong society we wish to build. No such catalyst for career optimization currently exists in Lithuania. Career guidance structures do not exist in universities or secondary schools. Indeed, to date, there has not been any stable, socialized way in which such strategies could have been learned. We aim to introduce vehicles for self-assessment, career exploration and adequate preparation for one’s chosen career path, for youth, students and recent graduates.

But it is not enough to focus only on the young generation. Today, remnants of the old system remain. Bureaucratic license and corruption still threaten the emergence of merit-based employment and equal opportunity. Seemingly "arbitrary" rules limit access to education and professional opportunities for a variety of groups, on the basis of gender, physical disability, age, and other non-essential factors. An "inheritors caste" in which social privileges and opportunities are derived from parents’ social and/or professional position rather than from individual ability, persists. Most employers do not broadly or actively recruit from among the growing well-educated young adults. Youth unemployment already appears to be a major source of widespread depression among students and graduates. If young adults continue to perceive that their abilities and talents are not adequately appreciated by the employer community, they will increasingly seek work outside Lithuania. The Career Center will help employers to access Lithuania’s young "intellectual capital" by providing an infrastructure for broad-based, frequent connections with young job-seekers in an equal opportunity context.

Since independence, Lithuania has aspires to rapid economic development. The technological progress that is characteristic of other "economically advanced" countries, leads to a continually changing labor market that constantly adapts to changes in supply and demand. It is in some ways an encouraging fact that Lithuania has begun to see the emergence of a similarly dynamic labor market: in recent years, some industries have shrunk, and others have begun to expand. However, this dynamism has created problems as well. Mismatches have developed between people’s skills and those that are in demand, and unemployment has grown. Individuals’ ability to change careers in response to a dynamic labor market is increasingly essential to curbing unemployment. Currently, employment offices exist, but they deal only with lower-skilled workers and do not work with highly skilled professionals. The Career Center aims to fill this gap by helping professionals to adapt to the changing market.

ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES ASSESSMENT

The newly established Career Center will imply all strengths and positive experience and achievements of OSFL Kaunas center, which had a strong focus on student advising, career development , conflict management, mediation, and peer counseling.
Over more than six years, we achieved outstanding results in creating a network of human resources – trainers, project managers, experts, consultants, volunteers, and supporters -- on national and international levels. Through this network of people we have remained informed on the newest career guidance and development issues, and based on our learning we have developed perspectives on how to integrate these issues into our own society.

We already have a small but client-centered, well equipped and academic and educational community based resource and advising center located on the Vytautas Magnus University campus. This center will be the basis for the proposed Career Center. Our location and the collaborative relationship we have already developed with the university will model and enable cooperation between the newly developed Career center and educational institutions in Lithuania and abroad.

Qualitative and quantitative research conducted through Kaunas center has corroborated our perceptions that there is poor support for young people in the management of their careers, and that young people are experiencing increasing levels of social insecurity and uncertainty. Findings also indicated that young people lack the ability to recognize and market their skills. The results showed that the career choice problem is not only age related but also stems from family socialization, financial issues and career prestige matters. Aiming to meet the ends shapes a challenge for the professionals in the field to produce new knowledge for approaching new life cross-roads.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

LONG-TERM GOALS

1. Reduce the rate at which young people are leaving Lithuania to live and work abroad (slow the "brain drain") by:

• Equipping youth (starting in secondary schools) to direct their own career progress by providing information and skills related to making satisfying career choices, and securing desirable jobs.
• Encouraging an equal opportunity environment, legally and socially, in which educational opportunities are equally available to all, and all candidates with appropriate skills are able to apply for a particular job.

1. Reduce youth unemployment by:

- Creating an infrastructure through which employers can market their needs and youth can market their skills

- Encouraging an equal opportunity environment

- Equipping youth to be flexible in their career management, to adapt to a dynamic job market.

2. To help professionals find alternative careers when demand for their skills in the labor market decreases by:

• Providing access to information regarding the changing needs of employers and ways to update/improve skills to be marketable to them

EVALUATION AND SUCCESS INDICATORS

Quantitative Indicators

1. Reduction in proportion of young graduates who migrate outside of Lithuania for employment.
2. Equalization of employment rates between different groups, for which equal opportunity has not historically existed.
3. Reduction in youth unemployment rates
4. Success rate for those who wish to change careers at finding employment in their chosen field.
5. Job satisfaction rates for targeted groups.

Qualitative Indicators

1. Career guidance will be seen as a life-long process, because "career" might
involve different occupational sector at different stages of a persons’ lifetime.

2. Elements of career guidance and management will be built into the curriculum of
   educational institutions along with internships that allow students to put the things
   they learn into practice.
3. Modern citizens will be able to anticipate and adapt to cultural, organizational and technological development. They will assimilate a creative life strategy – a strategy based on the stimulation and development of psychological mechanisms, which are generating a creative behaviour – a stage of creation and recreation of personality, a process of the individual development like a unique entity.
4. The society will alter its responsibility to support the individual’s professional development efforts, and will get involved in giving value to the existing intellectual potential.

1. The role of career guidance and management in relation to social change will be explored and some possible implications to career theory will be outlined.

ACTIVITIES AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

The planning phase of the project will last until the end of 1999. Implementation will begin at the start of the year 2000.

Career Counseling Services 2000 January - 2001 December

• Psychological testing of abilities, interests and skills;
• Information about study programs in Lithuania and abroad;
• Education on strategies and tactics for finding a job and/or requalification;
• Information about the labor market’s dynamics and individual industry profiles;
• Instruction and consulting on preparation of CV, cover letters, and interview skills;
• Recruiting strategies for employers and recruitment programs for students

Elite self-realization in Lithuania 2000 January - 2001 December

Aims: To encourage bright young Lithuanians to be exposed to the broadest possible
range of concepts and ideas through advanced study programs both in
Lithuania and abroad, and
To encourage "the best and brightest" to remain in/return to Lithuania to
live/work permanently

Career Management 2000 January - 2001 December

• Seminars, lectures and videotrainings on theory and methodology of career planning/realization.
• Sponsorship of "Career days"
• Providing recruitment infrastructure, such as pre-recruiting employer information sessions, interviewing venues and schedules, etc.

Career Management Research/Database 2000 January - 2001 December

Aims To develop and update electronic database that provides information and

statistics on available professions/jobs in Lithuania and abroad, the
opportunities to acquire these jobs, and the changing needs of the labour
market.

Educational Curriculum Advising 2000 January - 2001 December

Aims To advise educational institutions on the incorporation of new curricula
commensurate with the changing needs of the job market.

PARTNERS

• OSF
• Vytautas Magnus University
• Ministry of Education and its educational institutions
• Ministry of Social Affairs
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Embassies
• International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance
• Corporate sector
• Student Associations
• Training and Career Guidance Association, UK
• United States Information Agency
• PAR (Psychological Assessment Resource, Inc.)
• John Hopkins University, USA
• Peace Corps of the United States
• Art Council of England
• Council for Exceptional Children, USA
• American Psychological Association
• The Association of "Empowering Education"in Ukraine
• The Educational Center for Families and Schools in Latvia
• EAIE –European Association for International Education
• NAFSA – Association of International Educators

MANAGEMENT OF THE CENTER

1. The Founders of the center are OSFL and Vytautas Magnus University. The management structures of the center are the administration and the Board. Board members are appointed by the Founders. They help to determine organizational structure of the center, strategic directions, priorities, approve activities and the budget and provide professional support. The Administration run every day activities.

FUNDING

The year 2000

The year 2001

Prepared by Zina Baltreniene OSFL Kaunas centre Director

HESP

In 1999 the OSFL higher and secondary education programs have been combined under the title "Education program" which is being coordinated by a program director.

HESP remains as an OSFL grant giving program.

The objectives of HEST are modernization of humanities and social science studies and encouragement of policy making in order to evoke systemic changes in higher education system. The program supports:

• Invisible College,
• Center for Stateless Cultures,
• Educational Advising Center to be funded up to the middle of 2000, until we find most successful way of solving the issue of the center’s future.

Program budget:

1999 - $ 152,599; 2000 – $ 215,000 Increased by 29%

Foundation for Educational Change (FEC)

Foundation for Educational Change is a completely new institutional model in Lithuania. Its founders are a governmental institution (Ministry of Education and Science) and a non-governmental organization – OSFL.

FEC is a grant giving NGO which is being funded with the Government on match basis (50/50). A funding agreement with the Ministry of Education and Science has been signed for 5 years (1999 – 2003) as follows:

1999 - $ 300,000

2000 - $ 200,000

2001 - $ 200,000

2002 - $ 175,000

2003 - $ 150,000

The FEC is planning to do a serious fundraising to ensure its sustainability on the country level and abroad.

One OSFL Board member is delegated to the FEC Board.

Since we’ve been urged to work in cooperation with partners, we believe this project is a really good example of a successful fundraising.

CSI is a service providing NGO, established in 1999 and based on the experience of the project "Transformation of Education for Lithuania’s Future". Its start was very promising.

The OSFL support for the Center consist of funds for project implementation and administrative costs.

Other funding sources:

1. paid courses (the Center’s services are requested by other East European countries and former states of the Soviet Union);
2. Ministry of Science and Education;
3. Other foreign donors.

One OSFL Board member is delegated to the CSI Board.

Program budget:

1999 - $ 178,636 (bridge money inclusive); 2000 - $50,000. Decrease – 72 %.

EP is a long term joint pre-school education project of the OSFL and Danish Egmont Foundation on match basis. Its objective – to create a higher education center for pre-school education (in-service and pre-service) most probably at Klaipeda university. The project’s future will be considered and clarified in 2000. Throughout 2000 it will remain as the OSFL operating program.

EP staff will be decreased to one coordinator.

The foundation’s commitment to the partners is funding of the project up to 2003.

Program budget:

1999 - $ 61, 300; 2000 - $ 53,000. Decrease – 14 %.

The OSFL has collaborated with the UWC network for 7 years. The relatively small OSFL budget has attracted approximately 5 scholarships each year what makes $ 200,000. The OSFL budget is mainly spent for a multi-cultural UWC summer schools in Lithuania.

In 2000 UWC remains a foundation operating program.

Program budget:

1999 - $29,500; 2000 - $ 25,000. Decrease by 15%.

(Only the budget cut forced us to decrease the UWC funding).

CMD is a service providing program, being founded by the OSFL and Vilnius Pedagogical University on the basis of OSI network programs. The Center is planned to be a bridge between secondary schools and universities and to contribute to the reform of pre-service teacher training. It will offer optional credit courses (Critical Thinking, Visual Thinking, Conflict Rezolution, Step by Step, Health education, etc.) for students in all country universities.

The CMD is going to be registered in the end of 1999, therefore the budget for 1999 is non-existent.

Program budget:

2000 - $50,000 (the amount includes bridge money as well as administrative costs)

Other funding sources:

1. Pedagogical University will grant the premises free of charge and one staff and also will pay to the Center for organizing of university -selected courses;
2. Ministry of Science and Education.

Step by Step

In 2000 SBS terminates its activity as a NF program and in the end in 1999 will be incorporated as an independent affiliate into the "Center for School Improvement".

Since 2000 the budget is being constricted to administrative costs only.

The following funding sources are being envisaged for project implementation:

1. Income earned for the program-organized courses on methodology (a market demand of which is really high )
2. Funding from other donors:
1. through "Step by Step" network association;
2. from the Ministry of Science and Education;
3. from Foundation for Educational Change
4. from parents who wish their children to attend schools or kindergartens using the above methodology.

Program budget:

1999 - $343,500 2000 - $ 50,000. Decrease by 85%.

In the middle of 1999 Debate program was registered as an independent association becoming grant recipient organization. In 1999 the OSFL granted funds are meant to be bridge money for program implementation and for administrative costs.

The program has already submitted a project to the EU, a joint initiative with other Debate programs of the Baltic States foundations.

Program budget:

1999 - $ 67,064 2000 - $ 40,000. Decrease by 40%.

In 1999 CD was registered as an independent NGO, established on the basis of OSI network program in Kaunas, a second Lithuanian city by size.

The founders are the OSFL and Vytautas Magnus University which will grant premises and services free of charge.

Potential income:

1. fee for the services rented;
2. EU youth programs;
3. Ministry of Science and Education;
4. Other foreign donors.

Program budget:

1999 - $ 81,500; 2000 - $40,000. Decrease by 51 %.

The program is being administered by the OSFL- established NGO "Children Support Center" (the former OSFL program "Big Brother/Big Sister").

Program budget:

1999 - $71, 806; 2000 - $ 20,000 (along with OSI-NY matching funds). Decrease - by 72%.

2000 is the last year of program’s activity. The program is incorporated into the "Center of Modern Didactics". The OSFL considers Critical Thinking as an important and successful program.

(See the educational part "Center of Modern Didactics").

Program budget:

1999 - $34,000 2000 - $40,000 (along with OSI-NY match)

Increase by 17%.

Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS)

VTS will be terminated in June, 2000, in spite of the fact of program’s cancellation in 1999 by NY office. The OSFL Board having assessed the successful operation of the program and decided to prolong it out of NF budget, as previously planned. Afterwards, the program will be transferred to the "Center of Modern Didactics".

Program budget:

1999 - $ 29,400; 2000 - $ 15,000. Decrease – 49 %.

CSC was established in the beginning of 1999 on the basis of "BB/BS" as a service rendering NGO. The Center implements Child Abuse Project, Street Children along with King Boudouin Foundation (Belgium), provides consultations for families facing psychological problems.

The OSFL support in 1999 consisted only of administrative costs.

Other sponsors:

• Ministry of Social Security and Labour
• Foreign donors (projects have already been submitted)
• Local donors (in the process of being identified).

Program budget:

1999 - $42, 854; 2000 - $30,000. Decrease by 30%.

The program is being implemented by one of our partners "Crime Prevention Center". "Street Law" has been planned to be operational for 2 years. 2000 is the last year of program’s activity.

Program budget:

1999 - $ 18,218; 2000 - $ 5000. Decrease by 73%.