| Abstract [eng] |
Challenges of globalization change the role, responsibility, traditional conception of vocational education as social organization, and encourage the system to become dynamic, easily adaptable and flexible, and meeting society needs. Vocational education ensures continuous adaptation of a human being to one’s inescapable conditions of economical activity, development of foundations for career opportunities. Nowadays the objective of vocational schools is not only to train specialists able to work independently at competitive market conditions, but also create inviting, modern environment, good education conditions promoting increase of career opportunities. The issue of investigation: insufficient attention to student training for career, career planning at vocational school. Subject of investigation: student training for vocational career. Hypotheses of investigation: 1. It is likely that students and educators differently think about training (learning) possibilities and problems regarding vocational career. 2. Insufficient time is dedicated to vocational career planning at vocational school. Objective of investigation – analyze student training for successful career at vocational school. Goals of investigation: 1. Reveal possibilities and problems of vocational training in scholarly literature. 2. Analyze conceptions of vocational training and career. 3. Analyze student training (learning) for vocational career. 4. Investigate possibilities and problems of student training for vocational career from the point of view of students and educators. Investigation methods: analysis of scholarly literature, filling in of questionnaires by students and educators, quantitative analysis of investigation data. Scope of investigation: educators (53) and students (257) of Mažeikiai Polytechnic School. Conclusions: the analysis of scholarly literature revealed that vocational training ensures continuous adaptation of a human being to one’s inescapable conditions of economical activity. Constant variations in labor market determine the necessity of vocational training, its fluctuation. Only to labor market fluctuations oriented and in this way continuously variating vocational training may be effective and have impact on training for vocational career. Compared to other levels of education system in Lithuania the vocational training is very poorly developed. In West European countries the popularity of vocational schools is determined by the prestige of working-class occupations and better learning conditions. In Lithuania it is thought that such work is less remunerable, not prestigious, and the quality of studies is low, thus students do not want to tie in their vocational career with working-class professions. Vocational training depends on labor market dynamics and the demand of this market. Vocational career planning is a continuous process, during which it is necessary to evaluate the importance of dynamically fluctuating external factors to process quality. The career is the integral aggregate of socially significant occupational and other roles performed in qualitative manner during the full span of human life. The results of investigation revealed that majority of teachers pay insufficient attention to successful student training (learning) for vocational career. In their learning process they apply ineffective methods. As the problems, arising during student training for career, the teachers named limited financial resources, passive attitude of students, lack of specialists, limited time resources. The students stressed that practical activities on career planning issues are the most useful ones for training for vocational career, but they are rare. The attitude towards factors influencing selection of profession and career opportunities among students and educators is different. The educators share the opinion that the largest influence on planning of student occupation and career is done by their parents. The students are of the opinion that the largest influence on planning of student occupation and career is done by teachers. More than half of students who took part in the quiz thought that career planning skills have little influence on training for successful career. It shows that not a few respondents insufficiently evaluate the importance of career planning. The hypotheses of investigation have been confirmed: students and educators differently think about training (learning) opportunities and problems regarding vocational career; vocational school dedicates insufficient time for planning of vocational career. |
