| Abstract [eng] |
The master's thesis examines the effectiveness of the currently operating Lithuanian general education teacher certification system, based on the goals specified in the certification provisions and teachers' attitudes towards certification procedures. The goals of certification aim to encourage teachers to improve their competence, create conditions for them to pursue a career and acquire a qualification category corresponding to their competence and practical activities, as well as to encourage teachers materially and increase their responsibility for educational results and professional development. The analysis of the changes in certification goals for 1991–2007 provides an understanding of the significance of teacher certification in Lithuanian education. However, the certification system, which has not been updated for more than 15 years, is currently potentially losing its relevance and viability. The thesis aims to take a deeper look at the formulations of the goals of the current teacher certification provisions in order to understand their meaning and importance for teachers' professional activities. Statistical data are analyzed that substantiate the trends in the effectiveness of certification. The second part of the paper presents a study of the attitudes of general education school teachers towards teacher certification - the quantitative part of the study aims to clarify the prevailing attitude of respondents (n=249) towards the current teacher certification and the possibilities of a decentralized certification system. The qualitative part of the study reveals in more detail the informants' experience related to certification and the reasoning behind their decisions, thus supplementing the quantitative research data with new contexts. |
