| Abstract [eng] |
In the present MA paper, the situation of and the opportunities created by the application of new ways and channels for the provision of public services in the context of pre-school institutions are under investigation. The case of Mažeikiai region was chosen for the research. In the theoretical part of the paper, as a result of an in-depth analysis of the theory of the provision of public services in pre-school institutions, the availability of services was identified as a key factor for the quality of services. This qualitative criterion is related to the principle of social justice. The analysis of innovation development in the provision of education services, most often in the form of using information and communication technologies, as well as the examples of the good practice of the pre-school sector in Europe, Scandinavian countries and Lithuania broadened the scope of issues and aspects in the sphere under investigation. Statistical data analysis of documentation and publications on information websites as well as the qualitative research method were chosen for the case-study of Mažeikiai region. With reference to the Progress Report on the Situation of Education of 2017 prepared by the Education Division of Mažeikiai Region Municipality as well as to information available on the websites of the pre-school institutions of Mažeikiai region and other sources, the author of the research arrived at the conclusion that, in comparison to foreign good practice, despite the significant changes in the provision of education services related to the use of IT technologies, the services provided are still not well developed. The objective of the qualitative research was to find out the attitude of the representatives of different organisations towards the quality, diversity, accessibility of services provided by pre-school institutions, how different were their opinions regarding the introduction of new services and their relevance. Semi-structured interview was chosen for the collection of data, heads of pre-school institutions of Mažeikiai town and villages of the Mažeikiai region as well as one chief specialist of the Education Division coordinating the implementation of the pre-school education programme were interviewed. On the basis of this research, recommendations for the Ministry of Education and Science, Mažeikiai Region Municipality and Mažeikiai region pre-school institutions were formulated. |
