Autonomy of Schools and Quality of Education in Lithuania

• Published in: Pedagogika
• Main Author: Želvys, Rimantas
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Lithuanian
• Published: Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas / Vytautas Magnus University 2014
• Subjects: international PISA 2012 study; school autonomy; quality of education; tarptautinis PISA 2012 švietimo tyrimas; mokyklų savarankiškumas; ugdymo kokybė; Norway; Kad’; Vietas; Iceland
• Online Access: https://ejournals.vdu.lt/index.php/Pedagogika/article/view/1726; https://doi.org/10.15823/p.2014.004

This article discusses the relationship between autonomy of schools and quality of education. The results of the Lithuanian students who participated in the international PISA 2012 study were officially announced by the end of 2013. According to the presented report, they were rather mediocre. Lithuanian 15 year-old students were 30th in science, 37th in mathematics and 39th in reading among the 65 countries and territories which participated in the study. Countries and territories of South East Asia – Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore – were on the top of the ratings. On the other hand, among the European nations the two Nordic countries – Finland and Estonia – seemed to show the best results. Some authors tend to explain the success of these countries by indicating the rational character of the Nordic people or the successful implementation of the welfare state model. However, other Nordic countries – Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland – showed results similar to those of Lithuania. A number of other authors, e. g., Pasi Sahlberg, claim that the outstanding results of Finland were achieved due to the high professionalism of teachers and wide autonomy of the Finnish schools. In many aspects Estonia follows the Finnish example, in particular, by ensuring the wider autonomy of schools. However,in Lithuania, according to our judgment, situation is rather different. The opinion surveys of school principals conducted in 1996, 2001 and 2009 show that majority of secondary heads consider Lithuanian education system as being too much centralized and think that school leaders should gain more decision-making powers. Analysis of key national educational documents, e. g. Education Acts and long-term educational strategies, show that there are no observable tendencies of striving towards greater autonomy of schools. If the assumption that greater school autonomy leads to a better quality of education is true, Lithuania has no reason to expect any major improvement in student achievements in the nearest future. Straipsnyje aptariamos galimos mokyklų ir jų vadovų savarankiškumo sąsajos su ugdymo kokybe. 2013 m. pabaigoje paskelbti tarptautinio penkiolikmečių tyrimo PISA 2012 duomenys apie moksleivių pasiekimus gamtamokslinio, matematinio raštingumo ir skaitymo gebėjimų srityse parodė, kad Lietuvos moksleivių rezultatai vidutiniški. Geriausi rezultatai buvo pasiekti gamtamokslinio ugdymo srityje, kur Lietuva užėmė 30 vietą iš 65 tyrime dalyvavusių šalių ir teritorijų. Matematinio raštingumo srityje Lietuva liko 37-a, skaitymo gebėjimų – 39-a. Tyrimo komentatoriai atkreipė dėmesį į aukštas šiaurės kaimynių – Estijos ir Suomijos – užimtas vietas. Kai kurie autoriai, pvz., P. Sahlbergas, aiškina šiuos pasiekimus aukštu mokyklų savarankiškumo lygiu. Lietuvoje atliktų apklausų duomenimis, šalies mokyklų vadovai mano, kad šalies švietimo sistema yra pernelyg centralizuota ir kad mokyklų vadovų įgaliojimai turėtų būti didesni. Lietuvos Respublikos švietimo įstatymo pakeitimai bei naujoji ilgalaikė švietimo strategija taip pat esminių pokyčių šioje srityje nenumato. Jeigu prielaida, kad didesnis mokyklų savarankiškumas turi teigiamos įtakos švietimo kokybei, yra teisinga, Lietuvos švietimo rezultatai tarptautiniuose tyrimuose ir toliau išliks vidutiniški.