Lithuania

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Education

Educational Structure

Education is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Science in Lithuania. However, each of Lithuania’s 10 counties has a department of education to which certain ministerial duties are delegated. The main task of these county departments is organising school inspection. Indeed, responsibility for education is, to some extent, shared between central government, the counties and municipalities, as well as the governing of educational institutions.

The Law on Education was adopted in 1991. It established the basic structure of the education system and a basic for the activities and management of the educational institutions (except colleges and universities) of the Republic of Lithuania.

The current design of special education in Lithuania is one of programs largely separate from, sometimes parallel to or intersecting with the mainstream education. Presently, special education in the country is the product of an earlier period, when segregation of “the different” was a state policy and the students with special needs (SEN students) were excluded from general school. Lithuania nowadays is in an enviable situation, it has the opportunity to look critically at the way other European countries approach integration/inclusion, and to choose eclectically what seems to be useful in the light of the National educational reform already taking place within its school system. It is necessary to stress that Lithuania, despite the fact that there still is a separate Law on Special Education.

The Education Reform Act (1991) consolidated democratic principles of education in the country. This document had a strong impact on the fate of the children with severe and profound dysfunctions: they have been allowed to learn in educational institutions. Before that, those children and youngsters have been called “uneducatable”. The Law on the Social Integration of the Disabled(1991) emphasises that the disabled can not be discriminated against and that they have the right to work, study and train, that, regardless of the cause, character and degree of their disability they shall be entitled to the same rights as other residents of the Republic of Lithuania. Lithuania’s Constitution(1992) claims that every child must attend compulsory education until 16 years of age. The first basis in legislation for integrated education of children with special educational needs (SEN) is the document entitled The Act of Special Educational Provisionfor Children with Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Educational Institutions (1993). This document may be considered as the first one that started to legitimise integrated education of SEN children in mainstream institutions. It also mandates the parent’s formal right to choose the educational institution. It also recognises the unity of identification of special educational needs and serving these needs through a Special education board of a mainstream school. The Law on Special Education (1998) establishes the structure of the system of special education as well as administration and management of early and pre-school, general, supplementary, vocational, college, university and adult education of persons with special needs.

Article 3. Basic definitions of the Law defines that “ Persons with Special Educational Needs are children and adults, who because of congenital or acquired impairments have limited opportunities of participating in the educational process and social life”.
This document is the most challenging juridical instrument regarding special education in Lithuania. It increases state responsibility for providing a free and appropriate education for all children and youngsters (age range 0–21 year) with SEN in the least restrictive environment, providing all needed supplementary aids and services, assuring that rights of children and their parents/guardians are protected, assessing states and localities to provide for education of children and youngsters with SEN and assuring the effectiveness of efforts to educate them.

Article 4. Principles of Special Education lists principles of special education and they are as follows: equal opportunities creating the same conditions for education and self-education of persons with special needs as those of other local community members; integration involves self-education and education of persons with special needs together with members of the local community and equal participation in the life; decentralisation includes participation of the family and public and local government institutions in educating persons with special needs; universality inclusive of educating all persons with special needs; continuity extending self-education and education of persons with special needs throughout their lifetime; flexibility meaning the co-ordinated activity of the institution of general education and special education guaranteeing the continuity of education and self-education of persons with special needs; educational functionality comprising fostering of self-sufficiency and ability of persons with special needs to live within the local community.

Article 25 regulates provision of educational assistive technology and training appliances:

Persons with special needs shall be supplied with educational assistive technology and special training appliances in educational institutions and at home, in accordance with the procedure established by the Government or an institution authorised by it.
Special training appliances and educational assistive technology which are supplied to educational institutions, teachers and persons with special needs, may be kept at Special Education institutions or budgetary institutions established for that purpose.

Article 26 defines a responsibility of an Educational Institution: they must be adapted for persons with special needs in accordance with the requirements established by the Government.

The integration of SEN pupils can take different forms: full or partial integration. According to The Law on the Amendment of the Law on Education (1998) and The Law on Special Education (1998) the SEN child or youngster has a right to be educated: at a mainstream school in a general classsetting (full integration) or at a special class at a mainstream school (partial integration). Children with SEN who are enrolled into mainstream schools are learning according to various individualised programmes. Every SEN student in Lithuania has already an opportunity to learn according to a certain programme recommended by Pedagogical-Psychological Centre ( PPS). The programmes that are defined by The Law on Special Education (art. 3) are as follows: Modified Educational programme (means a general educational programme that takes into consideration a person’s special needs and ensures that he/she receives an education in accordance with state educational standards); An Adapted Educational programme ( means a general education programme that does not meet state educational standards, adapted to the abilities of persons with special needs as well as a realistic level of his/her learning potential), Special Education programme (means a general subject special educational programme not meeting state educational standards, designed for a certain group of persons with special needs, or a special education programme to train a certain impaired function), An Individual Education Programme ( means a programme designed to develop a person’s individual abilities as well as his/her special educational needs).

Lithuania has a few types of special schools:

special schools for pupils with intellectual disabilities
special schools for physically disabled pupils
special schools for pupils with speech impairments
special schools for hearing impaired and deaf pupils: (education for these pupils was organised in two different types of special schools)
special schools for visually impaired or blind pupils: (education for these pupils was organised in two different types of special schools, but these two types are integrated into one for both disabilities)

According to statistical data obtained by Ministry of Education and Science in the beginning of the school year 2000/2001 as many as 85 % of SEN pupils were taught at mainstream schools (60% had speech and communication difficulties, 19% - some specific cognition problems, 8% mentally handicapped, 5% were visually impaired, 2% had physical and locomotive problems and 1% were hearing impaired children). There is evident that 79% of all disabled students integrated in mainstreamed education comprise the students with mild and moderate impairments. That doesn’t demand the expensive resources, equipment and assistance.

The integration of the disabled in regular physical education (PE) lessons: 79,4 % of all disabled students are integrated in regular PE lessons; 10,9% – have PE in special classes, for 1,4% is prescribed physiotherapy and 8,3 %are excluded from PE at all.

It is evident that a lot all integrated in regular PE lessons comprise the students with mild impairments and it is understandable why the disabled mild and moderate levels of impairment or disability participated in segregated special PE classes. It is evident that a lot of the disabled students excluded from PE at all are with a mild level of impairment.

Education for trainers/teachers

Initial teacher and special teacher training

According to requirements set out by Ministry of Education and Science each college or higher education institution dealing with teacher training must offer 2 – 4 credits of special pedagogy and psychology needs courses. This is definitely not enough for the teachers. Having in mind that Lithuanian school attempts to be open for inclusion much more attention has to be paid towards training of all teachers so they could really meet various special educational needs of their pupils at mainstream settings. The Ministry of Education and Science is working on this issue: the new National Teacher Training Concept has been recently developed and is being discussed by all educational society. Special educators suggested that it should be clearly stated that every teacher after graduation must be able (having enough theoretical background on special pedagogy and related subjects) to practically deal with a variety of special needs students at a mainstream classroom setting.

Physical education (PE) teacher training

The training of PE teachers at the primary level is not specific. The basic knowledge in the field of physical education is enclosed in the study program of preparation of the primary education teachers in the Siauliai University and Klaipeda University. In Siauliai University the training of primary education teachers includes the basic knowledge in the field of special pedagogy and psychology.
The training of PE teachers at secondary level is performed at Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education (LAPE) and Vilnius Pedagogical University.

All PE teachers have a very short course (2 credits) on Adapted Physical Education (APE) at the Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education (LAPE) only. The other Lithuanian universities do not include the basic knowledge on APA in the study programs for preparation of PE teachers yet.

The Bachelor degree 4-year study program of APA specialization was implemented in Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education (LAPE) consequently to the specific TEMPUS Joint European Project. The curriculum on APA includes the knowledge in the fields of APA general concept, special pedagogy and psychology, sociology for disabled, applied knowledge on assessment/evaluation and disability, disease, injuries (classification and diagnostic for disabled), theory, methodology and organization of adapted physical education and sport for disabled and as well as practical training in order to get skills in the field of APE, APA and disability sport.