1 / 26

Dr.hab.paed., prof. Tatjana KOKE Minister of Education and Science Republic of Latvia

Education al Reform in Latvia since the Collapse of the Soviet Union and Integration within the European Union. Dr.hab.paed., prof. Tatjana KOKE Minister of Education and Science Republic of Latvia Teachers College, Columbia University September 23, 2008. Ministry of Education and Science.

jean
Download Presentation

Dr.hab.paed., prof. Tatjana KOKE Minister of Education and Science Republic of Latvia

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Educational Reform in Latvia since the Collapse of the Soviet Union and Integration within the European Union Dr.hab.paed., prof. Tatjana KOKE Minister of Education and Science Republic of Latvia Teachers College, Columbia University September 23, 2008

  2. Ministry of Education and Science • Education: pre-school, interest education, compulsory, secondary, special, vocational, higher, life-long learning • Science: fundamental research, market orientated research,applied research, scientific institutions • Sport: sport for children and youth, sport for all, sport for people with disabilities, high performance sports • State language: language policy, terminology, language learning/teaching, multilingualism

  3. Main issues • From where we started? • What was the direction to proceed? • Major reforms in education • Gains and losses • Way forward

  4. General facts: Capital - Riga 2,3 million inhabitants 64 589 square km 982 basic & secondary schools 82 vocational schools 64 HEI 552 students per 10 000 inhabinats – 2nd place in the world Where is Latvia ?

  5. Main facts of Latvia history • First inhabitants in the territory of Latvia: 9000 B.C. • 12th Century – 1918: the Age of German, Polish, Swedish, and Russian rule in Latvia • Republic of Latvia: • 1918-1940 • regaining of independence in 1991 • Soviet period: • 1940-1941 • 1945-1991 • Nazi German occupation: 1941-1945 • Joining NATOandEuropean Union: 2004

  6. Small size, great achievements • Nobel Price and Latvia: • Wilhelm Ostwald (1853-1932),chemist, awarded 1909 • Paul Walden (1863 – 1957),chemist, nominated several times. Walden’s Medal was awarded in Riga, 2008 to Dr.Kurt Wuthrich (Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, USA) • Complete set of Olympic medals in Beijing 2008: • Gold: BMX, Maris Strombergs • Silver: javelin-throwing, Ainars Kovals • Bronze: weight-lifting, Viktors Scerbatihs • Cultural heritage: • Song and dance festivals • Architecture

  7. 2.40% 0.40% 2.30% 2.50% 28.00% 59.10% 3.70% 0.10% 1.40% Latvian Lithuanian Estonian Byelorussian Russian Ukrainian Polish Jewish Other nationalities Population

  8. SS One party system Planned economy Closed society Occupied country DS Multy-party system Market economy Open society Independent state Main differences between Soviet System (SS) and Democratic society (DS) in Latvia

  9. Vision

  10. What was the Soviet Heritage at School? Total centralization characterized by: • Traditional lesson routine • Structured time table “for all” • Lecture style teaching with emphasis on subject-centered knowledge • Censorship, ideologically based indoctrination • Belittlement of global and national values

  11. From authoritariantodemocraticschool To foster decentralization in order to: • Promote initiative and responsibility • Increase choice of opportunities • Focus on autonomy and human rights • Widen understanding of values

  12. Latvian education system

  13. Policy pushes (I) Law on Education, 1991: • Competence-based curriculum according to standards • Diversification of teaching methods • Centralized national assessment system – 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th grades, gradually from 1997 • Free option for high school students • Private educational institutions • Regional university colleges Decentralization of education management: from state to municipalities, 1994

  14. Policy pushes (II) Bilingual educationreform: to strengthen the position of state language in line with widening opportunities for studies in mother-tongue, 1998-2004: • ethnic minority schools: • 132 Russian • 5 Polish • 2 Jewish • 1 Byelorussian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Estonian and Roma programs • Sunday schools: Liiv, Armenian, Azerbaijan, Georgian, Greek, Hungarian, Jewish, Ukrainian Multilingualism

  15. Policy pushes (III) Law on Higher Education Establishments,1995: • State budget funded study places • Invention of study fees • Loan system • Transformation of structure Bologna process in higher education, 1999

  16. Funding of higher education

  17. Dynamics of students enrollment in universities,1990/91 – 2007/08 academic years Source: Overview on Higher Education-2007, Ministry of Education and Science, http://www.izm.gov.lv

  18. Ratio of student/academic staff 2003/04 academic year Source: Key Data on Higher Education in Europe, 2007 Edition, European Commission

  19. Professors out of academic staff 41%- 50% – Belgium, Canada 31%-40% – USA, Japan, Germany 21%-30% – Latvia, France, Italy, Ireland 11%- 20% – Finland, Sweden less than 10% – United Kingdom, Spain Source: prof.Juris Krumins, Association of Latvian Professors, Riga, February 7, 2008

  20. What are the outcomes of the reforms? (I) Competence for sustainability, including – labour market, active citizenship and personal fulfillment: • Pre-school: compulsory for 5 and 6 years old • Compulsory: standards and curricula towards acquisition of skills (OECD, PISA) • Secondary: changes in philosophy - from subject matter to analytical and cooperative skills; improvement of educational environment (EU support) • Special: inclusive education

  21. What are the outcomes of the reforms? (II) • Interest education: involvement, participation and individualization • Vocational: involvement of employers, changes in curricula towards needs of labor market • Higher: • Internationally valid quality assurance system • Support of doctoral and master studies and post – doctoral research • Performance of HE including introducing the Bologna principles • Renovation and modernization of HE infrastructure • Life-long learning: overall framework for Latvian education, e-learning

  22. Drawbacks of changes • High intensity of changes in short period of time brings uncertainty and dissatisfaction • Consequences of totalitarian way of thinking – lack of ability to accept diversities and cope with them • Tension between education and labor market needs • Insufficient financing • Aging population, incl. educators • Prestige of teacher’s profession (T.B.C.)

  23. Correlation: qualification and salary Source: prof.Juris Krumins, Association of Latvian Professors, Riga, February 7, 2008

  24. Way forward • Talent. Technology. Tolerance • Strengthening autonomy and openness for diversity based on and for human values • Emphases on responsibility and evidence-based decision making for better civil society • Widen financing mechanisms, including PPP • Widen accessibility for Learning society • Foster students’ and professionals’ mobility

  25. Conclusion The Essence of Learning Experience: develop ability to convert uncertainties and challenges of the society into priorities and benefits of the individual

  26. Thank you! tatjana.koke@izm.gov.lv http://www.izm.gov.lv

More Related