New tendencies in civics and citizenship education in Lithuania: Phenomenological study of seven teachers educating Lithuanian citizens
Abstract
The major goal of this research was to explore novice social studies teachers’ lived experiences as citizenship teachers in Lithuania in order to find out what it means to be a novice social studies teacher in Lithuania. The study was conducted in Lithuania with seven participants from six different high schools in 2009. This phenomenological qualitative study involved classroom observations in six schools and semi-structured interviews with the seven participants. Collected data demonstrated that a competitive school environment in addition to a heavy workload makes teaching a stressful experience for novice social studies teachers in Lithuania. In most cases, participants implied that being a social studies teacher in high school in Lithuania means working long hours and investing a great deal of free time in pedagogical activities. Moreover, this study suggested that social studies teachers in high school have higher expectations from administration in relation to civic education. Also, collected data demonstrated that novice social studies teachers hold high expectations for high school students in terms of civic knowledge, skills and values and that they prioritize critical thinking and morals. This study touched only a small part of the entire picture of civic education practices in Lithuania. More in-depth research is needed to compare teachers’ lived experiences with the views and perspectives of administration towards civic education, and the role of other school community members (other teachers, parents, community members, policy makers) in civic education.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Rapoport, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Social studies education|Curriculum development
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