SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION WITHIN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM

Major work in the development of education including the educational structure of the Republic of Lithuania are presented in a publication of the Ministry of Education and Science „Education in Lithuania. Facts and Figures 2006“ www.smm.lt/svietimo_bukle/apzvalga.htm and http://www.eurydice.org/ressources/eurydice/pdf/047DN/047_LT_EN.pdf

Parental satisfaction has been identified as one of the most important indicators of quality in early intervention and the aim of this 2004 research project was to evaluate parental satisfaction regarding various aspects of support provided by ECI services in Lithuania.

„Satisfaction“ is a complex concept and is often understood and interpreted differently by parents or professionals and so the following aspects of satisfaction were analysed in the project: the way parents evaluate the model of intervention; the support provided to parents and the child; the relationship between parents and professionals; accessibility of services, the organisation of work, etc.

The European Parental Satisfaction Scale about Early Intervention (developed in Siauliai University, Lithuania in collaboration with the Special Education Institute of Fribourg University, Switzerland) was used. Parents bringing up children with special needs attending seven ECI services in Lithuania took part in the research project; 160 parents were questioned in total.

The results of the investigation showed that, overall, parents attending ECI services with their children positively evaluate the quality of services provided in Lithuania.

The item most positively perceived by parents was support for their child.. Accessibility of ECI services and organisation of the work were perceived as satisfactory.
However, parents were mostly dissatisfied with factors involved in the creation of a social environment, the model of intervention and the relationship between professionals and parents.

Overall, according to the parents involved in this project, ECI support is well appreciated, but a main message focuses upon the perception that professionals still play the role of ‘experts’ in the ECI process and intervention is oriented towards therapies for the child, rather than towards intervention involving family members and stimulating the social competences of the child and his/her family (see  more in the Euronews on  Special Needs Education No 15).

Due to certain national peculiarities the Educational Classification of Lithuania (ECL) slightly differs from International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 97):

Educational levels according to the ECL	Educational levels according to the  ISCED 97
0 level Kindergarten education (kindergarten and preschool training programmes)	0 level Pre-primary education
1 level Primary education (primary education programmes)	1 level Primary education or first stage of basic education

In Lithuania schools are grouped by level and nature of programmes. Primary education programmes (a four-year curriculum) can be implemented by these types of schools of general education: kindergarten-school; primary school; basic school; special homes for children’s education and care; hospital school; secondary school; in certain cases – gymnasium; special school.

As set by the Law on Education of the Republic of Lithuania children can start compulsory (Compulsory education is ten years. It is free of charge, except partial payments for textbooks.) education at the age of seven. Upon the parent’s request, primary education may begin before the time specified above it if the child has achieved the maturity required for this kind of education.

Level of education	Duration	Pupil’s age (years)	Grades
Primary education	4 years	6/7 – 9/10	1 – 4

The purpose of primary education is to provide an individual with the basics of moral, cultural and social maturity and elementary literacy. In 1 – 4 grades, pupils are taught only compulsory subjects, as defined in the General Curriculum approved by Ministry of Education and Science. The learners are offered an opportunity to choose non-traditional curricula, i.e. curricula based on Mari Montessori, Waldorf, Suzuki pedagogical systems.

The official language of instruction is Lithuanian, but national minorities (Russians, Poles, Belorussians) has the right to teach children with Russian, Polish and Belorussian languages of instruction.

Education of students with special needs in accordance with the special basic education curricula and adapted basic education curricula takes place in schools of general education. The special education mode that Lithuania has chosen embraces all the forms of special education services provided in both mainstream and special schools.

In 2005, there were 58747 pupils in Lithuania (10.5% of the total population of pupils) with identified special needs of various levels, 6837 pupils (about 1.1% of all the schoolchildren in the country) were educated in special schools.

With every year more and more learners with special needs attend schools together with the learners of day schools of general education. In 2005, 9.7% of learners were fully integrated (51910 pupils attending general education schools together with their healthy peers). In 2005, the number of such learners with special needs in day schools of general education was high as 88.4% of all learners with special needs. Most of them about 60% had speech and communication difficulties, 19% had some specific cognition problems, 8% were mentally handicapped, 5% were visually impaired, 2% had physical and locomotive problems and 1% were hearing impaired children.

The number of pupils per teacher is 12.9% at primary level. The average class (1 – 12 grades) size is 19.6 (24.4 in urban areas, 12.1 in rural areas). The law defines the maximum number of pupils per class as 24 in primary education and 30 in lower secondary education.