Strengthening Upper Secondary Education in Lithuania.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development, author, issuing body.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Vocational education.

Education.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (164 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Paris : Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development, 2023.

Summary:

This report explores how Lithuania, and its young people can achieve higher returns on its investment in upper secondary education and provides Lithuania with policy recommendations to help improve it by strengthening vocational education pathways and by consolidating upper secondary certification.

Contents:

Intro

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations and acronyms

Executive summary

Strengthening vocational education and training pathways in upper secondary education in Lithuania (Chapter 3)

Consolidating Lithuania's upper secondary certification to meet learners' diverse needs and promote higher order, complex learning (Chapter 4)

1 Assessment and Recommendations

Introduction

Main trends in upper secondary education in Lithuania

Participation and completion

Attainment of upper secondary education is very high

Participation in upper secondary education is very high, supported by smooth transitions into and through upper secondary education

Participation in upper secondary vocational education is lower than national targets

Completion of upper secondary education is high but lower for VET programmes

The gender gap in participation and completion of upper secondary vocational education is more pronounced than across the OECD on average

Learning outcomes

On entry to upper secondary education, 15-year-olds in Lithuania score below the OECD average

The gap in performance between boys and girls and between students from rural and urban areas is greater in Lithuania than across the OECD

Adults in Lithuania score above the OECD average

Upper secondary education, especially VET, seems to play a modest role in contributing to adult skills

Transitions into further education and work

Transitions into tertiary education are high, but only for general upper secondary graduates

Employments outcomes are very positive for tertiary graduates, but less so for VET graduates

Priority areas for upper secondary education in Lithuania

Lithuania achieves limited returns on its investment in upper secondary education.

Upper secondary education requires purposefully designed pathways that promote deeper skills acquisition

Investing in assessment expertise is essential for a national certification to continually adapt to the needs of education and society

Strengthening pathways in upper secondary education

Issue 1: Reviewing students' transitions and orientation into upper secondary education

Issue 2: Creating valued vocational pathways through upper secondary education

Issue 3: Designing pathways with clear and sequential progression out of upper secondary education

Consolidating Lithuania's upper secondary certification to meet learners' diverse needs and promote higher-order, complex learning

Issue 1. Supporting continual improvement and high-quality assessment

Issue 2. Introducing alternative types of assessment

Issue 3. Providing more flexible choices and options within the Matura

References

2 The Context of Upper Secondary Education in Lithuania

Socio-economic context

Economic growth has been relatively strong over the past the decade

Structural unemployment remains a persistent challenge

Skills mismatch is considerable

Poverty remains a challenge, especially in remote areas

The structure of upper secondary education

Upper secondary education is comparatively short and no part of it is compulsory

All upper secondary graduates have access to tertiary programmes at ISCED 6

The first official selection point is at 14 but in practice, this applies to less than 2% of students

Selection for the vast majority of students occurs at 17, as they transition into upper secondary education

Entrance into upper secondary education in Lithuania is currently automatic and entirely based on student preferences (but this is planned to change)

Governance and funding.

General and vocational schools have separate governance

Overall spending on education is low compared to the OECD average but higher for upper secondary education

Participation in upper secondary education

Participation in upper secondary education is high

Transitions through upper secondary are comparatively smooth

The gender gap in participation and completion of upper secondary education is slightly more pronounced than across the OECD on average

Teaching, learning and the curriculum in upper secondary education

Lithuania is implementing a new competency-based curriculum in general education

The upper secondary curriculum aims to promote breadth of student choice

There are two types of teachers at the upper secondary level in Lithuania: general and vocational teachers

Certification at the end of upper secondary education in Lithuania

The Matura determines upper secondary certification and tertiary entrance

There is no separate certification for upper secondary vocational students

Certification at the end of upper secondary education is not currently promoting student engagement or the acquisition of higher order skills

Learning outcomes in upper secondary education

Girls outperform boys in both reading and mathematics

The socio-economic gap between regions puts students from rural areas at a disadvantage

Upper secondary education seems to play little role in contributing to adult skills

VET graduates have low skill levels.

Transitions into further education and employment

Many upper general secondary graduates transition into tertiary education

Few vocational upper secondary graduates progress into tertiary education

Until recently, VET students have had limited post-secondary options

An upper secondary vocational qualification provides little advantage on the labour market

Notes

3 Strengthening pathways in upper secondary education

The current context: transitions into upper secondary education

Entrance into upper secondary education in Lithuania is currently automatic and entirely based on student preferences

Most students currently experience a "smooth" transition into upper secondary education

A smooth transition supports students to stay in education and complete upper secondary education

Less than a quarter of students aged 15-19 transition into vocational upper secondary education in Lithuania

Indicators of learning outcomes show that almost a quarter of students lack basic competencies upon entry into upper secondary education

The contribution of upper secondary education to young adults' skills is modest

From 2024, entrance into upper secondary education will depend on examination results

The structure of lower and upper secondary education discourages enrolments in vocational education

Students in Lithuania lack guidance and support to help them identify the most appropriate upper secondary programme

Lithuania is introducing guidance counsellors from Grade 1

VET is not perceived to be a rigorous learning option

Policy options for student transitions and orientation into upper secondary education.

Option 1.a. Making personalised transition recommendations for each student based on a wide range of information

Monitoring student learning outcomes as they transition into upper secondary education

Carefully considering how the new threshold can influence transitions and how it can be used to provide additional support

Reconsidering the sources of information for transition decisions

Considering how information is combined to develop a personalised recommendation for each student

Counsellors should be external from the school and provide a non-binding recommendation

Option 1.b. Ensuring that students and their guardians play an informed role in transition decisions

Developing career-related learning from an early stage to promote subject and career exploration

Ensuring that students and their families are supported through accessible, transparent, and up-to-date information

Option 1.c. Reconsidering the structure of schooling to facilitate transitions into upper secondary education

Exploring options to provide some VET in general schools

Promoting co-operation between general and vocational schools

Considering restructuring the education system to facilitate students' transitions

The Current context: upper secondary vocational pathways

The general content for VET students is not tailored to their interests or needs

VET students have to meet the same requirements as general students for upper secondary certification and eligibility for tertiary education

The new system provides more flexibility and choice for vocational students

Upper secondary vocational students might not have an incentive to stay in school to complete their vocational programme

Few VET students achieve a solid basis in foundational general skills.

Vocational graduates are not well prepared in vocational content.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

92-64-60208-9

92-64-90627-4

OCLC:

1439598236