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The qualitative research presented in this article attempts to show the impact of teacher-initiated activities on six-year-old children’s metacognitive monitoring and control abilities. The metacognitive model is discussed, research findings that substantiate the development of separate components of metacognitive regulation are analyzed, and the educational ways that promote metacognitive development in children are systematized. The outcomes of the research show that teacher-initiated activities stimulate and encourage children to find and apply more diverse ways of metacognitive monitoring and control. After teacher-initiated activities, the target group children demonstrated, identified, and verbalized the following ways of acting and learning that had not been noticed in their self-initiated activities in the area of metacognitive monitoring, namely, thinking while doing, modelling, acting by scheme/without a scheme, and activity by self-created strategies. In the area of metacognitive control, the children showed the ability to challenge themselves to do better than before, think and do as a continuous, unbroken control and implementation process, and control performance consistency.

The critical situation in education caused by COVID-19 has significantly reduced the involvement of pupils from vulnerable groups, particularly those with low learning achievements. The aim of this study is to reveal the modeling of the sustainable educational process and the factors that ensure optimal learning achievements of pupils from vulnerable groups in general education schools in critical educational transformation situations. To reveal the factors ensuring the sustainability of educational processes, this study was conducted in three Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) involving 1432 subject teachers from public education schools. The results of the study highlight that self-regulatory collaborative learning has a sustainable, strong impact on the achievements of pupils with emotional and learning difficulties in various (stable and unstable) educational environments in all three countries. The development of digital skills, digital scaffolding, and technological provision for pupils with special educational needs enabled their teachers to have a sustainable positive impact on pupils’ learning achievements in Lithuania.

The aim of education is not only to echo wants of modern society, but also „to be a vanguard of democratizing society“. Hence education is closely related to the social cultural environment. The researcher of Lithuanian education and educational scientific development, Doctor of literature, actively participating in society life, an initiator and organizer of education reform documents, Dr. Meilė Lukšienė (1913–2009) announced pursuance: “it would be great if new school turned back at culture would become its home, where a young or old student could just exist. This existence itself would constantly enrich the person, would reach his or her soul, and would exhibit all person’s virtues”. One of the most important persons in educational institution is a pedagogue. Obviously, today‘s society raises higher and higher requirements. National strategy project of education 2013–2022 says that pedagogues must be reflecting, constantly perfecting themselves and working successfully. Such pedagogues will succeed in turning Lithuanian education into stable foundation for an independent and ambitious person who creates his future, the future of his country’s and the world’s future responsibly and solidarily. Therefore, high quality modern studies are necessary to provide a future pedagogue with deep theoretical knowledge, to create conditions for training practical pedagogue‘s skills of the highest level and to develop cultural awareness of a future pedagogue. M. Lukšienė (2000) stated that teacher training forms cannot be separated from contents. Seeking high quality studies, integrating theoretical knowledge into practice, an important role goes to mentoring. Regulation of teacher training (2012  May 15, ord, Nr. V-827) describes mentor as an experienced and successfully working pedagogue, trained according to the orders confirmed by Education and Science Ministry, who is a help to a student on teaching practice in one or several institutions or any other institutions (companies, organizations) related to pedagogical work in any way. Thus, a mentor must be able to create appropriate conditions for teaching practice, help a student realize practice programme and reflect upon gained experience. This makes the essence of mentor’s practice organization and reflection competence. The article draws great attention to the integration of theory and practice in the process of training teachers, which enables to recognize theoretical knowledge and to apply it in concrete practical situations, create the opportunity for future pedagogues to perfect their professional skills. The article also discusses models of organizing teaching practice, mentor’s role in instructing practice, the meaning and importance of mentor‘s professional practice organization and reflection competence from the point of view of experienced students. The main aim of the article research–to reveal pre-school and pre-primary mentor’s competence of professional practice organization and reflection, the importance and expression of its components while mentoring students’ practice.