Remigration in Lithuania in the 21st Century: Readiness of the Education System to Accept Students from Returning Families

Abstract

The article analyses the readiness of the Lithuanian education system to accept children from returning families. Moreover, it determines the problems and describes the factors hindering the effective integration of remigrant children. The summarised scientific literature is illustrated by empirical research data. Based on the aforementioned data of this study, it is concluded that the concept of education of remigrant children is ever-changing. The main obstacles that Lithuanian educational institutions are facing at the moment are Lithuanian language education and nurturing, a lack of tolerance and competencies of educators. The development and creation of a cooperative environment within the school is determined to be one of the most successful methods to facilitate the job of educators.

Support for Children of Returning Migrant Families in Latvian Schools

“…The main obstacles currently faced by Lithuanian educational institutions are Lithuanian language training and the lack of pedagogues' competencies, specifically in terms of tolerance. They were identified as particularly important challenges in a study carried out in Lithuania (Bagdonaitė, 2020). As a priority for the more successful inclusion of remigrant children in Lithuanian schools, the development of a cooperative environment (teachers, parents, children) within the school is set as one of the most successful methods for facilitating the work of pedagogues with such students According to Targamadze and Manjgaladze (2020), the process of children's integration in school is determined by five levels (public, systemic, institutional, interpersonal, intrapersonal).…”

“…In the databases Researchgate, Scopus, Sage and Springer, in general, more than ten articles were selected that researched and analyzed the experience of remigrant children in Latvia and the world, as well as the various challenges that children and young people face when moving (Vathi and Duci, 2016;Dumitru and Langa, 2016;Gross, 2022;Catalano, 2016;Parrenas, 2005). The results of quantitative and qualitative studies of return migrant children in Latvia (Hazans, 2016;Ose, 2015;Pičukāne and Mihailovs, 2017) provide theoretical material about the situation in Latvia, while Lithuanian remigration researcher (Bagdonaitė, 2020) analyzes the experience of teachers in working with return migrant children in Lithuania, citing challenges and good practices that help these children integrate into schools. Here you can see a lot of similarities and you can easily draw parallels with the difficulties faced by the children of returning migrants in Latvian schools.…”

To Be or Not to Be a Great Educator

“…The main obstacles currently faced by Lithuanian educational institutions are Lithuanian language training and the lack of pedagogues' competencies, specifically in terms of tolerance. They were identified as particularly important challenges in a study carried out in Lithuania (Bagdonaitė, 2020). As a priority for the more successful inclusion of remigrant children in Lithuanian schools, the development of a cooperative environment (teachers, parents, children) within the school is set as one of the most successful methods for facilitating the work of pedagogues with such students…”

“…In the databases Researchgate, Scopus, Sage and Springer, in general, more than ten articles were selected that researched and analyzed the experience of remigrant children in Latvia and the world, as well as the various challenges that children and young people face when moving (Vathi and Duci, 2016;Dumitru and Langa, 2016;Gross, 2022;Catalano, 2016;Parrenas, 2005). The results of quantitative and qualitative studies of return migrant children in Latvia (Hazans, 2016;Ose, 2015;Pičukāne and Mihailovs, 2017) provide theoretical material about the situation in Latvia, while Lithuanian remigration researcher (Bagdonaitė, 2020) analyzes the experience of teachers in working with return migrant children in Lithuania, citing challenges and good practices that help these children integrate into schools. Here you can see a lot of similarities and you can easily draw parallels with the difficulties faced by the children of returning migrants in Latvian schools.…”

An Autoethnographic Approach to Identity Education Amongst Cross-Culture Kids in Lithuanian Schools

“…In the Lithuanian context, the internationally mobile children as trans-narrative subjects surpassingly ones who create a multi-contextual narrative of identity (Garšvė & Mažeikienė, 2019) often find their voices unheard and denied differentiated cultural representation in their local schools due to the historical contexts of the National Revival movement since the 1990s. Changes have been called for with sensitivity, reflexivity and interdisciplinary collaboration (Bagdonaitė, 2020).…”