This site will look much better in a browser that supports web standards, but it is accessible to any browser or Internet device.

Skip Navigation skip menu and banner
University of Wyoming

Themes of international and economic education: A travelogue of a study tour in Latvia and Lithuania

By Amy Roberts, Assistant Professor of Elementary and Early Childhood Education

   On April 30, my family and friends in Laramie were listening to National Public Radio host Robert Siegel interview journalists about the expansion of the European Union. One interviewee commented, “In the wake of a democratic revolution, 15 states emerged from the ruins of the Soviet Union. Yet the overthrow of communism might be remembered by these new nations as child’s play, so daunting are the challenges they now face.”

   While my fellow Wyomingites listened to the broadcast I was in Vilnius, approximately nine hours ahead, timewise, preparing to participate in the memorable May 1 celebrations with fireworks, rock bands, and lots of enthusiasm. Walking among the May 1crowds on Vilnius’s crooked streets, with their worn cobblestones and picturesque arches was a stark reminder of the nation’s distant past. It was an inspiring evening, a time to look to a better economic and political future for countries battered over centuries by marauding armies and brutal rulers.

   The excitement and hope of the night captured the climate of the team of United States educators that I was associated with in the Baltics on a National Council on Economic Education (NCEE) study tour. Our snapshot encounter from April 22 to May 4 was divided between the Riga and Vilnius areas to observe societal transitions towards market economies and toshare ideas with likeminded educators. Study tour activities included school visits to observe economic lessons in process, discussions of teacher training activities, presentations by ministry officials, and meetings with education leaders.

   No doubt the May 1 joining of Latvia and Lithuania as members of the European Union was applauded. It was a historical landmark worthy of consideration, a reflection of the respective nations’ political, social, and economic direction. Part of newly established direction includes an institutional commitment to education, as exemplified by Latvia’s 1991 Law on Education, one of the nation’s first decrees adopted upon the restoration of independence. The changes institutionalized by this law include the introduction of compulsory and optional subjects at the secondary level, the provision of autonomy to entities of higher education, and opportunities to establish private education facilities at all levels.

   The most amazing aspect of the study tour was the opportunity to witness the utility of sustainable international education endeavors that resulted from the newly established initiatives such as Latvia’s Law on Education. It was apparent that the teachers, principals, and students we interacted with did not view the use of NCEE materials as a set of imported activities from the United States, or as informational materials or proven methods for instruction. Rather, NCEE materials were showcased as endeavors that embodied knowledge, skills, and experiences stemming from in-depth study, work, and collaboration with groups and individuals on a global scale:

Simonas Daukantas General School: Today I was fortunate to observe the same fourth grade economic lesson for a second time in a different school, classroom, and country.  There was a common framework between sites in terms of lesson structure and the purposefulness of economic concepts for examination of competition and production. While uniform in this respect I was intrigued that each teacher used different instructional strategies, shaped by the needs of the classroom and to a broader extent, the goals of the school. (Field Notes, 5-3-05)

 

  The NCEE lessons endorsed autonomy and recognition for the unique contexts and institutions of participants’ environments. Instruction in the fourth grade classrooms promoted active learning and the construction of knowledge that guided students to synthesize, generalize, hypothesize, and arrive at conclusions to produce new understandings. All in all, instruction was based on a problem-solving model in which students were directed to find solutions to various problems.  

   Teachers and principals also used NCEE materials to foster an interdisciplinary focus in the curriculum as a high priority for students:

Jelgava Spidolas Gymnasium: Today we were in a high school dedicated to the arts and humanities. Student art work was everywhere. A group of  students performed for us with such energy that it made me want to get up and dance and then, my urge was realized as several students approached us, one by one, and asked us to join a group dance! After the performances students presented their business plans and associated activities, in English. Their expert use of technology as a presentation tool and high level of confidence for using English was unexpected. (Field Notes, 4-28-05)

   The intent of teachers and students to use English demonstrated key aspects of an integrated content based approach, incorporating a meaningful context for using the English language while at the same time reinforcing core economic content.

   Teachers and principals were diligent in their efforts to formalize the integration of civics and English education within the economic education curriculum. They noted that it will be a long and wearisome process, but one which is needed in order to meet the expectations of parents, students, and the State. Educational leaders might view this task as an example of the daunting challenges mentioned by the NPR interviewee when noting barriers such as the lack of extra resources for teachers’ salaries, the need for development and maintenance of professional expertise, and the unavailability of innovative materials for content English language teaching.

   Educators are also challenged by the complexity of issues that go hand in hand with the reestablishment of independence. Collapse, chaos, massive restructuring and a host of dislocating mechanisms have affected the lives of the majority of populations. The pressure, for instance, to raise low wages and incomes in Latvia is a high priority for the government due in part to the fact that in comparison to its trading partners, wages, salaries, and prices are very low and unequal. Latvian, Maruta Dambekalns, Lydia Dambekalns’ cousin and a Ph.D. physicist with 30 plus years of experience, receives a salary equal to 50 percent of a K-12 teacher, about $200 US per month. During an evening discussion, her son, Valdemars, stated that he earns up to $1,000 US per day as a business consultant. A background in economics and business he noted is the ticket to the comforts of life because educators are not in demand.

   Nevertheless, teachers and principals are optimistic; they view the acceptance of economic education as a mark of change reflective of the nations as emerging democracies. In this respect, the work of the NCEE in Latvia and Lithuania is timely. In support, the Ministries in both countries are in process of reforming curriculum content and methodologies. Both struggle with transitioning from the education systems’ authoritarian operations, entrenched during Soviet occupation, to ones that are learner centered.

   Collaboration with NCEE in-country directors and teachers in the development of content standards and associated student evaluations are the products of Ministry level efforts. Ministry officials have been instrumental in the translation of NCEE materials from English to Latvian and Lithuanian, the publication of numerous texts for teachers and students, and the retraining of teachers. Ministry officials note that faculty development or retraining is a critical component to ensure change.

   I commend the NCEE and its participants in efforts to infuse a meaningful and effective foundation of economic education in these transitioning States. On all levels -- regional, national, and global -- they offer support for classroom conditions that provide students with strategies to grapple with world issues for a collective gain, to promote common ventures to celebrate accomplishments, to define bonds that connect, and to appreciate differences that make the world noteworthy.