Changes in and the Maturation of the Science of Education in Lithuania
ENAfer 1990, trends, changes, and maturation of the Lithuanian science of education were affected by the reforms in the system of education and the ideas of lifelong learning. This research focuses on the changes and the development of the science of education in Lithuania from 1992 to 2004. The purpose of the study is to identify the attributes of change and development of the science of education by addressing the following: the concept of the science of education and changes in terminology and and the conception of the object and structure of research. The methods include historical-descriptive, partial comparison, analysis, and synthesis. The term ‘pedagogy’ was found to be too narrow to define the improvement of learning throughout a lifetime. Therefore, the term justified by Leonas Jovaiša, educology, was established: educology was considered a science that investigated permanently the education of individuals and groups. The creators of the science of education at the time included Leonas Jovaiša (1921–2017), Bronislovas Bitinas, Vanda Aramavičiūtė, Palmira Jucevičienė, and Juozas Vaitkevičius (1928–2002). Jovaiša considered pedagogy to be the nucleus of the science of educology; however, he also identified other branches. Moreover, he developed the concept of humans’ long-life improvement. He defined educatonal reality as a totality of “finite educational events improving an individual,” discrete and continuous. The indispensable conditions were the meeting of subjects and their disposition towards and openness to information and its exchange. Bitinas identified elements of educational reality and defined their relationships and characteristics. He noted that the object of educology was a cluster of education problems without strict boundaries. Educology also dealt with other sciences.
