Majority of the psychologists note that it is natural of a man to evolve gradually. In the beginning of the career, a teacher survives some stages of pedagogical development progress (Frances Fuler, 1969; Feiman – Nemsener, 1983; Leitwood, 1992; Arends, 1998; Šernas, 1998 etc.), but first and most of all (s)he experiences diffidence and self-concern. Only later (s)he starts to care about the teaching situation and the learners. After surveying a range of studies considering first-year teaching problems, a conclusion can be made that there are still very few programs helping beginner teachers’ work. As one of the ways which could help a young teacher solve raising problems, mentorship is being studied as method to establish and maintain partnership with young and little- or non-experienced colleagues. Good partnership should be grounded on common interests, mutual help and knowledge. The present article the deals with mentorship as way to help a beginner teacher’s adaptation and his formation as an educator, in which mentor means a person specially appointed to admonish a young teacher. Since Lithuania joined the international APartMent mentor preparation project in 2001, mentor has been defined as a qualified specialist able to conduct future teachers’ school practice. The present article states the opinion that it would be logical if the same mentor or a specially appointed person could admonish a beginner primary teacher as well, because a... [to full text]

Darbe atlikta teorinė adaptacijos samprata ir socialinių pedagogų adaptacijos profesinėje veikloje lemiančių veiksnių analizė.Iškelta hipotezė, jog sėkmingą socialinio pedagogo adaptaciją profesinėje veikloje lemia pradedančiojo sėkminga psichosocialinė, profesinė bei organizacinė adaptacija.Anketinės apklausos metodu buvo atlikti du tyrimai: kiekybinis ir kokybinis tyrimas. Atliekant kiekybinį tyrimą, siekta išsiaiškinti organizacinius, profesinius, psichosocialinius veiksnius lemiančius socialinių pedagogų adaptaciją profesinėje veikloje. Atliekant kokybinį tyrimą, siekta išsiaiškinti socialinio pedagogo veiklos sėkmes ir nesėkmes profesinės adaptacijos laikotarpiu. Kiekybiniu tyrimu atlikta statistinė (aprašomoji dažnių, vidurkių) duomenų analizė, o kokybiniame tyrime duomenys apdoroti, taikant turinio (content) analizės metodą. / The theoretical concept of the adaptation and the analysis of the determining factors of the social educators‘ adaptation in the professional activity are carried out in the work. The raised hypothesis that successful adaptation of a social educator in the professional activity leads the beginner‘s successful psychosocial, professional and organizational adaptation. Questionnaire survey method was used to carry out two tests: a qualitative and quantitative research. The quantitative research was used to find out the organizational, professional, psychosocial factors influencing social educators‘ adaptation in the professional activity. Performing the qualitative study it was used to find out the social pedagogues‘ successes and failures of the activity in the period of the professional adaptation. Using the quantitative research the statistical (descriptive frequencies, averages) data analysis is done and data are processed using the method of the content (content) analysis in the qualitative research.