Studies of Sport and Health Education Teachers in the University of Latvia in the Opinion of Graduates (original) (raw)

Health Behaviour among Latvian Adult Population, 2006

2007

The FINBALT Health Monitor is a collaborative system for monitoring health behaviour in Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania. Monitoring of health behaviour is a way to gain information about the public's attitude toward health, about the distribution of risk factors, and about the public's readiness to change. This type of health behaviour survey has taken place annually in Finland, since 1978. Estonia joined the FINBALT project in 1990, Lithuania in 1994, and Latvia in 1998. In 2006, the fifth survey of this type, using the FINBALT methodology, was carried out in Latvia. The purpose was to collect information about individual health behaviours, to evaluate actual and potential public health problems associated with health behaviours, demonstrate their geographic and demographic distribution, and to gain accurate information on which to base future health promotion and health education programs. In 1999, after Latvia had joined the World Health Organization CINDI (Country Wide Integrated Non-communicable Disease Intervention) programme, it was decided to use the FINBALT monitoring survey as the baseline evaluation for the CINDI programme in Latvia. Therefore since 2000 the FINBALT monitoring questionnaire was adapted to the needs of CINDI by including additional questions. This publication summarizes the results of the 2006 survey in Latvia. The reader can find detailed information about health-related behaviours: smoking, alcohol consumption, nutrition, physical activity, oral hygiene, and traffic safety among the Latvian adult population aged 15-64. In addition, the data show the public's readiness to change their health-related behaviours and participate in health promotion activities. The data also show self-assessed health status and the utilization of health services: frequency of visiting doctor and dentist; trends in vaccination, assessment of blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The data will be useful to policy makers, government officials, personnel in health and social service organizations at various levels, public health specialists, and health promotion/health education professionals. Methods The FINBALT Health Monitoring Survey uses a mailed questionnaire to a randomly selected, representative sample of the population. In 2006, the FINBALT survey took place from September until December in Latvia. 3000 adults aged 15-64 years were randomly selected from the State population register. The data were analysed by the degree of urbanization and demographic variables: gender, age, nationality, marital status, education, income, and occupation. The survey instrument contained 109 questions. Using as a basis the English version of the instrument, which was accepted by the project steering committee, survey tools were prepared in the Latvian and Russian languages, examining the translations for concept equivalence and adding some items specific to Latvia. The survey items included: • Respondents' demographic characteristics (gender, age, nationality, place of residence, marital status, number of children, education, occupation, income); • Health-related behaviours (smoking, nutrition, physical activity, alcohol consumption, oral hygiene, attitude to traffic safety regulations); • Behavioural change (reported change, attempts to change, advice to change) in relation to such behaviours as smoking, nutrition and physical activity); • Participation in health promotion activities; • Issues related to health services and health policy (frequency of visiting a doctor and dentist, vaccination, blood pressure and blood cholesterol testing); • Health status and self-assessment of health (chronic conditions diagnosed in the preceding year, symptoms experienced, use of medication); • Knowledge about various health aspects (nutrition, smoking, traffic safety) and attitudes toward them. The questionnaires were sent out in September 2006. Reminders to non-respondents were sent up to three times. The survey instruments were coded and data entered into a computer database for analysis using SPSS Windows 12.0. In the following tables, an empty space indicates that there are no data in that category and the number "0" means less than 0.5 percent. Results The sample size was 3000. The questionnaires were filled-in by 1584 persons (682 males and 902 females). The eligible sample consisted of 2900 persons. The response rate was 54.6%. Of the 1584 respondents: 43.2% were men and 56.9% women; 62.6% were Latvian, 27.4% Russian, and 10% other nationalities. These data reflect the national demographic structure in Latvia. 28.7% of respondents lived in Riga, 15.9% in the other large cities, 21.6% in smaller towns, and 33.8% in rural areas. Distribution by age was 20% in the 15-24 years age group, 18.8% in the 25-34 years age group, 20.1% in the 35-44 years age group, 19% in the 45-54 years age group, and 22.1% in the 55-64 years age group. The marital status of the respondents was: 45.6% married, 13.5% cohabiting, 25.3% single, 10.9% divorced, and 4.7% widowed. 52.7% of respondents reported having no children under the age of 18 in the family; 26.9% had one child, 15.7%, two children, and only 4.8% had three or more children. In terms of education, 22% had completed primary education, 49.1% secondary education, and 28.8% higher education. Health and health services Self-assessment of health and attitudes toward one's own health provides important information. As expected, there were gender and age differences: 24.3% (23.5% 27.3%) of women. In the period from 2000 to 2006, the use of fresh vegetables on three or more days per week was increased (Figure 5). Alcohol consumption Alcohol consumption is a very prevalent risk factor in Latvia, associated with many health problems. 87.6% of respondents reported that they had used alcohol in the preceding year. Male respondents prefered beer, but females wine. The consumption of strong alcoholic drinks was very high. During the preceding week, only 58.1% of men and 80.1% of women had not used strong alcohol (Figure 7). Binge drinking (six or more portions of alcohol during one drinking session at least once a week) was more common among men-23.7% (2004.-22%) than among women-5.8% (2004.-5.2%). Body mass index Respondents reported their height and weight in the questionnaire. From this information, body mass index (BMI) was calculated for each respondent. According to the

Acquisition of the Official Language for Children of Minorities at Latvian Preschool Educational Establishments: Evaluation of the Situation

SOCIETY, INTEGRATION, EDUCATION. Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference, 2015

In the 21 st century the issue about children of minorities, who in preschool beside their mother tongue also acquire the official language at a high level, is a pending matter. However, there are not any normative documents designed in Latvia, which would determine implementation of compulsory bilingual education programmes in preschool, therefore, the possibility for children of minorities to develop the skills of the official language at an early age is undertaken by teachers. The aim of the research is to evaluate the possibilities for children of minorities to acquire the official language at preschool educational establishments for minorities of Latvia and where the language of instruction is Latvian. During the research from October till December in 2014 (1) observations were made in 13 preschool groups with children of different age: in six groups where the language of instruction is Latvian and in seven groups of minorities, (2) three expert interviews with specialists of bilingual education were carried out. Opinions expressed by the experts correspond with the information obtained from the observations and confirm the idea, that a successful development of the Latvian language for children of minorities at an early age is promoted by (1) the official language skills and professional competence of the teachers, (2) the use of material resources and implementation of variedmethods during the game activities and after class activities, (3) cooperation between the teacher of Latvian, the group teacher and parents, (4) the teacher's individual support and emotionally enabling environment. In the discussion the issue is being raised about the necessary support for preschool teachers' work with children of minorities in preschool educational establishments for minorities and where the language of instruction is Latvian.

Creating a Positive Working Environment for Teachers

SOCIETY. INTEGRATION. EDUCATION. Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference, 2018

The purpose of the research paper is to study a positive working environment importance for teachers work satisfaction and the role of principal in improving working conditions. Whereas teacher profession is subject to different changes and reforms it makes the whole profession and teacher well-being an important subject to discuss.The research paper includes analysis of the theoretical material about physical environment as well as psychological (also called microclimate). Empirical part is based on teacher’s survey – 97 teachers from different schools in Riga were involved. The statements of survey have partially adopted from Teaching and Learning International Study TALIS 2013. The main research task is to study how work environment and the impact of principal correlate with teacher work satisfaction.During research scales of teacher work satisfaction, work environment and impact of principal were created. The results of linear regression show that both the work environment and d...

SKOLOTĀJU APMIERINĀTĪBA AR DARBU - TALIS 2013 PĒTĪJUMA REZULTĀTI Teachers' Job Satis faction: Findings From TALIS 2013 Study

2015

This paper examines teachers' satisfaction with their profession and work environment in relation to other environmental factors in schools. Latvian data from the OECD TALIS 2013 study are used in the data analysis. The aim of the study was to find out whether there is any relationship between teacher satisfaction with their work environment and profession and a variety of variables characterizing schools and students. The research question is: what are the most important factors associated with teachers' satisfaction with their job at school? Applied research methods are frequency analysis and measures of central tendency. The results of the research reveal that overall Latvian teachers are satisfied with their work environment, and teachers' job satisfaction is most influenced by positive and democratic school culture.

Teacher in Citizenship Education Learning Process

SOCIETY. INTEGRATION. EDUCATION. Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference, 2018

The recent reforms in the Latvian general education curriculum along with a school network reorganization have brought new attention to the issues related to a teacher education and the level of professionalism in everyday teaching work. Soviet-era education and work experience in diverse political and education systems (under the Soviet rule and after the restoration of independence) are factors that should be taken into account when analyzing the teacher in the citizenship education learning process. For the needs of this Paper, the authors used the data of the IEA ICCS 2016 (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement International Civic and Citizenship Study 2016) teachers who teach citizenship education-related school subjects (n=249) and their students (N=3224, Grade 8, average age from 13 to 14). To process the data, the authors usedclusters, correlations, regression analysis and descriptive statistics.The aim of this Paper is to study what the te...

Latvijas digitālo humanitāro zinātņu rīku un resursu izstrādāšanas prakses

Letonica, 2022

Raksts izstrādāts ar projekta "Humanitāro zinātņu digitālie resursi: integrācija un attīstība" (VPP-IZM-DH-2020/1-0001) atbalstu. Izsakām pateicību visiem intervētajiem ekspertiem, kā arī kolēģiem (īpaši Ingunai Skadiņai un Sanitai Martenai) un recenzentam par vērtīgiem komentāriem un norādēm darbā pie manuskripta. 1 Ir dažādas DH RR taksonomijas. Piemēram DARIAH rīkus klasificē šādi: komunikācijai un sadarbībai, datu analīzei, datu ieguvei, datu publicēšanai un izplatīšanai, datu strukturēšanai un uzlabošana, empīriskai pētniecībai, projektu vadībai (Dallas et al. 2017: 156). DH RR var dalīt reprezentācijas, programmēšanas, analīzes, arhivēšanas un daudzos citos veidos. Par tipiskiem DH rīkiem un resursiem var uzskatīt, piemēram, vārdnīcas, tekstu korpusus, tekstu analīzes un vizualizācijas rīkus, datubāzes, digitālos arhīvus, multimediju kolekcijas, kodēšanas un programmēšanas resursus, spēles, metadatu veidošanas rīkus, sociālos tīklus, mācību platformas, raidierakstus, skaņas apstrādes programmatūras utt. Letonica 47 Latvijas digitālo humanitāro zinātņu rīki un resursi 2022 3 Viena no retajām publikācijām ir "Latviešu valoda digitālajā vidē: datorlingvistika: informatīvi izglītojoša semināru cikla materiāli: rakstu krājums" (Baldunčiks, Auziņa, 2012). 4 Kaut kādā mērā šis ir arī vēsturisks pētījums par Latvijas DH lauku. Rakstā šim aspektam pieskaramies tikai garāmejot, bet pētījuma laikā ievāktie dati (īpaši ekspertu intervijas) var kalpot padziļinātai šī temata izpētei. Letonica 47 Latvijas digitālo humanitāro zinātņu rīki un resursi 2022 LNB 9

Akadēmisks pētījums par Ukrainas notikumiem. Recenzija par grāmatu

Latvijas Universitātes Žurnāls Vēsture

Lasot Alvja Marcinkēviča grāmatu "Ukrainas krīze: divgalvainā ērgļa impērijas trieciens", visu laiku nepamet sajūta par cilvēka atmiņas nepilnīgumu. Kopš 2013. gada decembra, kad Ukrainā Viktora Janukoviča valdība atlika asociācijas līguma parakstīšanu ar Eiropas Savienību, izraisot masu protestus Maidana laukumā Kijevā un tiem sekojošu notikumu ķēdi-valdības atkāpšanos, V. Janukoviča bēgšanu uz Krieviju, "zaļos cilvēciņus" Krimā un pussalas aneksiju, mēģinājumu atšķelt Ukrainas austrumus un dienvidaustrumus, izveidojot t. s. Jaunkrieviju (Novorossija), karadarbību Donbasa un Luhanskas apgabalā, Malaizijas Boeing notriekšanu,-ir pagājuši tikai pieci gadi, bet no atmiņas jau daudz kas pagaisis, un daudz kas blīvajā informācijas plūsmā aprakstīto notikumu laikā ir palaists garām. Recenzējamā grāmata dod iespēju atsvaidzināt atmiņu, tajā skrupulozi aprakstīti notikumi to secībā, taču neizvairoties no analīzes un dažādu pretēju versiju aplūkošanas. Grāmatā apskatītais posms ir īss-no 2013. gada decembra līdz 2015. gada februārim, kad tika noslēgta t. s. vienošanās "Minska-2", kas izbeidza aktīvo karadarbību, bet