Rapid Reform and Unfinished Business: the development of education in independent Latvia 1991–2007

Abstract

Education in Latvia has changed a great deal in the last 15 years. The development of an independent and democratic state system has creatively combined elements of foreign experience and influence with the enrichment and further development of features of the earlier Latvian system. This article outlines the main steps in this process of change and then goes on to argue that there is still much to be done: firstly, to consolidate and secure the developments to date, and secondly, to enable a successful functioning within the EU in a rapidly changing wider context.

Integration of Schools in Latvia and Estonia Using Curriculum Reforms

“…The new national school curriculum adopted in April 1998 placed special emphasis on knowledge application, problem-solving skills, and active learning. The regulations also stressed the role of Latvian as the language of national unity and the one to be used in teaching [Carnoy, Khavenson, Ivanova 2015;OECD2001a;Kangro, James 2008].…”

Students’ Voice in Higher Education in Italy and Latvia

“…The leap into the knowledge society, which itself has been only vaguely defined, has involved dragging those with previous experience into adopting novel approaches to teaching and learning in a comparatively short time (Zogla, 2017). The change of education paradigms has taken place in parallel to different reforms of the education system in Latvia (Kangro & James, 2008) and the improvement of its quality, thus marking the transition from teaching to learning (Bluma, 2001), placing greater emphasis on students' involvement and contribution in the teaching/learning process. A paradigm shift occurred between 1999 and 2009, when learning started to prevail over teaching, and listening to students' voices became one of those novelties which was gradually adopted in classrooms (Cekse, Geske, & Kango, 2010).…”