Pupil and student mobility

In an effort to promote pupil mobility, the Education Exchanges Support Foundation publishes Calls for Proposals inviting Lithuanian early childhood educational institutions and schools to participate in international projects in close cooperation with educational institutions settled abroad. Project activities enable participants to engage in mobility projects, gaining valuable international experience and broadening horizons as a result. Mobility projects may be uni-directional when participants go for a certain period of time to study or intern abroad or they may carried out as part of an exchange between organisations when Lithuanian learners study abroad and schools in our country play host to representatives from other countries. Projects may be carried out in cooperation with one or several organisations from the EU or Nordic countries, as well as between specific regions or municipalities. 

Since 2014 Lithuanian schools can participate in the ‘Erasmus+’ programme ‘Strategic Partnership Programmes’. The aim of these projects’ programme - realization of the general priorities of strategic European documents, such as ‘Europe 2020’ and ‘Education and Training 2020’. This programme, among other activities, supports short-term and long-term students’ groups exchanges for language skills and intercultural awareness-raising.

Nordic countries programme Nordplus and sub-programme Nordplus Junior is dedicated for school education and aims to strengthen cooperation between school education institutions working in the Nordic and Baltic countries and encourage improvements in quality and innovation in the field of school education. This sub-programme supports mobility activities, projects and networks. Nordplus Junior sub-programme is administered by the International Programmes Organization in Sweden. There are few of possible activities under this programme:

• The aim of class exchanges is to organise classes or groups of pupils from schools of general and vocational education in the Baltic and Nordic countries. During the activities of the programme, pupils interact and cooperate with the counterparts they visit, work on and examine a specific topic chosen and exchange information. Class exchange activities must be focused on and integrated into the subjects taught. Participants of this programme include pupils and teachers of general education and vocational schools.
• Pupil exchange and practical activities for pupils of vocational schools and senior grades (9–12) of basic and secondary schools include workplace-based education and training, vocational training, apprenticeship programmes and learning of general subjects in an institution of another country.

Teacher mobility

Teachers of early childhood and school education may attend professional development according to two new ‘Erasmus+’ activities: individual learning mobility and strategic partnership projects.

Pre-school education sector Individuals mobility activities provides opportunities for schools and pre-school institutions' staff to attend training and/or to gain professional experience abroad. The aim of activities:

• Improve knowledges and skills of school and pre-school education institutions’ staff (foreign languages, ICT, etc.);
• Offer professional development opportunities abroad.

The participants of the programme of these projects can attend courses / seminars or job observation in foreign school-partner or institution related to education. Also, this may be the teaching visits in school-partner abroad.

Teachers can also take part in the ‘Erasmus+’ activitity ‘Strategic Partnership Projects’.

Nordplus activity realized by Nordic counties within the Nordplus Junior sub-programme ‘Teacher and Other Educational Staff Mobility’ offer an opportunity for teachers and other educational staff in pre-school, general and vocational education to go to an institution in another country where they may observe classes of their colleagues or do the teaching according to their training. The International Programme Office (IPO), Sweden, is appointed as chief administrator for this Nordplus Junior sub-programme. 

The Council of Europe offers an opportunity for teachers, heads of schools, education consultants, as well as anyone looking after teachers’ qualification, to acquire the knowledge, skills and competencies necessary for the development of the EC priority areas, such as democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and conveying them to their students. Teachers can do this using the "Pestalozzi" programme. "Pestalozzi" programme gives participants the opportunity to:

• gain experience and improve their competencies;
• to share the gained experience with colleagues or educational community, and adapt it to the professional activities;
• find foreign partners for joint projects;
• constantly and actively participate in the development of curriculum, improving its quality, nurturing EC values.

Education staff training programme is managed by the Education and Language Directorate of EC, in EC countries-states the programme is managed by the network of national coordinators.