<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><xml><records><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Līga  Paula</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Ilze Priževoite</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">THE STATUS OF THE TEACHING PROFESSION IN LATVIA: VIEWS OF THE TEACHERS</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Problems of Education in the 21st Century</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">occupational prestige</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">teaching profession</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">teaching status</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">trade union</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2019</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">February/2019</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://oaji.net/articles/2019/457-1550425348.pdf</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">77</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Continuous</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Professionals who are respected in the wider community can influence public opinion and shape societal value system. While in a number of European countries teaching profession is popular and respected, in many other including Latvia its prestige is rather low. There is an ongoing debate in Latvia how to raise it; therefore, the aim of this research was to study teachers’ views about the status and prestige of their occupation. The quantitative research design was developed. The web survey of teachers (n=1773) confirmed that teachers perceived their occupational prestige in Latvia as low and believed that in other European countries it is much higher. Teachers did not feel assessed adequately to their contribution. In general, teachers were concerned about their professional autonomy and freedom as they felt frustrated, overloaded and over-controlled from different sides. The respondents believed that teachers are authorities and opinion leaders also outside school that indicated positive aspects of occupational prestige. They admitted that teachers should have an ability to adapt in order to respond on contemporary societal and technological changes. Some suggestions were developed on how to improve occupational prestige: from a system perspective, more positive and supportive attitude towards education system and teachers is expected from municipalities, policy makers and the line ministry. Meanwhile great part of the respondents believed that teachers themselves should be responsible for the forming of positive image of their profession and should communicate with society more effectively on the specificity of teaching and challenges they face in contemporary conditions.</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">1</style></issue><work-type><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Original article</style></work-type><section><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">126-141</style></section></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Līga  Paula</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Aiga Grīnfelde</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">THE ROLE OF MENTORING IN PROFESSIONAL SOCIALIZATION OF NOVICE TEACHERS</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Problems of Education in the 21st Century</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">mentoring</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">novice teachers</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">professional socialization</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">teacher retention</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">teaching profession</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2018</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">June/2018</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">http://oaji.net/articles/2017/457-1529089806.pdf</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">76</style></volume><pages><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Continuous</style></pages><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Entering teaching profession is considered as the most determining stage in a teacher’s professional life. The aim of this research is to explore opinions of novice teachers in Latvia about the role of mentoring in their professional socialization. The following research questions were defined: (1) what difficulties novice teachers faced during their in-service experience? (2) what support novice teachers needed when they started teaching? (3) what the role of mentoring in teachers’ professional socialization is? Qualitative research design was developed for the research. Empirical data were obtained during the focus group discussion with ten teachers representing Council of young teachers (in age below 35) of the Latvian Trade Union of Education and Science Employees, nine semi-structured interviews with novice teachers, and interview with a mentor. 
Novice teachers face teaching reality which often differs from perceptions about the profession developed during the studies at university. The research shows that teachers from the sample faced following challenges during their first years of in-service: establishing teacher’s authority and self-positioning as a teacher, time management, problems with discipline in a classroom, lack of skills to develop curriculum and lesson plans, difficulties in communication with parents. During socialization novice teachers learned their responsibilities and acquired specific knowledge; appropriate support such as mentoring reduced level of stress and uncertainty while novice teachers adapted to school during the period of transition from pre-service period to in-service period. In relation to mentoring, novice teachers expected that a mentor would introduce them to school traditions and internal rules and would advise on discipline in a classroom as well as would help to develop curriculum. Policy makers should focus on teachers’ support guidelines at national level, which would allow schools to ensure the most appropriate environment for novice teachers so that they would like to continue their careers in teaching profession.
</style></abstract><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">3</style></issue><work-type><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Original article</style></work-type><section><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">364-379</style></section></record><record><source-app name="Biblio" version="7.x">Drupal-Biblio</source-app><ref-type>17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Ginta  Kronberga</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Līga  Paula</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Dina  Bite</style></author></authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">THE UNIVERSITY AS AN AGENT OF KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER: THE CASE OF THE LATVIA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Problems of Education in the 21st Century</style></secondary-title></titles><keywords><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">cooperation models</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">knowledge transfer</style></keyword><keyword><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">the Latvia University of Agriculture</style></keyword></keywords><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2010</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">November/2010</style></date></pub-dates></dates><urls><web-urls><url><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">https://journals.indexcopernicus.com/search/article?articleId=2594304</style></url></web-urls></urls><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">26</style></volume><language><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eng</style></language><abstract><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">There is a discussion within social science literature on theoretical models looking at the relationships between universities and stakeholders in the process of knowledge transfer particularly explaining whether universities are involved in the triple helix relationships (politicians, businesses representatives and university officials) or a quadruple helix system where public constitutes the forth party. Universities have a number of functions which among the other include both creation and obtaining of knowledge and transferring it within wider community, thus promoting socioeconomic development. By studying the case of the Latvia University of Agriculture (hereinafter – LUA), the authors of the paper focus on cooperation networks that are involved in the process of knowledge transfer from the university to regional stakeholders and vice versa. The research methodology is based on the qualitative approach. For identification of cooperation agents, nineteen individual and six group semi-structured interviews were held involving 35 informants. For a deeper analysis of relationships between the LUA and regional stakeholders, policy documents concerning socioeconomic development of Zemgale planning region were analysed.
 The research results show that the LUA operates as a unique agent of knowledge transfer in many fields (agriculture, veterinary science, forestry, wood processing, food technology, etc.) at both regional and national levels thus diversity of structural elements in cooperation networks depends on demand and supply of knowledge as well as on involvement of institutions responsible for facilitation of successful knowledge transfer. The authors discuss which of the theoretical cooperation models is more evident in the case of the LUA and conclude that currently the triple helix relationships dominate; however, in some cases particular relationship patterns and activities indicate transformation towards the quadruple helix system. </style></abstract><work-type><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Original article</style></work-type><section><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">79-89</style></section></record></records></xml>