Išsilavinimo nelygybės Lietuvoje vertinimas

ENEducational inequality is one of the most important factors affecting the welfare of the person. It depends on the person’s ability, desire, and opportunity to learn. Low level of a person’s education is related to the economic and social sense of insecurity. The aim of this paper is to determine the scope of educational inequality in Lithuania. Authors analyze the causes and effects of educational inequality, and summarize the results of education inequality in Lithuania by using direct Gini index method. Educational inequality is associated with higher average number of learning years’. The country is interested to improve the level of education, but usually the reforms create only greater educational inequalities in the country, because people fail to change their existing education accordingly. This is especially dangerous in weak countries, because a required certain level of education may be too expensive for a person, while employers, who demand higher level of education, create unemployment. Gini index is the most commonly applied to the measurement of income equality. Foreign scientists (Lopez et al., 1998; Chu, 2001; Thomas et al., 2001; Lin, 2007; Mesa, 2007; Picard, 2008; Brendler, 2008; Torche, 2010; Földvári and Leeuwen, 2011; Senadza, 2012) apply Gini index to measure inequality of education. Gini index of inequality in education is more often founded in the foreign articles, than in Lithuanian articles. L. Žalimienė et al. (2009) is one of the first researchers in Lithuania who have begun to analyze the Gini index of education inequality, and as a result, D. Skučienė (2010) has engaged in further analysis. They have both used household survey data for analysis, but recommend, given the possibility of access to the databases, to adapt the Gini index of inequality in education on the basis of census data.An opportunity to apply different kind of data (census) in analysis, as well as the recency and necessity of the subject, created the reasons to do the particular type of research in this paper. Lithuanian citizens of different age groups are selected to measure educational inequality. Data was taken from the web page and yearbooks of the Lithuanian Department of Statistics. The reference years are 1989, 2001, 2011. Inequality of education is calculated using Gini index direct method, which was applied by E. P. Mesa (2007). As educational inequality in Lithuania was analyzed by citizens‘ age groups, an increase of educational inequality in citizens‘ age groups of 20–24 and 25–29 years, and a decrease of educational inequality in people aged 60–69 years, 70 years and older, were found. According to Gini index, the educational inequality of men and women decreased in 2011, compared to 2001. The educational inequality of women has decreased because of the increase of the schoollearning- years. Also, the gap between the men’s and women’s educational inequality has decreased, as in 2011 women were tend to pursue the higher education while men preferred only the secondary education. In 2011 the rural Gini index of educational inequality was greater than the urban Gini index of educational inequality, although, in general, it decreased, compared to the rural Gini index in 1998. The highest education inequality is in smaller regions of Lithuania – Tauragė (0.23), Telšiai (0.23) and the lowest in large regions – Vilnius (0.18) and Kaunas (0.19) in 2011. The largest educational inequality is among the Romani people population – in 2011. The biggest educational inequality is among the women, rural and small regions (compared to larger regions), and Romani people; however, this inequality is constantly decreasing.In order to decrease the educational inequality in Lithuania, the education system ought to be improved for the easier progress from one education level to another, as it would decrease the gap between the urban and rural citizens. For the easier integration of the Romani people, the decisions of their greater mobility in education system should be adopted. Also, the computer-based education for the seniors should be developed, with the view of decreasing their social disjuncture. [From the publication]

• Socialiai pažeidžiamų asmenų kelias link aukštojo mokslo: kai kurių struktūrinių veiksnių bandomoji apžvalga / Asta Dilytė-Kotenko. Socialinis ugdymas. 2021, Nr. 1 (55), p. 60-70.
• Territorial profiles: Spatial inequalities and the importance of socioeconomic differences / Artūras Tereškinas, Viktorija Baranauskienė, Jurga Bučaitė-Vilkė. Social investment and territorial inequalities: maping policies and services in the Baltic states / Jurga Bučaitė-Vilkė (ed.). Bern : Peter Lang, 2022. P. 69-116.