Attitude to values as condition for democracy education

Straipsnyje siekiama pagrįsti demokratijos aktualumą ir prieštaringumą globalizacijos iššūkių kontekste. Remiantis politologų, sociologų ir filosofų požiūriu, aptariama demokratijos ir kultūros ryšis, tautinės kultūros įtaka politiniam gyvenimui, pusiausvyros tarp kultūros ir politikos būtinumas, tautinio tapatumo tęstinumas ir kaita. Suaktualinama Meilės Lukšienės - kultūrologės ir edukologės - požiūris į demokratijos esmę ir ugdymą, grindžiamą kultūros ir individo, kultūros ir dorovės, kultūros ir švietimo sąveika. Šių idėjų kontekste, kaip demokratijos ugdymo sąlyga, pristatomas ir vyresniųjų mokinių požiūris į vertybes.The article discusses the problem of topicality and inconsistency of democracy in the context of globalisation challenges. Following the approaches of political scientists, sociologists and philosophers, the link between democracy and culture, the influence of national culture on political life, the problem of balance between culture and politics, continuality of national identity and its change are discussed. The attitude of cultural scientist and educator Meilė Lukšienė to the essence of democracy and education, which is based on interaction of culture and individual, culture and morality, culture and education is actualised. Following it, education for democracy is perceived as a holistic and permanent process, which aims at education of free, conscious and mature citizens. M. Lukšienė's common cultural preconditions for citizens' education are discussed, which obligate education to establish conditions for an individual to grow up surrounded by own culture and to self-develop a principle to extend culture as well as to discover the ways that could enable citizens not only to perceive processes of culture stability and change but also to prepare for preservation of the core of own national culture and to be able to model it according to the current needs. Moral and psychological preconditions for education are linked with morality, as a foundatin of democracy, and with definition of moral value system. A particular role in the process of education is assumed by school, which predetermines maturity of democratic thinking, democratic consciousness and democratic state. In the context of these ideas, the attitude of senior school learners, which was researched applying M. Rokeach's methodology is presented. It is shown how value-based principles of democracy expressed by M. Lukšienė are to some extent reflected in the attitudes of school learners towards terminal and instrumental values. The changes that occurred in the period of 10-11 years are highlighted