The Concept of the national school and teaching ethnic culture in Lithuanian schools

The authors and implementers of the Concept of National School in Lithuania gradually digressed from their original ideas. Nevertheless, the focus on the creation of civic society did not eliminate the need for the teaching of ethnic culture in schools. The Law on the Principles of State Protection of Ethnic Culture passed at the effort of public institutions and scholars served as a central reference point for validating the teaching of ethnic culture in schools. Though it did not provide for the teaching of ethnic culture at all school stages, the status of ethnic culture in the country extends the implementation of the objectives enshrined in the Concept of National School. Problems in the teaching of ethnic culture in schools are posed by an undefined and insufficiently conceptualised interpretation of ethnic culture. The presentation of ethnic culture as inherent and the focus on its Baltic (pagan) aspect make the programmes of the subject rather complex, turning their situation in the education system into a rather troublesome one. The indefiniteness of the position of the course in the school curriculum, the pending problems of the development of didactic aids and the training of qualified teachers are other contributing factors. Thus, even though the institutions preoccupied with the protection and promotion of ethnic culture seek to turn the teaching of ethnic culture into a compulsory subject, the status of an extracurricular subject and the integration of its individual components into related teaching programmes and the forms of informal education is more appropriate