X Baltic-Nordic Agrometrics conference “Mathematics and Statistics Society for Sustainable Development” was held from 15 to 17 September at the Latvian University of Agriculture (LLU) in the framework of the Nordplus Higher Education 2016 project NPHE-2016/10342 “Raising awareness about the role of math skills in building specialists’ competence for the sustainable development of society”. Agrometrics is mathematics and statistics in agricultural science and studies. The aim of the X Baltic-Nordic Agrometrics conference was to exchange ideas, find out new solutions or highlight topical problems on the mathematics, statistics, informatics and physics education tendencies, practical application and research in the context of sustainable development.

Since 2014, there have been admission tests in mathematics for applicants to the Estonian University of Life Sciences for Geodesy, Land Management and Real Estate Planning; Civil Engineering; Hydraulic Engineering and Water Pollution Control; Engineering and Technetronics curricula. According to admission criteria, the test must be taken by students who have not passed the specific mathematics course state exam or when the score was less than 20 points. The admission test may also be taken by those who wish to improve their state exam score. In 2016, there were 126 such applicants of whom 63 took the test. In 2015, the numbers were 129 and 89 and in 2014 150 and 47 accordingly. The test was scored on scale of 100. The arithmetic average of the score was 30.6 points in 2016, 29.03 in 2015 and 18.84 in 2014. The test was considered to be passed with 1 point in 2014 and 20 points in 2015 and 2016. We analyzed test results and gave examples of problems which were solved exceptionally well or not at all.

The decreasing number of the Lithuanian residents has strong impact on the educational system: the number of pupils is decreasing, the schools are getting closed. School is considered to be the provider of educational services, so it is necessary to search, how to preserve and attract clients – pupils. The growing competition induces search for distinctiveness among the schools. According to the theory of generations of William Strauss and Neil Howe, now we have to educate representatives of generation Z, who do not like violence, restrictions, want to be distinctive and are open to the world of technologies. The teacher faces the challenge when s/he wants to convey mathematical skills to these pupils. The profile teaching followed by training based on individual curricula provided more choices for the pupils. This freedom led to the dead-end of mathematical literacy and forced to return to a compulsory national final exam of Mathematics and to change the indexes for the persons entering studies of the first cycle and integrated studies. In the article, mathematics achievements and situation in schools in Lithuania as well as the measures taken to improve mathematical literacy in the country are described.

In this article, common test results over the years 2000 – 2016 are analysed. The test questions for new entrants were based on secondary school mathematics. The students took the test in the first lesson of the higher mathematics course. The test results were analysed by years, by tasks and by specialities, and their differences were found. The test results’ dependence on state-exams score was studied and other types of dependence were looked at. It was found that the test score has a strong correlation with a state-exam but with high school mathematics mark and with later higher mathematics course marks has very weak correlation. During these 16 years, the questions that have been the most difficult for students have not changed. The highest test scores were found among students who had chosen the most popular specialities (with the highest competition).

Human capital development is increasingly gaining policy relevance especially with the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study examined the correlates of human capital expenditure in rural Nigeria. General Household Survey dataset collected by the National Bureau of Statistics was used for this study. Descriptive statistical tools, principal components analysis and the Heckman selection model were used to analyse relevant data. The study found majority of the households were maleheaded, with an average size of 7 people. In terms of access to education, 62.1% of the surveyed households had access to education and spent an average of NGN 12,570.56 on education. The age of household head, access to loans, marital status and household size were the correlates of human capital expenditure in rural Nigeria. Also, school fees and registration accounted for 41.2% of households’ expenditure on education. The study found paucity of funds, low priority placed on education and low interest were the main constraints to human capital expenditure. The study recommended the design and implementation of pro-poor educational interventions especially for children from rural households. Also, there is the need for government, multilateral organisations and financial institutions to position rural households for financial inclusion.

Children and students with functional disorders are one of the target groups of the inclusive education. Students with functional disorders can adapt in general education schools faster if their intellectual development is within the normal range. This group usually consists of disabled students, but they are able to master general education programmes successfully with an assistant’s support. The purpose of the article is to explore the problems of assistants’ support for students with functional disorders in general education schools. Adaptation of these students to general education schools would facilitate their development and enable them to undertake further studies not only in vocational education, but also in higher educational institutions. Assistant’s support would promote the adaptation of these students to the class environment and ease the daily life of their parents. Having assessed the current situation, the authors conclude that the assistant’s support will be effective if the assistant’s functions and roles are recognized and if training of assistants for students with functional disorders in general education schools is ensured.

The constructivist approach is based on the idea that knowledge can never be passed from one person to another. The only way to acquire knowledge is to create or construct them. The constructivist approach changes also the role of the teacher in the educational process, the task of them is to organize the environment so that the student himself can construct the cognitive forms that teacher wants to give him. In the paper, the nature of the constructivist approach is identified, different aspects regarding mathematics education are analysed as well as the potential impact on the development of mathematical competences in the context of sustainable development is discussed. The study process and learning methods appropriate to constructivist approach also were studied. In order to illustrate the need for a constructivist approach in mathematics education, the survey of students from Latvia University of Life Science and Technologies (LLU) and Riga Technical University (RTU) were carried out, the results of which proved that mathematics learning at universities has to be changed. The current study proved that the constructivist approach radically changes the process of teaching and learning mathematics, connecting it with daily life, rather than teaching only abstract formulas and using a creative approach to mathematical tasks solving. This study shows that using constructivist approach to the teaching of mathematics, the competences needed for sustainable development are boosted.

In the 21st century, urban agriculture renews and diversifies approaches to the practice within the context of urban regeneration, climate change risks, and sustainable development and resource consumption balance problems. Influenced by the long historical evolution and intensification of various risks, food production in urban areas involves the widest multifunctionality to date. Therefore, the aim of this research is to identify the main functions of urban agriculture and to evaluate their significance in Latvia. The following tasks were set to achieve the aim: 1) to identify and classify functions of urban agriculture, 2) to analyse the performance and significance of functions in Latvia. Several methods were employed to perform tasks and achieve the aim: the monographic and descriptive methods for making a theoretical discussion; the analysis, synthesis and deduction methods for obtaining information, systematisation and classification of functions; a structured expert interview for rating and ranking functions and identifying interactions between them. The research identified 14 functions of urban agriculture, which were classified into 5 groups: political, economic, social, environmental and technological. The most significant functions of urban agriculture in Latvia are social (promotion of social cohesion and public health, education and maintaining traditions and values) and technological innovations. There are interactions between all functions, and support for urban sustainability, education, provision of ecosystem services and technological innovations have the strongest impact on other functions. Interactions of functions proved the multifunctionality of urban agriculture, which could be an important support tool to contributing to sustainable urban development.