How to support working family carers? British initiatives as a practical means to reduce loneliness in everyday life of family caregivers in Poland

Among various publications regarding end-of-life care in Poland there is one piece of important research that shows a difficult situation for family caregivers in end-of-life care in Poland, who often lack recognition and support and face a lonely struggle, especially in home care settings (Janowicz, 2019a). The Polish Government published documents in support of family caregivers for the first time in 2019, recognizing respite care and allocating money to some of them. Poland has successfully implemented British standards of hospice and palliative care, making it the best in Central-Eastern Europe; the same could be done in supporting carers in family settings (Krakowiak, 2020a). We have already learnt and benefited from the experience of the British organisation Carers UK, who have been operating successfully for more than 50 years and working towards inclusion of formal and informal care (Klimek, 2020). But how can we move forward in helping those who face loneliness and feelings of helplessness as family carers? We can learn from those who have already developed tools and created strategies supporting family caregivers. Exploring the educational strategies of supporting organizations from the UK, will help to point towards possible solutions to this social and educational challenge in Poland, helping to reduce the loneliness of carers in the home care settings. Most families still feel isolated, while most of our local communities do not support those who care, often for many months and years. Social educators and social workers need to tackle the questions of loneliness and isolation that many family caregivers face. First steps have been made and first publications issued, but more robust strategies and practical solutions are needed. Newest facts and figures from Carers UK documents and Best Practice In Supporting Carers by Carer Positive Employer in Scotland (2020) will help to show existing strategies used for and by employers. Among many existing initiatives this one regarding combining care and work could be very important to recognise the needs of working carers, sharing their job with the duty of constant care at home. Action is urgently needed in Poland, where many people do a full-time job alongside caring at home. Recognition of family carers’ needs by their workplace, support from employers and flexibility in working hours is still a rare exception, and it should be changed. The Covid-19 pandemic has fully exposed the problems of carers of dependent people around the world and also in Poland, especially difficult for those who combine care with work.

Disruptive Unicorn of Digital Innovations

This chapter analyzes the disruptive unicorn of the 21st century, characterized by six of the most important digital disruptive innovations that will dominate the business ecosystem. A survey was applied to undergraduate students at Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico in 2019 to identify the students' perception of the unicorn. The hypothesis to be evaluated is that the undergraduate student has an unclear perception of the existence of the unicorn that could generate risks related to ethics and business power shifts in the world. An educational challenge is the need to develop the transversal competence of critical thinking related to digital disruptive innovations in the students. The educational strategies must evolve as fast as these digital disruptive innovations in order for the world to have citizens of a technological world in favor of humanity with the power of critical thinking and discernment. This is the challenge for the university educator.

Artificial intelligence: a new educational challenge

Rapid development of Artificial Intelligence is influencing most of the human’s domains. It impacts our reality in quantitative and qualitative way. This situation is challenging, also for the educational system – in many aspects. Analysis of this situation in the educational context is important and urgent matter. In the article author is attempting to explain and to structure the problem, pointing out, both chances and the threats, of the phenomenon, focusing on the area of educational content the measures.

“Sevehuellas” una gamificación para implantar los ODS en un centro educativo

La educación ambiental es un reto y una realidad que debemos incluir en los centros educativos de todo el mundo. A partir de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible 2030 (ODS) lanzado por Naciones Unidas, nos planteamos la necesidad de actuar contra el calentamiento global, el cambio climático y en general cambiar para mejorar nuestros hábitos, tanto sociales, como personales. Vimos que este cambio tan necesario y urgente en nuestro modo de vida lo podríamos acercar a los más jóvenes a través del juego. Para ello se buscó una metodología práctica para trabajar a través del juego y de la tecnología los conceptos necesarios para el cuidado del medio ambiente. Con esta gamificación buscamos motivar al alumnado para iniciar este cambio de estilo de vida de una forma divertida y en equipo sin olvidar el objetivo de alcanzar la mayoría de las metas propuestas. La utilización del juego como instrumento de aprendizaje favorece la participación e implicación del alumnado y ayuda a la cohesión de los equipos. Retos de lógica, artísticos, de cuidado de medio ambiente, talleres de igualdad han convivido con las materias habituales durante este curso. La completa participación de profesorado y alumnado ha hecho que este reto educativo se haya convertido en una realidad extrapolable a otros cursos e incluso a otros centros que deseen incorporarlo. Environmental education is a challenge and a reality that we must include in educational centers around the world. Based on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) launched by the United Nations, we consider the need to act against global warming, climate change and in general change to improve our habits, both social and personal. We saw that this so necessary and urgent change in our way of life could be brought closer to the youngest through the game. For this, a practical methodology was sought to work through games and technology the concepts necessary for caring for the environment. With this gamification we seek to motivate students to start this lifestyle chango in a fun way and as a team without forgetting the objective of achieving most of the proposed goals. The use of the game as a learning instrument favors the participation and involvement of the students and helps the cohesion of the teams. Challenges of logic, art, care of the environment, equality workshops have coexisted with the usual subjects during this course. The full participation of teachers and students has made this educational challenge a reality that can be extrapolated to other courses and even to other centers that wish to incorporate it.

School–Family Relations: An Educational Challenge in Times of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has widened the gap regarding access to educational opportunities, which was included in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This descriptive, quantitative study aims to examine the communication strategies employed by secondary schools in Spain during the lockdown, as well as to analyse the co-responsibility of the educational process between schools and families. An ad hoc questionnaire (GIESBAFCOV-19) was designed and implemented to gather information. The results show that, in most cases, mothers were responsible for assisting and supervising their children’s homework as persons in charge of education-related matters. Additionally, before the lockdown was put in place, about half of the participating families received information from the educative centres regarding the disease and sanitary measures. Once the lockdown took place, families put the focus on their children’s schoolwork, not without difficulties in academic and digital literacy. In general, the families were satisfied with the communication established with the educational centres. The present study has raised the necessity to improve communication between centres and families and to reflect on the tools and systems used for its exchange. Consequently, it seems that information and digital competences should be promoted to guarantee an equalitarian education for all.

Guides as Mediators of Memory: On the Holocaust and Antisemitism – 75 Years Later

This article deals with the relationship between the Holocaust and antisemitism, focusing on the events of 2020-2021. The point of departure is the fifth World Holocaust Forum at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, held under the slogan: “Remembering the Holocaust, fighting antisemitism”. The event took place at the invitation of Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin, in advance of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 23, 2020). Content analysis of the speeches given by presidents and prime ministers from around the world reinforce the insights of the Holocaust and the association with current-day antisemitism. In March 2020 the COVID-19 virus appeared, and a wave of antisemitism surfaced with it. Analysis of contents that appeared on websites and social networks reveals vitriolic antisemitism against Jews as generators of the virus, being the virus themselves.This study utilized the method of anthropologist Clifford Geertz (1926-2006), who established the interpretive approach to anthropology for analyzing culture contents. This, with regard to content analysis in general and to the contents of social networks and their contribution to antisemitism, in particular. Operation “Guardian of the Walls” in Gaza in 2021 further fanned antisemitism. Content analysis of websites and social networks portrays the Jewish soldier as a Nazi soldier and all Jews as murderers – with all the Holocaust symbols and Holocaust language.The study seeks to examine whether and to what degree the educational system in general and guides of youth trips to Poland as mediators of memory in particular, are prepared for the educational challenge of eradicating antisemitism in the post-Holocaust era. The research findings show that the challenge still awaits us. Education is an essential instrument in the battle against antisemitism but the educational system, both formal and informal, is not prepared.

IDENTIFYING HIGHER EDUCATION FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS REPORTED EXPERIENCES STUDYING DURING THE PANDEMIC

<p>The pandemic situation is having been a challenge for many students. The students starting their higher education at the beginning of 2021 were facing a new kind of educational challenge due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to gain insights into first-month studies during the exceptional times. The focus was on Finnish higher education first-year students’ (n=154) reported studying experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were bachelor’s degree students who started their higher education studies in January 2021 in the middle of the exceptional pandemic situation caused by COVID-19. Studies during their first months have mainly been organised online, and there have been specific restrictions related to study arrangements. The study used an inductive content analysis to find out the positive and negative impacts of studying during exceptional times. The data for this study was drawn from an online questionnaire. The results indicated that students’ own resources and capacity played an important role in terms of positive or negative study experiences: good study motivation, good distance-learning skills, and self-directedness helped to cope with the exceptional situation, while insufficient distance-learning skills or challenges in self-direction caused difficulties and dissatisfaction among other students. Whereas, teachers’ digital pedagogical skills play a significant role, as the results of this study indicated. In addition, to teaching and learning activities, higher education institutions need to reflect on how student services, counselling, and peer support can be provided remotely. The findings of this study suggest that it is important to pay attention to students’ well-being and self-directed learning skills in digital learning communities and environments. In addition, the study it´s part suggests strengthening teachers’ competencies related to digital pedagogical competencies together with workload allocation and study scheduling. Also, there are a need to deepen learning community building and self-directed learning skills as a part of pedagogical support.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0781/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Sinergitas Tri Pusat Pendidikan dalam Penguatan Nilai-Nilai Pendidikan Karakter Peseta Didik

Social change in society in the digital 4.0 era is an educational challenge. The Indonesian nation is being faced with the problem of the weakening of the nation's character in students. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out the values of character education in facing these educational challenges. With the synergy, the tri education center must be able to act as a shield to fortify the young generation. The purpose of this study is to describe the efforts of tri education center synergy that consists of family, school and community environment in strengthening the values of character education in the millennial era. The research method uses qualitative research carried out at Diponegoro Middle School, Depok, Sleman Regency. The results of the study are that making schools a formal pillar as mediators, while families and communities become the pillars of character education implanted in schools. The school strategies are the synergy of the school with the family, the synergy of the school with the community and the synergy of the school with the family and the community.

Ready to learn in an uncertain future: ways to support student engagement

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine student engagement in learning amid COVID-19 and compare it with the previous cohort under face-to-face learning and propose a series of learning activities to engage students for any uncertain situations in the future. Design/methodology/approach Two online surveys were conducted at the end of the academic years of 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 to measure student engagement under face-to-face tradition learning and emergency remote learning respectively. Findings Student behavioural engagement was found no statistical difference between the two learning situations, whereas students having face-to-face learning demonstrated greater emotional and cognitive engagement. Social interaction is essential to drive student engagement in emergency remote learning. Practical implications The authors intended to highlight some teaching approaches and learning activities for social interaction to engage students. Originality/value Engaging students in remote or online learning is an educational challenge for the new reality. This paper proposed the teaching approach and learning activities to engage students in their learning in the future.