The Civic Engagement of University Students as a Protective Factor in Terms of the Resilience Concept

SummaryThe paper analyses the relationship between the civic engagement and risk behaviours of young people from the perspective of resilience mechanisms. The resilience concept focuses on social and individual features which protect (give the resistance) against risk factors appearing in adverse living conditions. Civic engagement is included among potential protective factors. Can this engagement can be considered as a protective factor in the context of the crisis of democracy and social capital erosion, and if so, to what extent? The goal of this paper is to analyze the civic engagement of university students as a potential protective factor against risk behaviours, in particular, alcohol abuse. Firstly, the basic assumptions of resilience and civic engagement (in social capital perspective) are defined. The second section is based on selected findings from the study Studenci 2019’ (N=4503): the associations between the degree of civic engagement of university students and alcohol-related problems. The research results show that the students from the group with a higher level of civic engagement (in comparison to those with a lack or low level) are found significantly more often among students with problems related to risk-drinking and alcohol abuse. The article ends with an explanation of thoe findings which may be considered surprising in light of the concept of resilience.

Child Protection in the Event of Parents’ Divorce – Conceptualization of the Subject of the Study

SummaryThe article is preconceptual in its nature, as it is an introduction to a planned research project in the area of pedagogy and law. The author describes the research in current trends in modern childhood studies, choosing the protection of children’s rights in the event of their parents’ separation as the basic research category. This category will be analyzed in ontological, epistemological and methodological dimensions. In view of the growing scale of family breakdowns, it becomes justified to ask a question about the way of experiencing, understanding and constructing knowledge about the subject of pedagogical and legal interactions – the child themself. Building knowledge about a child whose parents separate is not only intended to expand and build interdisciplinary theoretical knowledge, but also to provide a basis for designing adequate tools and activities to protect the rights of a child experiencing their parents’ separation. This article provides an outline of a research concept aimed at protecting children’s rights. The article contains extensive justifications for the research topic and the framework of the methodological concept.

Students with Specific Learning Disabilities in the Higher Education System in Israel: Successes and Challenges

SummaryStudies show the very high probability that a child with learning disabilities will grow up to be an adult with learning disabilities and will experience difficulties in his academic or professional studies and in the world of employment. Today, there is an increase in the number of students with learning disabilities in academic institutions in Israel and around the world, with the extent of students with learning disabilities in Israel being estimated at up to 15% of diagnosed students. The article discusses the problem that most studies address children and teens with learning disabilities, while knowledge about coping with students with learning disabilities in the higher education system is limited. Moreover, there seems to be no uniform policy on supporting these students. The article is addressed to policymakers and lawmakers in Israel’s higher education system, with the aim of presenting current support and proposing changes and improvements intended for these students.

Working with a Student Exhibiting School Difficulties. Teachers Auto-reflection

SummaryThe article shows the benefits of educational projects at the stage of early school education: „I work with ozobots – I program perfectly”. The aim of the course was to introduce programming elements into classes using ozobots – educational robots. Research was carried out in order to help the students overcome developmental difficulties. The evaluation of the project proves that the additional activities that were carried out enhanced the motivation to learn, fostered children’s curiosity, improved the self-esteem of students with educational difficulties and, as a consequence, reduced the risk of anxiety disorders and child phobia at the stage of early school education.

“From Obedience to Freedom”. Anti-liberation Traditions and Oppression School Culture

SummaryThe article seeks to show how school relationships have changed over the centuries. The main focus is on recent times, when so-called ‘school coercion’ was introduced, accompanied by military reform and the debate on violence and obedience among pupils. Yet oppression remained in schools, despite being opposed by the most prominent educators and thinkers of the period. Church institutions also supported the anti-freedom movements in schools. It is against this background that the slogan of the “new upbringing” movement is presented, which was to give a sense of freedom and respect for other people.

Master Anna – a Master who Doesn’t Know She is my Master

SummaryIn the article, I present the pedagogy of the poet Anna Świrszczyńska. In particular, I refer to her drama Saint and Devil. Through this drama I show the consequences of using black pedagogy.

Émile Durkheim and the Longing for Community Life

SummaryThis article analyzes the problems of community life as explored in Emile Durkheim’s texts, particularly his lectures published under the title Moral Education. The starting point is the tension, characteristic of modern society, between the need to express one’s self within the community and the need to assert individual autonomy. The thesis presented here is that Durkheim looks for the sources of contemporary community life through the impact of school and professional groups, instead of the traditional influence of the family and Church. The article examines Durkheim’s argumentation relevant to justifying the thesis. In the final point, two lines of criticism of the Durkheimian concept, the spiritual and the Marxist, are deemed moot, as is the line of comparison between Durkheim’s approach and Zbigniew Kwieciński’s concept of community life.

Interpersonal Trust in the Working Environment. A Theoretical Analysis

SummaryThe paper Interpersonal Trust in the Working Environment. A Theoretical Analysis describes the phenomenon of trust in social relations, provides definitions and types of trust, explains the conditions necessary for the development of trust, and discusses the relational and personality-related aspects of trust. It also reviews the interdisciplinary literature on the subject of trust, providing a multidimensional description of trust in the workplace, in organizations. Vertical and horizontal trust in organizations is described. Presenting some trust-building models in businesses, the paper selectively describes the consequences resulting from trust vs a lack of trust in the working environment. It identifies the culture of trust and employee empowerment as desired models promoting the development of workplace relations and addresses some controversies that disrupt the functional adaptation of employees to the reality of knowledge-based organizations in the post-modern social reality.