The discussion about academic education should be considered important and particularly valid at the moment, when yet another higher education reform is being implemented in our country. Among an array of issues that should be discussed in publications and scientific discussions, there is also a search for an answer to the question about the extent to which such education prepares and the extent to which it should prepare students for employment at the modern, as well as the future, rapidly changing labour market. The author of the paper also attempts to offer an answer to this question.

In theoretical study of readiness of engineers-teachers of computer sciences for professional mobility, a valuative and motivated component is stated as a system-forming element and plays an important role in the process of forming a system of personal and professional values and goals. Valuative and motivated goals of an engineer-teacher reproduce social, professional and personal importance of vocational education, and influence formation of a purposeful creative mastering of professional competences necessary for development of professional mobility. The valuative and motivated sphere of would-be specialists is proved to be a significant instrument of socialization and adaptation to social and professional activities.

It is a known fact that all organizations, other than philanthropic ones, are concerned about increasing their financial performance. The Covid-19 pandemic indisputably affects the organizations’ triple bottom line, especially profit. Hence, it is essential to make plans for the post-Covid-19 pandemic world. Consequently, one solution is to pay more attention to the increase in the level of advantageous personal character traits among the employees. The personal character is a blend of virtues and vices. The highest level of virtues will enrich the level of the advantageous personal character traits. The aim of this paper was to provide a definition of the personal character and to present an instrument for the construct of the personal character. The importance of having a good personal character is also addressed as a part of this study.

The different economic models implemented by the states in the last decades range from a simple tendency for accumulation and growth in terms of the Gross Domestic Product to the development of people’s well-being under the premises of sustainability. Those that invest in individual development through education in strategic areas, facilitate the generation of intrinsic value, without relying on the exploitation of their natural resources or on the physical labor force of their citizens, thus achieving the effective sustainable development. In this paper, we analyzed the importance of introducing legal and political changes, focused on encouraging education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), mainly in those economies that are oriented on the structural or developmental paradigm, whose most current form of expression is found in the theory of the New Structural Economy, to favor endogenous growth in accordance with the sustainable development paradigm, using LATAM as an example.

Student formal assessment is the core axis of the educational process that affects the whole teaching / learning activity, its quality, students’ success experience, their self-respect and self-esteem, and the perception of self-efficacy. By recognising prospects as the main learning objective and defining the outcome as personal and authentic learner progress, the assessment raises the need to pay a due attention to reflection, deep consideration, and feedback to all participants of the educational process. Against this background, doubts are started to be raised about appropriateness of the grade, currently being one of the most popular methods of the formal student assessment, leading to the scientific problem of this article. Over the last few decades, a shift in the assessment has been observed, from the focus exclusively on the end result to a stronger orientation toward the whole educational process, with an emphasis on motivating students to learn and strengthening their involvement in the educational process. These changes are illustrated by the Finnish good practice where, in an environment based on mutual trust and respect, and without questioning the importance and need for testing learners’ knowledge, abilities, and skills in the teaching / learning process, alternative assessment methods: portfolio assessment and learning conversations, are successfully used. To transfer examples of the good practice and adapt them to the national context, it seems reasonable to apply theories and models of change management. Achieving a targeted and effective change in the area of the assessment requires a process-focused approach to the change management.

This work constitutes a historical-pedagogical reflection focusing on the philosophical foundations of Jesuit pedagogy or education for peace through the thought of Francisco Javier Clavijero, in particular, his works Ancient History of Mexico and Particular Physics. The authors studying Clavijero found that his thought included the following foundations of education for peace: eclectic attitude expressed in a search for the reconciliation of modernity with tradition; the use of verisimilitude as a criterion of knowledge in the process of adjustment to the truth within the philosophy of nature and history; and a belief in the knowledge of the different philosophical systems, in which the truth is found. According to Clavijero, education, at first, represents means or a pretext to refute the insults of European philosophers concerning the supposed inferiority of Mexicans, based on the reason. Education could be understood as the principle on which a political-social system is based, in this case of the society of ancient Mexicans. Education is the resource that enables the transmission of laws and customs, in short, a worldview of the world, which can be understood in terms more typical of culture.

There is an important difference between the phenomena we study and the names we call them or theories we use to explain them. Transformative learning theory is a human construction designed to describe a phenomenon, but it is imperfect at best. The author advocates a delineation of the terms. Namely, the term perspective transformation should be used to refer to Mezirow’s theory because it has only ever been used for his specific theory. The term transformative learning should be used to refer to the broad range of theories (including Mezirow’s) that attempt to describe and explain dramatic changes in how people experience, conceptualize, and interact with the world.

The author uses transformative learning in adult education investigations to understand the experiences of military veterans transitioning from combat to civilian life, of breast cancer survivors navigating the psycho-social transition of their disease, of students from backgrounds of poverty attending community college, and even the negative transformation of people becoming radicalized into violent terrorism. There are many more situations that cause people to change, and those specific situations shape the processes that lead to change and therefore shape the eventual outcomes of that change.

All of the theories and constructs in the transformative learning literature are nothing more than human creations designed to explain the phenomena associated with dramatic learning and change in adulthood. The value of transformative learning as a metatheory is to provide constructs in the form of analytic tools that scholars from disparate disciplines can use in working together to create better, more useful constructs for understanding that phenomena. There are identified and presented the analytic tools (definition, criteria, typology) to provide a framework for scholars to think carefully and with clarity about what they mean when using the word “transformation”. The need in more holistic, interdisciplinary understandings of transformative learning is substantiated, thus promoting the use of transformative learning as a metatheory.

The article concentrates on the issue of Hungarian education reforms brought about by radical political changes, in particular, the country’s admittance to the European Union. The paper outlines priorities in educational process transformation, as well as risks emerging in the system of teacher education and lifelong learning. The challenges associated with our times transform the teacher’s consciousness, shifting focus to the mandatory use of information technology, the activation of students’ information mobility, and the detailed analysis of employers’ requirements. The study reveals the Hungarian government’s key activities in relation to the socialization of the Roma minority and other national minorities compactly residing in Ukraine. The research illustrated educational resources used to train teachers at educational institutions to instill tolerance and mutual respect. The 2020s’ are marked by powerful globalization and political factors penetrating all spheres of social life. The dynamic formation of the civilized information society is accompanied by a number of contradictions and conflicts, the strengthening of social ties, and changing living conditions (Réti, 2009), (Vágó and Vass 2006). Despite numerous methodological and conceptual studies, the issues of updating the modern teacher’s training to enable teachers to train and educate students and adequately react to challenges imposed by digitalization remain open. In this respect, the experience of European states that successfully carried out a number of educational reforms is of great scientific interest and deserves to be systematically studied, popularized and introduced into the domestic educational system. One of such countries is Hungary, which borders on Ukraine both territorially and functionally (Transcarpathia is compactly inhabited by Hungarian national minorities). The aim of the article is to substantiate the essence of the key educational reforms in Hungary and to identify the risks and priorities brought about by transformational changes in the country.

The presented article describes social integration clubs functioning in Poland as one of the main activating institutions. They also serve as entities of supported employment; one example is Social Integration Club in Chorzów. The clubs’ main task is social and professional activation, as well as counteracting social exclusion, which is understood as the most serious form of marginalization.

The article presents a study which main objective was to expand knowledge on teachers’ experiences, readiness, and conditions for effective reaction to significantly changed social circumstances and conditions of their work. The study was performed amongst primary and secondary teachers in Poland, using a proprietary online survey. The study found that the majority of teachers have access to the required equipment and traditional educational resources. However, a significant number of teachers still need recourses required for the distance education. The study also found that the majority of teachers feel very well or adequately prepared for work in new conditions. Yet, a considerable number of teachers still indicate a need for additional training and support, although a vast majority of them are intensively involved in various forms of innovative work and self-directed learning. On a basis of the study results, the authors recommend a number of topics and directions for pre-service teacher education at universities and continuous professional development. These recommendations can contribute to the quality of education during the COVID-19 pandemic and in postpandemic conditions.

The subject of the research considerations are the attitudes of early education teachers towards pedagogical innovation, being a response to the permanently changing reality and the related necessity to introduce changes to education. The conducted surveys and their analysis prove that the majority of teachers share the view that application of innovation in pedagogical practice is necessary, noticing both its impact on their professional activity and pointing to significant obstacles in the field of deployment and implementation of innovations at school.

The change of society, in particular concerning the generation of contemporary parents, imposes new requirements on pre-school education teachers and their competences. In case of teachers, it is not only pedagogical literacy, consisting of general, psychological knowledge, as well as knowledge about the child that are necessary. The skills of activity planning and organisation, organisation of education process, active involvement in the change of pre-school education system are also required. Moreover, the competences of communication and collaboration with parents, the ability to adapt and find necessary access to parents of the contemporary generation, the ability to involve them into the activities of an educational institution, empower parents to become competent partners of teachers are of appropriate significance. All these skills, although within different scopes, are taught and developed by future pre-school education teachers during their university education and internships. The aim of the study is to reveal, according to the opinion of students – future teachers - which pre-school education teacher competences are the most meaningful in order to ensure a successful partnership with parents of the contemporary generation. The applied research methods are as follows: the analysis of content of scientific information resources (to reveal the theoretical context), questions in writing (to collect empirical data) and content analysis (analysis of empirical data). The scope of qualitative research is 18 informants who agreed to participate in the research. They are students – future pre-school education teachers. The study results showed that the informants mostly emphasise the competence of pedagogical literacy that includes knowledge about the child, personal features of teachers helping to promote partnership relations with parents and students of the contemporary generation, professional expertise and values. The following features were accentuated: patience, self-confidence, benevolence in communication with parents of the contemporary generation with different attitudes and expectations. Future teachers did not focus on the competences of education process organisation, i.e. the ability to organise education process based on human resources – the parents. Thus, parents are not sufficiently involved in the education process. They pay little attention to the competence of activity prediction and planning.

The authors carried out a long-term research on knowledge of providing premedical first aid amongst elementary school teachers in the past years. The research results showed, among the others, that more than 45% of accidents at schools happen during vocational training. On this basis, the authors decided to carry out a long-term (2019–2021) research verifying the level of selected pre-medical first aid competencies amongst educational professionals providing vocational education and practical training. The study aimed at finding out whether and to what extent the vocational education and practical training teachers are competent in providing layman’s first aid, to understand possible gaps in these competencies, and to establish corresponding training needs. At this moment, the study sample includes 325 teachers of vocational education and practical training at vocational schools, secondary vocational schools, or secondary and higher technical schools, with a varying level of teaching experience. A quantitative method was used (questionnaire) in the research. The respondents completed a questionnaire consisting of two parts. The first part focused on selected attitudes, opinions and experience in providing pre-medical first aid, and the second part contained a knowledge test. The results show that the highest number of respondents failed questions on how to stop bleeding and treat wounds. The respondents believe that these are the most frequent injuries during vocational education and practical training. Many respondents also failed questions on what to do in case of a knocked-out tooth (only 42% of correct answers), how to provide first aid in case of epileptic seizure (42% of correct answers), and how to provide first aid in case of hypoglycaemia (31% of correct answers) and asthma (35%). It is clear that the failures stated above might have been influenced by not being familiar with updated international recommended first aid procedures, which are updated every five years, and 53% of respondents do not receive a pre-medical first aid training where they could gain this information. Taking into account the sample size and continuation of the research, it is certainly not possible to draw any general conclusions on the presented research. The respondents themselves state that they feel quite uncertain about their knowledge and skills related to providing layman’s first aid. However, this situation can lead to a serious threat or damage to health and lives of students. The authors of this study realize that it is necessary to take very seriously every sign of incompetency, and that they can only be eliminated by systematic education based, in particular, on regular practical training sessions (acquiring practical skills) in small groups and a development of interactive materials on first aid. An annual training session within the OHS (occupational health and safety) system is evidently insufficient.

This paper uses data from the fifth edition of the European Working Conditions Survey to examine the relationship between workers’ skills mismatch and risk of investment in work-related training. Apart from financial (earnings) worker’s risk, the study addresses also some non-financial facets of the investment risk. The results indicate that while mismatched workers have higher earnings risk than well-matched ones, they also perceive their jobs as more insecure. Surprisingly, mismatched workers are also relatively more optimistic of having good career prospects and finding similarly paid employment. These findings did not allow a conclusion about the difference in non-financial risk between mismatched and well-matched workers.

Roma and Gypsy women in Europe suffer from multiple deprivation (Council of the European Union 2011): Firstly, a large part of Roma and Gypsy people live in poverty. Secondly, their different cultural/ethnic traditions often lead to discrimination in school education. Thirdly, they also have disadvantages through the gender aspect, because the traditional Roma/Gypsy culture defines the place of women to be at home with the family and an educational career is not necessary for that (l. Forray, Hegedűs 2003; Durst 2015). That is why Roma and Gypsy women are often called the “minority of the minority”(Vincze 2010: 195). Despite of this multiple deprivation, Roma and Gypsy women are (not only in Hungary) more and more successful in the education system (Forray; Hegedűs 1991) and they increasingly take part in the political life as well (Bako, Toth 2008; Kocze 2010). The research study focuses on Roma and Gypsy women who have come from a background of multiple deprivation but managed to achieve successful educational careers (defined by their university degree). To answer the research question “Which factors are regarded as beneficial for success in education from the perspective of Roma and Gypsy women?”, we chose the method of biographical narrative interviews. Additionally, we analysed statistical and empirical studies and used expert interviews as well. The aim of the research was to learn about the subjective theories of the interviewed women. The selection of the respondents was done through the snowball-system. The analysis of the interviews was based on the methodology of Fritz Schutze (Schutze 1983). The underclass theory of William Julius Wilson (Wilson, 1978; 1987) adapted by Ivan Szelenyi and Janos Ladanyi for the Hungarian situation (Ladanyi; Szelenyi, 2004) and the theory of Helmut Fend about the functions of the school in society (Fend, 1980; 2003) served as the theoretical framework for this study. For the interpretation we used the categorisation of factors for school success of Hungarian Roma and Gypsy women from Katalin Forray R. and Andras Hegedűs T. (Hegedűs, 1996; Forray, Hegedűs, 2003). The study shows that all interviewed women had a very strong learning motivation and were ready to have conflicts with the traditional female role model. Their parents and teachers played mostly a very positive role in this success, but the most important factor was their individual learning motivation.

One of the tasks of education in preparing an individual to professional work. However, in the sphere of human’s work, dynamic transformations determined by many factors take place, including the development of consumer civilization, in which being happy is like a “duty”. The article ponders upon the concept that consumer civilization appears attractive owing to its development being based on the assumption that happiness is the ultimate goal one should strive for. Yet, happiness is understood as a kind of pleasure, which means that an individual adopts a hedonistic attitude. The tendency to identify happiness with possessing goods influences the lives of both the individual, along with their attitude towards work, and consequently – the whole society. By glorifying the consumption ethos as the factor behind social development and growing rich, the category of happiness becomes distorted and its correlates – neglected. The authors of the paper have devoted it to the analysis of the so-called happiness formula in the reality of consumer civilization. The aim of the reflections is the postulate for pedagogy to pay close research attention to the relations between an individual and happiness.

The discussion about academic education should be considered important and particularly valid at the moment, when yet another higher education reform is being implemented in our country. Among an array of issues that should be discussed in publications and scientific discussions, there is also a search for an answer to the question about the extent to which such education prepares and the extent to which it should prepare students for employment at the modern, as well as the future, rapidly changing labour market. The author of the paper also attempts to offer an answer to this question.

In theoretical study of readiness of engineers-teachers of computer sciences for professional mobility, a valuative and motivated component is stated as a system-forming element and plays an important role in the process of forming a system of personal and professional values and goals. Valuative and motivated goals of an engineer-teacher reproduce social, professional and personal importance of vocational education, and influence formation of a purposeful creative mastering of professional competences necessary for development of professional mobility. The valuative and motivated sphere of would-be specialists is proved to be a significant instrument of socialization and adaptation to social and professional activities.

It is a known fact that all organizations, other than philanthropic ones, are concerned about increasing their financial performance. The Covid-19 pandemic indisputably affects the organizations’ triple bottom line, especially profit. Hence, it is essential to make plans for the post-Covid-19 pandemic world. Consequently, one solution is to pay more attention to the increase in the level of advantageous personal character traits among the employees. The personal character is a blend of virtues and vices. The highest level of virtues will enrich the level of the advantageous personal character traits. The aim of this paper was to provide a definition of the personal character and to present an instrument for the construct of the personal character. The importance of having a good personal character is also addressed as a part of this study.

The different economic models implemented by the states in the last decades range from a simple tendency for accumulation and growth in terms of the Gross Domestic Product to the development of people’s well-being under the premises of sustainability. Those that invest in individual development through education in strategic areas, facilitate the generation of intrinsic value, without relying on the exploitation of their natural resources or on the physical labor force of their citizens, thus achieving the effective sustainable development. In this paper, we analyzed the importance of introducing legal and political changes, focused on encouraging education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), mainly in those economies that are oriented on the structural or developmental paradigm, whose most current form of expression is found in the theory of the New Structural Economy, to favor endogenous growth in accordance with the sustainable development paradigm, using LATAM as an example.

Student formal assessment is the core axis of the educational process that affects the whole teaching / learning activity, its quality, students’ success experience, their self-respect and self-esteem, and the perception of self-efficacy. By recognising prospects as the main learning objective and defining the outcome as personal and authentic learner progress, the assessment raises the need to pay a due attention to reflection, deep consideration, and feedback to all participants of the educational process. Against this background, doubts are started to be raised about appropriateness of the grade, currently being one of the most popular methods of the formal student assessment, leading to the scientific problem of this article. Over the last few decades, a shift in the assessment has been observed, from the focus exclusively on the end result to a stronger orientation toward the whole educational process, with an emphasis on motivating students to learn and strengthening their involvement in the educational process. These changes are illustrated by the Finnish good practice where, in an environment based on mutual trust and respect, and without questioning the importance and need for testing learners’ knowledge, abilities, and skills in the teaching / learning process, alternative assessment methods: portfolio assessment and learning conversations, are successfully used. To transfer examples of the good practice and adapt them to the national context, it seems reasonable to apply theories and models of change management. Achieving a targeted and effective change in the area of the assessment requires a process-focused approach to the change management.

This work constitutes a historical-pedagogical reflection focusing on the philosophical foundations of Jesuit pedagogy or education for peace through the thought of Francisco Javier Clavijero, in particular, his works Ancient History of Mexico and Particular Physics. The authors studying Clavijero found that his thought included the following foundations of education for peace: eclectic attitude expressed in a search for the reconciliation of modernity with tradition; the use of verisimilitude as a criterion of knowledge in the process of adjustment to the truth within the philosophy of nature and history; and a belief in the knowledge of the different philosophical systems, in which the truth is found. According to Clavijero, education, at first, represents means or a pretext to refute the insults of European philosophers concerning the supposed inferiority of Mexicans, based on the reason. Education could be understood as the principle on which a political-social system is based, in this case of the society of ancient Mexicans. Education is the resource that enables the transmission of laws and customs, in short, a worldview of the world, which can be understood in terms more typical of culture.

There is an important difference between the phenomena we study and the names we call them or theories we use to explain them. Transformative learning theory is a human construction designed to describe a phenomenon, but it is imperfect at best. The author advocates a delineation of the terms. Namely, the term perspective transformation should be used to refer to Mezirow’s theory because it has only ever been used for his specific theory. The term transformative learning should be used to refer to the broad range of theories (including Mezirow’s) that attempt to describe and explain dramatic changes in how people experience, conceptualize, and interact with the world.

The author uses transformative learning in adult education investigations to understand the experiences of military veterans transitioning from combat to civilian life, of breast cancer survivors navigating the psycho-social transition of their disease, of students from backgrounds of poverty attending community college, and even the negative transformation of people becoming radicalized into violent terrorism. There are many more situations that cause people to change, and those specific situations shape the processes that lead to change and therefore shape the eventual outcomes of that change.

All of the theories and constructs in the transformative learning literature are nothing more than human creations designed to explain the phenomena associated with dramatic learning and change in adulthood. The value of transformative learning as a metatheory is to provide constructs in the form of analytic tools that scholars from disparate disciplines can use in working together to create better, more useful constructs for understanding that phenomena. There are identified and presented the analytic tools (definition, criteria, typology) to provide a framework for scholars to think carefully and with clarity about what they mean when using the word “transformation”. The need in more holistic, interdisciplinary understandings of transformative learning is substantiated, thus promoting the use of transformative learning as a metatheory.

The article concentrates on the issue of Hungarian education reforms brought about by radical political changes, in particular, the country’s admittance to the European Union. The paper outlines priorities in educational process transformation, as well as risks emerging in the system of teacher education and lifelong learning. The challenges associated with our times transform the teacher’s consciousness, shifting focus to the mandatory use of information technology, the activation of students’ information mobility, and the detailed analysis of employers’ requirements. The study reveals the Hungarian government’s key activities in relation to the socialization of the Roma minority and other national minorities compactly residing in Ukraine. The research illustrated educational resources used to train teachers at educational institutions to instill tolerance and mutual respect. The 2020s’ are marked by powerful globalization and political factors penetrating all spheres of social life. The dynamic formation of the civilized information society is accompanied by a number of contradictions and conflicts, the strengthening of social ties, and changing living conditions (Réti, 2009), (Vágó and Vass 2006). Despite numerous methodological and conceptual studies, the issues of updating the modern teacher’s training to enable teachers to train and educate students and adequately react to challenges imposed by digitalization remain open. In this respect, the experience of European states that successfully carried out a number of educational reforms is of great scientific interest and deserves to be systematically studied, popularized and introduced into the domestic educational system. One of such countries is Hungary, which borders on Ukraine both territorially and functionally (Transcarpathia is compactly inhabited by Hungarian national minorities). The aim of the article is to substantiate the essence of the key educational reforms in Hungary and to identify the risks and priorities brought about by transformational changes in the country.

The presented article describes social integration clubs functioning in Poland as one of the main activating institutions. They also serve as entities of supported employment; one example is Social Integration Club in Chorzów. The clubs’ main task is social and professional activation, as well as counteracting social exclusion, which is understood as the most serious form of marginalization.

The article presents a study which main objective was to expand knowledge on teachers’ experiences, readiness, and conditions for effective reaction to significantly changed social circumstances and conditions of their work. The study was performed amongst primary and secondary teachers in Poland, using a proprietary online survey. The study found that the majority of teachers have access to the required equipment and traditional educational resources. However, a significant number of teachers still need recourses required for the distance education. The study also found that the majority of teachers feel very well or adequately prepared for work in new conditions. Yet, a considerable number of teachers still indicate a need for additional training and support, although a vast majority of them are intensively involved in various forms of innovative work and self-directed learning. On a basis of the study results, the authors recommend a number of topics and directions for pre-service teacher education at universities and continuous professional development. These recommendations can contribute to the quality of education during the COVID-19 pandemic and in postpandemic conditions.

The subject of the research considerations are the attitudes of early education teachers towards pedagogical innovation, being a response to the permanently changing reality and the related necessity to introduce changes to education. The conducted surveys and their analysis prove that the majority of teachers share the view that application of innovation in pedagogical practice is necessary, noticing both its impact on their professional activity and pointing to significant obstacles in the field of deployment and implementation of innovations at school.

The change of society, in particular concerning the generation of contemporary parents, imposes new requirements on pre-school education teachers and their competences. In case of teachers, it is not only pedagogical literacy, consisting of general, psychological knowledge, as well as knowledge about the child that are necessary. The skills of activity planning and organisation, organisation of education process, active involvement in the change of pre-school education system are also required. Moreover, the competences of communication and collaboration with parents, the ability to adapt and find necessary access to parents of the contemporary generation, the ability to involve them into the activities of an educational institution, empower parents to become competent partners of teachers are of appropriate significance. All these skills, although within different scopes, are taught and developed by future pre-school education teachers during their university education and internships. The aim of the study is to reveal, according to the opinion of students – future teachers - which pre-school education teacher competences are the most meaningful in order to ensure a successful partnership with parents of the contemporary generation. The applied research methods are as follows: the analysis of content of scientific information resources (to reveal the theoretical context), questions in writing (to collect empirical data) and content analysis (analysis of empirical data). The scope of qualitative research is 18 informants who agreed to participate in the research. They are students – future pre-school education teachers. The study results showed that the informants mostly emphasise the competence of pedagogical literacy that includes knowledge about the child, personal features of teachers helping to promote partnership relations with parents and students of the contemporary generation, professional expertise and values. The following features were accentuated: patience, self-confidence, benevolence in communication with parents of the contemporary generation with different attitudes and expectations. Future teachers did not focus on the competences of education process organisation, i.e. the ability to organise education process based on human resources – the parents. Thus, parents are not sufficiently involved in the education process. They pay little attention to the competence of activity prediction and planning.

The authors carried out a long-term research on knowledge of providing premedical first aid amongst elementary school teachers in the past years. The research results showed, among the others, that more than 45% of accidents at schools happen during vocational training. On this basis, the authors decided to carry out a long-term (2019–2021) research verifying the level of selected pre-medical first aid competencies amongst educational professionals providing vocational education and practical training. The study aimed at finding out whether and to what extent the vocational education and practical training teachers are competent in providing layman’s first aid, to understand possible gaps in these competencies, and to establish corresponding training needs. At this moment, the study sample includes 325 teachers of vocational education and practical training at vocational schools, secondary vocational schools, or secondary and higher technical schools, with a varying level of teaching experience. A quantitative method was used (questionnaire) in the research. The respondents completed a questionnaire consisting of two parts. The first part focused on selected attitudes, opinions and experience in providing pre-medical first aid, and the second part contained a knowledge test. The results show that the highest number of respondents failed questions on how to stop bleeding and treat wounds. The respondents believe that these are the most frequent injuries during vocational education and practical training. Many respondents also failed questions on what to do in case of a knocked-out tooth (only 42% of correct answers), how to provide first aid in case of epileptic seizure (42% of correct answers), and how to provide first aid in case of hypoglycaemia (31% of correct answers) and asthma (35%). It is clear that the failures stated above might have been influenced by not being familiar with updated international recommended first aid procedures, which are updated every five years, and 53% of respondents do not receive a pre-medical first aid training where they could gain this information. Taking into account the sample size and continuation of the research, it is certainly not possible to draw any general conclusions on the presented research. The respondents themselves state that they feel quite uncertain about their knowledge and skills related to providing layman’s first aid. However, this situation can lead to a serious threat or damage to health and lives of students. The authors of this study realize that it is necessary to take very seriously every sign of incompetency, and that they can only be eliminated by systematic education based, in particular, on regular practical training sessions (acquiring practical skills) in small groups and a development of interactive materials on first aid. An annual training session within the OHS (occupational health and safety) system is evidently insufficient.

This paper uses data from the fifth edition of the European Working Conditions Survey to examine the relationship between workers’ skills mismatch and risk of investment in work-related training. Apart from financial (earnings) worker’s risk, the study addresses also some non-financial facets of the investment risk. The results indicate that while mismatched workers have higher earnings risk than well-matched ones, they also perceive their jobs as more insecure. Surprisingly, mismatched workers are also relatively more optimistic of having good career prospects and finding similarly paid employment. These findings did not allow a conclusion about the difference in non-financial risk between mismatched and well-matched workers.

Roma and Gypsy women in Europe suffer from multiple deprivation (Council of the European Union 2011): Firstly, a large part of Roma and Gypsy people live in poverty. Secondly, their different cultural/ethnic traditions often lead to discrimination in school education. Thirdly, they also have disadvantages through the gender aspect, because the traditional Roma/Gypsy culture defines the place of women to be at home with the family and an educational career is not necessary for that (l. Forray, Hegedűs 2003; Durst 2015). That is why Roma and Gypsy women are often called the “minority of the minority”(Vincze 2010: 195). Despite of this multiple deprivation, Roma and Gypsy women are (not only in Hungary) more and more successful in the education system (Forray; Hegedűs 1991) and they increasingly take part in the political life as well (Bako, Toth 2008; Kocze 2010). The research study focuses on Roma and Gypsy women who have come from a background of multiple deprivation but managed to achieve successful educational careers (defined by their university degree). To answer the research question “Which factors are regarded as beneficial for success in education from the perspective of Roma and Gypsy women?”, we chose the method of biographical narrative interviews. Additionally, we analysed statistical and empirical studies and used expert interviews as well. The aim of the research was to learn about the subjective theories of the interviewed women. The selection of the respondents was done through the snowball-system. The analysis of the interviews was based on the methodology of Fritz Schutze (Schutze 1983). The underclass theory of William Julius Wilson (Wilson, 1978; 1987) adapted by Ivan Szelenyi and Janos Ladanyi for the Hungarian situation (Ladanyi; Szelenyi, 2004) and the theory of Helmut Fend about the functions of the school in society (Fend, 1980; 2003) served as the theoretical framework for this study. For the interpretation we used the categorisation of factors for school success of Hungarian Roma and Gypsy women from Katalin Forray R. and Andras Hegedűs T. (Hegedűs, 1996; Forray, Hegedűs, 2003). The study shows that all interviewed women had a very strong learning motivation and were ready to have conflicts with the traditional female role model. Their parents and teachers played mostly a very positive role in this success, but the most important factor was their individual learning motivation.

One of the tasks of education in preparing an individual to professional work. However, in the sphere of human’s work, dynamic transformations determined by many factors take place, including the development of consumer civilization, in which being happy is like a “duty”. The article ponders upon the concept that consumer civilization appears attractive owing to its development being based on the assumption that happiness is the ultimate goal one should strive for. Yet, happiness is understood as a kind of pleasure, which means that an individual adopts a hedonistic attitude. The tendency to identify happiness with possessing goods influences the lives of both the individual, along with their attitude towards work, and consequently – the whole society. By glorifying the consumption ethos as the factor behind social development and growing rich, the category of happiness becomes distorted and its correlates – neglected. The authors of the paper have devoted it to the analysis of the so-called happiness formula in the reality of consumer civilization. The aim of the reflections is the postulate for pedagogy to pay close research attention to the relations between an individual and happiness.