The article is a comparative analysis of two methods of working with a social assistance client: coaching and solution-focused approach. It describes the stages of the methodological procedure, and shows the approach to the motivation to change in both approaches. Showing the differences between internal and external motivation in the case of social assistance clients is particularly important, as they are often people characterized by learning helplessness and with low social competence. Therefore, working on change is extremely difficult, and social and legal expectations generate many paradoxes of professional action. The solution, however, is not to control and monitor the customers’ progress, but to change the approach of defining goals for change for customers. In coaching and PSR, key goals are the client’s goals and this article explains the rationale behind this position. Then, it describes the assumptions of both approaches and presents similar techniques used in working with the client. These techniques are easy to adapt to the methodical work of social workers and assistants when they share the assumption that the client is the expert of their life, and thus of change and the path to change. It describes the structure of the change process in both approaches. The article is intended to encourage such an approach to working with clients, as it is effective, as well as releasing social workers from responsibility for clients’ failures, protecting against burnout, and easy to apply. In addition, many institutions of social assistance are leaning towards working with these methods, towards formulating goals in line with harm reduction, rather than radical changes.

This article describes the therapeutic values of the project “Remembering Yesterday, Caring in Dementia Care” for people living with dementia. Project was established with European Reminiscence Network partners in the European Union, which also operates in the USA, Canada, Latin America, Australia and India. The programme is based on the use of creative reminiscence and interpersonal interaction in reminiscence work to “[…] rediscover and celebrate one’s individuality and social identity”. (European Reminiscence). It can help to alleviate loneliness and/or social isolation, improve health and well-being and, in a broader perspective, “make […] their lives […] despite old age and, often with disabilities, a dignified and valuable phase of life”. (Zych, 2005, p. 53).

Research by psychologists in the late 1990s has shown that older people have significant needs that cannot be met by psychotherapy, social work or other areas of help, as older people face meaning, dignity, religion, love necessity, morality, death and other existential issues (Erichsen, Buessing, 2013). Most often, professionals working with the elderly have noticed a problem of loneliness caused by self-alienation and self-rejection (Moustakas, 2008). These experiences clearly illustrate the phenomenon of existential loneliness in the lives of the elderly. If the problem of existential loneliness is not solved, it causes psychosocial problems that turn into existential anxiety and cause a sense of meaninglessness, which Yalom (1980) identifies as one of the four existential “gifts” next to death, freedom, and isolation. Studies focusing on the loneliness of older people in the European context are rare. However, the existential needs and existential loneliness of the elderly are discussed instead by Edberg & Bolmsjö (2019) and Sjöberg et al. (2019) . The aim of this study is to reveal a multidisciplinary perspective on the existential loneliness of elderly wives. A scientific analysis of the literature was performed. The method of this study was chosen to reveal the phenomenon of existential unity from a multidisciplinary perspective, revealing the holistic, existential nature of loneliness. Existential loneliness is associated with a social problem, the origins of which lie in diminished social skills and individual differences between the individuals. The loneliness of the elderly is closely linked to the value system of society and the spread of solidarity in society. From a sociological point of view, existential loneliness is treated as a multi-faceted construct related to the historical and cultural context of society and is therefore in a constant negative transformation within social groups. From the point of view of psychology, existential loneliness is related to the possibilities of a person’s development, deeper self-knowledge, discovery of creativity, on the other hand, existential loneliness has a negative connotation of sadness, helplessness, grief, meaninglessness, or suffering. In the philosophical-theological perspective of the perception of existential loneliness, two aspects emerge related to loneliness as an inevitable existential part of a person and isolation from oneself. From a Christian point of view, this is equated with the need for religious loneliness, whose task is to discover meaning in loneliness while acknowledging its undeniable spiritual value.

The article deals with the issue of virtual school as a kind of alternative to the traditional classroom system of teaching. The introduction attempts to clarify the meaning of several terms that are essential for this subject field, including the concept of virtual reality and, of course, virtual school. First of all, the essence and types of virtual schools are discussed, with an articulation of the advantages of virtual education. The professional competencies of a virtual school teacher have also been touched upon briefly.

Thе соnсерt оf рrераrаtiоn fоr lifе, whiсh hаs lоng bееn а mаjоr gоаl оf еduсаtiоn systеms аrоund thе wоrld, hаs bесоmе rеdundаnt in thе ореn реrsресtivе by thе hugе trаnsfоrmаtiоns in sосiеty, duе tо сhаngеs in tесhnоlоgy аnd есоnоmy. Fifty yеаrs аgо, lifеlоng lеаrning соuld bе sееn аs аn орtiоn fоr аn аgе with mоrе frее timе. Nоw it hаs bесоmе а nесеssity. Thе оffеrs оf еduсаtiоn аnd trаining hаvе bесоmе sеgmеntеd аnd divеrsifiеd, in ассоrdаnсе with thе vаriоus dеmаnds оf соnsumеrs whо раy fоr the еduсаtiоnаl mоdulеs аdjustеd tо thеir оwn nееds. Distаnсе еduсаtiоn is just оnе ехрrеssiоn оf this nеw соnsumеr оriеntаtiоn оf thе vаriоus trаining institutiоns. Ассumulаtiоn оf сrеdits аnd their trаnsfеr, mоdulаrizаtiоn оf соursеs аrе раrt оf thе sаmе struсturаl trаnsfоrmаtiоn оf thе еduсаtiоnаl рrосеss.

This paper analyses the successful school principals’ leadership practices in supporting school and teachers’ resilience in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research reported in this paper asks the question: what are the successful leaders’ main ways of supporting resilience in schools and teachers in Poland for maximising the possible positive outcomes of remote education in times of the COVID-19 pandemic? Drawing on five case studies, the paper shows seven core successful school leadership practices – sustaining education service delivery and innovations; planning in a context of uncertainty and responding to changes in national policy; re-framing and extending “Health & Safety” policies based on health and education data; leadership across the school; provision of an inclusive curriculum; inclusive partnership with children’s families; and teachers’ motivation, commitment and professional development. The paper concludes with implications for further research and with questions on school principals’ role in building back more resilient education systems.

Employee engagement is a human resource facet. Engaged employee is the dream of every Chief executive officer. The reason is the consequence of the employee engagement, namely employee job performance and organizational financial performance. Engaged employee is the instrument of organizational success. This study is to present levels of employee engagement. To present an insight on employee engagement through a thorough desk research is another aim of the study.

The article deals with the subjective aspects of the functioning of employees in the organization. The subject of the study was to check whether there are significant differences between the creative attitude, hope for success, and the education and functions of the employees of the organization. 120 people performing managerial and executive functions in organizations with a service and production profile in the south-eastern Poland participated in the study. There were 66 women and 54 men among the respondents. The research used the Creative Behaviour Questionnaire – KANH (Bernacka, Popek, Gierczyk, 2016) and the Questionnaire of Hope – KNS (Łaguna, Trzebiński, Zięba, 2005). The analyses were focused on comparing people holding managerial and executive functions as well as their education with regards to a creative attitude and hope for success. Based on the obtained results, it was found that people in managerial positions are characterized by a higher level of creative attitude and non-conformism compared to people holding executive functions. People with higher education are characterized by a higher level of hope for success, willpower, and a higher degree of ability to find solutions compared to people with secondary education. The obtained research results may be significant for increasing the effectiveness of activities in the organization.

The subject of the article are the considerations regarding the involvement of the education system in the implementation of the social cohesion policy on the example of Polish experiences. An example of a such involvement is the activity in the process of implementing the Supported Employment project, an important element of which is the preparation of job trainers to perform professional tasks. Against the background of the conducted research, the methods of determining the content of education in the process of preparing job trainers and the instruments needed for the professional organization of the work environment for the mentees of the trainer were presented. Attention has been paid to the principle of departing from direct social transfers for the benefit of social and professional activation of the people at risk of social exclusion due to disability, adopted in the modern social policy, for example in supported employment. Also, there was emphasized the importance of education for shaping attitudes conducive to social inclusion of marginalized people.

An active labour market policy is an integral part of social policy, ensuring support for the unemployed to search for a job through developing their skills. Thus, the active labour market policy is part of the social investment, focusing on investment in people’s knowledge. The heart of social investment is the design of policy-enhancing people to work, use their skills, create families and grow up children. The active labour market policy was analysed, focusing on the measures and their development in Lithuania. At the same time, the analysis from the social investment perspective was missing. Thus, this research aims to analyse Lithuania’s active labour market policy from the social investment perspective between 2009 and 2020. The choice of the period was determined by the time of the world financial crisis in 2009 and the Covid-19 pandemic crisis in 2020. The analysis of legal documents and Eurostat data for 2009-2018 was used to attain the formulated aim. Additionally, the meta-analysis of the Ministry of Social security and Labour’s Social Reports in 2009-2017 was used to analyse active labour market policy development. The research is based on methodology, which suggests classifying the active labour market measures into the strong and weak investments in human capital. A strong investment provides basic education or training, and a weak one creates new jobs, job subsidies, counselling, services for getting the job, job searching programmes, benefits, and taxes allowances. The analysis of the Lithuanian active labour market policy measures revealed that both strong and weak investments in human capital were balanced only during the crises. However, during the inter-crisis period, Lithuania’s active labour market policy measures were more focused on the weaker investment in human capital measures or the “job first” strategy. The strong investment in human capital was the lowest in Lithuania among other Baltic countries during the analysed period. 

This study examined the impact of improvisation of learning resources on biology instruction in senior secondary schools from Ondo South Senatorial District. The study sample was 350 and consisted of students randomly selected from 10 senior secondary schools in Ondo South Senatorial District of Ondo State in Nigeria. A self-developed inventory was designed and validated through pilot testing and administered to the sample for the data collection. The researcher personally visited the schools in Ondo South Senatorial District, thus 100% data were collected. The collected data were tabulated and analysed by using percentages, mean, standard deviation and t-test analysis. The major conclusions of this study were that the types of learning facilities that are available for teaching science are weighing balance, audio tape, textbooks, graphs, charts and maps; there is positive impact of improvisation of learning resources on the biology instruction in the senior secondary schools and there is no significant difference between male and female students in the impact of improvisation of learning resources on biology instruction. Based on the finding of this study, major recommendations were made.

Mathematics is the universal compartment through which both the study and the discovery of the surrounding environment take place. At the same time, mathematics is the academic discipline through which the formation of logical and practical thinking is pursued, so for the students of pedagogical specialties this discipline is an abstract science about which students know only what they have learned in gymnasium. Therefore, the motivation and professional orientation for studying mathematics are necessary, allowing in this context the application of mathematical knowledge and skills acquired in practical activities. This article thoroughly analyses the concept of motivation, but also addresses the motivation issue of the students in post-secondary technical vocational education – future primary school teachers in the Republic of Moldova. At the same time, the problematic aspects of the professional training process of future primary school teachers are determined.

The study investigated the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in the process of education of students from Osun Universities in Nigeria. The study is a descriptive one; a sample of 360 students from the universities in Osun State formed the participants for the study. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire structured by the researcher for data collection and its reliability level was 0.83. Data collected were analysed, using descriptive statistics, specifically mean, standard deviation, frequency counts and Person Product Moment Correction (PPMC). The findings of the study revealed that COVID-19 pandemic has negative effect on students’ learning outcomes from Osun State in Nigeria. The study revealed that there is no significant difference in the learning outcomes of students, depending on the type of school. Finally, the findings revealed that gender does not significantly differentiate the learning outcomes of the respondent students in Osun, Nigeria, under the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The following recommendations were made: government should consider the need to build good schools and equip them with modern digital facilities; government should ensure inclusion of online teaching such as integrated digital learning platforms, video lessons, broadcasting through radio and TV etc. to supplement the normal classroom teaching; educators as well as students must be trained on how to handle and use online educational devices; educators must spend quality time to prepare and make their lessons creative, interactive, relevant, student-centred and group-based; parents should pay personal attention to monitor and supervise their children until they adapt to online teaching environment; and government aid is needed in terms of investing in educational tools of the future alongside a total revamp of the educational sector as well as reforms in the national curriculum post-pandemic.