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Currently, the educational system in Latvia is undergoing a transition from a traditional to a competence-based curriculum where civic education plays an important place in pupils’ holistic development. In the context of strengthening civic education, it is important to gain experience in practising citizenship in order to promote the active participation and co-responsibility of young people in social and political processes in the country and beyond. The study focuses on the factors that influence the formation of young Latvian people’s civic identity and the role of formal education and their teachers in this process in a broader sustainability context. The article reflects the results of a study about Latvian youngsters’ involvement in political activities, their attitude and interest about political events in Latvia and the European Union.

During the social distancing, an increasing number of people use communication applications, various types of digital tools and programs. Various video conferencing platforms are regularly used in the educational environment. The study presents the analyses how intensive is the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the educational environment and how it can change cognitive-behavioral gender differences. This is particularly important to pay a special attention to the analysis of gender as a dynamic category, to take into account the processes of gender socialization and transformation of gender identification in the changing social environment. The research methods also included a set of additional methods, such as a focus group on different aspects of gender-specific behavior in the digital learning environment, putting together collages, as well as the method of the unfinished sentence related to the impact of ICT on teachers' professional development and well-being. In the course of the study, it was recognised that the design of social models of male and female gender-specific behaviour includes more than the basic gender identity and gender stability: in today's society, there is a multiplicity of views on the similarities and differences of gender-specific behaviours, and a rapid change in the accepted social guidelines and behavioural patterns is in progress, socio-cultural norms that define the psychological characteristics of women and men, their patterns of behaviour.

The globalization and migration processes are typical features of our societies that affect policy, economy and the culture of each country. Migration involves many challenges: identity issues and well-being of migrants in negotiating new roles and values. At the social level, migration involves demographic, educational, sociological and employment aspects. The reasons of migration are numerous, including the economic as the major one. The authors employ a multidisciplinary approach by drawing on the geographical, sociological and anthropological disciplines in disclosing the narrative of returnees. The methodology employed in this study is based on semi structured interviews with seven returnee women. The study focuses on the transcultural and transnational positionality of the Latvian returnee migrants who are trying to settle down in Latvia, by revealing their hopes and struggles while relocating in a new cultural context. In this study, the authors place a particular focus on the narratives of female returnees. The main question is directed at how the returnees locate themselves at the conjuncture of diverse localities in building their transcultural identity.

COVID-19 resulted in school closures on a global scale. However, the most significant closures appear to be in North America. Educational disruption is anticipated to impact educational attainment ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced regular patters of career guidance. Globally everything has stopped: projects were postponed, and workplaces were closed but this situation has pushed career counselors to search for new opportunities about how career guidance could be carried out. The pandemic has intensified existing challenges in society, adding complexity for the processes of a transition of educational systems towards digitalization and have intensified the need for remote career guidance. Young people become particularly vulnerable to the digital divide. Career development support has been at risk with the emergence of an unpredictable future. However, career guidance during the pandemic can serve as a tool for understanding the situation in depth and searching for new opportunities that exist, by helping individuals to overcome anxiety. While practicing physical distancing, career counselors have kept active professional networks in assisting their clients with their needs. The operation of career guidance has been transferred mainly to the online format and has required the counselors to develop new skills and competencies. The methodology employed in this study included interviews with individual career counselors about the main challenges and solutions discovered during the lockdown. Career counselors were questioned also about how they shaped a more sustainable and flexible online career guidance system. They revealed details about their struggles and hopes encountered in the situation of crises. The authors point to critical areas for improvement that career counselor can provide to their clients during the lockdown.

There has been a significant increase in interest about a psychological well-being among the researchers, politicians, media and general public. This study focuses on a measurement on a psychological well-being of the custom employees. For the purpose of measurement of a psychological well-being of custom employees, the authors have used Ruff’s scale that includes such components as positive relationships with others, autonomy, competence, personal growth, a purpose in life, and self-acceptance. According to Ryff (2014), well-being has been investigated in relation to one’s career pursuits. The purpose in life and personal growth were found to contribute to career commitments. In the case of the Latvian custom employees, among the essential elements of a psychological well-being are economic factors, favourable work environment and career opportunities in the organization. The study focuses in a psychological well-being of custom employees during the pandemic that leads to conclude that custom employees were in the forefront alongside with the doctors in stabilizing the situation in the county and have experienced a burn out, thereforethey need a psychological support and a recognition of their efforts at work.

Values has been explored in connection to a deeper understanding of human behavior. Values provide the answer to the basic existential questions, help to provide meaning in one’s life. Values are the key aspects of one’s self-esteem. They reflect diverse aspects of one’s social identity. According to a number of scientists, ethnic identity is a part of social identity. A number of studies in psychology has a focus on the connection between ethnicity and ethnic values. There are two main approaches towards the study of values can be distinguished. On the one hand, there are values that have the existential basis for the existence of people. On the other hand, the information about ethnic values can have applied aspect. The aim of this study is to identify differences in value orientation among representatives of two main linguistic groups that live in Eastern Latvia: the group of Latvian and Russian-speaking participants. The second goal is to explore the influence of religion, age and gender on the values of the research participants. The methodology used for the purpose of this study was to determine value orientation towards family, religious and friendship. The authors discovered statistically significant differences only in relation to a value of friendship. This value turned out to be the highest among the Russian-speaking group as compared to the Latvian-speaking group, as well as in the Orthodox group as compared to the group of Catholics.

The issue of a human person, and his/her development, and particularly in connection with a social sphere is extremely relevant for our times. In psychology, this issue has been developed through developmental periods, theories of personality identity and conditions that contribute to a self-actualization of an individual. In this regard, interest is how these ideas evolved in the process of cultural and historical development of humankind, how they were understood by previous generations of scientists and philosophers, how theoretical views of past generations are interpreted by the researchers of our time. This determined the objectives of this research. The authors applied the method of content analysis of the text with the aim to discover the concept of an ideal, or perfect person in works of Aristotle, to compare this concept with the corresponding views of Plato, to determine the influence of Aristotle's concept of an ideal person on modern theories of personality. The research method is a content analysis of works of Aristotle and research done by the authors that reflect a philosophical heritage of the Greek thinker. As for both, Plato and Aristotle, the soul is the basis of life and the source of human activity. For Plato the soul appears to be an indivisible and immortal entity, then for Aristotle it has its own structure. Human soul is capable of development and improvement. The main condition for improvement, according to Plato, are correct actions of a person from the point of view of law and public opinion. Aristotle believes that in this process, education and upbringing plays major attention. Aristotle's ideas today are being developed in a deep and humanistic psychology and developmental psychology.

Assertiveness is the ability to act on the basis of one’s self-esteem by considering the point of view of other people, so that the behaviour remains within positive boundaries. Given the fact that online communication is already firmly entrenched in our lives, the study aims to explore the relationship between individuals' self-assertive behaviour and addiction on the use of social networks. The authors have applied two tests developed by Sheinov: "Addiction to social networks" and "Test of Assertive Behaviour."Fifty university students agreed to participate in this study on a voluntarily bases. All of them were first-year students from Daugavpils University. It was revealed in the study that the relationship between assertive behaviour and dependence on social networking is complex and non-linear and depends on age, professional and cultural characteristics of the individual. Today, the need for assertive behaviour is experienced by many branches of public life.

The role of health care personnel in any medical institution is particularly important. Staff as a resource is the most important and valuable capital that ensures the continuous and systemic functioning of the institution, its development in perspective. The competence and attitude of the employees determine the satisfaction of clients and patients and the outcome of treatment. Therefore, this is necessary for every medical institution to raise professional qualification and training of staff by raising their professional competence. High professionalism increases confidence of clients in medical personal and it manifests the best practice in a particular hospital. The professional development and a lifelong learning of healthcare professionals play a key role according to the requirements of the professional competence of medical personnel. Different EU countries apply different approaches and experience in determining the levels of professionalism in choosing criteria of assessment of quality of medical personnel. The aim of the study: is to explore and to analyse the existing procedures for assessing the professional competence of health care personnel. The methodology of the study: For the purpose of this study the authors have carried out a questionnaire with nurses aiming at evaluation of their professional competence. The results of the study: The authors of the study have analysed the requirement for the assessment of professional competence of health care staff in a hospital as well as data gained in the questionnaire and designed the competence model. The significance of the studyis to highlight the importance of raising competence of medical personnel.

Spirituality and worldview are broad concepts with many different understandings and perspectives. They include a sense of connection to a higher power, as well as a search for answers to existential questions of life. Human spiritual experiences can be described as sacred or transcendental, or as an awareness that everything in this world is deeply united and always in the process. There are people who associate their spiritual experiences with a particular religion, others seek this unity in nature, in music, and also in their relationships. Spirituality is essentially about the great questions of life and the search for the meaning of life, but to everyone it can mean something different. This study explores students' perceptions of the role of spirituality in their lives and education by surveying students at two Latvian universities, focusing on the diversity of their perceptions of the world, their sources of spiritual nourishment and their quest for spirituality. Universities need to address issues of spirituality, different religions and worldviews, which often coexist in the context of contemporary diversity. The results of the study reveal students' interest in spirituality-related experiences and their search for meaning in life and for meaningful philosophy of life, often associated with scepticism towards traditional religious offerings but showing openness to an ecumenical approach to religions.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been a source of fear around the world. We asked whether the measurement of this fear is trustworthy and comparable across countries. In particular, we explored the measurement invariance and cross-cultural replicability of the widely used Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S), testing community samples from 48 countries (N = 14,558). The findings indicate that the FCV-19S has a somewhat problematic structure, yet the one-factor solution is replicable across cultural contexts and could be used in studies that compare people who vary on gender and educational level. The validity of the scale is supported by a consistent pattern of positive correlations with perceived stress and general anxiety. However, given the unclear structure of the FCV-19S, we recommend using latent factor scores, instead of raw scores, especially in cross-cultural comparisons. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The article focuses on a discourse of resilience and remembering and its interconnectedness in teaching contested historical narratives. History mainly consists of events, remembrance, narratives, rituals, discourses, and stereotypes which can facilitate or prevent resilience. Since such purposes are part of religious and values education, a multidimensional approach is needed, which combines historical, psychological, religious, sociological, educational and literary aspects in a kind of ‘grammar of remembrance’, in order to motivate and facilitate autonomous and supervised research with discussions and sharing of experiences in different projects. The aim of this conceptual study is to facilitate interdisciplinary research and educational projects concerning memory cultures and conflict management.

Norm enforcement may be important for resolving conflicts and promoting cooperation. However, little is known about how preferred responses to norm violations vary across cultures and across domains. In a preregistered study of 57 countries (using convenience samples of 22,863 students and non-students), we measured perceptions of the appropriateness of various responses to a violation of a cooperative norm and to atypical social behaviors. Our findings highlight both cultural universals and cultural variation. We find a universal negative relation between appropriateness ratings of norm violations and appropriateness ratings of responses in the form of confrontation, social ostracism and gossip. Moreover, we find the country variation in the appropriateness of sanctions to be consistent across different norm violations but not across different sanctions. Specifically, in those countries where use of physical confrontation and social ostracism is rated as less appropriate, gossip is rated as more appropriate. Little is known about people's preferred responses to norm violations across countries. Here, in a study of 57 countries, the authors highlight cultural similarities and differences in people's perception of the appropriateness of norm violations., Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences; Riksbankens Jubileumsfond; Czech Science Foundation; Czech Academy of Sciences; Institute of Psychology; Stockholm University

COVID-19 has been a global disruptor. In many cases due to uncertainty and limited information, the pandemic has created chaos across business and private activity; education is no exception. The reality of the limited flexibility of existing systems of teaching was immediately acknowledged by the closure of physical facilities and the subsequent migration to online teaching. However, in spite of technologies to enable remote participation, it has become apparent that the capacity for learning in an autonomous environment is not homogeneous. From this perspective the pandemic created an opportunity to assess education infrastructure in real time as part of on-going crisis management. This paper explores aspects of crisis management in education as precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia and relates the mitigation and adaptation policies subsequently adopted to a holistic sustainability agenda for education. The research method employed in this study consists of semi structured interviews with the management team members from eight educational institutions. The interviews focus on the crisis management strategies and approaches implemented in their schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion concludes with a connection between crisis management and educational sustainability and sets an agenda for future research.

Religious encounters are one of the most debated issues in Europe. Tools for dealing with sensitive, controversial religious issues still remain underdeveloped. Therefore, religious educators need to promote a deeper understanding of religious issues instead of merely passing information onto students. Expanding borders and developing a more inclusive religious education about all worldviews is needed for better understanding of the diversity of worldviews, while addressing sensitive and controversial issues and “fighting prejudices and stereotypes” (Jackson, Signposts-policy and practice for teaching about religions and non-religious world views in intercultural education, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, 2014). This conceptual study argues that the aim of RE is to build a more inclusive model of religious education capable of incorporating all worldviews. Currently, scholars in Latvia are involved is designing a New National Curriculum founded on the competency-based approach. The study is an attempt to answer the following questions: How can religious education be integrated in the new National Curriculum? What is the best approach to integrating religious education into the new curriculum within all twelve years of primary and secondary education to develop religious competency/literacy?