This article demonstrates the importance of social support from students’ significant others (parents, peers and teachers) in the process of doing well at school. The main focus of the research project was to find correlations between the quality of adolescents’ relationships with significant others and their school success or school failure, as measured by their average grades. One hundred adolescents experiencing school failure [mean school grade 2.9 (FX) or below] and 100 adolescents without any problems with learning [mean school grade 4.1 (C) or more] participated in the study. In each of the groups half of the participants were female and half were male. All the students were attending the second class of gymnasium; their mean age was 14. The students were attending eight different schools in one Polish town. The main hypothesis of the study was that students experiencing school failure differ from these with school success in the quality of their relationships with significant others, as measured by the different amount of perceived social support from their mothers, fathers, peers and teachers. The results show that teenagers need parental support in the form of attachment with, not detachment from their parents. Perceived parents’, peers’ and teacher's support helps teenagers to get good marks. Therefore, in order to help teenagers to achieve school success pedagogues should teach them not only academic skills, but show them how to create and maintain good relations with their parents and peers.

The aim of this paper is to analyse oral communication strategies in English as a foreign language (EFL) of deaf and hard of hard-of-hearing (D/HH) students. The paper is based on an action research case study concerning oral communication strategies of this group of students with special educational needs. The results demonstrate that when they communicate orally in the target foreign language, D/HH students use the same verbal, nonverbal, linguistic, and non-linguistic stimuli as their hearing peers, alongside certain characteristic communication strategies. The paper relates these students’ employment of various communication strategies to their greater autonomy, and emphasises the need to identify and promote beneficial communication strategies during EFL classes for the D/HH.

The 25th anniversary of the Salamanca Statement is a good opportunity to summarize to what extent the challenges described in it have been implemented by the signatory countries, all of which are members of UNESCO. This article presents a balance of achievements in implementing inclusive education in Poland, as well as a catalog of challenges for the future. Although the commitments to provide inclusive education for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) arise from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), which have both been ratified by Poland, systematic work on the implementation began only in 2010. The key measure was the Regulation of the Ministry of National Education on the principles of planning and organization of psychological and pedagogical support for pupils with SEN. Currently, in cooperation with the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education intensive work is underway to create a coherent system for recognizing the needs and possibilities of children and adolescents based on the functional diagnosis model. Therefore, this article presents the assumptions of this model with reference to the implemented or planned changes to the educational law.

This paper presents an analysis of a focused selection of twenty-three systematic literature reviews on employability, reflecting our concerns about the quantity and quality of research and the proliferation of review studies on this topic. Our umbrella review followed PRISMA methodology and identified three broad areas of employability research: 1) the complex and multidimensional nature of employability, 2) competencies, capitals, and individual development for employability, and 3) contextual factors, inequalities, and shared responsibility in employability. Within these, we identified twelve main micro-themes of contemporary research and opportunities for future research. We found a field characterised by a complex, multifaceted, and dynamic nature, marked by diverse conceptualizations and measurement approaches. Furthermore, findings consistently point to the importance of individual attributes, competencies, and the accumulation of various forms of capital, alongside formative experiences, in shaping employability. Crucially, our review highlights that employability is deeply influenced by global transformations and systemic inequalities, necessitating a shared responsibility among all stakeholders to bridge skill gaps and foster equitable and sustainable labour market outcomes.

Znaczenie diagnozy funkcjonalnej w edukacji uczniów ze specjalnymi potrzebami edukacyjnymi

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly risky for people with disabilities and severe medical conditions, not only because the virus may be a direct threat to their physical health but also because of social exclusion and negating their needs and rights.Objective: This study aimed to assess the attitudes of people from different age groups towards people with intellectual disability (ID).Methods: The study included 223 people (19–85 years old) and was conducted in May 2020–January 2021. Data was collected using the Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Towards Persons With Disabilities and a self-designed Questionnaire regarding the attitudes towards people with ID during the pandemic. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 24 (ANOVA).Results: The results of the study showed that the general attitudes were only slightly supportive and differed among people of different age groups: the youngest and the oldest generation expressed the most positive attitudes while the adults (35–60 y.o.) expressed the most negative ones.Conclusions: As the pandemic is spreading rapidly with no definitive solution, awareness to create more positive attitudes towards people with ID and recognizing their needs is essential.