Thesis. The article presents the construction process and psychometric properties of the Critical Thinking Questionnaire (CThQ). The questionnaire is a critical thinking test tool designed for adolescents and adults. The basis for creating the questionnaire was classifying the educational goals proposed by Benjamin Bloom and spread by critical thinking practitioners. Methods. The independent rater system was used in the construction of the test, while the psychometric properties of the test were tested on a sample of 198 people, calculating the inter-correlation and the Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient. Result. Both assessments of the independent rater system and research checking the psychometric properties of the test indicate high reliability of the tool. Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of internal consistency was 0.87. In its final version, the test consists of 25 items, the results of which allow assessing critical thinking in 6 scales: remembering, understanding, applying, analysing, evaluating, and creating. The tool also allows checking the overall score.

The aim of this research was to compare the quality of life among University of the Third Age (U3A) students in Poland, where a novel method of educating seniors is being developed, with the quality of life among students at newly established U3As in Belarus and Ukraine, which have copied the Polish model. The research was also conducted to connect a range of socio-demographic variables with two explanatory ones: satisfaction with participation in U3A activities and the overall quality of life. A total of 515 U3A (N13) students from three Eastern European countries—Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus—took part in the research. The overall quality of life of U3A students was researched and expressed in the form of three components: stress level, sense of self-efficacy, and level of satisfaction with life. The following tools were used: PPS10 (Perceived Stress Scale), GSES (General Self-Efficacy Scale), and SWLS (Satisfaction with Life Scale). The research showed a statistically significant difference between the country of residence and the level of satisfaction with life, sense of self-efficacy, and the overall indicator of the quality of life. Polish seniors obtained higher results in all these areas when compared to their counterparts in Ukraine and Belarus.

In the educational context, virtual reality (VR) can be defined as a set of diverse hardware and software technologies that can be used to provide the experience of immersion in the learning process. This study aimed to investigate the connection between VR and emotions that can motivate students to be more active in the didactic process. A group of 99 participants was involved and watched three short individual VR sessions using Oculus glasses. We monitored participants’ moods (using the SUPIN/PANAS questionnaire) and we also gauged their self-esteem (SES questionnaire). Participation in VR sessions increases the intensity in learners’ emotions. The increase or decrease in emotions depends on whether they are positive or negative. First and foremost, we observed changes in the intensity of positive emotions which, after VR intervention, increased significantly in relation to the initial measurement, compared with the intensity of negative emotions during the post-test. The results show that VR significantly modifies learners’ emotions, contributing to the reinforcement of positive emotional states, and in the case of those with low self-esteem, it also decreases negative emotional states. In conclusion, VR can be used as a didactic tool to facilitate the teaching-learning process at various levels. It makes it possible not only to practice skills in simulated, safer conditions and illustrate presented material, but also to make the didactic process more attractive, thereby influencing learners’ emotions positively.

Introduction: Living in the age of modern inventions one forgets about one of the best medications for many health problems, which is physical activity. In 2016, Kantar Public (Ministry of Sport and Tourism, 2016) announced that only one in five Poles aged 15-69 had an adequate level of physical activity. A CBOS (Centre for Public Opinion Research) survey conducted in 2014 showed that half of Poles weigh too much. For the development of lifestyle diseases, besides overweight, the wrong lifestyle also contributes (CBOS No. 122/2014). According to the WOBASZ (a multi-center nationwide survey of the health status of the population) survey, only 3% of Polish society is characterized by "an indicator of a healthy lifestyle" (Kwaśniewska, Kaczmarczyk-Chałas, Dziankowska-Zaborszczyk, Kucharczyk, Drygas, 2010). The role and task of physical activity at an early age, as well as at any other stage of life, is very important in the prevention of civilization diseases, which is why it is crucial to monitor it. Aim of the study: The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between the level of physical activity, state of health and the lifestyle of the academic youth. Material and methods: The research was carried out among students from three universities in Wrocław (n = 629): University of Wrocław (UWr), Wrocław University of Science and Technology (PWr) and Wrocław Medical University (UM). The study used self-constructed questionnaires: physical activity questionnaire, health questionnaire, lifestyle questionnaire. The following statistical analyzes of the results were used: Shapiro-Wilk test, Pearson chi-square test independence, post-hoc test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation coefficient rank (Spearman) and Pearson's correlation coefficient. In the calculations, the package of computer programs STATISTICA v. 9.0 was used. Hypotheses verified at the level of p ≤0.05. Results: Health was the highest-rated one of the studied factors. In addition, it was found that as much as 67.7% of students from all universities represent a very good level of lifestyle. 68.4% of the respondents were characterized by a very good health potential. Research has shown that the physical activity of students from Medical University is at a higher level than students of PWr and UWr. Among the demographic variables, gender turned out to be important (men perform physical activity more often than women, while BMI and place of origin did not affect the physical activity of students). Studies have confirmed the relationship between all major variables (physical activity, lifestyle and health). The increase in the level of physical activity is accompanied by an increase in the level of lifestyle. A positive correlation between lifestyle factor and health condition was also observed.

Background: The article presents the psychometric parameters and implementation of the adult education needs inventory (AENI) questionnaire, which is designed to measure the key competences of adult educators. It was constructed on the concept of key competences as proposed by the Council of the European Union. This model of competences is inscribed in the concept of lifelong learning and does not concentrate on the compensatory functions of the competences but merely promotes the insight of educators into their self-development. This article presents the construction process and psychometrical properties of AENI.Materials and methods: The reliability of the test is confirmed by the inter-correlated results. The accuracy of the questionnaire was confirmed through principal component analysis (PCA). Apart from this, the accuracy of the theory was verified by a correlation between AENI and the Social Skills Profile (PROKOS), which measures the level of such social skills as assertiveness, cooperativeness, sociability, social resourcefulness, and social activeness. To check the accuracy of the theory, hypotheses were formulated which were related to both the correlated overall results (AENI and PROKOS) and the chosen scales.Results: Six areas of need in development were distinguished: communication skills, multilingual and multicultural skills, digital skills, entrepreneurial skills, openness to science and culture, and social and civic skills. A low result on the scale indicates a need to develop a given skill because the respondent’s skills are weak. Such information is vital for employers and educators who wish to diagnose the areas that need improvement. The measures of reliability and accuracy allow us to state that the questionnaire possesses acceptable psychometrical factors. This study contains propositions for further improvement of the questionnaire and a key to interpreting the research results.Conclusion: Adult education needs inventory questionnaire is a reliable research tool that can be used to assess the competences of adult educators. Also, it can be considered a voice of discussion regarding the necessity of raising the quality of education and raising the awareness of the education needs of individual adult educators and organizations that benefit from their services.