Called the competence of the 21st century, creativity is one of the key competencies for sustainable development. There is no fixed path to achieve sustainability and it is subject to human creativity. However, integrated development of both is surely an under-researched topic. Creative thinking and creative problem solving should be a necessary and significant component of modern sustainable education. Students must learn to associate creativity with sustainability. Helping them understand sustainability by exposing them to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and designing new creations that honor the planetary boundaries is crucial. The paper focuses on developing creativity by Polish teachers who work with adolescents. The assumption was that creativity can be developed using certain didactic methods and forms. The objective of the study was to explore and to describe which didactic methods and forms teachers use to shape the competence of creativity in students. The teachers took part in a survey and were asked what methods and forms they use to develop creativity in their students. The sample consisted of 337 teachers from the Małopolska region. The results of the analyses show that teachers use only a few of the methods recommended to facilitate creativity, which may lead to a low level of this competence among the students. They also use the most common didactic forms, which may not support the development of creativity competences. Moreover, the research results show that there are several factors, such as the teacher’s seniority and the location of the school, which determine the choice of individual teaching methods.

The goal of the study was to diagnose the needs of instructors working in the area of the digital inclusion of persons who are excluded, at risk of exclusion, marginalized, and discriminated against in terms of using new technologies. The research focused on the phenomenon of the digital divide as seen from the perspective of digital literacy educators of older adults. The study was conducted in 2019 in Poland, using a qualitative research methodology (a structured in-depth interview) and interpretative paradigm. The respondents were 8 specialists, educators of older adults, representing different types of institutions dealing with the digital divide: a activity center, a public library, a nursing home, an NGO, and a University of the Third Age. Triangulation of the results led to several important conclusions regarding to the expectations, experiences, challenges and postulated supporting actions related to digital inclusion. Based on the results gathered, we have noticed that educators readily share their didactic and organizational experience. The respondents were open to the development of their own teaching competences, and recognized the role of lifelong learning. They often highlighted that the digital education of older adults is only one of many additional activities. The activities to improve the digital literacy of older adults are implemented as part of their non-formal education (i.e. it is carried out by educators holding no formal qualifications). For this reason, the teachers expect content-related and methodological support most of all, as well as the promotion of the idea of lifelong education (including digital literacy development) in society.

Properly planned and effectively implemented education provides an opportunity to change human behavior, which in turn may lead to an improved quality of life worldwide, including by means of realizing a cleaner environment. This article presents the results of research on the integration of environmental protection issues into curricula by Polish teachers. It was assumed that the environmental protection issues included the challenges related to the sustainable management of natural resources. The sample consisted of 337 teachers of general subjects who were employed in schools in the Małopolska region (southern Poland) and working with students in lower-secondary (13–16 years old) and upper-secondary (16–20 years old) schools. The results of the research show that many teachers know how to integrate environmental protection issues into their curricula. However, there are still many teachers who ignore key issues in the education of sustainable development in their teaching process.

It seems that the need to change the existing lifestyle of contemporary societies has never been more urgent. According to experts, the optimal model of sustainable development assumes that change can occur if the global society obtains and develops competencies defined as key to sustainable development. These competencies include anticipatory thinking, which allows us to envisage the results of our decisions and actions from multiple perspectives. Anticipatory thinking is extremely important at many levels in the context of sustainable management, including human resource management, economic management, environmental management, and natural resource management. This paper attempts to answer the question about the level of anticipatory thinking declared by Polish students living in rural and urban areas. This study was conducted among 877 students aged 13–20 years from the Małopolska region (southern Poland). A correlational research design was adopted, in which the method used was a survey, and the technique was a self-assessment test. We investigated which selected sociodemographic characteristics of the teenage respondents were related to a high, moderate, or low level of anticipatory thinking. Girls showed a lower level of anticipatory thinking, whereas age and education level were not significantly correlated with the level of this competence.

Modern media, to a large extent, create the social, economic and environmental reality. They may become a support for the teachers who implement the assumptions of education for sustainable development in their teaching–learning process. The authors of the present text focused on the problem of using media in teaching by Polish teachers at the 3rd and 4th grade educational level. The main research enquiry was concerning media Polish teachers use to support sustainable development among students. As the results show, Polish teachers are not prepared enough to use the media to promote sustainable development.

Critical thinking is described as a competence for the future, a key competence in a global information society, enabling efficient and proactive action in a changing reality in which individuals must cope with information chaos. In addition, the competence of critical thinking is exceptionally important in the context of self-development, and especially – the development of teachers, because this professional group has to cope in its work with unpredictability, ambiguity, the need to constantly verify information, update existing competencies and acquire new ones. Critical thinking also makes it possible to discover weaknesses/deficiencies in one’s own thinking, shortcomings in one’s skills, and make judgments based on evidence/arguments. The article addresses the issue of critical thinking in the context of teacher development. Attention was paid to the understanding of the concept of “critical thinking” as a key competence in the modern world, and it was pointed out how critical thinking supports the process of self-development, especially among teachers. Myślenie krytyczne jako kompetencja kluczowa oraz czynnik samorozwoju współczesnego nauczyciela Myślenie krytyczne jest określane jako kompetencja dla przyszłości, kluczowa w społeczeństwie globalnej informacji, umożliwiająca sprawne i aktywne działanie w zmieniającej się rzeczywistości, w której jednostki muszą sobie radzić z chaosem informacyjnym. Ponadto, kompetencja myślenia krytycznego wyjątkowo ważna jest w kontekście samorozwoju, a szczególnie – rozwoju nauczycieli, bowiem ta grupa zawodowa musi w swojej pracy radzić sobie z nieprzewidywalnością, niejednoznacznością koniecznością nieustannego wersyfiowania informacji, aktualizowania posiadanych kompetencji i nabywania nowych. Myślenie krytyczne pozwala także odkryć słabości/niedostatki własnego myślenia, braki w zakresie posiadanych umiejętności oraz wydawać oparte na dowodach/ argumentach sądy. W artykule podjęto problematykę myślenia krytycznego w kontekście rozwoju nauczyciela. Zwrócono uwagę na rozumienie pojęcia „myślenie krytyczne” jako kompetencji kluczowej we współczesnym świecie oraz wskazano, jak myślenie krytyczne wspiera proces samorozwoju, szczególnie wśród nauczycieli.