Tool For Personal Development Research Articles

Empowerment in Virtual Worlds: The Influence of Female Hero Characters on Player Self-Identity

This study examines the influence of female hero characters in virtual worlds on players’ self-identity and empowerment. The research integrates qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys to explore how players’ identification with female protagonists affects their self-concept and psychological empowerment. The study’s sample included 150 participants with diverse demographics and gaming experiences. The results reveal that players who identify strongly with female hero characters report higher self-concept and empowerment scores. These findings are supported by both thematic analysis of qualitative data and statistical analysis of quantitative data, including significant differences highlighted through t-tests. Case studies further illustrate the mechanisms through which these characters influence players’ self-identity and empowerment, providing detailed narratives of personal growth and increased confidence. The study underscores the potential of video games to serve as tools for personal development and social change, emphasizing the importance of inclusive game design that promotes diverse and empowering representations.

Doing reflexivity in educational research: identifying perspectives to inform positionality

ABSTRACT This paper presents an innovative approach to examine reflexivity in educational research. Adapting Brookfield’s autobiographical lenses to identify the four perspectives from a personal life history (as the mother of a child with multiple chronic illnesses who died aged 18) and professional perspectives (as a paediatric nurse, a teacher, and a researcher) provided a clear structure to identify and articulate reflexivity. The paper draws on my doctoral thesis, a case history which explored how practitioners in early childhood education and care settings created inclusive environments for young children with chronic health conditions. The participants included parents of children with chronic health conditions, thus presenting ethical dilemmas regarding reflexivity. The paper includes vignettes from my thesis which include deeply personal accounts to illustrate how the four perspectives influenced my research. This scholarly engagement set the foundations for my subsequent academic career and for my personal development. The paper concludes with the assertion that engaging with reflexivity is not only a vital ingredient of educational research but also has implications for improving practice, as well as being a tool for personal development.

Promoting mindfulness in training psychotherapists in a university setting: A pilot study

To respond to external and internal demands during a therapeutic session, psychotherapists must monitor their attention. Research shows that mindfulness practice is beneficial in promoting this ability and acts as a protective agent against adverse states. However, its implementation in psychotherapist training has been limited. The aim of this pilot study was to explore the influence of mindfulness training on stress, anxiety, depression, and the mindfulness construct in trainee psychotherapists, and to examine its feasibility as part of their training. Fifty-one university students participated in the study and were divided into experimental and control groups. Pre- and post-training measures of mindfulness were considered. Both groups completed a battery of questionnaires related to adverse states and mindfulness before the training. Subsequently, the experimental group underwent nine weeks of mindfulness training. After the training, both groups completed the questionnaire battery again. The results showed that the group that underwent mindfulness training exhibited a decrease in adverse symptoms and an increase in mindfulness scores compared with the control group. These findings highlight not only the viability of incorporating mindfulness practice into the academic training of future therapists, but also its utility as a tool for personal development and the necessary skills to effectively face and develop their professional practice.

Features of Interaction in Online Counseling from the Standpoint of Transactional Analysis

This paper is based on the speech at the MIR-TA (International Institute of Development Transactional Analysis, IIDTA) Student Conference in 2023. The article considers the phenomenon of virtual communication in the modality of Transactional Analysis, describes the features of virtual communication, both among specialists of helping professions and free internet users. Based on Eric Berne’s theory of satisfying hunger (thirst) for structure, recognition and stimulus, the author analyzes virtual ways to satisfy these motivators. The article describes in detail each of the six ways of structuring time in virtual space, as well as the process of interaction among internet users, and how virtual interaction affects real contacts. The author also speaks about the features of an administrative contract for online counseling in working with a client. Also, virtual communication is considered as a tool for creating a favorable atmosphere for personal development and therefore a way to satisfy the client’s stimulus hunger is proposed, and practical recommendations are given. The author suggests taking a more conscious look at virtual communication and using it as a tool for personal development in a rapidly changing reality.

REVIEW TO THE DIRECTORY «ENCYCLOPEDIA OF YOUTH WORK» (2022)

In modern society, youth work is usually understood as a tool for personal development, social integration and active citizenship of young people. Youth work is a «keyword» for all types of activities of a social, cultural, educational or political nature, which are done together with young people, for young people and by the forces of young people themselves. It belongs to the field of education outside the educational institution, most often associated with non-formal or informal education. «Encyclopedia of youth work» is a reference and analytical work that highlights the problems of theory, history and practice of youth work, youth policy. The preparation of the publication was carried out in accordance with the work plan of the Youth Center «START» of Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University, concluded by scientific and pedagogical workers and graduate students of the Department of Social Pedagogy and Social Work of Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University.

Why Knowledge Management for Sustainability needs a Sustainability Mindset

Although the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) express urgency for actions, the UN also reports that reaching these goals as planned is very challenging. It has been argued that a mindset paradigm shift is needed and this paper will show that knowledge management (KM) can play an important part in this shift. Knowledge of sustainability is often complex, systemic and hard to capture (tacit), leading to specific challenges in its management. To address these, a three-step process, DCA, had been proposed beginning with defining (D) what knowledge is needed, then collecting (C) and acting (A) upon it. Focusing specifically on the defining step (D) and on tacit knowledge as the most challenging aspects, the paper proposes two improvements: first, to integrate Nonaka et al’s SECI model (Socialize, Externalize, Combine, Internalize) that describes how tacit knowledge can be externalized and shared. Secondly, the Sustainability Mindset by Rimanoczy is proposed as framework that aligns values and allows discovery and formulation of tacit sustainability knowledge along its content areas and principles. It is posited that when tacit understanding becomes more tangible, shifts in mindset can occur more readily, and vice versa, that a broadened mindset eases sense-making of tacit knowledge, thus creating a cycle of growth and change for the organization. The Sustainability Mindset Indicator (SMI), a personal development tool is proposed to operationalize the development of the sustainability mindset, and said exploration of tacit knowledge, which combined with tools from the SECI model may offer managers concrete tools to define the knowledge their organizations need on their pathway to change towards sustainability and fulfillment of SDGs.

CHILDREN OF PRESCHOOL AGE AWAKENING INTEREST IN THE BOOK

This article discusses children of preschool age awakening interest in the book. In today's world of modern technology and tools, engaging children in reading and engaging them in the reading process remains a daunting task. The book is the basis of all creativity, ingenuity and intellect. He is a life coach. There is no better friend in the world than a book. Special attention should be paid to increasing children's interest in reading, making them friends with books and improving their reading skills. In order to prepare a child for a successful school education, it is necessary to create the necessary conditions for him to master all the riches of the native language. Getting children interested in books is one of the most powerful tools for personal development. In order to instill in our children a love and passion for books, we must first treat them properly.

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS A FORM OF SOCIAL WORK FOR THE SOCIAL COHESION OF SOCIETY

Social entrepreneurship serves as one of the social techniques for the social cohesion of disadvantaged and marginalised groups in society, and therefore can be used as a practical method in the field of social work. Social entrepreneurship provides an operational platform for the renewal of people’s self-dependence skills, by learning to do things together, which is a relevant motivational aspect for socially marginalised people in solving their social and personal problems. Thus, the social cohesion of disadvantaged and marginalised groups of society by being involved in social entrepreneurial activities, and thus being placed in the sphere of the productive economy at the level of the community, contributes to the development of the local community, giving citizens the socially active status of being active protagonists in their destiny and their local community. However, the renewal of a person’s social functioning, achieved by involvement in social entrepreneurial activities, covers a person’s life holistically, starting with the person’s inner processes that lead to forming external social relationships. Therefore, the analysis of this process in the article involves taking an anthropological perspective on activating people’s inner resources and human potential in the activities of social enterprises, which also shows the dimension of social entrepreneurship as a tool for personal development. The aim of the article is to explore the phenomenon and practice of social entrepreneurship in the context of social work, where social entrepreneurship can be used as an innovative approach as a tool for the development of the community, and for the transformation on a personal level of practitioners and people involved in entrepreneurial activities.

INTERNAL MOTIVATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL TO LEARN ABOUT ART

One of the most important topics in art history remains the issue of motivating people to learn about art and the ability to encourage or arouse the desire to join the knowledge of art to a wide audience. Today’s information society provides an opportunity to analyze how powerful the system of knowledge in the field of art history is. The question of art practices and their impact on the development of emotional, intellectual and creative potential of the individual remains important. There is insufficient research on this issue in relation to the internal motivation of modern man to learn about art in the scientific field. This is mostly the case for research related to motivation in the pedagogical field in the teaching of schoolchildren or students. In the field of pedagogy, the problem of motivation was dealt with by В. Dodonov, A. Kolot, S. Serikov. However, in terms of motivating a wide audience, such research is lacking. This led to the analysis and research of this topic, to identify factors influencing the intrinsic motivation of people to learn about art, to analyze the results of the survey on what motivated participants to participate in artistic activities and track the effects of artistic knowledge. A survey of 50 participants was conducted to determine the motivational component of learning about art. The applied value of artistic knowledge for a wide audience is analyzed. Theories that can influence the formation of a person’s internal motivation to learn about art have been studied. The formation of intrinsic motivation to learn about art depends on various factors, among the main – the presence of a prerequisite for the formation of interest, understanding of the usefulness and practical application of artistic knowledge, regardless of type or profession. Also, an important factor for increasing motivation is to substantiate the importance of artistic knowledge as a tool for personal development and the possibility of transferring a person from a deficient state to a resource state.

PEDAGOGICAL FEASIBILITY OF THE USE OF A REFLECTIVE DIARY IN THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN

In the context of the problem of development of the personality of a primary school child, a reflective diary is considered as a pedagogical tool for personal development of a primary school child and the feasibility of its use in primary school is revealed. The purpose of creating a reflective diary is defined; the effectiveness of using the developed reflective diary is evaluated from the point of view of developing skills of independent work, reflexive skills of a primary school child, in accordance with the indicators of quantitative and qualitative changes in the level of development of the personality of a primary school child. A feedback system has been developed from primary school children in the form of a questionnaire. A number of pedagogical conditions for the effectiveness of the use of a reflective diary are listed: adherence to the frequency of keeping a diary, the use of diagnostic tools in the diary, the stages in filling out the diary, the completeness of the tasks of the diary and recording achievements in the corresponding section, conducting a secondary diagnosis of indicators of the personal characteristics of a younger student, recognizing improvements in the personality of the child by parents, teachers and the child himself. A scale for assessing the effectiveness of a reflective diary is provided. A conclusion is made about the degree of development of the system for assessing the effectiveness of the use of a reflective diary in the educational process of a primary school child.

Recent Trends and Challenges on Mentoring and Virtual Coaching in IT & ITEs Companies during Pandemic

The year 2020 opened new realities as companies had to adapt to the COVID-induced new normal. As entire nations went into lockdown and businesses shut down, virtually became the go-to way of working. Even as essential services endured the field, an enormous segment of the employee population was forced to work remotely, almost overnight. Besides, organizations had to engage with these people differently, to keep them motivated in an impersonal virtual environment. Employee engagement, learning & development, and performance management took on a new embodiment, as HR and business leaders strove to engage their people in the disruptive environment. Mentoring and virtual coaching has been used as a useful personal development tool in this situation. Many companies apply mentoring and virtual coaching programs as part of the employee recruiting and employee development programs. This research paper aims to examine the current positioning of mentoring & virtual coaching programs in organizations in the IT and ITEs companies’ environment. For the study, a structured questionnaire was administered to 50 participants. To analyze the advantages and disadvantages of mentoring and virtual coaching programs in organisations, as well as the positive and negative outcomes of such development programs. To draw conclusions in the context of the analysis and will make suggestions for future improvements in the IT and ITEs companies mentoring &virtual coaching programs as a strategic tool for employee recruitment and employee development.

REFLECTIVE PRACTICE: ITS KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICE AND PERCEPTION DURING COVID-19 AMONG PAEDIATRIC NURSING STUDENTS

Purpose: This study sought to explore the knowledge level, practice and perception of the usefulness of reflective practice among pediatric nursing students in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 Methodology: A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study was used in carrying out the study. The study was conducted among pediatric nursing level 300 and 400 students of the University for Development Studies, Tamale, with an age range between 17 and 38. A structured questionnaire in electronic form (using Google forms) was administered to respondents through their class social media (WhatsApp) platform. Data analyses were done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 and Microsoft Excel. The Fisher Exact Test was used to determine how statistically significant independent variables influence the dependent variables.
 Results: Findings showed that 88.5% (54/61) of the students knew reflective practice, 98.4% of them practised reflection. All respondents agreed that reflective practise has a positive impact on personal and professional development. No association existed between the age of respondents and knowledge of reflection (Fisher’s exact test=5.18; p=0.159). However, there were significant differences between the sex of respondents and knowledge of reflection (Fisher’s exact test=12.09; p=0.001) and between the class of respondents and their level of knowledge (Fisher’s exact test=10.90; p=0.004).
 Conclusion: Reflection is a very useful professional and personal development tool that yields positive care and learning outcomes when effectively practised. Hospitals and educational institutions should develop processes and practices that make refective practice an early and routine part of an everyday classroom and clinical practice.
 Recommendation: Reflection should be developed as a course and be inculcated into the first-degree nursing curriculum in universities.

The Sustainability Mindset Indicator: A Personal Development Tool

This paper addresses the problem of assessing, measuring, and further developing a Sustainability Mindset. This mindset is a way of thinking and being that predisposes individuals to act for the good of planet and people. It is a complex construct, developed via the path of an ecological worldview, a systems perspective, and aspects pertaining to emotional and spiritual intelligence. It is aimed at guiding individuals toward living and promoting a more sustainable life, which is crucial for humanity in the 21st century. As educators have been intentionally developing the Sustainability Mindset, it became important to find ways to assess and measure it. The Sustainability Mindset Indicator (SMI) was designed to address this problem. This paper describes the method followed to develop the SMI: a) anchored in theories of psychology and pedagogy, objectives of the instrument and constructs of measurement were defined; b) a questionnaire was designed; and c) 320 personalized feedback reports were created. The questionnaire uses Johnson’s (1992) framework of polarities and stages of human development (Kegan, 1994), whereas the reports follow the directions of Positive Psychology (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2014) and Appreciative Inquiry (Cooperrider, Whitney, & Stavros, 2008). Three validation phases were employed to confirm phrasing, improve comprehension and accurateness, and prepare for pilot studies. The SMI represents an important addition to other scales available in the literature. It focuses on personal development and transformative learning to facilitate mindset change in individuals as well as in educational or coaching settings, and can be used to tailor interventions and assess the impacts thereof.

The Sustainability Mindset Indicator: A Personal Development Tool

The Sustainability Mindset Indicator: A Personal Development Tool

Ritual Protostructure of a Work of Art

The article considers the ritual protostructure of a work of art as a text that awakens the process of spiritual initiation (“second birth”) in the recipient’s mind. This is the “inner border” of art, where it shows its derivation from the structure of religious ritual as a symbolic act of overcoming death. Artistry arises where and when our consciousness passes through a point of chaos, through a “break” of being, and then with a new effort again gathers the world into space, fixing this new vision, which has overcome the disintegration, in the strictness of an expressive form. The experience of the “inner”, existential passage through symbolic death can be considered as an analogue of the archaic ritual in the inner world of man. Thanks to this, art in any era effectively fulfilled the existential task of overcoming personal crises. In this aspect, the ultimate ontological categories of human experience — Life, Death, Sacrifice, and Resurrection — fix the basic ontology of a work of art. The general cultural ontology, defined by the dialectic of Space and Chaos, also underlies the structure of artistic reality — this makes it possible to recreate micro- and macrocosms by artistic means. Thanks to this, art in any era effectively fulfilled the existential task of overcoming personal crises. The use of such models for understanding the analysis of the structures of the artwork allows to reconstruct the “inner border” of art — play in this ritual experience of the unity of man with a cosmic mystery of life. The examples of two poems show the “mechanisms” of the ritual meanings of the work of art. Understanding the ritual protostructure of a work can be a valuable basis for using art as a tool for personal development, as a special type of art practice aimed at expanding the existential space of a person. Such art practice is possible only with the ritual understanding of the work as a kind of “existential accelerator”, in which the purely aesthetic, emotional, historical and other aspects of the content of the work go into the context, into the background.

Supporting students with coaching or training depending on their basic psychological needs

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how university students' basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness) determine whether coaching or training is more supportive for them.Design/methodology/approachReal-life coaching (N1 = 110) and training (N2 = 176) processes with students as clients were examined, measuring the students' needs before the coaching/training, their need fulfilment after the coaching/training and their satisfaction and goal attainment/intrinsic motivation after the coaching/training.FindingsThe results show that university students with a higher autonomy need had this need fulfilled to a greater extent through coaching, while university students with a higher competence need had this need fulfilled to a greater extent through training.Research limitations/implicationsThe research focused on university students and was conducted at German-speaking universities, so it is unclear to what extent the findings are transferable to other contexts. In addition, future research is needed to further compare other personal development tools, such as mentoring or consulting.Practical implicationsThe results depict the relevance of the most appropriate personal development tool (coaching or training) depending on students' needs. Furthermore, coaches should be autonomy-supportive, while trainers should be competence-supportive.Originality/valueSupporting students with the most appropriate personal development tool is essential for the effectiveness of this tool. Thus, the personal development tool used should reflect students' needs: students with a high autonomy need should receive coaching, while students with a high competence need should receive training.

LEGAL REGULATION OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION WITH FOREIGN COUNTRIES IN THE FIELD OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORTS

The article studies the national and international legal framework for regulating relations in thefield of physical culture and sports. It has been established that studying and taking into account positiveforeign experience in effectively regulating relations arising in the field of physical culture and sports, forimproving the norms of national sports law, including for codifying the sports legislation of Russia, is oneof the important reasons for the development of international cooperation of the Russian Federation withforeign countries. Another important reason is the need to harmonize and unify the national legislation ofRussia in the field of physical culture and sports with international law. The development of international cooperation between Russia and foreign countries and international organizations in the direction ofensuring national security is especially relevant in the context of exerting pressure on Russian athletes in thepast decade at sports competitions and events of various levels. It is concluded that Russia needs to developall areas of international cooperation, since physical culture and sport at the national and internationallevels is an important tool for ensuring the sustainable socio-economic development of countries, a tool forpersonal development of a person, a tool for intercultural, partnership and friendly development of interstatecommunication and serves as a powerful incentive to increase the competitiveness of each country in thecontext of globalization.

Andragogija u zatvoru ili prilike za učenje u mađarskim zatvorima

Successful reintegration is the goal of prison education in Hungarian penitentiaries. Prisons support prisoners with primary school education, high school education, and vocational training. These forms of learning within prison are implemented to prepare prisoners for their release, so they can integrate into the labor market afterwards (Penal Act CCXL, 2013). In the context of successful reintegration, we assume that prisoners are capable of being trained. Based on this supposition, three studies were conducted on learning and education in prison at Eötvös Loránd University Doctoral School. First, theoretical research was conducted about prison: the learning possibilities of prison, examining what it provides, what it allows, what it prevents. Second, a survey was conducted on some prisoners' perceptions of their learning opportunities. Third, an interview was carried out that has examined the perceptions of prison learning with some educators teaching in the penitentiary. Our studies on prison learning have confirmed some of our hypotheses reflected in the following statements. In Hungary, the training of prisoners is an essential part of prison life, furthermore, education can be implemented through pieces of training that can be essential tools for personal development in prison. Although most prisoners look for learning opportunities, the way they approach learning is seemingly different. Teachers who work in prison say there is a huge possibility in educating prisoners, but they would require more tools and a more functional learning environment in order to do their best.

МЕТОДИКА НАВЧАННЯ НАСКРІЗНИХ ПОНЯТЬ З ФІЗИКИ НА ОСНОВІ БІЛІНГВАЛЬНОГО ПІДХОДУ

The article highlights the problem of forming key competencies in students in physics lessons with the help of cross-cutting concepts of physics using a bilingual approach. As a result of theoretical research and structural and logical analysis of the course of physics in general secondary education, the number of concepts that students must master while studying physics. The article also highlights the features of the conduct of physical concepts that form in students the worldview and a holistic picture of the world, why certain phenomena occur in nature. It tells about the importance of these concepts and the ability to use them for critical thinking and analysis. As a result of our research, we have proposed elements for improving the methodology of teaching cross-cutting concepts in physics. The article contains a table of some basic cross-cutting concepts in physics, with which you can use the bilingual approach. Conducting cross-cutting concepts using a bilingual approach expands the teacher's ability to organize the teaching of physics and provides an opportunity to increase the cognitive activity of students. Using cross-cutting concepts based on the bilingual approach throughout the course of physics in ZZSO, the teacher prepares a successful graduate who is able to use foreign research, various scientific and information resources for their development and further study. Bilingual education is recognized as a necessary component of the modern education system, which is a powerful tool for personal development since school years. Its implementation contributes to the growth of self-awareness, expanding the worldview of students. The conducted research and the used methods show that conducting cross-cutting concepts with the help of bilingual approach enables the teacher to form key competencies of students.

The confidence delusion: A sociological exploration of participants’ confidence in sport-for-development

Although sport is widely utilised as a tool for personal development, capacity building, and fostering peace, there are still numerous theoretical gaps in our knowledge about how sport influences individuals’ identities, and how this translates into their everyday lives. Within the academic literature there has been seemingly little focus placed upon participants’ emotional and embodied accounts of their sport-for-development (SfD) experiences. This paper uses phenomenologically-inspired theory to explore individuals’ lived experiences of a SfD course, and their descriptions of the social interactions and feelings of confidence they encountered, in order to address this lack of experiential data. An ethnographic methodology was used to collect data through four sports leadership course observations, and cyclical interviews over 4–10 months with eleven course attendees, plus individual interviews with five tutors. Participants’ understandings of their course experiences and the subsequent influence these understandings had on their lives were described through their use of the term confidence. A further phenomenological and sociological interrogation of this term enabled confidence to be seen as being experienced as a ‘frame’ and ‘through the body’ by participants. This study provides original conceptualisations of confidence in relation to participants’ SfD experiences, as well as important discussions regarding the role of emotions and embodiment in understanding the impact of SfD on participants’ everyday lives.