In this study, different factor analysis models were employed to test the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) in 11 distinct populations (n = 15,266) in different countries. The results strongly suggest that the most appropriate use of the SCS is to measure levels of Self-Compassionate responding (positive items) and Self-Uncompassionate responding…

Children's ideas, which differ from a scientific view, are termed as alternative conceptions (AC). AC are extremely resistant to change and arise from everyday experience. Investigation of children's AC about weight gain and their ability to discriminate between healthy and unhealthy foods is important, because it can help teachers reduce obesity…

Mathematics is an important nature exploration tool used by all natural sciences. So it is usual that mathematical calculations are part of school science education. But how are these calculations perceived by the learners themselves? What are their attitudes to this part of the teaching process? The answer to this question is important for any…

This work presents the results of two-year-long pedagogical research, the aim of which was to demonstrate the applicability of the usage of a new strategy in education--Integrated e-Learning (INTe-L)--through its introduction into project-based physics teaching in Slovakia. The INTe-L strategy is built around the role of experiments and…

The lifelong learning system in the Czech Republic and Slovakia share some common traits: traditional model with the dominant role of the initial education, low participation rates, lack of incentives and fragmentation. The results of the narrative research on 15 low-skilled persons demonstrated that negative attitudes towards education are often…

Amphibians play an important role in the functioning of ecosystems and some of them inhabit human gardens where they can successfully reproduce. The decline of amphibian diversity worldwide suggests that people may play a crucial role in their survival. We conducted a cross-cultural study on high school students' tolerance of frogs in Chile,…

Animal dissections are essential parts of anatomy/zoology courses, but their effectiveness is influenced by student attitudes and emotions. Here we examined attitudes toward dissections in 397 prospective biology teachers enrolling two Slovak universities. Perceived disgust of dissections negatively correlated with other attitudes toward…

The paper compares discussions in 12 groups of university students (6 Slovak and 6 Scottish) equal in sex and age. The participants discussed the same problem--how to control the spread of HIV/AIDS and respect medical confidentiality (MC). Systematic comparisons revealed striking differences between the two national groups. The Scottish…

Spiders are traditionally considered to be among the least popular of animals. Current evidence suggests that a negative attitude towards spiders could be influenced by both cultural and evolutionary pressures. Some researchers suggest that science education activities could positively influence students' perceptions of spiders. Their evidence is,…

In their paper the authors deal with the vital issues of creation and application of electronic teaching materials for natural science subjects teaching. They describe an experimental examination of qualitative impact of these aids on education. The authors present a part of research results, which they obtained in a major research focused on…

Knowledge of animals may influence children's beliefs and behaviour toward them, thus building positive attitudes toward animals is one of main goals of environmental education programmes. Although keeping animals contributes to the increase of children's positive attitudes toward wild animals, pet owners show similar negative attitudes toward…

We are delighted to welcome you to the International Psychological Applications Conference and Trends (InPACT) 2016, taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 30 of April to 2 of May, 2016. Psychology, nowadays, offers a large range of scientific fields where it can be applied. The goal of understanding individuals and groups (mental functions and…