Sustainability, gymnastics, and teacher training
Content
- What motivates members of the majority group to support the LGBTQ+ community?
- What do students think about sustainability?
- Sustainability aspects of gymnastics
- Teacher training is evolving
What motivates members of the majority group to support the LGBTQ+ community?
Many countries have made progress regarding the rights and social acceptance of LGBTQ+ people, while other countries have taken a step backward with bans on legal gender reassignment, same-sex adoption, and Pride parades. In such political environments, allies – those members of the majority group who stand up for minority groups – play a particularly important role. However, not all ally behaviour contributes equally to social change.
This research examined if the allies’ perception of LGBTQ+ people as warm-hearted and moral influence their commitment. The authors conducted studies in three countries (Hungary, the UK and the US), and the results showed that heterosexual allies who considered LGBTQ+ people as more warm-hearted (kind, trustworthy) showed higher levels of empathy and motivation for social change and collective action. The results suggest that social communication based on the warm-heartedness and moral values of LGBTQ+ people can effectively mobilise allies; this can be of particular importance in hostile political environments.
What do students think about sustainability?
The Sustainability Week offers a range of learning opportunities about environmental protection and sustainability for students in public education. The authors of this article have been conducting questionnaire surveys among thousands of students every year since 2020 to map environmental attitudes, feelings and actions. In 2024, more than 12,000 students aged 10-21 participated in the survey. Results from previous years show that students who participated frequently in the Sustainability Week reported stronger connections towards nature, more frequent sacrifices for the environment, and more environmentally conscious behaviour (e.g. recycling waste at school, returning drinks packaging). However, it is important to emphasise that these results are based on self-reporting and that although the correlations are significant, they are relatively small. Furthermore, the development of sustainability attitudes and actions is also influenced by additional factors such as socio-economic background, type of school or eco-school status. The authors aim to explore these factors and to gain a deeper understanding of the long-term effects of sustainability education.
Sustainability aspects of gymnastics
The issue of sustainability is high priority today, especially with regard to environmental protection. The concept can be applied to many areas, including sport; however, sustainability principles are often not put into practice. A sports discipline can be considered sustainable if it follows scientific progress, increases its supply base and nurtures healthy youth. This paper takes a qualitative approach to the sustainability challenges of gymnastics. The results of documentary analysis show that the sustainability of gymnastics is significantly influenced by the coherence of institutional structures, the clarity of the regulatory framework, and the level of adaptability to societal expectations. The authors put forward proposals for strengthening regulation and youth development in the long term. Sport can be an important instrument for promoting sustainability on both a social and an economic level.
Tamás-Szora, L., & Béki, P. (2025). A tornasport fenntarthatósági aspektusai. GRADUS, 12(2).
Teacher training is evolving
The new special issue of the Journal of e-Learning and Knowledge Society (Je-LKS) is linked to the annual Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE) conference which was held at ELTE PPK in 2023. Edited by Giuseppina Rita Jose Mangione (INDIRE, Italy) and Erika Kopp (ATEE, Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary), the issue contains 21 articles penned by international authors, covering theoretical, methodological and cultural aspects of contemporary debates on teacher training. From these studies on pedagogical research, one can learn more about the digital transformation of schools and the use of artificial intelligence, interprofessional collaboration, mentoring, and support for teachers in the early phases of their career. In a period marked by a series of environmental, social and epistemological crises, the authors visualise teacher training as an area of transition and transformation. This special issue helps readers to be able to interpret the changes taking place in education systems in a critical manner.