The modern world is currently facing new social threats, which pose a challenge to the existing aid systems. Circumstances like intensive migration processes or the uncertain situation resulting from ongoing military conflicts cause increased cultural differences, which intensify the marginalisation and social exclusion of minority groups. The Acting in Context by Training the Trainers in Social Empowerment (ACTTE) project was prepared to respond to emerging needs. The project was implemented in a consortium of 4 universities and 4 NGOs from Poland, France, Spain, Italy, and Belgium. The main goals of the project were: (1) development of tools for intervention work (toolbox) based on the Empowerment concept (emphasising increased control over one’s own life, self-confidence, and one’s abilities, and social integration among recipients of aid activities) for employees of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working with marginalised and socially excluded people as well as academic teachers educating future educators and social workers, (2) developing competencies/skills in DPA (Developing the Power to Act) – an approach using the concept of Empowerment in people participating in training (both NGO employees and academic teachers). The article focuses on the project’s implementation process.

The social assistance system faces challenges related to the emergence of new problems (e.g., migration processes, military conflicts). The ACTTE project was prepared in response to these needs. It is based on the Empowerment concept, which emphasises the social strengthening and restoration of people’s total possible participation. One of the project’s tasks was to conduct research. Its methodology was based on the action research concept. As part of the research, interviews were conducted. Data were collected on participants’ experiences gained during the training and utilising the acquired knowledge and skills in professional practice. The results are presented in the article.

Due to the emergence of new social problems resulting from weakening pro-integration moods regarding culturally, ethnically, or religiously diverse societies, the Acting in Context by Training the Trainers in Social Empowerment (ACTTE) project was prepared and implemented. The Polish National Agency of Academic Exchange (NAWA) financed the project as part of the International Academic Partnerships program. The project goals were: 1) shaping competencies/skills in the field of DPA (Developing the Power to Act) in organized training participants (NGO employees and academic teachers), 2) developing tools for intervention work based on the concept of Empowerment. Within the training, the research was carried out based on the action research methodology and the use of scaling and uncategorized interview. The article presents the excerpt of the research, which was aimed at determining the changes in the competencies related to the use of the DPA approach in the project’s participants, as well as their subjective understanding of the DPA. The presented research results show the legitimacy of the project implementation by partner institutions, which are universities and non-governmental organizations. The competences and skills acquired by the project participants can be used in academic and environmental work.

Towards Empowerment

The primary goal of this paper is to introduce the concept of empowerment, its sources, definitions and various ways to comprehend it. The author’s professional interest lies in the field of scientific research. But the topic was primarily chosen due to the fact that the concept of empowerment has not only been increasingly recognized and studied by social sciences but also widely applied in everyday life. The concept of empowerment has been utilized in many different contexts. It can be categorized as a scientific phenomenon that in spite of being popular and widely used does not have a uniform definition. Empowerment is not only a theory but also an idea, a model or a research. Empowerment is also both a process and the outcome of a process. It may be understood by any one of the mentioned meanings or all of them together. The paper is based on the assumption that empowerment is a multidimensional concept. There are two important consequences of this assumption. First of all, as already mentioned, the concept does not have one uniform definition (the definition depends on different socio-cultural and political contexts the concept operates in). Second of all, the nature of its many dimensions derives from its many levels. There are three levels of empowerment – individual, organizational and community. The paper postulates that the levels are interconnected and interact. So any change on any level influences the other levels. The levels are connected by mediating structures that are essential to find the answer to the question this paper raises – whether an individual can influence a social change? The deliberations presented in this paper are set in the educational context. The author’s reflections on the social and educational intervention models are also set in that context. The paper concludes with the thesis that the empowerment (resources) model needs to be included in the academic curriculum.

Empowerment as an improvement in teacher activity

The paper aims to present the concept of empowerment as a means to modernise the teacher’s organisational activity. As a result of literature review, the article provides an interpretation of empowerment, emphasising its potential to drive transformative changes in various educational contexts. Additionally, the text elucidates the benefits that can arise from restructuring the current school system, teaching methods, and collaborative practices. The research conducted by the McKinsey group was used to highlight the personal qualities essential for the effective implementation of empowerment across different organisational forms. Furthermore, attention is directed towards the drawbacks of empowerment, including the potential for teacher abuse of power and coercion, resulting in the suppression of student subjectivity and independent action. To sum up all the considerations, it is underscored that the teacher and students, with their unique strengths and weaknesses, play pivotal roles in organising the teaching process, fostering a school team dynamic through the application of empowerment principles.

This paper attempts to show an idea of art therapy as complex: social, psychological and cultural system. Art therapy, in this sense, is not just a therapy (in traditional sense). Due to critical philosophical and social theories art therapy, in intersectional perspective, is strictly connected with feminism, queer, critical art and postcolonial movement. The most important ideas of intersectional theory (such as awareness of multidimensional problems of minorities) are also important for art therapy which shows practical implications of art therapy’s theory. The article is concerned with art therapy as a discipline. It shows practical applications of intersectional ideas in institutional and existential perspectives of art therapist’s work. The text shows specific art movements connected with work against prejudice and stigmatization.

Profound transformations of civilization create new needs for the generating, processing, storing and transmitting of knowledge. New objectives arise due to these needs in various areas of social life. One of the important aspects of the undergoing transformations is the increasing significance of non-institutional processes of education, including the process of self-education, which still does not have the right position in the teaching theory and practice. There is a need to analyse the process from different perspectives, diverse contexts and on the grounds of various theories. The present article emphasizes the concept of the analysis of student self-education from the perspective of the subject undertaking the process in the context of the effects of university and the changes of reality. The presentation of the proposed analysis is of a teaching character based on cognitive theories of the development of personality.

Feminism as a philosophical concept is a general reflection on gender issues and women’s conditions. Since the 70s of the 20th century feminism has become an alternative way of creating knowledge from women’s perspective. The author notices that in Poland, unlike the West, feminist thought has not been treated with respect. She explains what the feminist theory is and then analyses the connections between feminist thought and social pedagogy; for both of them the essential categories are: engagement and empowerment. Applying the feminist perspective allows to examine the earlier periods of development of social pedagogy, especially its beginnings, and to discover women’s presence in the public sphere and their participating in developing socio-pedagogical thought.