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The article discusses the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance's (AHKGA) evaluation of the Para Report Card Initiative for measuring the physical activity of children and adolescents with disabilities (CAWD). Topics discussed include an evaluation survey to reflect experiences in the initiative, a planning survey about the integration/segregation of CAWD data into/from the Global Matrix 5.0, and the cooperation between AHKGA and the International Federation for Adapted Physical Activity (IFAPA).

This article explores the use of virtual laboratories to enhance student interest and professional competence in higher education. It discusses the didactic potential of virtual laboratories, their types, and their advantages in the educational context. The study emphasizes the innovative nature of virtual laboratory work and its contribution to skill development and scientific research. A questionnaire was conducted to assess the impact of virtual laboratories on students' knowledge and skills. The results demonstrate that virtual laboratories effectively increase motivation, foster professional skills, and promote student engagement in scientific work. The research concludes that integrating virtual laboratories into higher education curricula is crucial for preparing future professionals in an increasingly digital world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusive education is a crucial aspect of contemporary educational systems to ensure accessibility and quality of education for all learners, including those with developmental peculiarities or disabilities. This article reviews current research and publications on inclusive education to identify critical trends, challenges, and achievements. Several aspects of inclusive education have been analysed, including teacher training, using technologies, creating an environment, and resolving socio-cultural issues. Based on the findings, conclusions are drawn about the necessity of a comprehensive approach to implementing inclusive education, including the professional training of educators, active use of technologies, and creation of an educational environment. Important directions for further research could include studying the impact of professional teacher training on the successful implementation of inclusive education, analysing the effectiveness of various educational methods and strategies, and investigating the role of technologies in ensuring education accessibility for all learners. Integrating the findings from such studies can assist educational institutions and government bodies in developing and implementing more effective strategies and policies for inclusive education. It, in turn, can improve accessibility and quality of education for all children and youth, regardless of their characteristics and needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This brief report provides an overview of the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance (AHKGA); an introduction to the Global Matrix 4.0; an explanation of the value and opportunities that the AHKGA efforts and assets provide to the physical activity research, policy, practice, and advocacy community; an outline of the series of papers related to the Global Matrix 4.0 in this issue of the Journal of Physical Activity and Health; and an invitation for future involvement. Methods: The AHKGA was formed to help power the global movement to get kids moving. In 2019–2021, we recruited countries to participate in the Global Matrix 4.0, a worldwide initiative to assess, compare, and contrast the physical activity of children and adolescents. Results: A total of 57 countries/jurisdictions (hereafter referred to as countries for simplicity) were recruited. The current activities of the AHKGA are summarized. The overall findings of the Global Matrix 4.0 are presented in a series of papers in this issue of the Journal of Physical Activity and Health. Conclusions: The Global Matrix 4.0 and other assets of the AHKGA are publicly available, and physical activity researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and advocates are encouraged to exploit these resources to further their efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Global Matrix 4.0 on physical activity (PA) for children and adolescents was developed to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the global variation in children's and adolescents' (5–17 y) PA, related measures, and key sources of influence. The objectives of this article were (1) to summarize the findings from the Global Matrix 4.0 Report Cards, (2) to compare indicators across countries, and (3) to explore trends related to the Human Development Index and geo-cultural regions. Methods: A total of 57 Report Card teams followed a harmonized process to grade the 10 common PA indicators. An online survey was conducted to collect Report Card Leaders' top 3 priorities for each PA indicator and their opinions on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted child and adolescent PA indicators in their country. Results:Overall Physical Activity was the indicator with the lowest global average grade (D), while School and Community and Environment were the indicators with the highest global average grade (C+). An overview of the global situation in terms of surveillance and prevalence is provided for all 10 common PA indicators, followed by priorities and examples to support the development of strategies and policies internationally. Conclusions: The Global Matrix 4.0 represents the largest compilation of children's and adolescents' PA indicators to date. While variation in data sources informing the grades across countries was observed, this initiative highlighted low PA levels in children and adolescents globally. Measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, local/international conflicts, climate change, and economic change threaten to worsen this situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the phenomenon of digital divide in the education in Canada. The domestic and foreign scientific and educational publications have been studied and analyzed. It has been found out that traditional means for training pedagogical specialists are gradually losing their relevance due to lack of educational dialogue between a teacher and a student. Information and communication technologies have entered today's youth everyday life and become an essential means of communication, receiving and transmitting information. Based on the source study, the essence and reasons of digital divide have been revealed. Canadian researchers consider that it is possible to overcome this problem by revising the approach to teacher training which will focus on the forming of future teachers' information and communication competence. Various definitions of the terms "information competence", "ICT competence", "digital literacy", "e-literacy" have been described. The model of ICT competence, its structure and the process of its integration into education have been analyzed. The examples of forming future teachers' ICT competence in universities of Canada have been given. It has been revealed that the problem of effective ICT implementation into educational activities is in the range of many Canadian studies, but in fact the phenomenon of digital divide in education is still topical due to insufficient activity of teachers of pedagogical faculties and students' ignoring the problem. A number of studies have been examined, the authors of which give practical recommendations aimed at enhancing the role of new technologies in teacher training in Canada.

Fetal and child development are shaped by early life exposures, including maternal health states, nutrition and educational and home environments. We aimed to determine if suboptimal pre-pregnancy maternal body mass index (BMI; underweight, overweight, obese) would associate with poorer cognitive outcomes in children, and whether early life nutritional, educational and home environments modify these relationships. Self-reported data were obtained from mother-infant dyads from the pan-Canadian prospective Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals cohort. Relationships between potential risk factors (pre-pregnancy maternal BMI, breastfeeding practices and Home Observation Measurement of the Environment [HOME] score) and child cognitive development at age three (Weschler's Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, Third Edition scale and its subcategories) were each evaluated using analysis of variance, multivariable regression models and moderating analyses. Amongst the 528 mother−child dyads, increasing maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was negatively associated with scores for child full-scale IQ (β [95% CI]; −2.01 [−3.43, −0.59], p = 0.006), verbal composite (−1.93 [−3.33, −0.53], p = 0.007), and information scale (−0.41 [−0.70, −0.14], p = 0.003) scores. Higher maternal education level or HOME score attenuated the negative association between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and child cognitive outcome by 30%–41% and 7%–22%, respectively, and accounted for approximately 5%–10% greater variation in male children's cognitive scores compared to females. Maternal education and higher quality home environment buffer the negative effect of elevated maternal pre-pregnancy BMI on child cognitive outcomes. Findings suggest that relationships between maternal, social and environmental factors must be considered to reveal pathways that shape risk for, and resiliency against, suboptimal cognitive outcomes in early life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to theoretical, methodical and implementation problems of horticultural therapy application in the rehabilitation of persons with musculoskeletal disorders (MDs). In article the complex interdisciplinary approach to the organization of interaction of persons with the impaired musculoskeletal device with floral objects taking into account neurophysiological, psychoemotional and activity factors is applied. The purpose of the article is to create a theoretical basis for the development of a complex special "Horticultural Therapy" course, its implementation in the rehabilitation process of persons with MDs and evaluate the effectiveness of this implementation by experiment. The authors used three groups of methods to achieve the goal of the article: general theoretical, methodologically modeling and evaluating (questionnaire before and after the experiment). The article discussed from a neurophysiological and experimental point of view the appropriateness of adaptation of children and youth with musculoskeletal disorders through communication with nature and active immersion in certain objects, in particular the flora. The results of the implementation of the special course revealed an increase in the functional ability of persons with MDs by an average of 7% (experimental groups) in various activities of self-care and housekeeping. Improving the level of self-care and housekeeping by people with MDs depends to a large extent on creating the most barrier-free environment possible; comprehensive development of the physical and psychological abilities of the individual; informed and professional participation of teachers and parents in the process of familiarizing people with MDs with the functions of their own bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the formation of professional selfdetermination of future teachers of non-language specialties when learning the English language. The aim of the study was the formation of motivation for the study of the English language by students of pedagogical universities of non-linguistic specialties. The hypothesis of the research was that the use of the English language of the professional direction increases the motivation for learning the language, provides an awareness of the practical and theoretical significance of the knowledge gained for future professional activities and is a factor professional self-determination. Based on this goal, the following tasks were solved: studies of the professional orientation of students and the level of motivation for studying the discipline "English language of a professional direction" were carried out, measures were developed to form the professional self-determination of students. At the stage of the formative experiment, the work programs of the discipline are drawn up in such a way that each content module takes into account the urgent problems of the corresponding specialty. The use of modern information and innovative technologies in project activities contributed to the formation of professional motives for learning English, skills and abilities of communication in English in the professional sphere, an increase in the number of special terminology, the intensive development of all language skills: speaking, reading, listening and writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article aims to reveal modern state of higher education internationalization (HEI) at global and local levels. Synthesis of conceptual approaches to studying HEI allowed to concretize the meaning of HEI at modern stage in a global and institutional levels. Renovated notion has been proposed as “complete internationalization”. It is interpreted as engagement, devotion and commitment of both all education management levels and teaching stuff to multifaceted process of intentional long-lasting infusion and integration of international dimensions with comparative constituent into all functions and missions of higher education and active designing of policies, plans, programs, strategies and approaches for promotion of internationality in higher education. Due to theoretical method of conceptual and comparative analysis of research and strategic documents and the latest scientific publications on issues of global internationalization of higher education, analysis of foreign and local experience, conceptual approaches to studying HEI were depicted modern internationalization forms at global level. Interviews initiated with heads of international affairs offices enabled us to find out HEI state at local level. Questionnaires with international students, focused on likes and dislikes concerning infrastructure, teaching methods, communication with local students, future plans helped to identify the level of students’ satisfaction and attractiveness of Sumy universities. Main priorities of stakeholders are defined. Recommendations concerning further possible development of higher education internationalization are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article justifies the idea that a child is at the heart of educational activity. Subsequently, an educational activity aims to increase the creative potential and social activity of humane personality and recognize the priority of the free development of personality, the value of human beings and preserve their environment. Accordingly, the article aims to develop and verify the conceptual and methodological principles of the scientific and methodical system for cultivating a values-based attitude towards personality in students and introduce the technologies that will enhance their social decency. The article analyzes theoretical foundations, defines the principles and pedagogical conditions for developing the system of values-based orientations in students from the post-Soviet space on the example of Ukraine and verifies the effectiveness of these conditions experimentally. The experimental stage of the research employs the following methods to obtain the initial data: brainstorming, questionnaires, the methodology of unfinished sentences, “Q-sorting”, diagnosing the socio-psychological adaptation, diagnosing indicators and forms of aggression, empathic abilities, revealing the ability of effective cooperation and constructive communication, assertive behaviour (Diagnosis of accepting others, Goodwill scale, Express trust diagnostics, Express diagnostics of the level of person’s social isolation); a methodology for identifying the attitude “altruism-egoism” of the personality, value orientations, the integral person’s self-esteem, the assessment of moral development. Through all the parts of the experiment, the positive moves in learning the basic humanistic values were done in the value structure of the personality. The analysis of the data gathered during the investigation gives reasons to state, that during the experiment systematic changes of the educational process were made, the level of fostering a values-based attitude to a person among students has increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life activities of students from higher education institutions are largely influenced by certain adverse factors (social, psychological, environmental ones), which in turn negatively affect their physical and mental health and cause particular behavioural deviations such as aggression. The research aims to theoretically justify, develop and experimentally verify the programme on prevention of aggressive behaviours in athletes due to cultivating their humanistic values and capacity for self-actualization. The research sample of the formative experiment comprised 177 athletes (92 respondents in the experimental group and 85 respondents in the control group). The research assumes that, if well-developed, humanistic values of individual self-actualization (developing one's positive attitude towards the surrounding people, ability to understand them, accept oneself and others and reality, striving for new knowledge, identifying oneself in this world, setting goals) can be considered as a means of prevention of aggressive behaviours in students; the process of developing athletes' capacity for self-actualization as a means of psychological prevention of aggressive behaviours is determined by an appropriate organization of activities performed by students, their parents, psychologists, teachers based on personality-oriented and humanistic approaches. The level of self-actualization was based on E. Shostrom's test and the self-actualization scale by A. Jones and R. Crandall; the level of aggression was identified based on the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory. The accuracy of changes in the groups was verified using the Mann-Whitney U Test. Results. A quantitative interpretation of the results obtained from the formative experiment proves that the arithmetic mean of selfactualization parameters in respondents in the experimental group has increased significantly (by 22%), whereas they have remained almost unchanged in the control group. Concerning the arithmetic mean of parameters of aggressive behaviours in athletes, they have decreased significantly (by 18%) in the experimental group. This is because athletes' capacity for self-actualization has been developed without direct influence on their aggressive behaviours. Conclusions. In comparison with their peers in the control group, athletes in the experimental group have significantly improved their conflict management skills as a result of developing a more positive attitude towards others, as well as behavioural flexibility, communication skills and capacity for self-development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of the New Ukrainian School is aimed at organizing effective inclusive education for students, in particular younger students with special educational needs, and their cooperation with healthy peers. The paper aims to theoretically justify and experimentally verify psycho-pedagogical conditions for teaching future primary school teachers how to interact with students' parents in inclusive practice. The experimental group (EG) involved 203 respondents and the control group (CG) 215 respondents, as well as 12 university teachers, 36 primary school teachers and 115 students' parents of students with/without special educational needs. The psycho-pedagogical conditions are determined as follows: developing future primary school teachers' motivational, values-based and responsible attitude to acquiring knowledge, abilities and skills needed for the interaction with students' parents in inclusive practice; using the opportunities of an educational environment in higher education institutions to develop future primary school teachers' certain competencies by improving and integrating the content of professional and specialized academic courses, applying innovative and traditional technologies of teaching and learning; focusing academic training and teaching placement towards improving the experience of future primary school teachers in interacting with students' parents in inclusive practice). The paper employs some author's methodologies (adapted to Raven's (1991) socio-pedagogical methodologies): surveys, interviews, student questionnaires, tests, assignments. The ratio between the levels of future primary school teachers' readiness to interact with students' parents in inclusive learning is the following: the experimental group - a high level 45.32%, an average level 41.87%, a low level 12.81%; the control group a high level 16.74%, an average level 36.75%, a low level 41.51%. The obtained results indicate some dynamic positive changes in the levels of EG respondents' readiness under the influence of the proposed psychopedagogical conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study deals with the process of developing pedagogical mastery of future physical education teachers during professional training. The concept of "pedagogical mastery of future physical education teachers" has been specified. The components (motivation-, knowledge-, activity-, value- and personality-based), criteria (motivation-based, cognitive, behavioural, value- and personality-based) and levels (creative, productive, reproductive, elementary) have been identified. Pedagogical conditions for developing the outlined quality (creating the students' positive motivation toward acquiring pedagogical mastery; ensuring integrity, continuity and consistency of the process of developing pedagogical mastery of future physical education teachers; using innovative educational technologies for developing pedagogical mastery of future physical education teachers) have been justified and their efficiency has been experimentally proved. Within the study, the model for developing pedagogical mastery of future physical education teachers during professional training has been designed and presented. It reflects the interrelations between target, theoretical and methodological, content and technological, diagnostic and productive blocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]