The attitudes of both the youth and adults towards life as a whole and towards different manifestations and dimensions of human existence, are all important subjects of psychological and sociological research. What it concerns is a subjective image of one’s own life that is formed in consciousness of the studied groups’ representatives stemming from the sum of their life experiences: positive and negative, internal and external, subjective and objective. The article presents the results of sociological research on the meaning of life in the awareness of Polish youth. The following three issues are discussed: the frequency of reflecting upon the meaning of life, the one’s sense of life’s meaning and life satisfaction, as well as the sense of life’s meaningless. In the light of empirical data, the generalised existential awareness of young Poles could be described as quite ambivalent, as if on the fence between life’s meaningfulness and meaninglessness. Only about a half of Polish youth declares that life indeed has a meaning to them and provides them with a sense of satisfaction.

In her article, Krystyna Moczia addresses the condition of boredom experienced by students who suffer from chronic diseases. The aim of her research has been to identify the symptoms of boredom experienced by children and adolescents during long-term hospitalization and to examine the ways to help these patients to deal with the unpleasant emotions caused by boredom. Moczia asks the following research questions: How does boredom manifest itself in chronic patients? What are the ways to prevent boredom? Her approach is empirical and she has used the method of a diagnostic survey assisted by the projection technique (open-ended questions addressed to patients) and interviews (with teachers at the hospital school). Her objective has been to come up with a manual containing suggestions for students/patients: “A Phenomenal Antidote to Boredom, or Suggestions for Children Suffering from Chronic Diseases and Boredom”. This manual has been based in a brainstorming session carried out with students of educational sciences.

Assisting students in the process of becoming independent learners is regarded as one of the goals of education. Achieving this goal has currently become more urgent because of the increasing amount of available information. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has made common the usage of remote education, which often demands more independent decisions concerning the acquisition of skills and knowledge on the part of the learner than in the classes where the teacher is in person available for students. Research shows that people differ in their preferences for situations which demand making independent decisions from them. Also, there are also a few instruments which allow to measure learners’ preferences for the teacher’s activities aimed at increasing the learning autonomy of class participants. For this reason, the aim of this study has been to investigate students’ preferences as regards the fostering of their learning autonomy by teachers. Fostering Learner Independence Inventory was constructed for the purpose of the research. Data was gathered in 2019 and 2020 among 137 and 87 university students respectively. The results have shown that out of the analyzed teachers’ activities aimed at fostering learners’ autonomy the ones most preferred by the students who participated in the research were listening to class participants and providing them with the opportunity to express their opinions. The results from the two research groups show a significant increase in the data gathered in 2021 in comparison to the data from 2019 in the respondents’ preferences for the teacher’s messages expressing their understanding of students’ experiences of difficulties in learning and motivating them to study. Practical conclusions from the research results have been drawn.

Ewa Lach’s Na latającym dywanie [On the Flying Carpet] is a novel based on the theme of time travel. The book has a lasting value due to its entertainment and educational values. Regional themes and the regional setting. i.e., the Beskid-Silesian and Upper Silesian scenery, play an important role in it. Rather than historical knowledge, Ewa Lach popularizes literary and film conventions: western, the tales from One Thousand and One Nights, the historical-sensational novel, and fantasy (including science fiction). In this way, the book popularizes reading among its audience and encourages participation in mass culture. The book is still finding interested readers.

Discussed in this review is Marta Wrońska’s book devoted to contemporary aspects of aging and old age in a changing world and the quality of the life of seniors. The book examines the functioning of seniors in the media space and raises issues related to the education of the elderly.