The Russia-Ukraine war generates fear, depression, loneliness, burnout, and the search for coping strategies that can alleviate the impact of war on mental health among civilians. In wartime, online gaming can become a coping strategy and/or a source of risk for internet gaming disorder (IGD). Our study examines the association of online gaming use and mental health among 1,170 Ukrainian university students in wartime conditions. Survey respondents were from six cities divided into two clusters. The first cluster included Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv with much damage; and the second cluster of cities-Lviv, Rivne, and Ternopil with less damage. Respondent average age was 19.3 years, 30.4% secular and 31.7% married/partnered. Most respondents (66.2%) used online gaming during the past year. Statistical analysis does not show significant gaming disorder differences among university cluster students; however, first cluster students evidenced significant fear of war, depression, and burnout. Additional analysis shows a positive association between IGD, depression, burnout, and loneliness as well as a negative association with resilience and life satisfaction. Research findings confirm online game use as a resource that maintains or promotes resilience. Internet gaming, used as a therapeutic intervention for disaster conditions, calls for further research conducted over time with different groups of people and locations.
The relevance of this article lies in its focus on how secondary and higher education institutions have adapted to rapidly evolving educational conditions. These changes resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in the country, and the forced move towards distance learning. As a result, boty students and teachers were required to adopt digital technologies across all academic disciplines. Online education also created several obstacles. Some regions faced limited technical infrastructure and lacked high-speed internet. Organising lessons in a virtual environment often proved challenging. At the same time, teachers were able to make more systematic use of digital tools. These included online courses, e-textbooks, educational videos, and other resources. This article aims to study how digital technologies facilitate the process of foreign language learning. It is also important to define the concept of digital technologies and their pedagogical value. Furthermore, the article examines how insights from neuroscience-informed teaching can enhance the effective use of these tools. Finally, it suggests some practical ways of introducing digital resources into foreign language instruction. A comprehensive analysis demonstrates that these resources can significantly improve the teaching and learning of foreign languages.
The study examines the effectiveness of digitally oriented pedagogical conditions for the formation of professional competence in future art teachers. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of pedagogical conditions for the formation of professional competence in future art teachers through the integration of digital technologies. The research employed a mixed-methods quasi-experimental design involving 124 pre-service art teachers, divided into an experimental group (n = 60) and a control group (n = 64). Professional competence was assessed using motivational, cognitive, and creative-activity criteria through questionnaires, tests, self-assessment tools, interviews, and pedagogical observation. The experimental group was trained using a competency-based digital model, while the control group followed a traditional program. The findings confirm that the systematic integration of digital technologies within a competency-based framework leads to measurable improvements in the professional competence of future art teachers.
This study evaluates the impact of a digitally enriched educational environment on the development of digital competence among students in social-interaction specialties in higher education. A quasi-experimental design was implemented with control and experimental groups, integrating structured digital learning activities aimed at strengthening technological, cognitive, and motivational components of digital competence. Data were collected through validated diagnostic tools and analyzed using statistical procedures to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. The results indicate significant improvements in the digital competence levels of students exposed to the digitally enriched learning environment compared with those in the control group. These findings highlight the pedagogical value of systematically integrating digital environments into higher education curricula and support their role in enhancing students' readiness to operate in digitally mediated professional contexts.
This study examines the pedagogical and cognitive effects of an interdisciplinary ballroom dance intervention implemented with Ukrainian university students during wartime. The intervention integrated choreographed movement, motor imagery, metaphorical improvisation, and metacognitive reflection and was delivered as a supplementary program alongside a standard curriculum. Using a quasi-experimental design with pre- and postintervention assessments, the study compared students who participated in the intervention with a control group receiving regular instruction. The findings indicate that the intervention was associated with improvements in kinesthetic imagery, improvisational creativity, metacognitive skills, and selected aspects of executive functioning, while other domains remained unchanged. These results suggest that embodied and arts-based pedagogical approaches may support cognitive and creative development under conditions of heightened stress. The study contributes to research on interdisciplinary education by highlighting both the potential and the limitations of applying embodied learning interventions in real-world, high-stress contexts.
