Diržytė, Aistė

This essay introduces the concept of Socratic Intelligence (SI) and proposes five premises: (1) artificial and human agents learn through observation, interaction, and reflective examination of those interactions; (2) what is learned depends on metacognition and reinforcement; (3) SI comprises five interlocking dimensions: epistemic curiosity, critical self-awareness, assumption analysis, dialogical competence, and intellectual humility; (4) Generative SI, embedded in Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) or Large Language Models (LLMs), can scaffold human learning; and (5) Generative SI can apply the Socratic method recursively to a system’s own computational processes as a form of internal epistemic self-regulation. We situate SI within several philosophical traditions: Plato’s elenchus and docta ignorantia, Aristotle’s phronesis, virtue epistemology on intellectual humility, Dreyfus’s critique of cognitivism, and recent epistemology of LLMs. We argue that SI construct gives the philosophy of AI a normative vocabulary that interfaces classical philosophy with current machine-learning practice.

Introduction: Teacher victimization is an important occupational stressor that can undermine educators' psychological functioning and professional sustainability. Guided by stress–coping theory, this study examined the relationships among multiple forms of victimization, coping strategies, and psychological well-being.Methods: A nationwide sample of Lithuanian teachers (N = 1,044) completed validated measures assessing exposure to victimization, coping responses, and psychological well-being, including indicators of flourishing and emotional experiences. Structural equation modeling was used to examine direct and indirect relationships among variables.Results: Victimization was associated with poorer psychological well-being, particularly reduced flourishing and increased negative emotional experiences. Adaptive coping strategies–such as active coping, positive reframing, and religious coping–were related to higher well-being, whereas maladaptive strategies, including self-blame, behavioral disengagement, and substance use, were associated with poorer outcomes. Structural equation modeling indicated a small but significant indirect effect (β ≈ .02), suggesting that coping partially mediated the relationship between victimization and well-being. A substantial direct association between victimization and well-being remained (β ≈ −.25, p < .001).Discussion: These findings suggest that strengthening teachers' coping skills may help mitigate the emotional consequences of victimization; however, individual coping alone is insufficient. Supporting teacher well-being requires not only individual-level interventions but also organizational and policy-level efforts aimed at preventing workplace victimization in educational settings.

A phenomenographical study was used to examine how teachers experience violence directed at them in school. The findings identify four ways in which they experience violence, as specified through three interacting dimensional variations: the source, the form and the addressee of impact (the teacher as a professional role, as a person or both). This extends educational research on teacher victimisation by conceptualising the phenomenon through power relations and harm to the professional and/or personal identity of teachers.

Abstract Aim. The aim of this study is to reveal the victimisation of Lithuanian teachers in educational institutions. In order to achieve the aim of the study, the following hypotheses were put forward: traumatic experiences as a student are related to experiences of bullying and violence as a teacher; different forms of violence are interrelated; and teachers who have experienced one form of violence are more likely to experience others. Methods. A quantitative study was conducted, and a questionnaire was developed for data collection using validated scales: Multidimensional Teacher Victimisation Scale (MT-VS-2); Teacher Bullying Experience Scale; Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory – PTCI-9; Brief COPE. A probabilistic multistage sampling method was used, involving systematic and cluster sampling, with 1,044 teachers participating. Results. Teachers most often experience psychological and verbal abuse (e.g., the incitement of students to disobey, swearing, gossip, etc.), and less often experience physical abuse, damage to property, sexual harassment, and cyber-attacks. Significant correlations were found between early trauma and current bullying by students, parents, colleagues, and administrative staff. Strong links were also found between physical violence and sexual and cyber harassment, as well as between property damage and psychological violence. Conclusions. Teacher victimisation is a complex phenomenon determined by traumatic experiences, interpersonal relationships, and the overall school climate. Teachers most often experience psychological and verbal violence. The different forms of violence experienced by teachers are interrelated. Originality. The study found that trauma experienced by teachers in childhood is positively associated with current experiences of violence and greater visibility of violence.

There is a lack of research analyzing how teachers themselves define violence and what patterns of behavior they personally consider to be violent. It is precisely this subjective perception of violence that may explain why some situations remain invisible at the institutional level: they are not named and reported, or they are normalized as part of a teacher’s job, even though, in the long run, they can negatively affect a teacher’s professional identity and well-being. A phenomenographic perspective was applied in this research. It has been found that teachers understand violence in the workplace as pressure to obey, aggressive behavior, insults, public humiliation, and non-transparent decisions, which are characterized by verbal, physical, written, and visual expressions. The scope of the research results shows that the teachers’ perception of violence is not limited to incidents but is revealed as a process of constructing meaning that combines the form of violence, structural features, and orientation toward the teacher as a professional or as a person. The study broadens not only the concept of violence in the school environment but also the field of analysis of the teacher as an object of violence, and it reveals that the teachers’ understanding of violence is more related to administrative power practices.

Public responses to climate change are influenced by interpretations of scientific information and individual differences. Understanding these factors can improve targeted climate communication. Methods: We conducted a nationally representative survey of Lithuanian adults (N = 1,005; fieldwork 21 June–7 July 2024) to examine (a) distinct profiles of climate-change beliefs, (b) the science attitudes differentiating these profiles, and (c) whether personality traits relate to climate-change attitudes directly and indirectly via science attitudes. Latent profile analysis (LPA) identified belief profiles, binary logistic regression assessed predictors of profile membership, and mediation analyses tested indirect effects through attitudes toward science. Results: LPA using three climate-belief indicators supported a two-class solution among respondents with complete data (n = 930): Lower Endorsement (29.2%) and Higher Endorsement (70.8%). Stronger endorsement of science’s problemsolving capacity, support for unrestricted scientific inquiry, and support for state funding of research significantly increased the odds of belonging to the Higher Endorsement class (n = 652 with complete predictor data). Mediation analyses indicated that science attitudes were positively associated with climate-change attitudes and partially mediated the relationships between conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, and climate-change attitudes. Discussion: The findings reveal heterogeneity in climate-change beliefs in Lithuania and suggest that audience segmentation and psychologically informed communication strategies may enhance climate-related science communication.

Introduction – Previous studies have shown that children’s exposure to potentially traumatic events and their trauma−related symptoms may not always be consistently identified. This study aims to examine differences in trauma exposure and related psychological outcomes between clinical and non−clinical Lithuanian children. Methods – This cross-sectional study included 10–17−year−old children and adolescents recruited from a clinical inpatient setting (Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos) and general−education schools in Vilnius and nearby districts. After parental consent and child assent, participants completed a secure mobile assessment covering exposure to potentially traumatic events (CATS), dissociation (A−DES), mood and feeling (SMFQ), post−traumatic cognitions (CPTCI), PTSD symptoms (CATS; PCL−5 for convergent validation), and perceived social support (CASSS). Data were collected in 2023–2024. Group differences were examined using Welch’s t−tests (with Mann–Whitney U as robustness checks), and associations were assessed using Pearson correlations. Results – In the clinical sample over 40% of children experienced physical violence, while in the non−clinical sample 82.9% children reported exposure to multiple traumatic events. The clinical sample showed significantly higher dissociation, negative mood, and PTSD symptoms compared to the non−clinical sample. However, among children exposed to more than one traumatic event, differences in dissociation, PTSD symptoms, and close−friend support were not significant. Across both samples, exposure to potentially traumatic events was strongly associated with PTSD symptoms, dissociation, and post−traumatic cognitions, and moderately associated with mood symptoms. In the non−clinical sample, parental support showed moderate negative associations with dissociation, mood symptoms, post−traumatic cognitions, and PTSD symptoms. Discussion – This study identified between−sample differences in exposure to potentially traumatic events and trauma−related psychological outcomes among Lithuanian children in inpatient and community settings, highlighting the need for trauma−informed assessment and attention to social support within child mental health and welfare services.

Introduction – E-learning is a central component of higher education, yet maintaining student motivation remains difficult. Although personality traits, mental health, and peer support have each been linked to learning motivation, they are seldom examined simultaneously within an integrative framework. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory, this study examined the associations among personality traits, anxiety and depression, peer-to-peer confirmation, and learning motivating factors in e-learning. Methods – A cross-sectional online survey was completed by 595 e-learners from Lithuanian universities and Turing College. Data were collected using an online self-report questionnaire. Participants completed the Learning Motivating Factors Questionnaire, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), Student-to-Student Confirmation Scale, and Big Five Inventory-2 (BFI-2). Pearson correlational analyses and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to estimate associations and indirect pathways. Results – Extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience showed positive correlations with e-learning motivation (r = 0.08–0.39, p < 0.01), whereas neuroticism and mental health symptoms were negatively correlated. The integrated SEM indicated acceptable fit: χ2 (39) = 221, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.921; TLI = 0.888; RMSEA = 0.089 (90% CI [0.077, 0.100]), RMSEA p < 0.001, and SRMR = 0.075. The association between personality traits and e-learning motivation was primarily indirect via peer-to-peer confirmation (β = 0.062), whereas the indirect pathway via mental health was not significant. Peer-to-peer confirmation was positively associated with e-learning motivation (β = 0.256, p < 0.001). Conclusion – Within the proposed model, peer-to-peer confirmation showed the strongest association with e-learning motivation, indicating the relevance of supportive peer interaction for e-learning motivation.

This study examines methodological challenges in collecting and analysing misinformation on Telegram (software) and develops a platform-sensitive conceptual framework for identifying malicious actors. Addressing gaps in existing research, the framework accounts for Telegram’s distinctive features, including limited moderation, privacy affordances, and channel-based dissemination. The study combines a structured literature review with the development and empirical testing of a four-dimensional framework encompassing creators, message content, target victims, and social context. The framework is applied to the anti-vaccination ecosystem on Telegram using a dataset of 7550 messages collected from 151 public channels and manually annotated. The results demonstrate both the analytical value of structured content-based approaches and their limitations in attributing malicious activity without behavioural and network-level data.

Teacher victimization is a growing concern with well-documented implications for educators’ psychological well-being. However, less is known about how such experiences relate not only to emotional outcomes but also to critical thinking. This study aimed to examine the associations between different forms of teacher victimization (e.g., physical, social, verbal, and cyber), psychological well-being (flourishing, positive and negative emotions), and critical thinking.