The text presents the possibilities of using selected assumptions of positive psychology in the process of preparing students at a younger school age to cope with the civilization threats of the 21st century (pandemics, migrations, wars, hunger, etc.), understood as crises that can be learned to overcome. In the process of education, especially in early childhood, the issue of threats to civilization is usually ignored, e.g. therefore, there are more and more disturbing phenomena in the lives of children and adolescents (aggression, depression, withdrawal, etc.).The assumptions of positive psychology are presented and used in this text not as a starting point for designing therapeutic activities, but for designing preventive educational processes. The text also refers to the theory of self-determination (SDT) by E. Deci and R. Ryan, and in particular to one of its sub-theories relating to human needs and motivation. The need to ensure that the child in the education process meets the three most basic human needs: competences, relations with others and autonomy - treated as necessary conditions for children's well-being and learning to cope with crises that appear "here and now" and in the future.

The text is devoted to the issues of student autonomy. The idea of building it was presented from the perspective of early school education. After the theoretical considerations relating to the interpretative approaches to autonomy, the specifics of its building in younger school-age children are presented. The process of developing a child’s autonomy in early childhood education often differs from theoretical concepts; the author draws attention to the determinants of this process and analyzes the educational circumstances conducive to students taking responsibility for their own learning.

<p>Sposób realizacji treści przyrodniczych na skutek gwałtownych zmian o charakterze społecznym, cywilizacyjnym i naukowym powinien podlegać zmianom. Istotą tej edukacji powinno być rozwijanie zainteresowania przyrodą i kanalizowanie aktywności poznawczej uczniów na rozumienie zjawisk i procesów przyrodniczych i kształcenie dla zrównoważonego rozwoju. Tekst jest próbą spojrzenia na koncepcje kształcenia przyrodniczego dzieci w młodszym wieku szkolnym, jakie posiadają studenci, przyszli nauczyciele klas I-III. Poddano analizie jakościowej wypowiedzi studentów dotyczące istoty edukacji przyrodniczej dzieci i sposobów jej realizacji.</p>

The article concerns the learning motivation considered from the perspective of early childhood education teachers. The aim of the publication is to show how teachers perceive students' motivation to learn, how they see their role in the motivating process and to present declarations on the motivating methods used in classes with students of grades 1-3 along with an assessment of their effectiveness. The analysis of the material based on the interviews shows that among early school education teachers there are significant different opinions regarding the role of motivation to learn in younger school-age children and the methods used to stimulate external and internal motivation.

This document is dedicated to the problem of motivation. It discusses the questions of ways of motivating the youngest pupils to the learning process. It presents the results of researches concerning motivational actions undertaken by teachers and parents, and compares them. The author presents the practical possibilities of applying motivation into the learning process.