In the context of considerations on the potential attenuation of the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic with the use of credible social media in online education during a pandemic, the subject of our own research was the fulfillment of two goals. The main research goals were to identify, categorize, and evaluate the possibilities of using social media in online education during the pandemic from the perspective of selected teachers and students from secondary schools in Slovakia. The research methods of the first phase (qualitative) of the research involved brainstorming among nine secondary school teachers. The second research phase (quantitative) used a questionnaire, which was completed by 102 high school students from all over Slovakia. The collection of both quantitative and qualitative data was used in this research. The research results revealed the most representative opinions of teachers on the current and real possibilities of engaging credible social media in online education and the views of high school students on their desired use and involvement of social media in online education. The intersection of the two findings presents a picture of the possibilities of using credible social media in online education, which can help maintain students’ interest in online education during a pandemic. Based on these findings, it can be stated that the opinions identified in the research group of teachers correspond to a large extent with the desired use of social media in education from the perspective of students. In addition, however, students would welcome more opportunities to use and engage social media in today’s online education. The result of this research is an analysis of social media patterns applied to online education, which are of greater interest to students and could act as elements for reducing the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, i.e., six forms of online education and 24 educational activities that could contribute, inter alia, to mitigating the different negative effects of the pandemic among youth generation. The findings also benefit from the presentation of many specific options and recommendations for the use of social media in online education during a pandemic.

Man is born into a tangle of standard processes and behaviour patterns created and modified over time. Through gradual socialization, he acquires the attributes of his own culture and gets acquainted with the admissible modus operandi for the social group he is a member of; he also deepens these principles and confronts them with the experiences of others. Stereotyping is a process that represents the initial classification of phenomena and people, which it categorizes into groups and assigns them positive or negative characteristics. Stereotypes form the ideas that people have about themselves and ,their' group with which they identify and are aimed at members of other groups with which they do not identify. Negative stereotypes about other people arise from pursuing one's own positive social identity and positive self-presentation. Stereotyping of believers occurs precisely because of perceived differences between ,we' and ,them' (for example, in attitudes and values, possibly in ,religious' practice). Stereotypes are often the unconscious ,beginning' of a range of known intolerant attitudes; they can lead to racism, anti-Semitism, ethnic discrimination, and other forms of intolerance. According to the experts, no nation has innate attitudes to hate, as they cannot be inherited in a biological--psychological sense. Intolerance is acquired, often to justify negative attitudes and behaviours. Using the qualitative method of guided group interviews (the so-called focus group), we examine the existence of stereotypes in university students towards their religious classmates. We consider the potential of social exclusion of young believers due to stereotypes and present current measures in prevention.

Emphasis on the balance between human needs and the carrying capacity of these needs in the context of sustainable development (SD) is present in interdisciplinary study programs and the content of higher education in Slovakia. In the theoretical part of this paper, we present the media as a tool that expands the possibilities of schools in the field of education about SD. It is proven to help school activities draw attention to the situation and problems of SD and to spread the reported problems outside the school space. We examine the practical dimension of the issue of individual responsibility for the world and SD through our own research. The aim is to analyze the individual tasks of sustainable human behavior from the perspective of university students. The research findings provide the current view of young respondents on the roles and individual responsibilities that exist for SD. They also answered in which of the four dimensions defined by the “National strategy for SD of the Slovak republic” the researched students see the greatest need for individual responsibility.

The objective of the present study was to compare the social structure and internal establishment of a Roma community in two historical periods: in the 18th century and the present. We analysed Samuel Augustini ab Hortis’s work, “Von dem Heutigen Zustände, Sonderbaren Sitten und Lebensart, Wie Auch von Denen Übrigen Eigenschaften und Umständen der Zigeuner in Ungarn” (On the Contemporary Situation, Distinctive Manners and Way of Life, as Well as the Other Characteristics and Circumstances of Gypsies in Greater Hungary), written in 1775–1776. Using content analysis, we subsequently compared his findings with our recent data from analogous qualitative research in a geographically-defined area of north-eastern Slovakia, the same region in which Augustini lived. Data collection was intensely conducted in 2012–2013 and once more in 2017–2019. The qualitative methods included direct observation, semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Four key informants and more than 70 participants collaborated in the study. The greatest difference we observed compared to the 18th century was the absence of a leader of the community, a “vajda”, whose status was taken over by a new social class of “entrepreneurs”. The most vulnerable group of the segregated and separated Roma communities are the “degesa”, the lowest social class. They face a phenomenon consisting of so-called triple marginalization: they live in one of the most underdeveloped regions of the country, they inhabit segregated settlements and they are excluded by their own ethnic group. The socioeconomic status of the richest classes has changed faces, while the socioeconomic status of the lowest has not. We found a misconception among helping professionals (e.g., social workers) regarding the homogeneity of the Roma community. This calls for more attention to the erroneous use of the ethnic-based approach in the helping professions.

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