The third issue of Social Sciences and Childhood for 2026 (No. 3, 2026) has been published, featuring research dedicated to the specifics of the development of gifted and foster children, the psychodiagnostics of self-knowledge, as well as issues of safety, legal regulation, and the interdisciplinary design of the childhood environment.
The "Pedagogy and Psychology of Education" section publishes two papers. The first article is devoted to the specific attitudes of intellectually gifted primary school students and adolescents towards digital resources in educational and cognitive activities. The authors show how high cognitive motivation affects the critical perception of digital tools by gifted children and reveal age-related differences in their use. The second paper examines the school environment through the eyes of foster adolescents. Based on a mixed-methods research design, the authors identify key resources (communication with peers, support from the homeroom teacher and family) and barriers (decreased motivation, lack of pedagogical support), emphasizing that school difficulties are often associated with a mismatch between the children's special needs and the characteristics of the educational environment.
The "Age-Related Psychology" section opens with an article devoted to the development and validation of a brief version of the Need for Self-Knowledge Scale (NSKS) for adolescents aged 10–18. The study confirms the three-factor structure of the instrument and demonstrates how the need for self-knowledge through others and self-reflection change with age, reaching their greatest significance among high-achieving students. The section concludes with an empirical paper analyzing the psychological well-being of adolescents with varying levels of intellectual abilities. The research results confirm the hypothesis that gifted adolescents demonstrate a higher level of psychological well-being compared to their peers with below-average intellectual performance.
The "Safety and Law" section presents an international perspective on child protection and family policy analysis. The first publication describes the development of a socio-ecological framework for preventing child sexual abuse in the Gweru district of Zimbabwe. The author shows how integrating global scientific data with local expertise through a participatory design allows for the creation of a coordinated protection system that takes the local context into account. The second article is devoted to the analysis of legal models of abortion regulation in an international context. The authors argue that for family, motherhood, and childhood policy, not so much legal prohibitions are crucial, but rather a comprehensive set of measures aimed at preventing crisis pregnancies, ensuring access to contraception, and supporting motherhood.
The "Scientific Life" section summarizes the outcomes of the International Round Table dedicated to the interdisciplinary analysis of contemporary early childhood and toy design in Russia and Belarus. The authors note the industry's consistent demand for the safety and developmental potential of toys, while simultaneously highlighting the persisting gap between manufacturers and the psycho-pedagogical community. As a promising direction for bridging this gap, the mandatory inclusion of knowledge about child development at the toy design stages is outlined.
The materials presented in this issue form a holistic picture of modern scientific discussions on the transformation of the childhood space. All the articles are united by the authors' aspiration to combine fundamental theoretical foundations with empirical data and an interdisciplinary approach.