EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT AS A FACTOR OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN

Abstract

The relevance of the study lies in the existing contradiction between the signifi cance of psychological well-being of the child for successful socialization and development of higher mental functions and insuffi cient development of this problem at the pre-school stage. Taking into account the infl uence of negative trends of sociocultural transformations, as well as qualitatively other conditions of life of modern children is essential. The purpose is to study the infl uence of the educational environment on the psychological well-being of children of late preschool age. Methods include organizational, empirical (observation, survey, psychological experiment, quasi-experiment, physcho-diagnostic method, including tests and surveys), quantitative and qualitative methods of data processing, interpretive methods. The sample consisted of  older pre-school children of pre-school institutions in Belarus. The number of participants in the formative stage was determined on the basis of the naturally established  groups of pre-school institutions. In the course of the study, the author’s interpretation and operationalization of the concept of “psychological well-being of the child” in relation to pre-school age were carried out. Based on the empirical classifi cation, three types of psychological well-being of children of senior pre-school age have been singled out and characterised in a meaningful way: well-off, conditionally well-off, and eventually disadvantaged. The relationship of indicators of child well-being and components of educational environment has been determined. A programme to optimize the educational environment in the pre-school education institution group has been developed and tested. The results presented in the study make it possible to speak about the characteristics of social, spatial and subject and technological components as determinants of psychological well-being of the child with a high probability.