Pedagogue’s psychological health as a factor of professional longevity

Abstract

Introduction. The relevance of studying the problem of pedagogue’s professional longevity is accounted for by the need of the modern educational system in efficient and experienced teachers. Among the factors influencing the duration of professional activity, psychological health and its components are significant. The identified risks of psycho-emotional state, self-regulation of behaviour, self-perception and interpersonal interaction actualise the phenomenon of “professional longevity” and form the basis of psychological health. The purpose of the study is to reveal the correlation between the pedagogue’s psychological health and professional longevity. Research methodology and techniques. The theoretical basis of the research is represented by the ideas and concepts focused on the psychological component of general health as well as the notions of psychological health and factors influencing it. To investigate the relationship between psychological health and professional longevity, a group of testees was formed according to age category, with regard for their pedagogical experience. A total of 200 teachers from general educational organisations of Voronezh Region (Russian Federation) took part in the empirical survey. The selected techniques included: Psychological health diagnostics after A.V. Kozlova; “Self-regulation behaviour style”; research of self-esteem according to S.R. Pantileev. Spearman’s rank correlation method was used for statistical processing of the results. Results. The survey results analysis revealed the impact of psychological health indicators on the length of pedagogical activity. The interrelation between the pedagogues’ general self-regulation level and psychological health has been confirmed; in addition, some of self-attitude characteristics correlate with the indicators of psychological health (p < 0,05). A high level of psychological health was revealed in 36% of the pedagogues having 10 to 25 years of professional experience. The low level of psychological health was recorded in pedagogues with longer service record (over 35 years). It was revealed that pedagogues with 10 to 25 years of experience paid much attention to the strategic, pro-social, creative and intellectual “vectors”. The overall level of self-regulation is the highest (over 70%) in the pedagogues with 10 to 25 and 25 to 35 years of experience. Conclusion. The level of identified psychological health characteristics is determined by pedagogical experience. This consideration should be taken into account, when working with older-age pedagogues, by creating due conditions for maintaining a properly high level of psychological health. Keywords: pegagogical profession, teaching experience, pedagogue’s professional longevity, psychological health, self-attitude, self-regulation, professionalism, modern education