Understanding the concept of childhood stress and knowledge about its symptoms from the perspective of pedagogy students

Abstract

Contemporary conditions and realities make children encounter stressful situations in their daily lives, stemming from the increasing pace of life, an overload of tasks, rising expectations from their immediate surroundings, and various educational environments. The aim of this article is to present, based on the literature on the subject, a scientific explanation of the concept of stress and its typical symptoms in the light of expert research. Additionally, the paper presents the results of an original study conducted among 103 pedagogy students. The study aimed to understand how respondents perceive the concept of childhood stress and to identify their knowledge of the physiological, cognitive, emotional, and behavioural symptoms of stress experienced by children in the modern world. The study results indicate that the studying youth correctly understands the concept of childhood stress and accurately identifies characteristic stress reactions in the explored areas. Due to the specificity of the field of study and the future profession of the respondents, this is extremely important. Reliable knowledge in this area is a valuable resource that is part of professional competencies, enabling quick and responsive response to the needs of wards experiencing distress, usually leading to pathological consequences.