Theoretical and methodological features of psychological safety in the educational environment of higher education during a period of social change
DOI: 10.23951/2307-6127-2026-5-108-120
The relevance of this research is determined by the large-scale social transformations in society associated with digitalization, the hybridization of education, and social turbulence. These processes are creating new psychological risks in the educational environment and raise the need to adjust traditional theoretical and methodological approaches to ensuring students' psychological safety. The aim of this study is to, by generalizing scientific concepts, clarify and concretize the concept of psychological safety in the educational environment of a university, taking into account modern realities, and to develop a structural model for a safe educational space at a higher education institution. The study included a systematic analysis of domestic (K.A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, A.G. Asmolov, I.A. Baeva) and international (A. Bandura, W. Bronfenbrenner, J. Gibbson, A. Maslow) concepts, as well as works by contemporary authors devoted to educational environment safety issues (A.I. Dontsov, Yu.P. Zinchenko, T.M. Krasnyanskaya, V.G. Tylets, and others). The analysis revealed significant limitations of current models as applied to higher education, which prompted the search for ways to optimize them. The study also formulated a unique definition of psychological safety in a university's educational environment—an integrative characteristic reflecting subjects' protection from psychological risks, satisfaction with key interaction parameters, and the availability of conditions for personal and professional development in the context of digital transformation. The article also describes a developed structural model of psychological safety in the university's educational environment, the effectiveness of which has been confirmed by qualitative and quantitative research conducted with the participation of 20 experienced experts. Finally, it is concluded that specialized diagnostic tools based on the proposed model are needed.
Keywords: psycho-emotional security; space for learning and development; higher education system; social transformations; integration of digital technologies into learning; active position of the learner; peace of mind; diagram of system components; scientific basis of the research; university environment
References:
1. Baeva I.A. Psikhologicheskaya bezopasnost’ v obrazovanii [Psychological safety in education]. Saint Petersburg, Soyuz Publ., 2002. 271 р. (in Russian).
2. Dontsov A.I., Zinchenko Yu.P., Veraksa A.N., Zotova O.Yu., Perelygina E.B. Psikhologiya bezopasnosti: uchebnik dlya vuzov [Psychology of safety: textbook for universities]. Moscow, Yurayt Publ., 2025. 269 р. (in Russian).
3. Tylets V.G., Krasnyanskaya T.M. Kontseptualizatsiya sistemy psikhologicheskoy bezopasnosti vuza [Conceptualization of the system of psychological safety of a university]. Vestnik Kostromskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Pedagogika. Psikhologiya. Sotsiokinetika – Bulletin of Kostroma State University. Series: Pedagogy. Psychology. Sociokinetics, 2016, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 40–44 (in Russian).
4. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya K. A. Strategiya zhizni [Life strategy]. Moscow, Mysl’ Publ., 1991. 299 р. (in Russian).
5. Charoenrat C. Safe-Space Messages and Psychological Safety: Enhancing Intercultural Competencies in Multicultural Higher Education Classrooms. Rajapark International Journal, 2025, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 22–39.
6. Kislyakov P.A. Sotsial’naya bezopasnost’ i zdorov’esberezheniye uchashcheysya molodezhi: soderzhatel’no-tekhnologicheskoye i organizatsionno-upravlencheskoye obespecheniye v vuze [Social safety and health preservation of students: content-technological and organizational-managerial support in higher education institutions]. Obrazovaniye: traditsii i innovatsii – Education: Traditions and Innovations, 2024, no. 4(47), pp. 90–106 (in Russian).
7. Kislyakov P.A., Shmeleva E.A. Pilotazhnaya otsenka russkoyazychnoy versii oprosnika chuvstva bezopasnosti na vyborke studentov sotsionomicheskogo profilya [Pilot assessment of the Russian-language version of the sense of safety questionnaire on a sample of students of socionomic specialties]. Voprosy psikhologii – Voprosy Psychologii, 2023, vol. 69, no. 6, pp. 122–134 (in Russian).
8. Tsvetkova N.A., Kislyakov P.A., Lagvilava K.E., Semenova N.A. Regional’naya spetsifika psikhologicheskogo blagopoluchiya studentov vypusknykh kursov fakul’teta psikhologii [Regional specificity of psychological wellbeing of final-year psychology students]. Obrazovaniye i samorazvitiye – Education and Self Development, 2023, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 230–244 (in Russian).
9. Maslow A.H. A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 1943, vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 370–396. doi:10.1037/h0054346
10. Bronfenbrenner U. The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1979. 330 р.
11. Rubinstein S.L. Bytiye i soznaniye. Chelovek i mir [Being and consciousness. Man and the world]. Saint Petersburg, Piter Publ., 2003. 512 р. (in Russian).
12. Asmolov A.G. Po tu storonu soznaniya: metodologicheskiye problemy neklassicheskoy psikhologii [Beyond consciousness: methodological problems of non-classical psychology]. Moscow, Smysl Publ., 2002. 480 р. (in Russian).
13. Baeva I.A. Psikhologiya bezopasnosti: teoreticheskaya osnova prakticheskoy pomoshchi [Psychology of safety: theoretical basis of practical assistance]. Izvestiya Rossiyskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta im. A.I. Gertsena – Izvestia: Herzen University Journal of Humanities & Sciences, 2016, no. 7(19), pp. 7–18 (in Russian).
14. Bogomaz S.A., Levitskaya T.E. Lichnostnyy potentsial i psikhologicheskaya ustoychivost’ studentov v usloviyakh neopredelennosti [Personal potential and psychological resilience of students under conditions of uncertainty]. Sibirskiy psikhologicheskiy zhurnal – Siberian Journal of Psychology, 2025, no. 95, pp. 138–154 (in Russian).
15. Ryff C.D. Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1989, vol. 57, no. 6, pp. 1069–1081.
16. Baeva I.A. Psikhologiya bezopasnosti: teoreticheskaya osnova prakticheskoy pomoshchi [Psychology of safety: theoretical basis for practical assistance]. Izvestiya Rossiyskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo univeristeta imeni A.I. Gertsena – Izvestia: Herzen University Journal of Humanities & Sciences, 2016, no. 3, pp. 7–18 (in Russian).
17. Bandura A. Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, W. H. Freeman, 1997. 604 р.
18. Gibson J.J. The ecological approach to visual perception. Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1979. 332 р.
19. Filippova S.A. Otsenka professional’nogo blagopoluchiya kuratorov studencheskikh grupp v kontekste obespecheniya bezopasnosti obrazovatel’noy sredy [Assessment of professional well-being of curators of student groups in the context of ensuring safety of the educational environment]. Nauchno-pedagogicheskoye obozreniye – Pedagogical Review, 2025, vol. 6(64), pp. 125–134 (in Russian).
20. Rabadanova R.S., Gafiyatullina E.A., Chernysheva E.L., Krasnova E.A., Akhmedzyanova G.V. Psychological safety of the educational environment in higher education: Risks and threats. Brazilian Journal of Education, 2024, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 112–128.
21. Kitova D.A., Zhuravlev A.L. Obrazovanie kak funktsional’nyi resurs dlya razvitiya gosudarstva: analiz sotsial’no-ekonomicheskikh predstavlenii rossiyan [Education as a functional resource for the development of the state: an analysis of the socio‑economic perceptions of Russians]. Psikhologicheskiy zhurnal – Psychological Journal, 2024, vol. 45(2), pp. 15–27 (in Russian).
22. Lukose J.M., Agbeyangi A.O. The rising threat of cyberstalking: Awareness and coping mechanisms among higher education students. Digital Culture & Education, 2025, vol. 16, no. 1, 18 р.
23. Carruthers S. The role of psychological safety in doctoral student wellbeing. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 2025, vol. 62, no. 1, pp. 45–57.
( 556.39 kB ) 
( 552.81 kB )
Issue: 5, 2026
Series of issue: Issue 5
Rubric: PSYCHOLOGY
Pages: 108 — 120
Downloads: 19