Svetlana V. Pazukhina

Currently, digital generation adolescents experience significant communication difficulties, with a decline in their ability to engage constructively in real life, despite the increasing use of online communication. Traditional approaches to developing schoolchildren's communication skills fail to address these new challenges and needs and are often ineffective. It is therefore important to study the specifics and design the content and forms of interpersonal communication development in modern adolescents using immersive games. Immersive games, as a form of personalized and emotional interaction, provide the opportunity to simulate social situations that promote the development of communication skills, self-awareness, and behavioral strategies in various situations. The adolescent acts as an active participant in this process, which fosters self-awareness and reflection. The purpose of this study was to conduct a theoretical and empirical study of the specifics of using immersive games as a means of developing interpersonal communication in adolescents with communication difficulties. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study was formed by the work of scholars in the fields of theoretical and practical pedagogy, educational and social psychology, and the psychology of communication. The study utilized theoretical, empirical, and data processing methods. Ninety-six adolescents aged 13–14 from three educational institutions in Tula participated in the study. The results showed an increase in the number of adolescents with an average level of sociability, a normal level of empathy, and a high desire for communication and interaction. The theoretical significance of the study lies in clarifying the specifics of using immersive games in the work with adolescents with communication difficulties and identifying their qualitative characteristics that contribute to the development of interpersonal communication. The practical significance lies in the development and testing of diagnostic tools for studying communication difficulties in adolescents of the digital generation, the characteristics of their interpersonal communication, and the creation of a set of immersive games. The recipients of the research results may be teachers, educational psychologists of an educational institution, a psychological center, a rehabilitation center, a children's school and a health camp, etc.

The relevance of this study stems from the social demand for the spiritual and moral development of the younger generation in the context of dynamic sociocultural changes and the need to find effective pedagogical tools that meet the characteristics of modern teenagers. Early adolescence (12–13 years) is critical, on the one hand, and a sensitive period, on the other, for the active formation of value-meaning sphere and personal self-determination. Initial diagnostics revealed fragmentation and instability of spiritual and moral orientations, polarization in the understanding of ethical categories, and the dominance of pragmatic and egocentric attitudes among adolescents. The article presents the results of a study demonstrating the effectiveness of museum pedagogy as a unique means of developing the spiritual and moral sphere of students. The aim of the study is to identify the psychological and pedagogical conditions that ensure the effective development of spiritual and moral personal characteristics in younger adolescents through museum pedagogy. The methodological foundation comprises the anthropological and axiological approaches. The study utilized a combination of theoretical and empirical methods. To assess the reliability of the changes, Student's t-test for dependent samples was used. The empirical base: 7th-grade students (N = 60). A comprehensive psychological and pedagogical program «A Museum in My Soul» was developed and tested. It implements the identified conditions through the integration of the museum environment, psychological methods, and musical influence. The results of the control stage showed statistically significant positive changes: deeper understanding of moral concepts (p < 0.01), reorientation of the value hierarchy towards altruistic and self-actualizing values (p < 0.01), and an increase in the proportion of students with a stable humanistic orientation. The novelty lies in identifying the characteristics of developing spiritual and moral qualities in adolescents under the influence of museum pedagogy. The theoretical significance of the study lies in substantiation of the psychological and pedagogical conditions for the development of spiritual and moral characteristics through mechanisms of emotional and value immersion, dialogue, and reflective and creative activity in the museum space. Its practical significance is determined by the effectiveness of the tested «Museum in My Soul» program, the adapted diagnostic methodology, and the readiness of the materials for implementation in the educational process.

Socially oriented situations associated with disruptions in interaction systems, negative informational and psychological influence from individuals with destructive behavior often arise in the educational environment and can be characterized as stressful. These situations require teachers to mobilize all their efforts to adequately analyze the situation and competently manage their own behavior. This largely depends on the level of critical thinking, which should be developed in preservice teachers while they are still students. The goal of this study was to identify the influence of critical thinking on the choice of behavioral strategies by preservice teachers in stressful socially oriented situations. Based on the data obtained, we developed an additional educational program to enhance critical thinking development and substantiate the pedagogical conditions for its successful implementation. Sample: ordinary groups of Russian and Belarusian students from pedagogical universities (n = 320). Methodological approaches: systems-based and student-centered. Methods: Coping with stress questionnaire (COPE-30A) by C. Carver, M. Scheier, J. Weintraub, critical thinking test by L. Starkey. Results: It was found that critical thinking was better developed in Belarusian students. In the Russian sample, active coping strategies, planning and inhibition of coping predominate, while in the Belarusian sample, active coping, planning and positive reformulation predominate. Strong negative correlations in the Belarusian sample were found between the level of critical thinking and the strategies of «mental avoidance of the problem», «humor», and «behavioral avoidance of the problem». In the Russian sample, a negative correlation was recorded between the level of critical thinking and the use of active coping; positive correlations – with the strategies of «concentration on emotions» and «behavioral avoidance of the problem». The obtained empirical data were taken into account when designing a critical thinking development program. The theoretical significance lies in substantiating and identifying the developmental characteristics and relationships between critical thinking and behavioral strategies in stressful social situations among preservice teachers from Russia and Belarus. The practical significance lies in developing a program ready for implementation and describing the pedagogical conditions for its successful implementation.

This article, based on the analysis of the results of an empirical study, examines the characteristics of psychological well-being of Russian and Chinese students, and discusses the content and forms of supporting students' psychological well-being during the adaptation period in a university. The aim of the work: to study the characteristics of psychological well-being of Russian and Chinese students, to identify pedagogical conditions for supporting students' psychological well-being during the adaptation period to university. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study consists of the works of scientists in the field of theoretical and practical pedagogy, educational psychology. During the work, theoretical, empirical methods (the method of scale assessments), and data processing methods were used. The study involved 80 Russian and Chinese first-year students. Based on the obtained results, the authors designed a cycle of adaptation activities for first-year students. Novelty of the study: the components of psychological well-being are identified, scientific ideas on the design of pedagogical conditions for supporting students' psychological well-being during the adaptation period to university are supplemented and systematized. In the sample of Russian students, the mean values for all parameters studied were distributed more evenly, they were of moderate intensity and higher than those of Chinese students. The theoretical significance of this study lies in its clarification of the concept of "psychological well-being" at the subjective level as perceived by students, deepening our understanding of the mental well-being of first-year students during their adaptation to university. Its practical significance lies in the fact that the data obtained can be used to design pedagogical conditions and adaptation programs for first-year students, including those associated with student internships abroad. The results of this study may be useful to student group curators, deputy deans for educational work, and university psychological service specialists.

The relevance of the stated topic stems from the fact that teachers working with children with disabilities are often susceptible to significant emotional burnout, which negatively affects their personal and professional characteristics and determines high staff turnover in special organizations. However, this problem has not received due attention to date, and it requires study both in theoretical and practical terms. The goal is to identify the specifics of emotional burnout manifestations on the personal and professional level in teachers working with children with disabilities compared with teachers working in a comprehensive school. The methodological approach is person-oriented. Two natural groups participated in the study – teaching staff of a special institution and that of a comprehensive school. To study the features of emotional burnout and personal and professional characteristics of teachers working with children with disabilities, a number of standardized methods were used to identify signs of professional burnout, phases of emotional burnout, and personal and professional characteristics of teachers. According to the results of the study, many respondents showed a significant level of psycho-emotional exhaustion, which is manifested in constant fatigue and lack of energy; personal alienation, which is reflected in the fading of interest in work and detachment from children; reduced professional motivation, leading them to think about changing jobs and even profession. The results obtained formed the basis for developing a program for the psychoprophylaxis of emotional burnout, which included areas of work at four levels: emotional-personal, stress-dynamic, professional activity-oriented, personal-motivational. The theoretical significance lies in identifying the characteristics of emotional burnout in teachers working with children with disabilities on the personal and professional level. The practical significance lies in the fact that taking into account the identified personal and professional characteristics, when drawing up and implementing a program for the psychoprophylaxis of emotional burnout in practice, shows the effectiveness of the measures taken, so the program can be recommended for further use in institutions for working with educators teaching and raising children with disabilities.