Psychological violence as a socio-pedagogical destruction of the educational environment of higher school

Improving the quality and efficiency of higher education is closely linked to the need for comprehensive security in an educational environment within which the vital processes of forming, developing and becoming a future professional are going on. Psychological violence, as a threat to the psychological security of the educational environment, is a pressing scientific problem that makes the research relevant. The purpose of the article is to analyse the problem of psychological violence as a destructive socio-psychological threat to the security of the educational environment and a complex obstacle in the process of modernisation and improvement of higher education. The objectives of the study were to analyse the basic principles of psychological security of the educational environment; to define the notion “psychological violence” and its signs manifested in the educational environment as well as the forms of its manifestations; to describe possible ways of preventing manifestations of psychological violence in the educational environment. The analysis of the scientific psychological and pedagogical literature made it possible to identify the main system components of the educational environment. It is established that the relationship between pedagogical and psychological conditions alongside influences are the concept of the system of the educational environment, whereas psychological violence is the main socio-psychological destruction of this system. The study emphasises that the consequences of psychological abuse extend to all levels of human functioning and contribute to the process of the deformation of personality; they reduce motivation to act and impede the realisation of person’s abilities, educational and professional skills. The authors have analysed the main types of psychological violence, including those ones which have emerged relatively recently and need further scientific study. The necessity to create a set of measures aimed at preventing psychological violence in the educational environment has been substantiated, the ways of solving this problem at the scientific and legislative levels have been outlined. The main methods of scientific development are as follows: analysis, synthesis, generalisation, as well as the systematic and descriptive methodological approaches.