PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY OF THE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT AND ITS IMPACT ON THE ACADEMIC MOTIVATION OF LAW STUDENTS

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of psychological safety in the educational environment of law students and its role in the formation of academic motivation and the reduction of fear of negative evaluation. The results of a theoretical analysis of conceptual approaches to psychological safety and an empirical study aimed at identifying levels of psychological safety in the student environment are presented.

The results of a comparative analysis of two groups of students, formed according to the level of psychological safety in the educational environment, are described using the Psychological Safety Scale by R. O’Donovan et al., the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) by R. Vallerand, L. Pelletier, M. Blais, N. Brière, C. Senécal, É. Vallières, and the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE) by M. Leary.

The features of perceived psychological safety in different dimensions of interpersonal interaction (student–teacher, student–peers, student–academic group as a whole) were analyzed, and a comparative analysis of academic motivation and fear of negative evaluation within the identified groups of students was conducted. The article presents empirical data on differences between groups in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic academic motivation, amotivation, and indicators of social evaluative anxiety.

The obtained results indicate a systemic relationship between psychological safety of the educational environment, academic motivation, and fear of negative evaluation. In particular, a higher level of psychological safety contributes to the formation of intrinsically motivated learning behavior and a reduction in social evaluative anxiety, whereas a lower level of psychological safety is associated with the dominance of extrinsic motivation and an increased fear of negative evaluation.

Further research should focus on the development of comprehensive models for ensuring a psychologically safe educational environment as a condition for the effective professional development of law students.