Features of the «Psychological Health» Concept Perception by Students of a Pedagogical University: A Case Study of Kazakhstan

Currently, trends in the development of education in the world determine the relevance of a systematic analysis of «psychological health» in the system of higher education institutions. The purpose of this research is to study the features of the perception of the concept of «psychological health» and to represent its meaningful structure in the minds of students of a pedagogical university. The following methods were used in the research: theoretical (analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature, generalization and systematization); empirical (questionnaire, pedagogical experiment). 112 students of pedagogical specialties from educational institutions of the Republic of Kazakhstan participated in the study. To investigate the perception of the concept of «psychological health» by students of various courses, a questionnaire called «Psychological health of students» was developed and implemented. We examined students’ concept perception of the term, as well as the unique characteristics and differences in how elementary and high school students understand the concept. The novelty of this study is to identify the peculiarities of students’ ideas about the structure of psychological health in various courses, which makes it possible to develop further and conduct formative work on testing the pedagogical conditions for the development of students’ psychological health. The results of the study allowed us to identify more accurately and to consider the possibilities of a pedagogical university in creating the necessary conditions for strengthening and developing the psychological health of students.