The study of professional longevity and psychological health of teachers, taking into account their psychological age

Context and relevance. The problem under consideration is becoming relevant in connection with the reform of educational systems and the search for optimal ways to solve the issues of staffing the system of educational organizations. Objective. The main purpose of the study is to clarify the relationship between individual scales of “psychological health” and scales of “professional longevity”. Hypothesis. The study suggests differences between different age groups of teachers on the following scales: positive attitudes; autonomy; environmental management; personal growth; life goals; self-acceptance; psychological well-being. As teachers gain pedagogical experience, they begin to rethink their age — the older the teacher, the older they perceive themselves to be relative to their actual age. Methods and materials. The main sample included teachers from general education institutions, mostly women, with teaching experience ranging from 24 to 65 years (average age 44 ± 1 year, 32 participants). In our study, we used a theoretical analysis of the literature on the problem under study, including a conceptual analysis of previous studies. Empirical methods included: the scale of assessment of the expected retirement age by T.N. Berezina; the self-assessment of psychological age by K.A. Abulkhanova and T.N. Berezina; the scale of psychological well-being by C. Ryff adapted by N.N. Lepeshinsky; methods of mathematical processing and analysis of the data obtained: descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, descriptive data analysis, variance analysis with Fisher's exact test. Results. As part of the digital transformation of the educational environment and the reform of the education system, an analysis of the professional age, longevity and psychological health of secondary school teachers was carried out. The study revealed differences among teachers of different age categories in such aspects as positive social connections, degree of autonomy, control over the external environment, personality development, meaningfulness of life, self-acceptance and the level of psychological well-being. With increasing teaching experience, teachers tend to reconsider their perception of age — the longer they work, the more mature they feel compared to their actual age. Conclusions. The average age of teachers who subjectively assess themselves younger than their biological age ranges from 62—63 years, while those who feel older are about 57—58 years old. The greatest discrepancy between real and perceived age was noted among teachers aged 45—54 years, which is most likely due to manifestations of professional burnout. Teachers who perceive themselves as young show a higher level of psychological well-being, especially in terms of a sense of control over the environment. Significant differences in such parameters as positive relationships, autonomy, environmental management, personality development, meaning of life, self-acceptance, and general psychological state were revealed between groups that differ in age self-assessment. As teachers increase their work experience, they increasingly lower their biological age limits, based primarily on internal, subjective perception.