The Problem Field and the World of Experiences of Senior School Students

Abstract.
Introduction. The article addresses the need for a systematic study of the problem field and the world of experiences of senior school students. A “problem” is understood not as an academic task, but as a life situation that affects the interests of the individual, is perceived as unsatisfactory, and requires resolution. Since such situations are necessarily coloured by negative experiences, their diagnosis is impossible without analysing these experiences.

Method. The article combines a critical analysis of empirical studies on adolescents’ and young people’s problems with a theoretical discussion of the concept of experience. Particular attention is given to the limitations of diary studies, retrospective autobiographical accounts, observation and laboratory experimentation. The author also presents the development of the “World of Experiences” questionnaire and describes the use of the “Panorama of Problems” technique, based on a group discussion with school psychologists aimed at identifying adults’ representations of the content and structure of senior school students’ problem field.

Results. The analysis shows that existing studies provide fragmented and insufficiently integrated knowledge about the experiences and problems of senior school students. Adults’ representations of these problems are often limited, insufficiently differentiated and not fully adequate. Preliminary data obtained from a small group of Year 11 students indicate that, apart from lack of sleep, the most salient problems are not primarily educational or communicative, as adults tend to assume, but are related to the “future self”. Teachers and parents also underestimate the intensity of experiences associated with the general self-concept, the psychological self and worldview-related problems.

Conclusion. The study of senior school students’ problem field is expected to have both theoretical and practical significance. The preliminary findings suggest that, at least for some senior school students, deep experiences are connected with the activity of self-determination. Knowledge of the topology and age dynamics of this problem field may inform school psychology, pedagogy and the development of humanities-based school courses. A separate practical task is to help students with the intellectualisation of experience, so that the world of experiences may become not a source of spontaneous and potentially dangerous forces, but a powerful resource for personality development.