PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY OF THE EDUCATIONAL SPACE IN THE STRUCTURE OF MOTIVATIONAL ORIENTATION OF FEMALE ATHLETES: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract

The purpose was to determine the characteristics of female athletes’ perceptions of the psychological safety of the educational space and to compare the impact on the motivational orientation of female athletes of the game (Group I) and individual sports (Group II). An empirical study was conducted with female students from the Faculty of Physical Culture and Sports, with Group I (n = 26; 55.32%) participating in team sports (handball, volleyball), and Group II (n = 21; 44.68%) participating in individual sports (athletics). Psychodiagnostic research methods were used: the “Questionnaire of an Athlete’s Motivational Orientation” (I. Smoldovskaya) was used to study motivational orientation, and the “Psychological Safety of the Educational Space” questionnaire (I. Baeva, E. Volkova, E. Laktionova) was used to study female athletes’ perceptions of psychological safety in the educational space. Results. Differences between groups of female athletes with different perceptions of the level of psychological safety of the university’s educational space were established based on the components of female athletes’ motivational orientation (р<.05), indicating the influence of satisfaction with the parameters of interaction with students, teachers, and coaching staff. It has been proved that a high level of psychological safety (Group 1) was associated with athletes’ motivational focus on the results, on the business, proving the first hypothesis. A low level of psychological safety (Group 2) has been found to cause a focus on oneself, one’s prestige, interest, and benefit. A comparison was made between two groups of female athletes of game sports (Group I) and individual sports (Group II). Group I female athletes had a statistical advantage in the object-oriented and socially-oriented components, whereas Group II female athletes had a higher indicator of the personal-oriented component (р<.05). It was established that there were no statistically significant differences between groups in the result-oriented component of motivational orientation, demonstrating the lack of dependence of motivational orientation on the results of a specific type of sport and disproving the second hypothesis. Conclusions. It is recommended to implement the results obtained in the research into the female athletes’ psychological preparation.