Psychological adaptation of educational actors to the digital educational environment: challenges and strategies

Abstract

The intensive digitalization of education is accompanied by changes in the organization of learning activities, information processing, and interaction among participants in the educational process; consequently, the psychological adaptation of students and teachers to the digital educational environment has acquired independent scientific significance. The aim of this article is to provide a theoretical and analytical review of the psychological characteristics of educational actors’ adaptation to the digital educational environment and to systematize the main psychological challenges and adaptation strategies of students and teachers in the context of educational digitalization. The study draws on scientific publications addressing the cognitive and psycho-emotional consequences of digitalization, digital competence, self-regulation, the transformation of the teacher’s professional role, technostress, and the characteristics of social and communicative interaction. The main body of the studies analyzed covers the period from 2015 to 2024; earlier conceptual works of theoretical relevance to the research problem were also considered. The primary method was a comparative content analysis of scientific publications followed by the systematization of the psychological phenomena under consideration. The analysis identified the main dimensions of psychological adaptation: cognitive adaptation and attention regulation, development of digital competence and autonomy, social and communicative adaptation, transformation of the teacher’s professional role, and prevention of technostress and emotional exhaustion. The analysis indicates that psychological adaptation cannot be reduced to the acquisition of technical skills, as it is shaped by the interaction between individuals’ cognitive, emotional, motivational, and self-regulatory resources and the characteristics of the educational environment. Digital competence, psychological flexibility, self-regulation skills, and social support were systematized as the principal resources for adaptation. The scientific significance of the study lies in its integrated examination of the psychological adaptation of students and teachers within a unified analytical framework. Its practical significance is associated with the potential application of the identified dimensions in organizing psychological and pedagogical support for digital learning, preventing technostress, and maintaining the psychological well-being of educational actors.