The Role of Student’s Self-actualization in Adapting

to the e-Learning Environment

Natalia B. Smolskaia
Olga D. Shipunova Irina P. Berezovskaya Department of Linguistics and
Department of Social Sciences Department of Social Sciences
Intercultural Communication
Peter the Great St. Petersburg Peter the Great St. Petersburg
Peter the Great St. Petersburg
Polytechnic University Polytechnic University
Polytechnic University
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
o_shipunova@mail.ru ipberezovskaya@mail.ru
n.smolskaia@yandex.ru

ABSTRACT environment, in the choice of online learning trajectories. The

The article covers the problem of psychological adaptation of
students to the electronic expansion of the learning
environment. The authors link the adaptive abilities of students
with the nature of motivation for learning and the level of
personal development in the process of new knowledge
acquisition. The unity of the vectors of individual development
in this regard correlates with the matrix of self-actualization,
which characterizes the integral structure of personality and the
rate of the development of its abilities in the learning process.
The analysis of the parameters of self-actualization for the
groups of students of different majors, which fix the positive
experience of an individual in the information environment,
determines the aims of the article. The theoretical basis of the
study is the concept of personal development in psychology. The
method of comparative analysis of the average level of self-
actualization of students, depending on their major and gender,
and psychological testing (self-actualization test) as an empirical
method are used. Test data processing was carried out using IBM
SPSS Statistics 19. The generalization of indicators of basic and
auxiliary scales of self-actualization parameters measurement
allowed revealing the average picture of readiness of students to
the independent orientation in the extended learning
environment. According to the results of the study, the
conclusion is made about the insufficient level of independence
of the first-year students in the assessment of the information
Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal
or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or
distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice
and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work
owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is
permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute
to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from
Permissions@acm.org.
TEEM'19, October 16–18, 2019, León, Spain
© 2019 Association for Computing Machinery.
ACM ISBN 978-1-4503-7191-9/19/10…$15.00
https://doi.org/10.1145/3362789.3362884
results can be used to model a productive algorithm of students’
adaptation to the e-learning environment.
CCS CONCEPTS
• Human-centered computing~Empirical studies in
HCI • Applied computing~E-learning • Applied
computing~Psychology
KEYWORDS
E-learning environment, Psychological adaptation, Self-
actualization, Self-assessment monitoring.
ACM Reference format:
Olga Dmitrievna Shipunova, Irina Petrovna Berezovskaya and Natalia
Borisovna Smolskaia. 2019. The Role of Student’s Self-actualization in
Adapting to the e-Learning Environment. In Proceedings of the Seventh
International Conference on Technological Ecosystems for Enhancing
Multiculturality (TEEM 2019) (León, Spain, October 16-18, 2019), F. J.
García-Peñalvo Ed. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 6 pages.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3362789.3362884
1 Introduction
Prospects for the development of digital culture of modern
society are associated with the expansion of virtual educational
space, with the constant filling of its information and new 3D-
technologies. Against this background, the problem of
psychological adaptation to the extended learning environments
becomes significant. The tasks of modeling the online learning
environment include the attitude of students to this
environment, as well as the contextual conditions that support
their internal motivation to master professional knowledge [1].
Taking into account the individual preferences and
psychological characteristics of the student is an important
factor in the organization of on-line training, when the teacher
TEEM 2019, October 2019, León, Spain
and the student are endowed with virtual functions that open
new information channels [2], [3]. In this case, the organization
of knowledge management in the educational process is
associated with the personalization of the online environment,
with the modeling of the learning process through the typology
of knowledge, focused on the students’ thinking style [4], [5].
The perception of diverse information involves the
intellectual activity of a young person, the actualization of the
general background knowledge in the learning process. It is no
coincidence that in the new models of adaptive e-learning
systems the urgent task is the transfer of implicit knowledge. In
the educational practice, the formation of general knowledge and
information processing skills correlates with the idea of the
personal development potential, which is the basis of an
adequate perception of the future specialist of the world and
their place in it. In the professional training, self-development is
associated with the achievement of a more complete
correspondence of their personal qualities and aspirations of the
chosen profession. Entering the professional sphere involves a
long process of development of the attitude to the future
profession and to the person him/herself as a potential subject of
the professional activity. Self-analysis in this case is focused on
the young person’s understanding of the degree of compliance of
his/her own abilities and value orientation with the
requirements of the chosen profession. In this case, the main
motivating force for the intellectual development can serve as an
experience associated with the awareness of the sufficiency or
insufficiency of their personal experience in a particular life and
professional situation.
The main objectives of this article closely link to the analysis
of the level of self-development and self-esteem of the university
students. We investigate personal conditions of adaptation of
students to the extended learning environment, using
terminological and theoretical base of humanistic psychology,
within which the matrix of parameters of personal development
is allocated. The internal motivation and aspiration of the person
to development and realization of the abilities is designated as
the need for self-actualization by which the unity of vectors of
individual development is understood. K. Goldstein [6] coined
the term self-actualization in the meaning of a multilayer
integral basis of the personal development, which is represented
by the matrix of factors reflecting the mental structure of an
individual.
The aims of the article are:
– comparative analysis of the parameters of self-
actualization of the first-year students majoring in Engineering
and Humanities on the basis of the method of psychological
testing;
– study of the average level of self-actualization of the first-
year students in the context of adaptation to the e-learning
environment on the basis of basic scales that distinguish in the
matrix of self-actualization parameters indicating the ability of
orientation in time and the degree of independence of the
behavior of the subject from external influence.
We want to show that the increase in the level of
professional training of young people is largely determined by
746
O. D. Shipunova et al.
the student’s readiness for independent action in the online
learning environment, adaptation to which is provided by a
sufficient level of self-actualization. In this regard, the specific
problems of the empirical nature in our study are associated with
obtaining and summarizing information about the parameters of
self-actualization of the students of the Emperor Alexander Ist St.
Petersburg State Transport University on the basis of
psychological testing of the first-year students’ groups.
In data processing we systematize the results of an individual
survey into the following blocks characterizing different factors
of the personality structure:
1) block of values, including a scale for measuring values and
flexibility of behavior in interaction;
2) block of feelings including scales of measurement of level
of sensuality, reflexivity, spontaneity in actions;
3) block of self-perception, including scales for diagnosing
the level of self-esteem and self-acceptance without criticism;
4) block of the concept of the person including scales for
measurement of level of formation of representations about the
nature of the person and the ability to integral perception of the
world;
5) block of interpersonal sensitivity, including scales to
measure the level of susceptibility to aggression and the
establishment of emotional contacts;
6) block of the relation to knowledge including scales for
measurement of level of aspiration to knowledge and creativity.
1.1 Literature review
The basis of the psychological concept of self-actualization is the
methodological principles developed in the 20th century by K.
Levin [7], K. Goldstein [8], and G. Allport [9]. A. Maslow [10]
and S. Rogers [11] systematized the factors of psychological
analysis of self-actualization levels in the form of basic and
optional scales applicable for measurement in the empirical
research.
A. Maslow believed that each culture had its own
peculiarities of self-actualization. He emphasized that his
definition of self- actualization was born within and for the
American environment, and it would be interesting to explore
the features of this phenomenon in other cultural environments.
The following implicit self-actualization processes are the
important part of learning:
 self-knowledge as awareness of their own interests,
inclinations, preferences, characteristics of their character and
temperament;
 self-regard as comparison of the results of self-
knowledge with the existing idea of the professional
requirements put forward by the chosen profession;
 self-development as purposeful formation of the
necessary for the successful professional activities qualities.
D. Bell [12] characterized a professional as “the heart of post-
industrial society”. The professional is a key figure of the middle
class, which includes entrepreneurs and other business agents
(mostly small and medium-sized), as well as managers, persons
of liberal professions, highly-skilled workers, engineers, officials,
The Role of Student’s Self-actualization in Adapting to the e-Learning Environmen
teachers, doctors, scientists, scientific and pedagogical workers.
The awareness of their professional identity, motivating their
activities, the value of professionalism are no less important
consolidating factor of the civil society than their level of well-
being and social status. In this context, self-actualization
correlates with the search for “yourself in the profession”, your
own professional role, the image of “I”, the professional image,
the individual style of professional activity, the definition of
professional prospects for themselves, their achievement, the
establishment of new professional goals, the desire for
harmonious disclosure and approval of their natural creative
potential.
In the educational activities, there is the formation of
personality, so the formation of components of self-actualization
should be of close attention [13]. In the modern literature, the
level of self-actualization is a base factor studied in the context
of developing programs of continuous education in order to
identify the impact of such programs on the development of
human potential and personal self-realization in life [14]. The
self-development factor is highlighted along with technological
competence in determining the degree of readiness of the first-
year students to e-learning and graduates majoring in
Engineering to the professional activity [15], [16]. The role of
self-actualization in terms of e-learning is highlighted in the
multidisciplinary studies [17], [18]. The authors propose the
method for determining the applicability of the online course
taking into account three self-actualization factors: learning
style, type of behavior, prior knowledge. The study of the
psychological readiness of medical students for e-learning is
emphasized [19]. The impact of intrinsic motivation and context
on the development of general skills is an important factor noted
in the professional management training [20]. Based on a survey
of 360 undergraduate students, who used a business simulation
game, the authors show that meeting the innate needs for
competence, autonomy and kinship allows people to maintain
internal motivation, facilitates interaction in the learning process
and professional activities.
2 Methods
2.1 Theoretical background of the study
The principle of the relationship of professional and personal
development in the learning process is the methodological basis
of the study. The conceptual basis of this study is Maslow’s
theory of self-actualization in combination with the concept of
psychological perception of time and temporal orientation of the
subject [21], [22]. In the psychological theory, the phenomenon
of self-actualization is a multidimensional quantity available for
empirical research. The matrix for measuring the self-realization
level of students includes the main and additional factors of self-
realization.
As base factors of the study of the level of self-actualization
two scales are defined. The “Time-Competence” scale includes 17
items. The “Support” scale includes 91 items. Twelve scales are
considered as additional factors of the research of self-
TEEM 2019, October 2019, León, Spain
actualization level. In contrast to the basic scales, measuring the
global characteristics of self-actualization, the additional scales
register the individual aspects of personality motivation. The
scale of “Value orientations” includes 20 points. The scale of
“Flexibility of behavior” includes 24 points. The scale of
“Sensitivity to yourself” includes 13 points. The “Spontaneity”
scale includes 14 points. The “Self-Regard” scale includes 15
points. The “Self-Acceptance” scale includes 21 items. The scale
“Nature of Man- Constructive” includes 10 points. The scale of
“Synergy” includes 7 items. The scale of “Acceptance of
aggression” includes 16 points. The scale “Capacity for Intimate
Contact” includes 20 points. The “Cognitive needs” scale
includes 11 points. The scale of “Creativity includes 14 items.
2.2 Empirical research methods
2.2.1 Psychological testing.
The purpose of the study is to obtain information about the self-
actualization factors of the first-year students majoring in
Engineering and Humanities.
Self-Actualization Test (SAT) [23] was used in the study as
the main method of conducting research, which follows the
principle of POI (Personal Orientation Inventory). The test
contained 126 items, each of which included two judgments of
value or behavioral character (https://psycabi.net/testy/226-
uroven-samoaktualizatsii-lichnosti-test-sat-voprosnik-samoal).
The test involved 163 people, of which 96 were young people
and 67 were girls in the age range from 17 to 18 years. All
respondents are the first-year students of Emperor Alexander 1st
St. Petersburg State Transport University various areas of
professional training. 71 are the students of Humanities
(psychologists, managers). 92 are the students of engineering
(construction of railways, bridges and transport tunnels).
SAT measures self-actualization on two basic and a number
of additional scales. The basic ones are the Time- competence
scale and the Support scale. They are independent of each other
and, unlike the additional ones, have no common points. 12
additional scales are 6 blocks – two in each. In contrast to the
basic scales, measuring the global characteristics of self-
actualization, the additional scales register certain aspects of the
personality motivational structure. The limit value of SAT
factors is 80 T-points, indicating too strong influence on the
result of the survey of the social desirability factor or the
intention of the subjects to look in the most favorable light by
Shostrom [24]. Test scores of people with a high self-
actualization level are located in the area of 60 T-points. The
“self-actualization range” is close to POI standards (55-70 T-
points). This value indicates a real self- actualization of an
individual. Scale scores of 40-45 T-points and below is typical for
a person with low self-actualization; the range of 45-55 T-points
is the mental and statistical norm.
2.2.2 Method of statistical data processing.
When summarizing the data of psychological testing, IBM SPSS
Statistics 19 was used [25]. Determination of the overall level of
self-actualization (T-points throughout the self- actualization
test) involves the sum of all points of the test. We summarize the
747
TEEM 2019, October 2019, León, Spain O. D. Shipunova et al.

points in the individual questionnaire, divide the result by the 3.2 The results of a comparative study of self-
number of questions in the test (126), and multiply by 100. We actualization factors of young people
present the general results of the survey for the group of
students in the table, indicating the average factors of self-
realization as a percentage.

3 Results

3.1 The results of a psychological study of the

average self-actualization level of basic scales

Figure 2: Self-actualization factors of young men majoring

in different areas (Table 2).

Table 2: Significant differences in self-actualization

factors of young people majoring in Engineering and
Humanities.

Figure 1: Average level of self-actualization factors of

students majoring in different areas of studies (Table 1).

Table 1: Differences in self-actualization factors of

students majoring in Engineering and Humanities.

Differences on the scale of “cognitive needs” (significance

level p<=0.05) indicate that young people majoring in
Engineering are more focused on acquiring knowledge in
different areas, unlike young people majoring in Humanities.

Based on the data obtained, it can be concluded that students

majoring in Engineering and Humanities do not have significant
differences in the self-actualization level.

748
The Role of Student’s Self-actualization in Adapting to the e-Learning Environmen
3.3 The results of a comparative study of self-
actualization factors of girls
Figure 3: Self-actualization factors of girls majoring in
different areas of studies (Table 3).
Table 3: Significant differences in self-actualization
factors of girls majoring in Engineering and Humanities
When comparing self-actualization factors of girls majoring
in Engineering and Humanities, differences were found on the
scale of “Support” (significance level p<=0.05) and “Self-
Acceptance” (significance level p<=0.05). Girls majoring in
Humanities are more likely to be guided by their own goals,
beliefs, attitudes and principles than girls are majoring in
Engineering. Girls majoring in Humanities show less behavior
dependence on the external circumstances and the opinions of
other people. They also have a higher degree of self-acceptance,
as it is, regardless of the assessment of their strengths and
weaknesses.
TEEM 2019, October 2019, León, Spain
4 Discussion
The analysis of the results showed that both students majoring
in Engineering and Humanities have a low score on the scale of
“Time-competence”, which means they have orientation only on
one of the segments of the time scale (past, present or future)
and (or) discrete perception of their life path. They lack a sense
of continuity of the past, present and future that would allow
them to see their lives as a whole. According to the basic scale
“Support”, the average result indicates a low degree of
Independence of values and behavior of the subject from
external influence.
The results of the survey on additional scales show some
differences between students majoring in Engineering and
Humanities. Students majoring in Humanities largely than
students are majoring in Engineering accept themselves without
self-criticism and it is not dependent on the assessment of others
(Figure 1). Indicators on the scale of Value orientation of
students majoring in Engineering and Humanities are slightly
below average. Therefore, the formation of the system of values,
according to which the person lives, has not yet taken place.
Average scores on the scale of “Flexibility of behavior” indicate
the preservation, despite the young age, of certain dogmatism in
the evaluation of events and underdeveloped ability to adapt to
the changing conditions of the world. The first-year students are
characterized with low sensitivity to their own experiences and
needs, as evidenced by the average on the scale of “Sensitivity”.
The presence of slightly above average indicators on the scale of
“Spontaneity” indicates that students are not afraid to express
their feelings and emotions openly. A little above average on the
“Self-Regard” scale indicates that students’ self-regard is still in
the process of formation. Indicators on a scale of “Self-
Acceptance” are higher than on a scale of “Self-Regard”.
According to the results of the survey on the scale of “Self-
Acceptance", we can say that the formation of the tendency to
accept their shortcomings and weaknesses is carried out more
intensively than the formation of self-regard. The obtained
average scores on the scale of “Nature of Man-Constructive” do
not differ in students majoring in Engineering and Humanities.
The low level of these factors shows that for the surveyed
students understanding of the essence of a person is not
associated uniquely with selflessness and kindness. The factors
of self-actualization on the “Synergy” and “Scale of Value
Orientations” scales showed the lowest results of students' self-
esteem. This indicates a lack of developed ability to a holistic
perception of the world and people, to understand the
connectedness of opposites, such as play and work, physical and
spiritual. A sufficiently high score in terms of the scale of
“Cognitive needs” indicates a high degree of expression of the
desire of the subjects to acquire knowledge. Students majoring in
Engineering compared to the students majoring in Humanities
have a higher degree of expressing the desire to acquire
knowledge about the environment (Figure 2). The average on the
scale of “Acceptance of aggression” indicates attempts to hide or
suppress this quality. The low level of indicators on the
“Capacity for Intimate Contact” scale indicates the low ability of
749
TEEM 2019, October 2019, León, Spain
students to create deep and close contacts with other people. The
indicators on the scale of “Creativity”, the values of which are
above average, point the presence of student’s creative potential.
5 Conclusion
Self-actualization as a specific type of integrative personal
competence allows the subject to act independently and
responsibly in the learning process, ensures the formation of a
productive algorithm for adaptation to the advanced e-learning
environment, as well as the maximum compliance of a person
and his profession in the future.
According to the results of the study of the self-actualization
level of the first-year students on the basic scale, authors
concluded that the level of independence in the assessment of
the environment is insufficient. The low average level of self-
actualization indicates the need to supervise the first-year
students in choosing learning trajectories in the online
environment.
A comparative study shows that young people majoring in
Engineering have a higher level of self-actualization than young
people are majoring in Humanities. The results of the study on
the additional scale of “Cognitive needs” allow us to conclude
that the young people majoring in Engineering are intellectually
more adapted to the expansion of the educational environment
and self- acquisition of knowledge in different areas.
The obtained results are of practical importance for modeling
the educational environment and personalization of online
learning in higher education. They can be use in the
development of individual educational routes and profiled
programs.
REFERENCES
[1] National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher
Education (2019), "Using Learning Analytics to Support the Enhancement of
Teaching and Learning in Higher Education," in teachingandlearning.ie,
Published February 28, 2017, Last Accessed June 23, 2019,
https://www.teachingandlearning.ie/publication/using-learning-analytics-to-
support-the-enhancement-of-teaching-and-learning-in-higher-education/
[2] C. L. Scott (2015). The future of learning 3: What kind of pedagogies for the
21st century? UNESCO education research and foresight working papers.
Paris, France. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002431/243126e.pdf.
[3] J. Pomerantz (2018). Learning in Three Dimensions: Report on the
EDUCAUSE/HP Campus of the Future Project. ECAR research report.
Louisville, CO: EDUCAUSE, August 2018, Kentucky, USA,
https://library.educause.edu/~/media/files/library/2018/8/ers1805.pdf?la=en
[4] N. C. Krämer and G. Bente (2010). Personalizing e-Learning. The Social
Effects of Pedagogical Agents. Education Psychology Review, 22(1), 71-
87,https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-010-9123-x.
750
O. D. Shipunova et al.
[5] A. Mustafa(2018). The personalization of e-learning systems with the contrast
of strategic knowledge and learner’s learning preferences: An investigatory
analysis. Applied Computing and Informatics (August 2018),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aci.2018.08.001.
[6] K. Goldstein and M. Scheerer, M.(1941).Abstract and concrete behavior.
Psychological Monographs, 53,110-130.
[7] Lewin, K. (1935). A dynamic theory of personality. New York: McGraw-Hill
[8] K. Goldstein, M. Scheerer and E. Rothmann (1945).A Case of "Idiot Savant": An
Experimental Study of Personality Organization. Psychological Monographs,
58/1945, 4(269),1-63.
[9] G. W. Allport (1979). The Nature of Prejudice (25h anniversary edition).
Addison-Wesley Pub. Co., Reading, Massachusetts,
USA,https://faculty.washington.edu/caporaso/courses/203/readings/allport_Na
ture_of_prejudice.pdf.
[10] A. Maslow (1970).Motivation and personality(2nd ed.). Harper and Row, New
York, USA.
[11] C. Rogers (1961). On Becoming a Person: A Therapist's View of Psychotherapy.
Constable, London, UK.
[12] D. Bell (1980). The Social Frame-work of the Information Society. Oxford,
Oxford, UK.
[13] R.J.R. Levesque (2018). Self-Actualization. In: Levesque R.J.R. (ed.)
Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, Cham. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33228-4_355K. Lewin (1935). A dynamic
theory of personality. McGraw-Hill, New York, USA.
[14] Cengiz Akçay and Bertan Akyol (2014). Self-actualization Levels of
Participants in Lifelong Education Centers. Procedia - Social and Behavioral
Sciences, 116, 1577-1580,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.437.
[15] E. Klochkova, A.Volgina, S. Dementyev and Y. Klochkov (2016). Human
FactorinQualityFunctionDeployment.SecondInternationalSymposiumon
Stochastic Models in Reliability Engineering, Life Science and Operations
Management (SMRLO), IEEE, 466-468, DOI:10.1109/SMRLO.2016.81.
[16] A.F. Hadining, Sukanta and W. Hidayat (2019). An investigation of student
perspective for e-learning readiness measurement (Conference Paper).
Proceedings ofthe9thInternationalConferenceonIndustrialEngineeringand
Operations Management, IEOM 2019; JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok, Bangkok;
Thailand; 5-7 March 2019, 548-555; Код 141008.© IEOM Society International.
[17] Yi Ren, Zhao-xia, Dai Xiao-huan, Zhao Ming-ming and Fei Wen-tian Gan
(2017).Exploringanon-linecourseapplicabilityassessmenttoassistlearners in
course selection and learning effectiveness improving in e-learning. Learning
and Individual Differences, 60, 56-62,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2017.09.002.
[18] O.D.Shipunova,I.P.Berezovskaya,L.Mureyko,V.V.EvseevandL.I.Evseeva (2018).
Personal intellectual potential in the e-culture conditions. Revista ESPACIOS,
39 (40), 15, http://www.revistaespacios.com/a18v39n40/18394015.html.
[19] M. Coopasami, S. Knight and M. Pete (2017). e-Learning readiness amongst
nursing students at the Durban University of Technology. Health Sa
Gesondheid, 22 (2017), 00-306,
http://isiarticles.com/bundles/Article/pre/pdf/103117.pdf.
[20] I. Buil, S. Catalán and E. Martínez (2019). Encouraging intrinsic motivation in
management training: The use of business simulation games. The
International Journal of Management Education, 17(2), 162-171,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2019.02.002.
[21] F. Perls, R. Hefferline and P. Goodman (1951). Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and
Growth in the Human Personality. Delta Book, New York, USA.
[22] R. May (1996). The Meaning of Anxiety (Rev. ed.). W. W. Norton &Company,
New York, USA.
[23] Yu. E. Aleshina, L. Ya. Gozman, M. V. Zagika and M.V. Kroz (2018). Self
Actualization Test. Studfiles, https://studfiles.net/preview/2229889/.
[24] E. L. Shostrom (1967). Man, the manipulator: the inner journey from
manipulationtoactualization.AbingdonPress,Nashville,Virginia,USA.
[25] A. D. Nasledov (2011). SPSS 19. Professional statistical data analysis. Peter Publ.,
Saint-Petersburg, Russia