Psychological benefits of game practice in higher education settings: from stress to happiness

Abstract

Introduction. Teaching/learning and professional work at higher educational establishments, being an intellectually and emotionally intense activity, provokes stress in teachers and students, which has a negative impact on their health: fear, anxiety, fatigue, irritability, and nervousness. Game practice is the most effective method to relieve emotional tension and activate the educational process within the framework of students’ and teachers’ successful cooperation through communication. The purpose of the article was to assess the influence of game practice on the psychological state of teachers and students at higher school, as well as the levels of stress and happiness. Materials and methods. The study involved 69 university teachers (89% women, 19% men) from 29 regions of Russia and 176 students (51% males, 49% females) in the first-year undergraduate course at Volgograd State Technical University (Russian Federation). The study was carried out using a Google Forms survey. Results. The present study did not find any significant relationship between the manifestation of stress and the use of the game practice in the teaching process at higher educational establishments, which proved to be an unexpected result, since the lecturers (49%) and students (56%) recognised that game practice reduced their stress levels. However, the analysis of the revealed results showed that most of the students were affected by academicrelated stress: 46% of the respondents had high stress level, 34% – moderate stress level, and 20% – mild stress level. The stress level in the teachers’ professional activity also revealed a high rate – 52% of the respondents answered that they experienced professional stress quite often. At the same time, psychological well-being within the framework of game technologies had the following indicators: 54% of the teachers felt quite happy, 29% – absolutely happy. As to the students, they reported a middling indicator of happiness (46%). Conclusion. Game practice is a modern learning tool used at higher educational establishments, which improves the psychological well-being of students and teachers and is an effective way to combat stress and achieve increased happiness level. However, a more profound study of this subject, along with the development of due methodological recommendations, can contribute to more effective integration of game practice into the educational process and enhance the well-being of both students and teachers.