Personal resources of academic success in students from subject-specific classes

Introduction. The relevance of this study is set by the search for predictors and factors that contribute to the intellectual and creative potential of gifted students in subject-specific classes. Particular attention is paid to the existential and psychological aspects of personal resources associated with academic success among highly motivated students. Aim: the purpose of this paper is to identify the structure and content of the factors that influence students' personal resources for academic success in subject-specific classes. Materials and methods: The study involved 157 students from subject-specific schools in the Leningrad region. Two groups were formed and consisted of the students of the seventh (54 people) and tenth (52 people), respectively. A battery of tests included the following: the Hardiness Survey by S. Maddi, the Existence Scale by A. Langle, a multidimensional inventory of loneliness experience by E. Osin and D. Leontiev, the Purpose-in-Life test by D. Leontiev, and the Zimbardo time perspective inventory. The data obtained were processed with descriptive statistics, factorial analysis, and comparative analysis. Results. The results obtained showed structural differences determined by the existential and psychological characteristics of students in subject-specific classes. The factor matrix of 10th grade students is a system of more complexly structured factors containing various existential and psychological characteristics. This represents academic success as a phenomenon that comprises educational achievements and cognitive learning styles and integrates existential and psychological characteristics in the personalities of students from subject-specific schools. Conclusion. The paper contains an analysis of purpose-in-life perspectives, features of hardiness, time perspectives, existential aspects, and the loneliness experience as personal resources for academic success in the seventh and tenth grades of subject-specific classes. This study presents one aspect of the genesis of the existential formation of gifted students in a subject-specific environment.