Adaptation of students to the study in higher educational establishment

In this article, psychological approaches to the study of students at the higher educational institution is considered. The object of the article is realization of theoretical analysis of psychological aspects of the adaptation of students to studying at the higher educational institution. It is represented the adaptation as the process of personality intromission into new material and social environment, its formation as actively functioning part, object and subject of these environment relations. It is also represented the analysis of psychological and pedagogical approaches to the term “adaptation”, which is used, as to definition person quality, which characterizes its adaptability to the environment conditions and represents the level of person's adaptation to the environment conditions, so for explaining the process of person's adaptation to the changing environment conditions. It is revealed the adaptation as the constant process of the active individual adjustment to the social environment conditions and the result of the inner transformations, outer active adjustment and self-transformations of the individual in new existence conditions; It is analyzed the adaptation to educational activity as the process, by which person, from the one side, satisfies personal claims and cognitive needs in conditions and expected results of studying, and, from the other side, conforms to the claims which structure, content and conditions of the studying activity put it in, and also some social groups which provide this studying activity. The types of adaptation of the students are represented to the studying at the higher educational institution: professional adaptation, didactic adaptation and social-psychological adaptation. The criteria of successful adaptation of the fist-year students to the studying at the higher educational institution are defined as follows: cognitive (didactic), emotional, active and volitional. Types of adaptability are marked out: temporary situational adaptability, sustainable situational adaptability and general adaptability. The conducted analysis can serve as the foundation for studying the process of adaptation of the first-year students, and in the definition of means of psychological help for the students in the process of their adaptation to the conditions of the higher educational institution.