Introduction. The massacres in schools and colleges committed by their students are initially associated with the United States, but in recent decades the phenomenon has spread to other countries including Russia. Such tragedies affecting children and adolescents are of particular interest to politicians, general public and professionals.

The Objective of this research is to summarize the foreign literature accounts of the phenomenon of mass school murders, the structure of this phenomenon, the stages of its development and factors that cause it.

Procedure. Research methodology included search and generalization of conclusions from scientific and applied publications on the issue. The search was carried out using bibliographic systems and scientific networks Web of Knowledge, Scopus, ResearchGate, Google Scholar, Academia.edu, Mendeley. He author selected 55 scientific publications on specific cases and meta-analysis of data aimed at addressing socio-psychological factors of school shootings and prevention.

Findings. The main methodological approaches to the analysis of school shootings are described, the theories offering a systematic understanding of this phenomenon are presented, the stages of both social and personal predictors of school shootings are defined.

Conclusion. The analysis of the literature allows interpreting massacres in schools as an independent phenomenon, to reconstruct the events, to determine the main mechanisms and development stages, to offer effective ways to detect and prevent threats.

Background. The paper presents the results of a sociological study that focuses on the attitude towards the reform of the Russian researcher sphere in education. Much attention is paid to the influence of various stumbling blocks that influence the efficacy of research work. The relevance of the study is due to the psychological barriers for understanding the features of the creative self-actualised researcher.

Objective. The influence of age and social factors of professional status (e.g. scientific degree, scientific title, position) on the importance of various barriers that reduce the efficacy of scientists’ work is analyzed.

Design. According to the authorship questionnaire, which included 72 questions, 721 researchers were interviewed. The survey was conducted in different cities and towns of Russia, the respondents included those with different levels of scientific qualifications, and different experience of research work.

Results. The research showed that in the hierarchy of various barriers, those that are associated with the material and social status of the researcher are dominating. Psychological barriers themselves play an important role: lack of promotional opportunities, lack of professional communication environment, strained relations with management and colleagues. Correlation dependence between the barrier concerning funding of new projects and such motivational attitudes as aspiration to independence and professional self-actualisation are revealed. The upgraded position reduces satisfaction of material needs, and, on the other hand, the importance of those factors that concern career self-actualisation (e.g. funding a new research project) is emphasized. It is established that socio-psychological factors (satisfaction with the results of their professional activities, position in the scientific team) actualize the significance of barriers that fix the unfortunate socio-psychological relations in the team.

Conclusion. The obtained results allow to conclude that dissatisfaction with their material and social status for researchers are the most significant barriers preventing the research work. The study revealed a characteristic set of motivational attitudes related to the researcher’s desire for independence and self-actualisation. Te survey materials showed that the combination of reasech work and teaching is subjectively perceived as a barrier that prevents career self-actualisation.

Background. The issue of upbringing is becoming increasingly important due to the development and growing-up of modern children and adolescents in the so-called digital age. The characteristic features of child development in the kindergarten and in the primary and secondary school within the information society make pose a challenge to the psychological service.

Objective. The key to the situation can be found in the context of the priority directions of psychology of upbringing and education, and also by establishing scientific and practical support of the directions. The paper is to thoroughly consider psychologists’ and educators’ work in the education system in the current situation. The goals and objectives of their work are specified in regard with the significant changes that have been recently observed in the Information Society.

Design. The acute and sometimes contradictory issues of the upbringing have been severely paralyzed. The ever-lasting goals of educating children and developing their personality such as emotional and spiritual development, mastering the accumulated bag of cultural achievements, the development of moral feelings, abilities for full communication, etc. are singled out.

Research Results. Modern education reflects the needs of the information society and has to focus more on the issues of schoolchildren's progress, the development of their intellectual sphere, and the preparation for the passing of the State Exam. Much less attention is paid to education. Practical psychology being an important assistant of the educational system is much influenced by the latter and is not actually prepared solve the urgent task of educating children.

Conclusion. The solutions to the problems of education should not only be found at the level of highly professional interdisciplinary integration of the educational, psychological, social and other sciences and practices, but also at the level of the contemporary interaction of various sciences and forms of social consciousness , i.e. culture, art, media (television, radio, Internet), law, morality, religion.

Background. The paper examines the attitude of scientists engaged in research in the field of education to various aspects of professional activity: the features of planning, resources for implementation, and satisfaction with the results. The relevance of the study is due to a number of institutional changes in the national science. Thus, the active reform initiated in 2013 was aimed at optimizing and increasing the efficiency of various research institutes, primarily those within the structure of state academies. In this regard, it seems important to identify the scientists’ attitude to the results of the implemented initiatives within the period of the last four years.

Objective. The paper is to analyze the influence of age and social indicators of professional status (academic degree, academic title, position held, publication activity) on various aspects of the professional activity of the researches. 

Design and sample characteristics. A special questionnaire of 72 questions was developed (closed, open and scale), 721 respondents were interviewed. The sample included employees with different levels of scientific qualifications and length of professional scientific activity. Both employees of scientific research institutes and universities from different regions of the Russian Federation were interviewed. 

Results. The results show the manifestation of negative tendencies concerning the planning of scientific activity related to its authoritarian nature and formal requirements for reporting on the results of scientific activity. The peculiarities of well-being of scientific employees at the stage of completing a professional career are revealed. The features of the manifestation of the professional crisis, which is characteristic for the age cohort of forty-year scientific workers, are considered. The specifics of attracting personal funds and additional financial sources depending on various indicators of the professional status of the scientist are shown.

The paper presents the results of theoretical analysis of «information-psychological impact» category. The study aims to determine the role and place of impacts of such kind in the upbringing process, and in education in general. The paper contrasts comparative analysis of existing scientific approaches to understanding the nature and psychological content of the concept of “information” and psychological impact. Based on the data mentioned above, the conclusion is made that the psychological impact is the influence of surrounding elements of the physical and social environment on the people, which change the course of their mental processes, mental state, psychological structure of consciousness and behaviour. In addition, the purposeful psychological impact carried out either by an individual or a collective entity can be direct or indirect (e.g. information psychological). Based on the performed analysis the conclusion is made that depending on their purpose and nature of influence, information and psychological impact can be manipulative (subject-object) or developmental (subject-subject). Manipulative impact creates temporary, unstable mental forms, while developing impact creates stable personality forms. Both kinds of information and psychological influences can be observes in the educational process. The teacher selects types of influence based on his/her own pedagogical qualifications and teaching objectives: to develop the personality of the student or to form behavioural stereotypes.

This paper summarizes the main idea of the sports psychologist’s occupation. The principles of sports psychology, problems which he is facing as well as methods of solving problems are described. Particular attention is given to practical examples from the experience of well known sports psychologists.