ISSN: 2763-5724 / Vol. 06 - n 02 - ano 2026

HUMANİSTİC VALUE ORİENTATİONS OF STUDENT IDENTİTY AND

THE PARADOX OF SELF-ACTUALİZATİON İN HİGHER EDUCATİON

INSTİTUTİONS

Aliyev Nihad1

Ganbarova Masuma2

Zahidova Aysel3

Gurbanli Aysu4

it for the development of humanistic values. Based on the research ndings, regardless of students’

levels of self-assessment and self-afrmation, their overall attitude toward humanistic values remains

high. The formative inuence in the development of these values is attributed to the inuential

characteristics of social values, which hold a leading position in a professional self-afrmation and

value system that reects the holistic qualities of the personality. It was also determined that there is

orcid.org/0009-0001-7114-7427

orcid.org/0009-0007-0506-4176

a positive correlation between humanistic qualities, personality traits, and academic achievements.

Although this correlation is weak in some cases, it is statistically signicant.

Keywords: higher education institutions, humanistic values, students, educational orientations,

perspectives

Introduction

The socio-political, socio-economic, and cultural processes occurring in the context of

modern globalization, particularly intercultural integration, have a signicant impact on young

people’s value systems, self-perception, and social relationships. As a result of this inuence, a new

value system is formed, which reects both positive and negative elements. It should be noted that

characteristics of the individual in the modern era, the changing attitude toward humanity, and the

approach is clearly manifested in the eld of education. In this regard, the formation of a personality

world, especially the increase in the ow of information, can make it difcult for young people to

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research, and strengthen family-school cooperation. The formation of humanistic behavior in young

people should begin at an early age and be continued systematically. Humanist values are generally

closely linked to the problems that arise in the process of human development and require the formation

of a behavioral culture in accordance with the socio-economic and cultural characteristics of each era.

In this context, one of the main tasks facing higher education institutions is to cultivate young people

who can think independently, possess a high level of cultural awareness, and have a sense of social

system methodology, as well as the “Self-Assessment” and E. Shostrom’s SAT methodologies. In

addition, supplementary survey questions were used to determine the inuence of mass media and

the self-awareness process on the formation of humanistic values. The research was conducted among

students at Odlar Yurdu University and the Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University. Participants

were selected from both higher education institutions, with a total of participants. The obtained

results were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively.edilmişdir.

The formation of students’ humanistic values in higher education institutions is considered

one of the most fundamental issues in modern pedagogy and psychology. The theoretical foundations

of this process stem directly from humanistic psychology and its proposed methodological concepts.

Humanistic values serve as both an indicator of personal development and a common moral heritage

of humanity. In this context, Maslow (2018) expresses the concept of values with a very interesting

analogy, likening them to “a great chest in which are stored various, often not fully claried, meanings.”

elements into education. These approaches aim not only to transmit knowledge but also to instill

achievement and their motivation to learn. Scott (1980) proves that in such an environment, students

have a more positive attitude toward classes, spend more time on assignments, and, most importantly,

genuinely enjoy the learning process. However, research by PariNaz, PourAli, et al. (2017) shows that

in practice, the four main components of education—the environment, the teacher’s role, the student’s

role, and assessment methods—are still not at the desired level, indicating that the humanistic approach

is not being used to its full potential. To ll this gap, it is necessary to use methods for activating

emotions in education. The identication of values, especially humanistic ones, allows us to unlock

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the psychological mechanism of assessment and understand the nature of the socio-psychological

person’s life path and strategy. They determine priorities in the perception of reality and inuence the

general way of life of society ( Jabbarov, 2018; Jabbarov and Ibragimova, 2013). In higher education,

the formation of these values entails the development of qualities such as goodness, compassion,

All the world’s thinkers have always called on young people to strive for truth and justice,

formation of professional identity. Although technological progress and industrialization sometimes

overshadow humanist traditions, modern “student-centered” educational approaches create conditions

for the revival of these values (Vakil, 2021). The humanization of the system also requires a combination

In the rst phase of the research conducted to examine the psychological characteristics

value domain was carried out. The primary objective of this phase was to identify the dominant

humanist tendencies in the students’ personalities and to determine their place within their individual

after the experiment)

and art

Social

recognition

‘Development’ (from 57% to 92%, +4 ranks), ‘Social recognition’ (from 44% to 81%, +8 ranks) and

‘Active life’ (from 35% to 52%, +8 ranks). This result indicates that, following the experimental

intervention, students’ desire for social recognition and self-development has signicantly

strengthened. At the same time, the sharp decline in the ‘Beauty of nature and art’ value (from 68%

and ‘Entertainment’ (from 41% to 9%, -4 ranks) also aligns with this trend.

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Within the instrumental values group, ‘Effectiveness’ (from 49% to 53%, +10 ranks) and

‘Cheerfulness’ (from 54% to 62%, +8 ranks) showed the most signicant positive dynamics. The

‘Education’ value, meanwhile, remained high, rising from 63% to 86% (+1 rank), which indicates

‘Independence’ (from 56% to 11%, a drop of 9 ranks), ‘Strong will’ (from 58% to 7%), and ‘Tolerance’

strengthened students’ socially-oriented, collectivist values, while instrumental values related to

Table.2. Indicators of the correlative relationship between humanistic values and personality traits in

Social ideals 0.186* 0.232* 0.49** 0, 96** 0.72**

Note:** signicant at the 0.01 level, * signicant at the 0.05 level

among students’ humanistic value system, personality qualities, and academic achievements. The

statistical prole of the study indicates that positive correlations predominantly prevail between

humanistic qualities and personality traits. In particular, the value of social ideals with self-assertion

internalises social ideals directly inuences their sense of self-condence.

Based on the results of the research, the process of forming humanistic thinking and values

in young people can be divided into three fundamental stages:

• Stage I (Cognitive assimilation): The young people’s understanding and perception of

In this stage, it is important to reinforce correct perceptions of humanist values to prevent

experimental and reective tasks.

• Stage III (Self-actualisation): An investigation into the degree to which assimilated values

are integrated into the personality’s moral development and self-education.

of state gures, based on our ethnopsychological heritage, serve as a model of humane behaviour for

Consequently, the application of humanist principles alongside pragmatic objectives is

essential in the modern education system (Waddock, 2016; Melé, 2016). It is not effective to limit

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strengthen pupils’ self-condence and healthy social relationships through teamwork and project-

to organise an effective teaching process and to create a morally sound social environment.

that humanism exists in students as an internal inclination. When we look at what inuences the

development of humanistic values, the basis is the individual’s general character traits, self-awareness,

and the importance they place on social values. It should also be added that there is a positive correlation

between personal characteristics, moral qualities, and academic achievement.

Although this connection may not always be clearly visible, it is statistically signicant. In

addition, a correlation has been observed between the student’s process of self-awareness, self-esteem,

and self-afrmation, and the humanist social ideas they adopt. Similar, but weaker, relationships

are observed for other personal qualities. All of this indicates that the role of theoretical knowledge

alone is insufcient for the development of humanist values. During the process, cognitive needs,

self-afrmation, and academic achievements should also be taken into account. Although our