Developing Future Teachers’ Legal Culture In The Process Of Working With Documents

Abstract

The basis of students’ legal culture consists of many aspects. The experience of forming the legal culture of future teachers of law which we are considering is based on the results of students' pedagogical practice. On the example of the system of lessons on working with legal documents, we determine their influence on the formation of the legal culture of students. In parallel, the experience of the students is analyzed. The stages of the experiment were singled out. 1. Diagnostic stage. Before starting the experiment, it is necessary to analyze the results of the work of the individual teacher, the leader or the entire teaching staff. 2. Prognostic stage. This stage of the experiment represents finding ways to solve the identified problems, namely, forecasting a plan in which the goals, tasks, hypotheses, and results of the pedagogical experiment will be determined. 3. Organizational and preparatory stage. When conducting a pedagogical experiment, it is necessary to determine the exact control object of the study in such a way that the result coincides with the prognostic stage of the experiment. 4. Practical stage. Under the influence of certain research factors, the main task of the researcher will be to trace and analyze the direction of changes in the characteristics of interest to him. 5. Generalizing stage. If the plan of the above-mentioned practical stage of the pedagogical experiment is chosen correctly, the result should be the moment of achieving a definitely high level of the educational process.

Keywords: Legal culturelegal documentpedagogical experimentlegal educationteacher of law

Introduction

The relevance of working with documents for the formation of the students’ legal culture is conditioned by the processes of integration and modernization occurring in modern society and education. Ideas of the importance of law, the formation of a legal culture and the ability to freely navigate and make right decisions based on the letter of the law are not only relevant for students, but also formulated in the National Doctrine of the Development of Education of the Russian Federation until 2025.

Practical work with legal documents in the lessons of law time is practically not given. About 60% of teachers use regulations from time to time, while 40% use them mainly as an illustration. Thus, work with legal documents is not recognized by the teacher as mandatory.

But with this approach, it loses one of the leading goals of legal education – preparing students for life in modern civil society. It is important for students to realize the practical importance of the ability to work with legal documents, to teach them this, which will form the experience of solving problems in civil practice, the ability to fully, consciously and responsibly participate in civil legal relations, in which each member of society is included. The ability to use the sources of law in any legal situation expands the possibilities of its lawful behaviour.

Problem Statement

A purposeful formation of the legal culture of students is a necessary condition for his personal safety, and the child must know his rights and duties in order to be able to use them in any life situation where this is necessary. Technology of education of legal culture includes target points, conceptual positions, meaningful, organizationally-effective and effective components, ensuring the effectiveness of involving students in the legal values and norms of society.

In legal education, the teacher, through certain methods and techniques, must form the ability to work with legal documents: to teach to read, analyze, systematize the main legal sources, to instil the necessary skills of the correct drawing up of official papers that do not require special legal education, to form the students' ability to independently understand the content legal documents. In the standard curriculum, trainees relate to this in social studies classes, and in addition - only on class hours and electives. A student with a clear knowledge of the legal culture should: know all the laws concerning his rights; be able to apply them in different life situations; defend the rights: their own and others.

To form these qualities, a variety of forms is necessary: not only lectures and conversations, but also workshops where the teacher offers students to analyze various legal situations (Zavyalova, 2006).

The using of documents can be carried out in the process of studying the topic to confirm the thought, showing how the legal norm operates. Students become more interested in the topic if they learn to read a document, evaluate its meaning. The teacher can quote the document. Work with sources of law should gradually become more complicated. The document used in the lesson should be accessible to the learner in terms of content and scope. It should be interesting from the standpoint of cognition of law, informative, and also typical, common in practice (Basik, 1999).

Particular importance of work with legal documents is acquired at the level of studying the law course. The training of law ensures the development of the skills of independent search, analysis and use of legal information, forms critical thinking, through the use of legal sources. It also creates a basis for the development of legal competence, contributes to the development of the information culture of students. Ability to work with legal documents is improved in the course of conducting lectures, seminars, practical and laboratory classes. These forms of training sessions contribute to the development of analytical skills, practical skills of working with sources of law (Bogolyubov & Lazebnikova, 2008).

Research Questions

To present a legal document as the basis of the rule of law; to characterize the importance of working with legal documents for the formation of legal culture; to analyze the results of the pedagogical experiment.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the research is to determine experimentally the peculiarities of working with legal documents as a means of forming a legal culture.

Research Methods

Analysis and synthesis of scientific and pedagogical literature; the study of the legal framework of education; modelling; observation and survey; comparative and mathematical analysis (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2002).

Findings

The need for studying is determined by the following factors: the importance of studying the subject of law for the development of legal culture; the need to establish and maintain cognitive activity; the problem of learning motivation and interest in actively obtaining legal knowledge.

During the pedagogical experiment there are the following stages: diagnostic, prognostic, organizational-preparatory, practical and generalizing.

I stage of pedagogical experiment combines diagnostic, prognostic, organizational and preparatory stages. At this stage, students developed a diagnostic apparatus and determined the level of legal culture of students.

The students developed a questionnaire containing 20 questions, the first block of which (questions 1-6) assesses the cognitive component (knowledge and skills), the legal culture of pupils.

The emotional-value component (attitudes, assessments, attitudes), legal culture is assessed by the second set of questions (questions 7-13).

The behavioural component (real and potential behaviour) of students' legal culture is assessed by the third set of questions (questions 14-20).

In the course of the experimental work, a repeated diagnosis was made of the level of development of the legal culture of students using the diagnostic stage techniques.

So, initially it was established that adolescents have insufficiently formed legal knowledge. The number of questions was less difficult 12 (What is your attitude to the fact that every child has rights besides duties and rights?), 11 (What is your attitude to law enforcement agencies?), 17 (Can you independently draft the statement, power of attorney etc.?), 1 (Do you know your rights and obligations as a schoolboy well?), which indicates that the school conducts legal education of students. However, more than half of the questions caused difficulties for children. The most difficult questions are: number 2 (What laws on the rights of the child did you read or at least know about them from the stories of others?), 3 (How does the Convention on the Rights of the Child ensure the right of children to freedom of association?), 9 (What do you think? , is it ok that the commission for minors can intervene in the private life of the family in case there is a suspicion of violation of the rights of the child in the family?).

When analyzing the components of the legal culture, it was revealed that adolescents have the most complete knowledge related to the emotional and value component of legal culture (10.7%) and the least - related to the cognitive component of the legal culture (8.67%).

Twenty teenagers, 10th grade students, aged 16-17 years, participated in the experimental work. Among them – 8 girls and 12 boys.

Based on the originally received data, the pedagogical experiment itself was constructed, the purpose of which is to increase the legal culture of students.

The second stage of the experiment included testing in practice the developed methodological materials. Basic theoretical knowledge was obtained by using legal documents in law lessons.

Student trainees conducted and analyzed eight lessons: topic 1. "We study the Constitution of the Russian Federation"; theme 2. "Civil law as a branch of Russian law"; theme 3. "Labor Code"; theme 4. "Family law"; theme 5. "Criminal Process"; theme 6. "Legal boundaries of adolescence"; theme 7. "Features of the criminal liability of minors"; topic 8. "Protection of consumers' rights".

After the completion of the formative program, a re-evaluation of the effectiveness of the legal education of students was conducted. Based on the results of this study, it was established that the level of legal knowledge has significantly increased in comparison with the initial study.

The questions practically did not cause difficulties for students. 12 to 18 correct answers were received for all questions.

The fewest difficulties arose in answering questions: 12 (What is your attitude to the fact that every child has rights besides human rights?), 13 (What is your attitude to the "children's law" ("the law is 22 h. 00 min. ")?), 17 (Can you independently compose the text of the application, power of attorney, etc.?).

Certain difficulties were identified when answering questions: 19 (Seeing how the rights of another minor are violated, will you stand up for him / will you provide all possible assistance?), 20 (Do you participate in the work of school self-government?).

If we analyze the comparisons of the components of legal culture, we get the following picture.

On all components of the legal culture there was growth. The greatest increase was detected by the cognitive component. The smallest increase was revealed in the emotional-value component. However, it is the emotional-value component that has the maximum significance of the expression at the control stage.

The third stage of the experiment is generalizing. This is the process of comparing previously obtained primary pedagogical observations with the findings obtained using such logical operations as analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction. It is this stage of the experiment that makes it possible to establish links between the influences carried out in the experiment and the results achieved, and also to formulate recommendations for the passage of pedagogical practice in similar educational institutions.

Legal education is integrative, so students gave students the opportunity to use the knowledge gained in history, literature, social science classes, and conducting joint discussions, discussions, and dialogues, involve students in finding answers and questions posed by life.

The methodology of the legal education program provides the theoretical basis for developing, personality-oriented learning. And this requires the teacher to search for forms and methods of approach to each student, the creative application and development of new teaching technologies, methodical techniques in the development of critical thinking of students, the formation of value orientations of the individual.

By and large, when using the method of working with legal documents in these classes, no one teaches anyone. Each of them, including the teacher, learns to reflect on them. Thinking about life, about one's own life experience, about one's own peculiarities, possibilities, interests, successes, tasks, about their relations with other people, the value orientations corresponding to the transition of the state to a new stage-the legal state of civil society-are being comprehended (Kuznetsova & Ibragimov, 2016).

It is important for the teacher at the lessons not only to listen to everyone himself, but the main thing is to teach the children to listen and hear each other, communicate with each other, come to a common opinion, take it into account in their behaviour.

Important role in the lessons of law in the use of work with legal documents is occupied by business games, which helps to unite the group, identify leaders, etc. A variety of creative tasks serve the maintenance of a comfortable and productive atmosphere in the lessons. These were schemes, drawings, collages, mini-compositions and sufficiently detailed written works.

Participation of high school students in the conducted work contributes to the formation of an active civic position, civil competence of the individual, socialization of pupils of educational institutions.

Working with legal documents in law lessons is a vivid example of public policy, and therefore, manifestations of elements of civil society.

Conclusion

The use of the legal documents in the process of teaching contributes to the students' mastery of the foundations of critical thinking, which is necessary for the formation of skills to analyze texts of legal content, use excerpts from the text of the document when answering to illustrate theoretical provisions, read normative legal acts and extract the required legal knowledge, to assess the situation from the point of view of the norms of law and morality.

The effectiveness of the formation of legal culture on the basis of working with the legal document of students in the senior school allows to build up the relationship between the teacher and students in the educational process in a new way, to apply active forms and types of educational and educational work. To intensify and intensify the activities of students, to develop their cognitive and creative abilities, students used information and communication technologies, problem and game learning, focused on the socialization of the individual. They allow to fully reveal and develop the creative abilities and individual inclinations of students.

The success of using the work with legal documents at school depends on many factors, the most important of which are: voluntary participation in the program; effective allocation of responsibilities among program participants; correct position of the teacher; support of the program by the school administration; interest in the results of the activities of government bodies.

This method of organizing legal education and education of high school students allows for development of both sides: to schoolchildren - to develop civic competence, to acquire the foundations of legal knowledge, to participate in school and class self-government. To students – gives understanding and positive dynamics in training: the quality of knowledge and the level of training in the subject are increased. And all together, it contributes to the growth of legal culture.

References

1. Basik, N. U. (1999). Pedagogical possibilities of working with documents in the school course of social studies. Social Studies in School, (4).
2. Bogolyubov, L. N., & Lazebnikova, A. U. (2008). General methodology of teaching social studies in school. Moscow: Drofa.
3. Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2002). Research methods in education. Routledge.
4. Kuznetsova, Y. N. & Ibragimov, A. G. (2016). The correlation between the psychological features of the personality with the structure of the values. Journal of Organizational Culture, Communications and Conflict, (2), 59-63.
5. Zavyalova, M. S. (2006). From the experience of work on the formation of the legal culture of students. Modern technologies of education: a collection of scientific works of the 5th interregional correspondence scientific-practical conference. Krasnoyarsk.