Interaction Between Secondary And Tertiary School In The Process Of Legal Education

Abstract

The paper unravels the nature of continuity of legal education in secondary and tertiary school, provision of which will allow meeting the challenges of forming legal culture of youth. Structural and functional characteristics of legal education are defined. Analysis of scientific literature allows identifying existing trends in teaching Fundamentals of Law in secondary school and Jurisprudence in professional education institution, defining main obstacles in the way of providing continuous education. Research into practice of legal education in secondary and tertiary schools of Volgograd allowed identifying and systematizing typical causes leading to breaks in organization of interaction and provision of continuity of legal education between secondary and tertiary schools. They may be systemic, structural, organizational, methodological and human resource-related. Interaction and continuity between different stages of education is ensured by certain psychological-pedagogical and social conditions, which include: knowledge of modern teaching and learning technologies by educators in secondary and tertiary school; continuity in means, forms and methods of personality development; etc. Thus, legal education is integratively developing structural components of the legal culture of educatees: legal consciousness, legal attitude, compliance with the law. Interaction between secondary and tertiary school during the legal education and upbringing is based upon implementation of continuity principle. Directions of improvement for interaction between secondary and tertiary school with respect to legal education are related not only to the content of education, but to its forms, methods and educational means, including socio-psychological conditions of forming a creative personality.

Keywords: Legal educationcultureupbringingcontinuityinteraction

Introduction

During the last two decades, activity in forming the modern system of general legal education in Russia underwent a rapid development. The objectives of the legal education and upbringing are determined by the level of development of social interactions and certain areas of scientific knowledge, while their formation is based on the principles of governmental and social policy in the field of legal education. Due to this, the dominant objective in teaching law at the present state is upbringing of educatees on the foundation of conscious comprehension of immutability of respect for human rights: understanding one's self-esteem and respect to other people. At the same time, low levels of legal literacy, legal culture and legal consciousness of citizens, most notably, youth, are a serious issue that exerts a negative influence onto social and economic development of the country.

Problem Statement

In this context, one of national priority objectives in the field of education was determined as to improve the legal education in the modern Russian society, aiming at forming legal knowledge required in one's day-to-day life. It is justified by the fact that only educational institution with a colossal experience in teaching and educating may successfully resolve this issue with considerations for age-related, psychological and physiological peculiarities of students. However, as a result of analysis of a large amount of literature, the authors failed to find works directly dedicated to development of technologies for interaction and provision of continuity between secondary and tertiary schools in the area of legal education. From the above, it is possible to conclude that the issues of search for and substantiation of technologies to provide interactions of secondary and tertiary education in the area of legal education is quite timely and pressing.

Research Questions

From the research objective, which is organization of interaction between secondary and tertiary schools in the legal education of students, the authors defined the following tasks: to justify the nature and content of legal education as a foundation for formation of legal culture in student youth; to formulate legal and psychologo-pedagogical conditions for organizing education between secondary and tertiary schools in the area of legal education of students; to identify modern trends in the legal education in secondary and tertiary schools and use them to develop relevant recommendations for organizing their interaction.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to identify essential characteristics and features of legal education in secondary and tertiary school and to use them for development of concrete ways to provide interaction between secondary and tertiary school in the process of legal education and upbringing of students.

Research Methods

The research employed methods of scientific analysis and synthesis, generalization, systemic, logical, historical and legal-comparative method and surveying.

Findings

Interaction between tertiary schools, general education institutions and vocational training institutions directly influences the pace of socio-economical development of the modern society. It is a system principle in continuous education, which is oriented at acquiring the following skills on behalf of a person: 1. Skills in demand in the labor market; 2. Skills, which are necessary independent of one's position; 3. Personal skills useful for the person themselves (OBrien, 2018; Bynner, 2016).

Green (2002) notes that continuous education in the developed world underwent many ebbs and flows, while its significance strongly depended on region.

Some researchers draw attention to the fact that close interaction in the field of education creates necessary prerequisites for economical profit that is often missed out in our era of limited governmental disbursements (Laal & Peyman, 2012). In some countries, interaction between educational institutions and continuity of education are recognized at a national level. For example, in Singapore, there is an efficient program titled SkillsFuture that in its learning concepts is based upon the principle of immersion (Sung & Freebody, 2017).

The above is directly related to the legal education of society. Analysis of practice in organization of legal education shows that in the system of general education a rather well-knit system has been formed, being oriented towards formation of schoolchildren skills, patterns and certain legal experience.

In the system of higher pedagogical education there is also a relevant system of legal education, aimed at formation of students, future teachers, being conscious about their role of a teacher, responsible for forming personality of a citizen, prepared to independent life in the fast-paced modern society within the legal framework. To attain the goals in the field of legal education, it is important to provide interaction between secondary and tertiary school based on the principle of continuity. However, as the research results have shown, there are issues in organizing the interaction and continuity in this field. It has a significant influence onto the level of legal preparedness of school graduates not only to studying in a tertiary school, but to their future professional activity as well.

Pedagogical science treats continuity in education as a necessity to establish differential relationships between the different stages of studying a subject. In Russian pedagogical science, studies of problems in organization of interactions between secondary and tertiary school found their reflection in studies of Anikeev, Bannikova, Bodalev, Godnik, Demidova, Klos, Korotkov, Sitdikova, Paniushkin, Radionova, Sergeev, Smirnov and others (Godnik & Dudetskaia, 2006). These and other works substantiate the essence of continuity in the educational process, its forms and methods of implementation, psychological-pedagogical potential of interaction with the aim of career guidance of pupils. However, the issues in organizing the interaction and continuity in the field of legal education is still understudied. For example, Eliasberg (2000) in her studies addressed some issues of interaction and continuity in planning the model of legal education based upon the “target result” methodological principle. Pevtsova (2004) notes that the process of legal education shall be continuous. At that, its implementation shall facilitate level and profile differentiation (Pevtsova, 2004). We believe that Pevtsova (2004) is justified in her substantiation of a solution of problems of legal education through creation of a national system of legal education. At that, she proposes directions in creating the unified system of legal education that include training of teachers and instructor in legal disciplines, development of modern methodological support for the educational process.

As it has been noted before, interaction between secondary and tertiary school in the field of legal education is based on the continuity principle. Lapteva (2010) understands the continuity as key parameters of the educational process that serve as an objective law and contain basic instructions for a teacher related to the questions of determining continuity in cognitive activity in accordance with education objectives. Other researchers agree that continuity is a principle of education. As a substantial cause of drawbacks in education they identify breaks in continuity of narration of the educational material, as well as in methods and forms of education. A number of researchers includes continuity in the principle of systematicity and consistency.

In this research the authors associate themselves with those researchers who include continuity and graduation with the principle of education. At that, continuity and graduation are marked as finalization of a certain cycle of education marking a stage in pupil's movement through education. The objective of this principle is a dynamic movement of educatees from the level they already have to a higher one that corresponds to a complete mastering of subject and material of a given subdivision, topic, etc. As the educational process is manifested through appearance, development and overcoming of contradictions, it is necessary to determine, which specific contradictions are being resolved during the implementation of the continuity and gradation principle.

Analysis of pedagogical literature (Ignatova, 2010) has shown a number of contradictions:

1.between existing approaches to organization of educational process, including objective systematization of science and logic of its narration on the one hand, and subjective level of perception of the material on behalf of pupils on the other hand;

2.between consistent exposition of the educational material on the one hand, and uneasy, illogical, uneven, swerving off, forestalling process of acquisition of knowledge on behalf of students on the other hand;

3.between existing learning skills of students and new, changed requirements;

4.between tasks formulated by a teacher and cognitive abilities of students;

5.between initial and acquired knowledge of students;

6.between storage, fixation of acquired knowledge and its transformation and modification;

7.between previously mastered and new knowledge that appears to the student as complete;

8.between conditionality of creating a system of knowledge, skills and experience on the one hand and a need for formation of an integral image of the world around on the other hand;

9.Acquired knowledge and skills vs actual concepts.

Godnik and Dudetskaia (2006) in their work identify two more contradictions that arise when a graduate moves to a tertiary school:

- transformation of the school graduate, when a shift from one status to another necessitates formation of new social attitudes;

- radical change in conditions of educational activity and life, establishing new relations with instructors, establishing a new sphere of communications (Godnik & Dudetskaia, 2006).

Eliasberg (2000) assumed that the most important means for achieving continuity between all the stages of legal education is implementation of inter-subject and intra-subject links that will allow forming relevant knowledge, skills, social experience, foundation of law-abiding behavior, legal and moral references. To actualize the continuity, she proposes dividing the legal education into independent stages. The first stage is the 9th Grade (of 8th and 9th Grades), by means of including a special law-related course into the curriculum. In her opinion, it will facilitate deeper consolidation of material at the subsequent stage of legal education (10-11th grade), its better understanding, formation of legal knowledge in a systematic jurisprudential discipline. Organization of professional legal activity of senior pupils in the form of hands-on training, analysis of legal situations (case studies), didactic games, will facilitate developing their practical skills in the use of the legal knowledge and acquiring practical experience in legally-significant situations (Eliasberg, 2000).

The issue of continuity of the legal education was considered by Pevtsova (2004) during her substantiation of the legal education doctrine for pupils of general education institutions of the modern Russia. Pevtsova (2004) emphasizes that the process of teaching law shall correspond to the following parameters: Unceasing performance within the framework of a unified legal educational policy facilitating implementation of level and profile differentiation; graduation of the legal education and its multi-variant modeling in accordance with preparedness of the participants of the educational process and a degree of implementation into the educational practice. Besides, Pevtsova (2004) highlights that the problems in the legal education are surmountable on condition of resolving the following problems: organizing a national system of legal education as a relatively independent integral system; development and constant renewal of school legal study materials and methodological literature; provision of state monitoring of legal literacy of pupils; implementation of a national system of training Fundamentals of Law teachers and their further methodological training. However, the theoretic provisions of Pevtsova (2004), while having influenced our research, do not contain any specific devices for implementation of continuity and interactions in the legal education between secondary and tertiary school.

A number of theoretical scientific works may be selected in the field of studying interactions and continuity between different stages of the general secondary education and between the general education institutions and institutions of professional education. For example, the interactions between secondary and tertiary school were analyzed by Godnik and Dudetskaia (2006), Bataryshev (2006) and others.

Studying pedagogical literature allowed concluding that the continuity between different stages of education is manifested in:

1.subsequent development of positive experience, established at earlier stages of education;

2.formation of a system of knowledge acquisition by educatees and subsequent optimization of content, structure and methods of education;

3.proactive education of students;

4.use of modern learning technologies aimed at formation of personality.

Interaction and continuity between different stages of education are ensured by certain psychological-pedagogical and social conditions, which include: knowledge of modern teaching and learning technologies by educators in secondary and tertiary school; continuity in means, forms and methods of personality development; existing social demand for formation or change in foundational elements of personal culture. All this determines a necessity to form the continuity in the legal education.

Analysis shows that among the most significant factors of continuity in education are system of pedagogical compatibility of the educational process at different stages of education in the general education institution and between secondary and tertiary school. To achieve these goals, it is proposed to apply: Establishing relations in content, organizational forms and methods of teaching between educational areas of secondary school and tertiary education subjects; application of various forms of cooperation between secondary and tertiary schools (specialized classes. Joint research, conferences, etc.). Additionally, a coordination of curricula and syllabuses is required; mutual resource provision (study materials, human resources, information support) for educational programs of secondary and tertiary schools. Among such measures researchers include the following: Unified system of testing, including establishing the level of maturity of personal qualities and psychological characteristics; unified requirements and standards for unified state examinations; ensuring compatibility of textbooks, study guides and other courseware.

The authors tend to agree with Godnik and Dudetskaia (2006), Gonik, Iurova, Fetisov, and Tekin (2015), who from positions of interactions between secondary and tertiary edcuation understand continuity as stage-by-stage development of the tertiary system of educational process in a dialectic relationships with the system of activities of general education institutions with the aim of forming personality of a student as a subject of tertiary education and upbringing. According to Vedernikova and Povorozniuk (2013), Timoshenko and Shliakhturova (2017) and others, continuity between the institutions of general education and tertiary schools has a deep social meaning, as it allows ensuring the process of socialization of secondary pupils, as well as that of tertiary school students, including acquisition of moral and legal values. The idea of an integral methodological approach to provision of interaction between secondary and tertiary education has been further developed by Kondrashova (2017) and her colleagues. They correctly suppose that rather than preparation of educatees for applying to a certain specific tertiary school there shall be provision of pupils with a high level of education in the most important areas of knowledge and formation of their creative abilities. Content of school subjects may serve as implementation means of the continuity, but it shall be revised and optimally redistributed between secondary and tertiary schools (Kondrashova, 2017). Godnik and Dudetskaia (2006) note that the results of interactions between secondary and tertiary education are implemented in the following functions: learning and cognitive (mastering forms and methods of learning typical of tertiary schools); self-education (acquiring research experience, reading professional literature, etc.); intellectual (skills of critical thinking, comparison, etc.,) and self-reflection (evaluation of a degree of comprehension of educational material, etc.). A number of researchers, including Kabakovich and Khamitova (2012) note that the existing need to overcome a difference between school learning and tertiary education induces formation of additional forms of education, such as private practice (coaching) and pre-study courses. This point of view found its confirmation in the results of a survey of first year students of the Department of Historical and Legal Education of Volgograd State Socio-Pedagogical University and Department of Law of the Volgograd Institute of Business. So, 58% of surveyed students assessed the level of teaching law in their school as “average”, while only 17% assessed it as “high”. Among the main sources of acquiring law-related knowledge, the students named the Internet, social networking sites, media, parents, imaginative literature, etc. Only a third of students (31.2%) believe that studying law in school influenced their formation of legal culture and legal consciousness. Many school teachers and university instructors confirm that during the Fundamentals of Law lessons in school, reproductive learning prevails, which facilitates development of independent thought and formation of legal consciousness and law-abiding behavior of pupils to a lesser degree than other methods.

Most school teachers and tertiary school instructors link the issues in interaction between general education institutions and tertiary schools in the area of legal education to a lack of continuity when transferring from one stage of education to another; weak inter-subject relations (primarily between the lessons of Law, History, Social Studies, etc.); lack of priorities for forming legal culture, legal consciousness, ability to resolve any issues in life by legal means; lack of developed clear criteria for objective assessment of legal education of educatees with accounts for their age-related and psychological peculiarities; insufficient awareness of education participants; lack of modern textbooks, study guides, recommendations, etc. A number of researchers note that lack of continuity in the legal education is a part of systemic problem typical for secondary school as a whole (Shiro, 2018). Research into practice of legal education in secondary schools of Volgograd allowed identifying and systematizing typical causes leading to problems in organization of interaction and provision of continuity of legal education between secondary and tertiary schools. They may be systemic, structural, organizational, methodological and human resource-related.

Systemic: lack of specific goals and objectives in syllabuses, lack of consistency in curricular and extra-curricular activities, lack of goal set for formation of legal culture, legal consciousness, law-abiding behavior.

Structural: repetition of sections and topics in different textbooks and study guides for different classes; differing, sometimes contradictory interpretation of legal categories and concepts in textbooks and study guides.

Organizational: lack of clear-cut criteria for evaluation of the level of legal education, inter-subject links between law-related subjects and general education subjects, reproductive nature of learning in legal education.

Organizational: lack of common approaches to the legal education between different educational institutions, insufficient information support of the legal education.

Methodological: lack of organizational and methodological communality between secondary and tertiary school in the area of legal education, insufficient availability of modern methodological tools, insufficient skills in operating with scientific and regulatory texts.

Human resource-related: unpreparedness and low motivation of tertiary school instructors and school teachers to joint activities.

Conclusion

Thus, provision of interaction between secondary and tertiary school during legal education requires formation of a necessary level of continuity, which is seen as a general didactic principle. This principle allows discovering the nature of genesis of fundamental elements of legal education and upbringing. Continuity of transferred knowledge allows providing connection to previously acquired information and forming a foundation for further education. Besides, inter-subject and intra-subject links are implemented, applied methodological procedures are substantiated, while organizational-pedagogical and content-related foundations of teaching activities are formulated. Continuity in legal education ensures organic flow of student socialization and adaptation to changing social realities. Analysis of scholarly literature shows that a break in continuity between secondary and tertiary school in the area of legal education is due to existing insularity of different stages of education expressed as a lack of content unification and dissimilarity of syllabuses and standards. Due to this, the authors conclude that formation of continuity shall be based upon communality of goals of the legal education at all levels, which will be expresses in relevant syllabuses, study guides and methodological approaches. In its turn, it would require skill development on behalf of teachers and instructors and creation of new courseware and methodological materials.

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