Organization Ofmoral And Ethical Education Of College Students In Modern Conditions

Abstract

The article is devoted to the organization of effective moral and ethical education of students at Gzhel College. This activity acquires special significance and relevance due to the fact that student youth is regarded as the most active social group. The definition of moral and ethical education as the preparation of the younger generation to interact with society, people, the world, the inclusion of the individual in the process of acquirement and acceptance of cultural values, is given. Pedagogical principles of moral and ethical education are revealed. The problem connected with the identification of the conditions for organization of moral and ethical education of college students. The results of the survey conducted among college students on their understanding of moral and ethical norms of behavior, as well as the findings of observation and analysis of educational activities in which college students participated are presented. The findings of the research demonstrate poor awareness of college students about moral and ethical norms of behavior. Observation and analysis of college events focused on moral and ethical aspects allowed to reveal some pedagogical conditions of this direction of educational activity. The most important condition of moral and ethical education at college is the upbringing of students on the principles of participation, social priority. The specific condition of moral and ethical education at Gzhel College is the use of folk traditions that actualize the professional creative abilities of both students and teachers.

Keywords: Principles of moral and ethical educationpedagogical conditionsstudent communityfolk traditionstraditional educational activities

Introduction

The work aimed at the education of students aged 15-22 years old is one of the priorities in the development of the Russian state in modern conditions. This is a special social group that is going through an active stage of socialization and determination of further life strategy. Student youth is a quantitatively significant group, the moral and ethical education of whom affects the further life of society, its development in the cultural, socio-economic and socio-political areas.

Special emphasis in educational work today is put on the moral and ethical education of young people. The relevance of this issue is accentuated by the adoption of the Federal Program for the Development of Education in the System of Educational Institutions of Russia, the Order of the Department of Education and Science "On the Approbation of a Comprehensive Training Course in General Education Institutions": "Fundamentals of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics". This question was also raised in the "Concept of Modernization of Russian Education until 2010", as well as in the Federal Law "On Education in the Russian Federation" (article 2), then it was developed in the Federal State Educational Standards of Secondary Vocational Education. A young person lives and develops in society. His / her sphere of morality and ethics is influenced by both positive and negative factors in the conditions of market economy with its rapid economic development and social changes. Not only systemic, socio-cultural approaches to the upbringing of the younger generation are relevant, but also transdisciplinary ones (Akhmedova et al., 2018). It is necessary to help young people form a correct idea of the value orientations that determine the behavior of the individual in different situations, his / her responsibility, respect for people, as well as develop such qualities as patriotism, love for the Motherland, open-minded attitude to society as a whole(Chuprov, Zubok, & Williams, 2001; Laptev, 2016). This topic is especially relevant in the context of the growing crisis of social identity (Kislyakov et al., 2018).

Moral and ethical education is the preparation of the younger generation to interact with society, with people, with the world, the inclusion of the individual in the process of acquirement and acceptance of cultural values. Moral and ethical education is a necessary component of the formation and development of a person associated with his /her successful socialization.

Problem Statement

The problem of moral education of young people in modern society is of particular importance, because youth today is a powerful social force that faces social contradictions caused by economic and political transformations in Russia. New value orientations in the conditions of market economy and democratization of society are being formed.

More attention is paid to the personal qualities of young people. A young person should easily adapt to changes, be responsible, independent, strive for knowledge, be sociable, tolerant, ready to take responsibility for their actions, work well in a team, have patriotic qualities, observe ethical norms. It is necessary to purposefully create conditions based on the pedagogical principles of moral and ethical education in order to achieve this goal.

The pedagogical principles of moral and ethical education include: the principle of participation (the involvement of students in social activities), the principle of social compensation (participation in volunteer and charity events), the principle of social priority (participation of young people in choosing, organizing important events), the principle of unity (involves the interrelation of educational forms and methods), the principle of mutual responsibility (mutual responsibility of the government and youth). The organization of moral and ethical education on these principles implies the participation of young people in educationally-oriented events and, accordingly, their acceptance of the above-given principles. The pedagogical conditions of moral and ethical education include: the content, methods and means, organization forms of education, available financing, in fracture and facilities of the educational environment (Borlakova et al., 2018; Dvornikova, 2012; Melnikova, 1999; Posokh & Venner, 2009).

Research Questions

• Do students know what moral and ethical behavior is?

• What pedagogical conditions that contribute to the organization of effective moral and ethical education of college students in modern conditions were identified in the study?

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study was to identify the conditions that would contribute to the implementation of the determined principles of effective organization of moral and ethical education.

The findings of the research can be used in the college educational system, as well as for retraining and continuing professional development of college teachers.

Research Methods

The systematic approach that ensures the organization of moral and ethical education at college as a system was chosen as the main method of study. In this system there are three components that are functioning in interaction: the cognitive component, the motivational and necessity component, and the activity component.

The method of theoretical sources analysis was used to identify the principles that ensure the creation of an effective system of moral and ethical education at college.

Observation and analysis method made it possible to draw conclusions about the conditions which were conducive to the effectiveness of moral-and-ethically-oriented educational activities of the college, as well as the conditions which hampered this process. The components of the moral and ethical education structure were analyzed with the help of such diagnostic techniques as: the cognitive component was researched using the author's questionnaire "Moral and ethical behavior", the diagnosis of moral education was carried out by the method of M. I. Shilova, the motivational and necessity component was studied by means of the moral self-esteem diagnostics by the method of L. N. Kolmogortseva, diagnostics of moral motivation, the activity component were studied using the ethics of behavior diagnostics and the thematic apperceptive test. The experimental study involved 180 people - the college students of Gzhel State University.

Findings

For the purpose of ascertaining whether the students understand what moral and ethical standards of behavior are, they were offered a questionnaire called "Moral and ethical behavior". The results were as follows: 70% of the surveyed students agreed with the statement that moral and ethical norms change over time; 20%, on the contrary, are confident in the inviolability of moral and ethical norms, in their timeless significance; 10% did not express their point of view definitely ("I find it difficult to answer"). Only 25% of students participating in the survey confirmed that they can give examples of their own moral behavior, 45% found it difficult to answer, and 30% generally replied that they could not give such examples. The situation is similar with examples of moral behavior of friends, classmates: only 20% of respondents said that they could give such examples, 20% found it difficult to answer. And the vast majority - 60% - said they could not give such examples. Thus, the results of the survey showed that students, unfortunately, have a very poor idea of what moral and ethical standards of behavior are. This problem is so important for the future development of society that it is not enough just to provide students with the information on this topic. It is necessary to create pedagogical conditions conducive to the organization of efficient, effective moral and ethical education of college students.

The general pedagogical conditions of moral and ethical education of students were preliminarily identified on the basis of theoretical sources analysis on the problem under study. For the purpose of clarification and concretization of pedagogical conditions, observation and analysis of educational activities were carried out at college: the creation of a video about the educational and extracurricular life of students; participation of students in the international festival of national cultures called "We study in Russia", as well as doing exercises on interpersonal communication: the exercise called "Slogan", which allows to identify a person's principles through his / her life motto; the exercise called "How similar we are", aimed at understanding and discussing the problem of establishing contact between people.

It should be noted that all work on moral and ethical education of students should be systematic and planned in nature, because sporadic and episodic activities of an educational orientation do not bring a positive effect. The educational organization itself is a socio-cultural center of youth education (Khuziakhmetov, Shafikova, & Kapranova, 2015).

The most important condition for the implementation of moral and ethical education at college is the development of the student community on the principles of participation, social compensation, social priority, unity, mutual responsibility. To implement these principles, it is necessary to ensure the work of a multifaceted system of primary creative and other associations of students within the educational organization. The community is the most important means of involving students in educational activities. Moreover, these student associations should have the development level of the team and be in structural relationships and interactions with each other. It should be noted that the student community can be a multi-level system. For example, when members within one community are simultaneously members of other associations and groups that are different in orientation and nature of their activities, duration of existence. The organization of a multi-level system of youth groups contributes to the fact that being in each team, in each group, young people learn new social roles, expand the network of social ties and relationships. The development of new social roles in each new team, contributes to the mastery of management and subordination skills by the student youth (management in one group and subordination in another group) (Cunhaa et al., 2016).

The college student community unites small groups of different orientation and creates special psychological atmosphere in the educational organization. Common interests (common events of the college, competitions, subbotniks, and other activities) develop a multifaceted type of relationships of each student-member of the team with other students, promotes the unity of the student community of this professional educational organization. The unity of the student youth of Gzhelcollege can be taken as an example. Thus, the development of student groups to the level of the community will promote the interests of everyone, contribute to self-improvement and moral and ethical development of students. The distinguishing characteristic of moral and ethical education of college students lies in the fact that it involves educational influences of a differentiated and individualized nature, the actualization of professional creative abilities of both students and teachers, the use of technologies that stimulate creative activity.

The use of folk traditions in moral and ethical education, participation in charity events and the volunteer movement is the specific feature of moral and ethical education system of Gzhelcollege. The peculiarity of the college creative atmosphere is its foundation on the deep roots of folk art. The development of this tradition is achieved by the participation of students in such events as the International Festival of National Cultures called "We study in Russia", the forum "I am a citizen of the Moscow region 2019", "The blue bird of Gzhel". Participating in such events, student groups gather together, get united by common activities. The content specificity of these activities contributes to the acceptance of ideas of moral and ethical education. However, it should be noted that it is possible to expect an increase in the efficiency of this work only in the case of systematic educational work at college.

Conclusion

Any education implies a certain system of principles. The analysis of theoretical sources revealed a set of principles of moral and ethical education. They are: the principle of participation, social compensation, social priority, unity, mutual responsibility.

The implementation of these principles at college requires the creation of appropriate pedagogical conditions. The most important condition of moral and ethical education of college students is the development of the student community, which is possible when creating a multifaceted system of primary creative and other students' associations within the educational organization.

In the course of the survey, it was revealed that students are poorly aware of what the concept of moral and ethical behavior implies. This conclusion highlighted the acuteness of the problem of moral and ethical education at college and raised a number of new questions on how to change this situation.

Observation and analysis of the moral-and-ethically-oriented activities, which were attended by the college students, allowed to see the positive potential of these activities and at the same time, the feasibility of systemic and systematic nature of such activities, diversity and creativity in the organization of moral and ethical education was emphasized. It was also revealed that the use of folk traditions, participation of students in charity events, in the volunteer movement contribute to the effectiveness of moral and ethical education.

References

• Akhmedova, E. M., Taranova, T. N., Khalyapina, L. V., Khokhlova, D. A., Nedopod, I. I., & Kirillova, I. I. ( 2018). Transdisciplinary approach to the formation of the value-semantic orientation of the competence of graduate students in the educational sphere of society. Turkish online magazine on the design of art and communication, 8, 485-492.
• Borlakova, S. A., Klushina, N. P., Klushina, E. A., Kotov, S. V., Petrova, N. P., Pivnenko, P. P., & Kharchenko, L. N. (2018). Philosophical and anthropological view of teacher’s higher education, professionalism and creativity. Option, 34(15), 681-705.
• Chuprov, V. I., Zubok, I. U. A., & Williams, C. (2001). Youth in a risk. Moscow: Nauka. [in Russ.].
• Cunhaa, M., Figueiredoa, J., Breiaa, J., Pinaa, J., Almeidaa, S., & Oliveiraa, T. (2016). Morality and ethical acting in Higher Education Students. The European Proceedings of Social & Behavioural Sciences, 16, 725-734. http://dx.doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2016.11.75
• Dvornikova, I. N. (2012).The student team as a subject of personal and professional education of a future specialist. Siberian Pedagogical Journal, 7, 170-174. [in Russ.].
• Khuziakhmetov, A. N., Shafikova, G. R., & Kapranova, V. A. (2015). Conditions of Educational Environment for the Development of Teenagers’ Moral Relations. International Journal of Environmental & Science Education, 10(4), 515-521.
• Kislyakov, P., Shmeleva, E., Rybakova, A., Babich, E., Belyakova, N., & Semenov, D. (2018). Crisis of social identity as threat to socio-psychological security. The European Proceedings of Social & Behavioural Sciences, 35, 551-558. http://dx.doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2018.02.64
• Laptev, I. G. (2016). Student youth as an object of spiritual and moral education. Humanitarian Studies, 2(58), 104-108. [in Russ.].
• Melnikova, N. N. (1999). Behavioral strategies in the process of socio-psychological adaptation. (Candidate dissertation). St. Petersburg. Retrieved from https://www.dissercat.com[in Russ.].
• Posokh, A. V., & Venner, A. N. (2009). On the problem of moral and ethical education of students (from work experience). Higher technical education, 8,173-175. [in Russ.]