Adaptation Of Cadets To Educational Work With Convicts

Abstract

In accordance with the current legislation the main task of the penitentiary system is convicts correction. The carried out research made it possible to determine the content, structure and specifics of the educational activities of employees of various departments and services of the colony. The article gives the concept and description of adaptation of university graduates of the educational organizations of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia and having higher legal education, to educational activities in the colony as a specific and reasonably required process that decisively determines the effectiveness of convicts correction.The article offers a set of factors affecting the adaptation of university graduates of educational organizations of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia to educational activities in the colony. The proposed methodology makes it possible to identify ways to neutralize some factors and increase the effectiveness of the other ones at various stages of selection, training and practical work of graduates. Suggestions aiming to improve the selection of students in educational organizations of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, their orientation on educational activities formation (as the main one for all employees of the colony), their pedagogical qualification in the process of university training, as well as recommendations to practitioners of correctional facilitiesfor improving the adaptation of graduates to educational activities with convicts were formulated in this article.

Keywords: Cadets, convicts, correctional facilities, educational organizations of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, educational work, penitentiary system

Introduction

Modern society puts forward high demands on the quality of training cadets in educational organizations of the Penitentiary Service of Russia. They must have a wide range of competencies (Akhmetov et al., 2016; Islamov et al., 2016; Khairullina et al., 2015; Kirillova et al., 2017; Lunev et al., 2014).

The penitentiary system of our country is currently in the stage of reforming and modernization. The need for reforms is due to the development of new political and economic relations, the transformation of moral values and guidelines, and the tendency to consistent comply with international standards and rules for prisoners’ treatment. The modernization success is determined primarily by the competence of personnel and their training level for professional activity. Therefore, the problems of training graduates of educational organizations of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia as educators of convicts, their adaptation to educational activities are highly relevant today.

An overriding concern in the formation of a graduate as an educator is the initial period of his service. It represents a transition from vocational training (mostly theoretical) to professional activity and is characterized by a change in the status of a cadet to the status of an employee of the colony, which cause the change of educational activities to professional ones, the core of which is educational activities aimed at correcting and social rehabilitation of convicts. The relevance of the study is determined by the development of civil society and the rule of law, characterized not only by the recognition of individual freedom and the value of each individual, by fair and impartial legislation, but also by the duty of policemen to counteract criminality, to protect life, health, rights and freedoms of citizens; to ensure public safety (Bond, 2014; Quintet et al., 2003).

Problem Statement

Historical and sectoral analysis of educational problems shows that it is intensively developed in the general philosophical and sociological aspects (V. G. Afanasyev, M. S. Kagan, A. G. Spirkin, I. S. Mangutov, L. I. Umansky, etc.), in general psychology and pedagogy (B.P. Bitinas, S.G. Vershlovsky, N.V. Kuzmina, N.V. Kukharev, L.F. Spirin, A.M. Yasko and others). Their researches resulted in formulation of the general theoretical foundations of educational activity, in consideration of the structure, content, and certain features development.In penitentiary science, the works of lawyers, psychologists, teachers review the problem (L. A. Vysotina, V. N. Sinev, M.P. Sturova, V.I. Belosludtsev, V. V. Lebedev, A. I. Mokretsov, V. F. Moskalenko, V. P. Novikov, V. B. Pervozvansky, etc.) (Kirillova et al., 2018; Markova & Nikitskaya, 2017; Masalimova et al., 2017; Seryakova et al., 2018).

The primary concern of improvement the efficiency of educational activities in modern conditions causes active development of the adaptation points for specialists with higher education (A. Albert, S. V. Ovday, M. I. Pedayas, L. N. Solodovchenko, A. I. Sheptenko, A. I. Khodakov, F. R. Yuzlikaev, etc.) (Khairullina, 2009; Levanova et al., 2018; Pugacheva et al., 2016, 2020; Yepaneshnikov et al., 2016).

Research Questions

What is the content, structure, features of adaptation of young specialists to educational activities with convicts?

Purpose of the Study

Purpose of the study: to determine pedagogically relevant ways to adaptation improvement for graduates of educational organizations of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia to educational activities in the colony.

Research Methods

The system of interrelated methods, i.e. document analysis; survey methods (questionnaire, interviewing, individual and group conversations); different types of pedagogical observation; expert evaluation: pilot testing; statistic analysis, was used in the research process.

Findings

The research was conducted at the Academy of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, the Vologda Institute of Law and Economics of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, as well as in correctional facilities of the Chuvash Republic, Vladimir, Oryol and Ryazan Regions. The empirical base was compiled by data obtained from statutory documents regulating the activities of correctional facilities, from scientific articles published by the authors, as well as from the personal experience. The research involved 560 graduates of 2010-2018 years of study, representing correctional colonies of various regions of Russia, 185 cadets (88 - freshers, 97 - graduate students of law faculties of educational organizations of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia), 72 experts (heads of the Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service of various regions of our country, heads of correctional colonies, tutors of young specialists, faculties members and heads of educational organizations of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia), all that corresponds to the research representativeness.

We consider the educational activity in the colony as the constant, creative activity of each employee and the entire staff of the colony, aimed at correction and forming of positive qualities of the convicts personalities and the system of their value orientations, this activity is carried out in conditions of continuous communication between educators and educates. The purpose of educational activity is to form and develop in convicts the desire to be engaged in socially useful activity, to comply with the requirements of laws and rules of social behavior.

The structure of educational activities of the colony employees is presented as a complex of the following main components: a) cognitive (oriented research); b) structural (design and planning); c) communicative; d) organizational. It should be noted that all the components are in direct and feedback communication with each other, they are interconnected and interdependent.

The proposed structure makes it possible to identify the specifics of educational activities of employees of various departments and services of the colony. This specifity is revealed primarily in the different proportions of the constituting components.

The research results allow for the conclusion that the components of educational activities proposed by the authors are most fully and complex realized in the professional work of the head of the colony, his deputy for personnel and educational work, the heads of divisions as the actual educators of convicts, as well as employees of the psychological laboratory, the social protection group of convicts and pedagogical teams of the general education school and PU at the institution.

By adaptation of graduates of the penitentiary profile to educational activities in the colony, the authors mean the process of active mastering the special aspects of correcting convicts depending on the professional sphere of young specialists, interaction with employees, as well as participation in the system of official, communicative and common relations in a particular institution.

Constructively, the authors present the process of adapting young specialists to educational activities in the form of two components: professional adaptation and social and psychological adaptation. Professional adaptation is understood as a certain mastering level of graduates in professional knowledge, abilities, skills, the formation of personal qualities necessary for work with convicts and also development of the steady positive attitude to the work. Social and psychological adaptation is expressed in the adjust of the young specialist tothe institution staff life, in the household structure of a graduate, members of his family. At the same time, it should be noted that the structural components of adaptation to educational activities constantly interconnected and interdependent.

The adaptation characteristics of graduates of universities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation to educational activities with convicts include: range, orientation, set-shifting, pace, stability, period. The research results allow for the conclusion that the adaptation of young specialists to activities aimed at correction and forming socially significant qualities of the convict's personality, his value system, can be positive and negative.

A positive adaptation is in the case if the young specialist is adapted to a positive microenvironment, successfully fulfills his professional duties as an educator, skillfully organizes his interaction with colleagues, correctly builds relationships with convicts. Adaptation to a negative environment (negative adaptation) occurs when the alienation of a university graduate from the duties, staff, educational activities with convicts appears. The core of this alienation is uncertainty, anxiety, lack of orientation on educational activities.

In the colonies practice there are occasions when, for a couple of reasons, the graduate does not adapt either to the positive or negative microenvironment, that is, does not adapt at all (maladapted). Inhibition and blocking of the adaptation process expand when alienation, negativity of the young employee to educational activities are imposed on various kinds of mental characteristics of his personality and difficulties, failures met. Such persons are usually characterized by closeness, secrecy, non-communicability. All these factors lead to negative results: the graduate cannot find his place in the colony teachers staff, seeks to change the duties or completely resign from service.

Depending on the graduate activity, adaptation to educational activities can be passive, incomplete and creative. If the starting employee did not find himself in the colony teachers staff, does not try to master pedagogical skills and continues to fulfill official duties for some personal reasons, but in general negatively or, at the best, indifferently, treated the educational activities this adaptation is passive.

There are situations when adaptation is insufficient (incomplete). This happens when a young specialist shows the initiative, work for earning a good reputation, but his immediate supervisor does not notice this, does not note his service efforts and does not give any feedback.

The most durable and complex is the creative adaptation of university graduates to educational activities. Creative adaptation is characteristic for specialists who work with interest, enthusiasm, treat the process of correcting convicts as activities of great social significance, have the opportunity to realize their fullest potential as educators, that finally develops the personality of the graduate.

In order to study the dynamics of the various factors influence on the adaptation process of university graduates of educational organizations of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia to the educational activities, the authors conducted experimental work and scientific analysis. It included the following main areas: study of the specifics of adaptation of employees of various categories; the system of professional selection and orientation of persons entering educational organizations of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia; the process of training specialists in universities; study of the graduates adaptation in the process of their practical activities. The following methods were used: interviewing and questionnaire of graduates of universities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation of various years of study (from 1975 to 1993), expert evaluation, archive materials analysis (studies of the author's group on professional adaptation of graduates of universities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs), scientific publications, comparative analysis of the young specialists activities of different years of graduation.

Taking into account that graduates just after graduation from the FSIN of Russia, as a rule, occupy the posts of division heads, employees of the security department, operational department, during the study the specifics of adaptation to the educational activities of these categories of young specialists were studied. The results of work allow for the conclusion that the pace, speed, period, range of adaptation to educational activities of various categories of colony employees is directly related to the fulfillment of their functional duties. This, in turn, determines their attitude to educational activities with convicts and its effectiveness.

The research suggests that graduates serving as division heads and as employees of the social protection department of convicts, adapt faster in the social and psychological aspect (in the average during 4-5 months) than in the professional one (about six months - a year). The analysis suggests that this is often due to the fact that a significant number of specialists with higher legal education have no orientation for educational work with convicts as the main one (that is, professional).

The adaptation pace of graduates of universities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation engaged in operational work in the colony to educational activities is long both in professional (5-7 months) and in the social and psychological aspect (6-8 months). Analysis shows that this is primarily due to the peculiarities of their daily activities, great emotional and mental tension, extreme situations which often arise. It should be emphasized that the difficulties in adapting to educational work with convicts in this category are also due to the lack of orientation to this activity and within the higher educational institutions.

For graduates of universities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation working in the security department, a characteristic feature of adaptation to educational activities is the fast development of the social and psychological component (4-5 months). It takes much longer to enter the professional aspect (7-8 months). According to the research results, the narrow range of adaptation to the educational activities of specialists in this category is due to insufficient training at the university, as well as the very specifics of service duties. In addition, a significant number of young security officers (50.9%) are not sufficiently focused on pedagogical activities with convicts, so they are engaged in direct education of convicts to a far lesser extent than other categories of graduates.

Thus, the research allows us to conclude that the process of adaptation to educational activities in the colony is not spontaneous, but controlled, that is, it can be corrected depending on conditions and circumstances.

Conclusion

So, summarizing the above, it should be concluded that the proposed measures will contribute to improving the adaptation of graduates of educational organizations FSIN of Russia to the educational activities. However, it should be emphasized that all the proposals made cannot be implemented at once for a number of reasons. Therefore, it is advisable to implement some proposals now, at the current stage of modernization of the penitentiary system, but the others can be implemented only under certain conditions (development of models of an applicant, a cadet, graduate of educational organizations of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia), and the last are supposed for a remote prospect.

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15 July 2021

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Globalization, digital education, leadership, challenges of the time, оn-line pedagogy, universal and national values

Cite this article as:

Kirillova, T., Kuznetsov, M., Kirillova, O., & Litvishkov, V. (2021). Adaptation Of Cadets To Educational Work With Convicts. In A. G. Shirin, M. V. Zvyaglova, O. A. Fikhtner, E. Y. Ignateva, & N. A. Shaydorova (Eds.), Education in a Changing World: Global Challenges and National Priorities, vol 114. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences (pp. 310-316). European Publisher. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2021.07.02.37