Differences In Educational Group: Interpersonal Relations In Cadet Corps And Comprehensive School

Abstract

This article is devoted to the study of the problem of determination of adolescents’ interpersonal relations in specific conditions of socialisation in cadet corps. The work aims to identify differences in the attitudes of adolescents depending on different conditions - in a cadet corps or a comprehensive school. The hypothesis was the assumption that the interpersonal relationships of adolescents in a semi-closed study group differ from those in an open study group in terms of introversion/extraversion and anxiety/aggressiveness intensity. The study involved real-life groups of 8th-grade students aged 13-14 years: two groups of the cadet corps and a group of schoolchildren from a general education institution, the total sample size 77 people. It has been shown that the specificity of adolescents' relations in such groups was characterised by focus on active self-realisation and such qualities as stubbornness, self-will in defending their interests. School students differed from cadets in that they gave more pronounced assessments on the scales of spontaneity and rigidity, as demonstrated by them and concerning others. Differences in cadets’ interpersonal relationships - those measured with the sensitivity scale - in contrast to other groups - have been found. Cadets’ attitudes in both groups had common characteristics: the indicators intensity on Anxiety and Spontaneity scales, the idea of friendship as "comradely relations", as well as absence of the isolated adolescents category in the structure of the group.

Keywords: Social psychology, socialisation, interpersonal relations, semi-closed groups, cadet corps

Introduction

The present conditions of the development of society are characterized by: uncertainty of the situation, difficulty of planning the near and remote future, transition to the digital community, limitation of direct interpersonal contacts, etc. (Durodié, 2020; Van Dijk, 2021, etc.). In the case of self-isolation, the relevance of the study of small semi-closed and closed groups has increased significantly (Marmarosh et al., 2020, etc.). In our opinion, the problem of determining the group dynamics of small semi-closed groups can be studied with the example of study groups. They are characterized by stability of composition, priority of group goals, and specificity of interpersonal relations.

Growing number of semi-closed educational institutions, i.e. cadet corps, cadet schools, requires comprehensive research of the conditions for socialisation of adolescents and young men in these institutions, as this would allow understanding not only life and mental processes in this type of school but also in other boarding schools that exist abroad and are increasingly gaining popularity.

Thus, the research problem formulation is determined by identification of the social environment specifics that condition the process of formation and development of personality and its bonds with the wider society. We did not find studies on cadet’s boarding schools in psychology literature, since the word ‘’cadet’’ is more applicable to students in military academies, and their research is specific to personal development (Franke, 2000; Firing et al., 2009; Kelly et al., 2014; Maddi et al., 2012; Mayseless & Hai, 1998; Terziev, 2017, etc.). Therefore, we only have turned to psychological literature on socialisation issues.

In this study of the differences in socialisation conditions, we adhere to two fundamental foreign approaches. The first is the approach that considers socialisation as a mechanism of adaptation to environmental conditions (Dewey, 1930; Durkheim, 1950, etc.). After attending kindergarten, school for children is not something stressful, as family and society prepare them for this. We also consider socialisation phenomenon within the framework of symbolic interactionism approach. In it, socialisation is the process of transformation of a person from a physiological organism into a reflexive social Self (Cooley, 1902; McPhail & Rexroat, 1979; Mead, 1934; Meltzer et al., 2020, etc.). The choice of such research object as interpersonal relations isn’t random, as a number of authors claim that interpersonal relations serve as key mechanisms in personality - society interaction. Our examination of adolescents’ interpersonal relations is carried out within the perspective of active mediation of interpersonal relations (Kelley, 1979; Zhuravlev, 2009, etc.). This approach to the problem of interpersonal relations, in our opinion, most fully describes all the specificity and diversity of this phenomenon belonging to personality and group psychology. Also, research from this theory standpoint allows us to depart from the orientation that had long prevailed in foreign psychology - that is studying groups within the framework of the “conformism - nonconformism” dichotomy.

In the context of solving this research problem, life of an individual in cadet corps, psychologists have conducted several pedagogical and psychological-pedagogical studies focused on the following aspects: factors of social and pedagogical adaptation of adolescents and young men to life in cadet corps and cadet schools; conditions for preparing young people for military service in semi-closed educational institutions (cadet corps and schools); the specifics of cadets’ personal characteristics formation, etc. (Gosnell et al., 2020; Mayer & Skimmyhorn, 2017; Patterson, 2020; Smith et al., 2020). In the above areas of research, the emphasis is on the role of the educational process components (pedagogical technologies, styles of upbringing, principles of organising educational process, etc.) that determine the effects of specific socialisation of students. Thus, this line of research is focused not so much on identifying the content of the educational process in the cadet corps as an "external" factor in the formation of personality, but rather on analysing effects of organisational and educational environment of cadet corps in their connection with the personal qualities of cadets, which allow them not only to adapt but to cope successfully with the requirements of this environment as well. Analysis of the literature showed that among the number psychological studies, works of a socio-psychological orientation were the least represented. The studies we found were focused on relationships between cadets and junior commanders, as well as on socio-psychological adaptation to the conditions of the cadet corps/school (Banabakova & Georgiev, 2017; Perevozkin & Tishkova, 2020; Popovych et al., 2020 etc.). These few works are of interest to us in connection with the formulation of our research hypothesis. For example, colleagues found that not all students manage to quickly and successfully adapt to new conditions of education and free time in a semi-closed institution. Cadets often have difficulties with self-organisation, compliance with rules and regulations of the educational institution. Emotional experiences caused by distance from family, as well as problems of interpersonal interaction between leaders and students, have been noted. Thus, these studies indirectly trace the connection between the form of the educational environment organisation (semi-closed type) and the characteristics of socialisation in it.

Problem Statement

Summarising all these facts, we can conclude that most of the works, regardless of discipline, are focused on finding the specifics of the conditions for individuals’ socialisation in cadet corps. Educational institutions such as cadet corps or cadet school are classified as semi-closed institutions. The educational process in these institutions has specific features both in the content of the educational component and in the organisation of the relations system in educational groups and institution as a whole. Most of the cadet corps and schools are organised as boarding schools with staying on the territory of the educational institution. Children can see their parents, at best, on weekends. Another feature characterising life of such study groups is the increased requirements for discipline and statutory relations. Cadet corps training groups are typically free to enter and exit because of their semi-closed nature.

Research Questions

Main research question is to study, analyze and interpret main differences of socialization in cadet corps and comprehensive schools. Differences in educational and social environments may help to distinguish specific characteristics of interpersonal relationships that are correlated with student’s adaptation and, vice versa, such analysis can help to understand the characteristics that can help to adapt to new conditions. Using of theoretical approaches mentioned above will help to perform comprehensive analysis, results of which could be used both in theoretical and practical directions.

Purpose of the Study

All this served as the basis for formulating the purpose of the study focused on identifying differences in interpersonal relationships of adolescents depending on conditions of socialisation (in the cadet corps or a general education school). Research hypothesis is as follows: it can be assumed that the interpersonal relationships of adolescents in a semi-closed study group differ from those of adolescents in an open study group in terms of the intensity of introversion/extraversion and anxiety/aggressiveness. Refining the hypothesis, it should be noted that, in our opinion, in a semi-closed group, adolescents should be more oriented toward expanding the circle of contacts and active self-realisation. The former is associated with limited freedom of social contacts choice in the cadet corps (compensation for this limitation is the intensity of indicators on the extraversion scale), the latter - with the motivation for learning. Three study groups were the object of the research - two groups of students from the cadet corps and one school student group, for comparison.

Research Methods

Findings

Before introducing results of empirical research, a detailed description of its tasks should be given.

The first one consisted of a pairwise comparison of the interpersonal relations variables for each of the two groups - cadets and school students. It was hypothesised that the indicators coinciding in the three groups on eight scales of the method would indicate the role of the "age" factor in formation of interpersonal relations of adolescents in the study group, regardless of socialisation conditions. Being different in the two cadet groups and schoolchildren group, indicators of the interpersonal relations scales can be interpreted as a result of influence of the socialisation characteristics in the organisational and educational environment in the cadet corps.

The second task was focused on identifying the features of interpersonal relations in different educational groups of adolescents studying in the cadet corps, i.e. we are talking about general and specific features of adolescents’ interpersonal relations in a semi-closed study group. The detected differences in the levels of variables exist possibly due to both the socio-psychological climate in the group, and the style of leadership, as well as the way the groups were formed.

In group 1, the class teacher was a man, in group 2, a woman, who, according to experts, had paid more attention to an individual approach when working with students, and was more emotional and less authoritarian than her male colleague. An important condition was the fact that the female leader of the boys group could stimulate more emotional and open relationships in her class.

Differences in interpersonal relations between cadet corps and school

Comparative analysis by the Mann-Whitney criterion of levels of interpersonal relations variables in the study groups of adolescents in the cadet corps (generalised scale) and schools showed the following. Cadets’ interpersonal relations differed from similar relations between school students in intensity: spontaneity (U = 0.428; р ≤ 0.006), aggressiveness (U = 0.394; р ≤ 0.002), rigidity (U = 0.459; р ≤ 0.014), sensitivity (U = 0.425; р ≤ 0.006).

As shown in Figure 1, the indicators of spontaneity, rigidity, and sensitivity were more pronounced in the group of school students than for cadets. In the generalised group of cadets, spontaneity and rigidity demonstrated normal values, which indicated their balance.

On the other hand, in the cadet corps, values ​​on the aggressiveness scale were more pronounced, while in school they did not exceed the norm. Interpreting the data obtained, we noted that the education system in the cadet corps, in contrast to school, implied strict policies aimed at forming strong-willed nature and emotional self-control in students' behaviour, ability to comply rules and norms appropriate for the cadet corps organisational culture.

As a result, a tendency typical for adolescence, manifested in spontaneous (ill-considered) statements and actions, heightened subjectivity, desire to defend their views and principles, increased criticism of other opinions and views, became less pronounced.

At the same time, the system of education and upbringing in the cadet corps enhances the adolescents’ need for active self-realisation and further stimulates the manifestation of stubbornness and self-will in defending their interests (aggressiveness scale).

This situation may be typical of a team of boys who have chosen a military career. Formation of leadership qualities among students is one of the tasks of socialisation in cadet corps. Interestingly, no statistical differences were found in the scale of anxiety, in the group of cadets and schoolchildren, while differences in its severity (test scores) in the two groups were obvious.

Moreover, it was the school group that demonstrated greater emotionality, sensitivity, and insecurity with others (the scale of sensitivity). The absence of statistically significant differences in the generalised group of cadets and the school group - according to the scales: introversion, extraversion, and lability could be considered as a manifestation of the age characteristics for interpersonal relations of adolescents.

What this means is the balance of introversion and increased intensity of extraversion and lability; that is desire to expand social contacts, increased mood variability, and aspiration for emotional involvement are typical for interpersonal relations of 13-14-year-old adolescents who took part in the study. Of course, it cannot be argued that this is typical for all adolescents of this age. However, it can be assumed that a similar trend can be found in other groups of this age.

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Differences between the two groups of cadets

A comparative analysis of the differences in the levels of variables for interpersonal relations of cadets from other groups and the factors that determine them showed statistically significant differences in the two groups of cadets only in terms of the sensitivity scale (U = 0.198, p ≤ 0.039). However, differences on the level of tendencies in the intensity of interpersonal relations on four out of eight scales were still present (Figure 2). The absence of statistically significant differences in three of the four scales could be explained by the fact that only small real-life study groups participated in the research, and by a general trend in both groups associated with exceeding the test norms on these scales. A qualitative analysis of the data obtained by comparing test indicators revealed the following. In group 2, in general, the signs of sensitivity (impressionability, a tendency for reflection, etc.), aggressiveness (active self-realisation, stubbornness, self-will in defending their interests), lability (changeable mood, etc.), extraversion (desire to expand social contacts) were more pronounced than in group 1. However, taking into account that the indicators of lability and extraversion scales did not reveal statistically significant differences in the joint group of cadets and the group of schoolchildren, it can be assumed that it was the impressionability that distinguished the second group of cadets from the first one. An attempt to explain the differences in interpersonal relations in groups of cadets determined the direction of the search for differences in their concepts of friendship. The analysis showed that in the first group of cadets, associations were related to companionship, trust, and communication. And in the second group of cadets, friendship was primarily help, and only then companionship, trust, and communication. It should be noted that the differences in sociometric structure of the two groups were grounded in the fact that the first one included "stars" (high-status, emotionally most preferred) in both business and interpersonal relations, while the second group - only in interpersonal area. Taking into account the respondents’ differing motivations for studying in cadet corps (the dominant motive in the first group was the desire to become a military professional, whereas in the second - to get an education), it can be assumed that the specificity of motivation determines the strength of cohesion indicators in the groups. Correlation analysis of the cadets' perceptions of friendship and the indicators of their interpersonal relations, distinguishing the two groups, showed that in the first one the indicators of extraversion (lower in this group than in the second one) were associated with perception of friendship as companionship (r = 0, 51; p ≤ 0.018) and with an image of a specific person - a friend (r = -0.45; p ≤ 0.042). The intensity of sensitivity was also associated with companionship (r = 0.58; p ≤ 0.006). At the same time, lability indicators in this group were determined by the notions of friendship as help (r = 0.61; p ≤ 0.003) and were associated with an image of a specific person - a friend (r = -0.60; p ≤ 0.004). In the second group, the scale of aggressiveness (it was higher in this group in terms of test values) was associated with the idea of ​​friendship as a state of happiness (r = 0.44; p ≤ 0.04). These connections showed the semantic load of interpersonal relations of adolescents studying in different groups of the cadet corps. Let us keep in mind that in the first group (motivation to become a military man) the indicators of extraversion, sensitivity, lability were lower in test values ​​than in the second one. Interpreting the connections, we can say that the more the cadets from this group were inclined to expand social contacts, the stronger was their belief that friendship is companionship, but not a specific person (friend), and vice versa. The more impressionable adolescents were, the higher was their pessimism in assessing prospects, as was stronger their belief about friendship as being companionship and vice versa. Finally, the more changeable was their mood, the higher their sentimentality, the more they tended to perceive friendship as help, but not a specific person (friend). Taking into account that these scales were lower in this group than in the second one, it can be concluded that understanding friendship as an image of a specific person rather than as partnership, serves as semantic definition for the interpersonal relations in this group. In the second group of cadets, higher indicators of active self-realisation, manifestations of stubbornness, and self-will were due to understanding friendship as a state of happiness.

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Conclusion

The research results have partially confirmed the research hypothesis. It was found that the conditions of adolescents’ socialisation in the cadet corps, on the one hand, increased intensity of active self-realisation, manifestations of stubbornness, and self-will of adolescents, demonstrated in interpersonal relationships. On the other hand, the spontaneity of statements and actions characterising this age, adolescents’ increased criticism of other people’s opinions, their subjectivity and desire to defend their views and principles, were levelled by the educational system, as well as by the elements of organisational culture formed in the educational institution (norms of behaviour, values, traditions, etc.). The revealed specificity of cadets’ interpersonal relations in comparison with school students was also manifested in the notions of friendship as comradely relations built on mutual assistance. Another result of this study, which illustrates the peculiarity of interpersonal relations formation in conditions of cadet corps, is that there are no isolated adolescents in the educational groups of cadets. The specificity of interpersonal relations in different semi-closed groups of cadets was defined by intensity of sensitivity and aggressiveness indicators. Cadets from the study group motivated to become military men were less prone to reflection and pessimism in assessing their prospects than cadets from the group motivated to get a good education. It was shown that the first group’s lower sensitivity scores were associated with understanding friendship as presence of a specific friend. At the same time, higher indicators of aggressiveness (i.e., active self-realisation, defending one's interests, etc.) in the second group of cadets (with the motivation for getting an education) were due to the idea of ​​friendship as a state of happiness. In the perspective of studying patterns of formation and development of semi-closed study groups, attention should be paid to analysing the socio-psychological climate, the role of a significant Other (group leader), their characteristics, and leadership style as factors of interpersonal relations of adolescents in semi-closed study groups. An important research direction, in our opinion, is the one focussing on semi-closed educational groups and aiming at identifying signs of a collective subject in them (Gaydar, 2013; Zhuravlev, 2009 etc.).

Acknowledgments

The study has been executed as part of state assignment No. 0138-2021-0010 «Socio-psychological factors of individual and group behaviour and global changes».

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