The Use Of Digital Technologies For Social Adaptation Of Indigenous Students

Abstract

The article considers the problem of adaptation of students from the indigenous peoples of the North and Far East of the Russian Federation to the conditions of higher education institutions in the context of their modern ethnocultural self-identification. The rapid development of the Internet has served as an impetus for the development of social networks, as a result of which a new virtual multicultural environment has emerged. To be present in this new environment, all languages ​​and cultures must be represented in it. Since 2021, two projects have been implemented aimed at the preservation and development of languages ​​and culture. The first project “Digitalization of the linguistic and cultural heritage of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic" was initiated by the International UNESCO Chair of M. K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University and received the status of the project of the Arctic Council. The second is being implemented by the Siberian Federal University within the framework of the state assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation to carry out work on the topic “Implementation of measures aimed at providing additional social support to persons belonging to the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation, studying in Russian educational institutions of higher education on programs that provide for the study of the languages ​​and cultures of these peoples" through the new digital educational platform "Snoword" for indigenous peoples.

Keywords: digitalization, social adaptation of indigenous peoples, ethnocultural identity

Introduction

The organization of special events for the successful social adaptation of students who are receiving higher education for the first time is one of the most important tasks of the educational organization of higher education (HEO) in the preparation of a highly qualified specialist and a competitive person. It is much easier for a student who has adapted to the conditions of higher education to focus on the learning outcomes, since he was able to adapt, comfortably integrate into the new educational and extra-curricular environment. Based on the results of successful social adaptation, the student develops the skills and abilities of the rational organization of mental activity, the optimal mode of work, leisure and life is developed, and professionally significant personality traits are developed and educated. As V.F. Petrov states: “Successful social adaptation of students to the educational process is not an end in itself, but an objective necessity in the context of modernization of higher professional education” (Petrov, 2012). However, there are certain difficulties associated with the fact that educational organizations accumulate in their environment not only representatives of different types of individuals with different intellectual levels and resource states, but also representatives of different cultures and ethnic groups, which brings its own specifics to the process of social adaptation of students in the new multiethnic and a multicultural environment.

Problem Statement

The problem of social adaptation of students from among the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North and the Far East of the Russian Federation requires separate consideration, which, despite active discussion and measures taken, is still quite acute.

Research Questions

The indigenous small peoples of the Arctic are the creators and keepers of a unique human culture and constitute an important part of the modern world civilization. For many centuries, the inhabitants of the North and the Arctic have mastered the Arctic landscapes, adapted to extreme natural and climatic conditions in the permafrost, developed their distinctive culture and lived in harmony with nature, without disturbing and preserving the ecology of the vulnerable northern nature. It is the exclusiveness of the spiritual traditions and intellectual resources of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic, who have managed to find special mechanisms of co-evolution with nature, that represent a unique experience that is of interest to other civilizations and peoples. Circumpolar countries possess the energy of socio-cultural stability in the form of a variety of cultural heritage related to the ancient history of the life of the peoples living around the North Pole. The peoples of the Arctic were the first to settle the tundra and reclaim the harsh lands covered with permafrost. They have created unique cultures of reindeer herders, fishermen, hunters, hunters, farmers and the northernmost herders, adapted to extreme climatic conditions. At the same time, the deepening processes of globalization, anthropo- and technogenic impact on the environment, active industrial development have a destructive effect on the original habitat and traditional way of life of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic. All this leads to the fact that the peoples of this group are on the verge of complete assimilation and extinction. The number of speakers of these languages ​​and cultures is getting smaller every day, and with them the language and original culture are leaving.

In this regard, it is necessary to pay serious attention to these processes and intensify activities for the preservation and development of languages ​​and traditional culture. At the same time, there is also a downside to this issue - the adaptation of indigenous youth to the conditions of life of modern society. This is a complex phenomenon, included in the processes of social dynamics and, in the context of the integration of various spheres of public life into the global space, containing many contradictions. This is “the desire for the benefits of globalization and for the preservation of isolation; the desire for informatization and difficulties in communication due to language and technological barriers; modernization and conservatism; industrialization and ecological agrarianism; urbanization and rural, nomadic lifestyle; authenticity and striving to preserve ethnic identity; territorial expansion and proximity to traditional habitats; the activity of technogenic civilization and the passivity of ecological culture; multiculturalism and identity; mass culture and creative individuality, etc. " (Nikolaev, 2009). In the sequel, we can add that following the unification, the processes of cultural heterogenization appear (Shpak, 2020; Shpak, Zamaraeva & Koptseva, 2021), which are reflected in the politics of states and are also associated with the understanding of the “value of cultural diversity as a specific“ resource ”that allows multiethnic nations take the place of leaders in the global economic and cultural space, the importance of national cultures as a condition for the prosperous existence of peoples in the form of a chain of successive generations ”(Uss, Iozemtsev & Vaganov, 2018).

Purpose of the Study

The aim of the study is to substantiate the possibilities of the digitalization process of higher education in Russia, which can be considered as a factor in improving the quality of life, including, subject to the support of the development of intercultural communication and the adoption of a system of measures aimed at strengthening ethnocultural identity as the basis for strengthening subjectivity, contributing to the positive integration of Russian societies.

Research Methods

This study applies a critical analysis of scientific literature on the topic of research, data over the past 10 years in scientific journals, indexed Russian scientific databases.

Findings

In the Russian society itself, there is a need for awareness of its own unique potential and the historically established positive experience of intercultural communication, understanding of “the important role played by the indigenous peoples of the North in the social and economic life of the country, having adapted to the harsh conditions of the Arctic and the Far North, they constitute a special unique part of the ethno-cultural diversity of world civilization as a whole, contribute to the economy of families and regions in the field of reindeer husbandry and other types of traditional economic activities, enrich the cultural sphere with distinctive spiritual values ​​”(Zhozhikov, 2017).

Today, some researchers addressing the study of the problems of small peoples, record the destruction of clear cultural orientations in society, the loss of ethnic and ethnocultural identity, which leads, among other things, “to a decrease in the threshold of perception of external communication, to apathy, withdrawal into a narrow socio-cultural niche (self-restraint), rejection and hostility to the modern education system” (Stefanenko, 2018). Despite the fact that traditional nature management is an invaluable historical experience of ecological culture, and with its disappearance the social structures that form traditional society disintegrate (Grinberg & Savchenko, 2021), today there is a shortage of specialists from among small peoples who are able to support traditional activities in a market economy. (Alekseev, 2014). Nevertheless, according to E.I.Bogdanov, a young representative of one of the most numerous of the indigenous small-numbered peoples, ethnic identity can be preserved while living in a modern city, although it will differ from the identity of those who roam, since for them “Characterized by deep knowledge of the landscape of residence (and orientation in it), flora and fauna, weather and climatic phenomena, the ability to act in accordance with changing natural and climatic factors, good knowledge of the Nenets language”. He also notes: “The Nenets turned out to be a people who chose their own cultural potential during the crisis ... Residents of villages and cities have wider access to institutional education ... young people learn foreign languages, have a better command of modern means of communication, are especially active in social networks" (Pushkareva & Bogdanov, 2020).

At the same time, in Yakutia (Sakha), thanks to the developed educational policy, with the existing small disproportion in the direction of humanitarian specialties, university graduates ensure the replenishment of the personnel deficit in the republic (Shishigina, 2021). At the same time, the activeness of its inhabitants, monitoring of the current situation, understanding of problems and prospects remains an important element of the further development of the region. At the present stage of development of the information society, we are witnessing the processes of unprecedented information transfer in terms of volume and speed. The rapid development of the Internet has served as an impetus for the development of social networks, as a result of which a new virtual multicultural environment has emerged, in which there are no boundaries, distances and time constraints and in which one can communicate in almost all languages ​​of the world. To be present in this new environment, all languages ​​and cultures must be represented in it, otherwise they will be doomed to extinction. The new digital multicultural environment on the Internet provides tremendous opportunities for users in terms of ensuring freedom of expression, education, preservation and development of languages, culture and spirituality. Everyone, even a very small nation, had the opportunity not only to present and preserve their language and culture on the global Internet and with the help of other available tools, but also the opportunity for their further development. This can be achieved through the organic use of modern information technologies, aimed not at destroying the culture of the peoples of the Arctic, but, on the contrary, at their preservation, development and improvement of traditional life” (Zhozhikov, 2017). The authors of the article "Education is an urgent priority for the sustainable development of the indigenous population of the Russian Arctic" also note that "it is necessary to develop and use digital technologies for distance learning, which facilitates the education of indigenous peoples" (Podoprosvetova, 2021).

Indeed, in the social sciences, trends in the development of modern society are associated with the processes of informatization and digitalization. As a result of a theoretical analysis of the prospects for future changes, researchers, in addition to risks and threats, pay attention to the potential of digitalization and the emerging global culture (Balyk, 2020). So, for example, Yu.A. Chernavin, listing in his article the gloomy forecasts of the future of the "digital man", adds that it is impossible to exclude the possibility that such a "man, relying on the infinity of digital communications, advanced robotics, cloud technologies and big data technologies, the possibilities of artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, can make a leap in one's own creativity, freedom, and the assertion of dignity". (Chernavin, 2021). Without entering into a discussion regarding the options for the future, let us dwell on the consideration of the conditions for the implementation of a positive scenario as a priority, in which digitalization processes are presented as a tool for improving the quality of life, and one of the directions for strengthening the subject and subjectivity (such qualities of an individual as: integrity, purposefulness, development and freedom (Petrovsky, 1996), from our point of view, the development of ethnocultural identity should also act as a factor of successful adaptation to new conditions. We agree with the American cultural anthropologist Edward T. Hall: “No matter how hard a person tries, he cannot free himself from own culture, because it penetrates into the depths of consciousness and determines the perception of the world ... people cannot act and interact in any other way, except on the basis of culture ", moreover," knowledge about foreign cultures can be effectively used only if time of assimilation of knowledge, a person is aware of the peculiarities of his own cult cheers ”(Bezuglova, 2014). At the same time, by ethnocultural identity we mean the result of an individual's construction of ideas about the world around him and his place in it, understanding his own ethnicity to a certain ethnocultural group and understanding the spiritual foundations of not only the native culture, but also the cultures of other ethnic groups interacting and coexisting with him in a particular interethnic space. From which it follows that ethnocultural identity is important for intercultural communication, since the awareness and maintenance of connection with one's own culture, with its best examples, allows a person to more easily understand and accept others, socialize, establishing a connection between cultural differences, maintaining internal stability, adaptive uniqueness of his own view to the world. The spiritual basis of an ethnos is formed historically, is determined by a set of specific objective and subjective conditions, is associated with language, religion, territory of residence, culture, thinking (Koptseva et al., 2012), it must be maintained in conditions of social instability brought about by globalization, informatization, and massification. , etc.

O.S. Stefanenko draws attention to important aspects, without which, in our opinion, any other support for representatives of small peoples and their traditional way of life may be ineffective: ensuring the recognition of the value of intercultural interaction in society by teachers, government officials, parents and the general public ; development of means of psychological and pedagogical diagnostics of the effectiveness of the formation of ethnocultural identity; training of interculturally competent teachers (Stefanenko, 2018). At the group level of interaction, this approach corresponds to the integration strategy, which, as a rule, is chosen by ethnocultural communities, since it is built on the basis of compatibility, while preserving the original cultural individualities. In psychological terms, this means a real and complete acceptance of a different way of life, a different “picture of the world” and the development of positive consequences of such “otherness” (Kozlov et al., 2013).

R.V. Nadtoka, in her research, draws attention to the fact that overcoming social problems in the framework of interethnic interaction together with the holding of public events, festivals of peoples and individual cultures, requires serious efforts in the field of openness of information, increasing the relevant skills and competencies of civil servants, the formation of a positive migration and ethno-confessional agenda (Nadtoka, 2021). In turn, within the framework of supporting the social adaptation of representatives of small peoples during their studies at OEE, an important role can be played by the use of a specially designed virtual platform with digital resources, which, on the one hand, contribute to the preparation and adaptation to new learning conditions, inclusion in the student community, living on new territory, and on the other hand, the strengthening of ethnocultural self-identification.

Conclusion

One of the first steps in this direction is an innovative project, implemented on the basis of the Siberian Federal University, to create a digital educational platform "Snoword" for indigenous peoples who study free of charge in programs that provide for the study of the languages ​​and cultures of these peoples. The digital platform contains online courses for distance learning for pre-university training for schoolchildren, as well as for students and graduates of universities in additional professional education programs. The project is being implemented within the framework of the state assignment of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation to carry out work on the topic “Implementation of measures aimed at providing additional social support to persons belonging to the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation, studying in Russian educational institutions of higher education according to programs providing for the study of the languages ​​and cultures of these peoples ”. The organizer of the educational process is the Institute of the North and the Arctic (IS&A) of the Siberian Federal University. Pre-university training will be carried out on the basis of the International Northern School of IS&A of the Siberian Federal University, and training under the DPO programs will be carried out on the basis of the International Business School "Arctic".

Also, one of the most important areas of activity for the preservation and development of languages ​​and culture was the project initiated by the UNESCO Chair of M.K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University "Digitalization of the linguistic and cultural heritage of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic" and received the status of an Arctic Council project (Zhozhikov & Timofeeva-Tereshkina, 2019).

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation S.V. Lavrov at the XII ministerial session of the Arctic Council, Reykjavik, on May 20, 2021, in his report noted the following: “... Russia advocates that our common efforts be directed primarily to improving the welfare and quality of life of people in the Arctic, to increase the availability of educational services and health care, expand humanitarian, including youth exchanges, support initiatives aimed at preserving the identity and heritage of the indigenous peoples of the North, in line with the goals and objectives of the UN International Decade of Indigenous Languages ​​from 2022 to 2032.

In this regard, I will single out a specific project that was proposed by Russia and approved by all members of the Arctic Council. I am referring to the project for the digitalization of the linguistic and cultural heritage of indigenous peoples. From next year, such a platform should work on the Internet. …».

More than 20 representatives of educational institutions of scientific and educational institutions and public organizations from Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Komi Republic, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, Krasnoyarsk, Khabarovsk, Ulan-Ude, Blagoveshchensk, Yakutsk, Neryungri, as well as representatives of executive authorities and local self-government.

The conference was devoted to the discussion of the problems of preserving and developing the linguistic and cultural heritage of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic on digital media and in cyberspace. The discussion was based on the project “Digitalization of the linguistic and cultural heritage of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic”, which received the status of an Arctic Council project.

After discussing the state of affairs and the backlog of the performers, a protocol of intentions on the organization of a consortium of universities was signed to start specific work in this area.

Acknowledgments [if any]

State task “Implementation of measures aimed at providing additional social support to persons belonging to the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation, studying in Russian educational institutions of higher education under programs that provide for the study of the languages and cultures of these peoples».

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