Determining specific features of vocational students’ socio-psychological portrait: Moral educational aspect

Introduction. The problem of reducing the role of moral education is becoming especially relevant for secondary vocational education. The purpose of this study is to identify the specific features of students’ socio-psychological portrait for organizing an effective and efficient educational process in vocational educational institutions. The identified features are supposed to be used in the course of preparing future teachers for implementing moral education within the framework of vocational educational settings. Materials and Methods. The study followed systemic, axiological, contextual, nuclear and learner-centered approaches. The authors also relied on S.L. Rubinshtein’s structural approach to personality studies, as well as on the conception of preparing future teachers for moral educational activities (A.N. Tkacheva et al). A survey based on the questionnaire developed by the author was conducted in the Ural Federal District (the Russian Federation). It was aimed at identifying the features of vocational students’ socio-psychological portrait. The research sample consisted of second, third and fourth-year vocational students (n = 387). Results. This article analyzes the views of Russian and international researchers on the following aspects: age characteristics of vocational students (psychological characteristics of adolescence); the main difficulties faced by students in the learning process; socio-psychological portrait of vocational students. The article also presents the results of a survey of vocational students in the Ural Federal District, aimed at identifying the features of their socio-psychological portrait. Within the framework of the theoretical analysis, the following specific features of the socio-psychological portrait of vocational students have been revealed: 1) during the adolescence, a large number of personal contradictions often lead to conflicts and intolerant behavior of students, which complicates the process of their training and moral education; 2) most of the students are brought up in low-income single-parent families, they are mainly focused on obtaining a working profession, and vocational training is of paramount importance for them. During the empirical study, it was found that: 1) nearly half of those surveyed (56.33%) made an independent choice of their future profession, while the majority of the students (55.81%) had a clear intention to get a working profession; 2) more than half (55.30%) of vocational students faced educational and life difficulties during their school years, and the vast majority (72.90%) had difficulty in certain subjects, which indicates gaps in their basic training; 3) among the difficulties accompanying the learning process, the respondents mentioned time management (42.89%), low income (49.61%) and learning difficulties (39.79%); 4) among special values, the vocational students mentioned cooperation (79.84%), goodwill (66.15%), honesty (59.43%) and justice (59.17%). The identified qualities can determine successful and efficient moral educational process at vocational educational institutions. Conclusions. The results of the theoretical analysis and empirical research, namely the identified age, psychological, cultural and other characteristics of students and economic and social conditions of their living, must be taken into account in order to organize an effective and efficient educational process in vocational educational institutions. Some points of the survey results coincide with the conclusions made in previous research investigations: the orientation of students towards professional activities, the independent choice of a working profession by the majority of vocational students, and the secondary importance of moral educational activities.