Socio-psychological adaptation of law university students

Summary

higher education lawyer adaptation

The adaptation process to higher education is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon. The author analyzes the peculiarities of the process of adaptation of first-year students to higher education, since the adaptation period of students is different, depending on their individual and psychological characteristics, the level of readiness for higher education. We have identified the factors influencing the dynamics and quality of the adaptation process, developed a system of recommendations that will be able to improve the effectiveness of law students' learning activities on the basis of structure, features, conditions and dynamics of the process of psychological adaptation to the conditions of study at the university.

Key words: adaptation, adaptation process, higher education institution, first-year student, forms of adaptation.

Аннотация

Тимощук Наталия Николаевна,

кандидат филологических наук, доцент кафедры украинского и иностранных языков Винницкого национального аграрного университету

СОЦИАЛЬНО-ПСИХОЛОГИЧЕСКАЯ АДАПТАЦИЯ СТУДЕНТОВ ПРАВОВОГО УНИВЕРСИТЕТА

Процесс адаптации к высшему образованию -- сложное, многогранное явление. Автор анализирует особенности процесса адаптации студентов первого курса к высшему образованию, поскольку период адаптации студентов различен, в зависимости от их индивидуально-психологических особенностей, уровня готовности к высшему образованию. Выявлены факторы, влияющие на динамику и качество адаптационного процесса, разработана система рекомендаций, которая позволит повысить эффективность учебной деятельности студентов-юристов на основе структуры, особенностей, условий и динамики процесса психологической адаптация к условиям обучения в вузе.

Ключевые слова: адаптация, адаптационный процесс, вуз, студент первого курса, формы адаптации.

Introduction

Statement of the problem. Nowadays, students' personality adaptation at higher schools is one of the most important problems. Their further level of professional training and activity depends on their socio-psychological adaptation. In the course of adaptation, there are significant changes in personal qualities caused by the tasks of educational activity, which can be both positive (increase self-esteem and motivation to study, acquisition of new knowledge, skills, ability to work, etc.), and negative (decrease of self-esteem, motivation and etc.).

The adaptation process to higher education is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon. It is usually completed by the end of the first year. Nowadays, this problem remains extremely topical. Therefore, the process of entering freshmen in their new way of life and activity, as well as identifying factors, psychological conditions and patterns of increasing students' adaptability is an important task for teachers and psychologists. In our study the features of social- psychological adaptation of law students to study at university are presented.

Scientists all over the world have researched the problem of adaptation at different times. The general psychological provisions on the nature and development of the individual in the process of life have been studied by H.S. Kostiuk, S.D. Maksymenko, V.P. Moskalets, S.L. Rubinshtein, L.E. Orban, and T.M. Tytarenko. At the psychological and social levels approaches to the problem of adaptation are based on the existence of individual-psychological theories of personality (S. Freud, A. Adler, E. Shpranhler, A. Maslou, and B.H. Ananiev); social-psychological (H. Tard, L. Vyhotskyi, E. Fromm, D. Mid, B. Skinner, and R. Linton), as well as theories that combine the ideas of subject and role in the individual (W. James, E. Bern, O. M. Lieontiev, O.V. Petrovskyi, and V.O. Yadov).

The purpose of the study is to identify the factors that influence the dynamics and quality of the adaptation process, to develop a system of recommendations that will be able to improve the effectiveness of law students' learning activities on the basis of structure, features, conditions and dynamics of the process of psychological adaptation to the conditions of study at the university.

Methods of Research. The methods of our study were theoretical analysis of socio-psychological problems of adaptation of law students to study at university and experimental study of the state of adaptation mechanisms of students to study at university by means of questioning during the presession period.

Results and Discussion. The term adaptation can be defined as general scientific term, which originates at the border of the sciences, at points of contact of different branches of knowledge, or even in separate disciplines with their further extrapolation to other fields of natural, technical and social sciences. The great interest of scientists from various fields in the problem of adaptation leads to a comprehensive study of it, which, in turn, gives rise to ambiguity in the definitions and approaches to its study.

Today, there is no consensus among scholars as to the definition of student adaptation to learning because of its dynamic, multi-faceted and cross-curricular nature. The vast majority of researchers describe it in terms of the end result, i.e. adaptability, that is the formed skills, reactions, and tumors. Analysis of the scientific and pedagogical literature shows that the definitions of adaptation to educational activities are quite diverse.

According to the results of the analysis, it can be concluded that the modern scientific and pedagogical literature, despite the diversity of the proposed definitions, considers the analyzed concept from a single point of view. According to O.V. Litovchenko, adaptation is a process of specific adaptive activity caused by changes in social reality and aimed at optimizing the interaction of personality with the surrounding social environment in response to the appearance in it of factors that are absent in the individual experience of the subject [1, p. 7]. We think his definition is definition is the most scientifically sound and complete.

Adaptation is always associated with the transition to new modes, the entry into new social roles, that is, with a certain realignment of personality. Taking into account all the above, student adaptation should be considered as a process caused by the student's inclusion in the new social and educational environment of the Law University, where the structure of the student's activity and stable personal relationships to all components of the pedagogical system changes greatly [2].

A dramatic change in the usual working stereotype (dynamic stereotype) sometimes leads to nervous breakdowns and stress reactions. For this reason, the period of adaptation associated with the change of the former stereotypes may at first cause both relatively low success and difficulties in communication. Some students develop a new stereotype quickly and radically. Of course, these features are related to the characteristics of the type of higher nervous activity, but social factors are crucial here. Knowledge of the individual features of each student, on the basis of which the system of his/her inclusion in new activities and a new circle of communication is built, allows to avoid maladaptation syndrome, to make the process of adaptation psychologically comfortable.

The research has revealed three levels of adaptation of law students: initiative, characterized by a positive attitude of students to all elements of the pedagogical system of the university; situational, based on a positive attitude towards the pedagogical system, although there is a negative attitude towards certain elements of this system; and conflict, which contains a negative attitude towards most elements of the pedagogical system.

Our study also addresses issues related to the speed and intensity of the adaptation process over time, the rate of adaptation, and its periodization. The results show that the main stage of adaptation is the first year of study. However, most students adapt to 1-3 courses. At the same time, there is a small group of students whose adaptation is generally completed only in 4-5 courses. Usually in the first year of study, students adapt to the social culture of university life, the functions of the student body, the future profession; Year 2 - status improvement and transition to specialization; 3-4 courses - professional adaptation, more critical attitude towards lectures, teachers, staff, classmates, sense of group and academic equality with the lecturer.

Research on the problem of adaptation generally boils down to a set of factors that cause relatively rapid, complete and sustainable adaptability. Adaptation factors mean the set of conditions and circumstances that determine the pace, level, stability and outcome of adaptation.

Our study also concerns issues related to the speed and intensity of the adaptation process over time, the rate of adaptation, and its periodization. The results show that the main stage of adaptation is the first year of study. However, most students adapt at the first-third year. However, there is a small group of students whose adaptation is generally completed only at the forth-fifth year. At the first year of study students usually adapt to the social culture of university life, the functions of the student body, the future profession; the second year is a status improvement and transition to specialization; the third-fourth year is a professional adaptation, more critical attitude towards lectures, teachers, staff, classmates, sense of group and academic equality with the lecturer.

Research on the problem of adaptation generally boils down to a set of factors that cause relatively rapid, complete and sustainable adaptability. Adaptation factors mean the set of conditions and circumstances that determine the pace, level, stability and outcome of adaptation.

This study identified a set of factors influencing adaptation process: social (social origin); psychological (activity, independence, responsibility, level of selfcontrol); psychological and pedagogical (nature of orientation, level of professional activity of the teacher, value orientation, disciplinary characteristics of personality); pedagogical (logical connections between disciplines, the content of the educational process, taking into account its professional orientation, the student's awareness of the peculiarities of educational activities and university requirements).

Educational results (success, satisfaction with training, self-organization), indicators of formation of professional orientation (attitude to the chosen profession, professional attitudes, professional and motivational qualities: legal personality, professional concept, professional motives), and research activities (participation in scientific competitions and research groups) were considered as adaptation criteria.

As a result, four groups of adaptation difficulties were identified. The first group is related to the features of mental self-regulation of behavior and activity. It is caused by the lack of preparedness of freshmen, the weakness of their volitional processes, the inability to organize themselves, their behavior, the mode of work and rest. The second group of difficulties depends on the organization of mental work. Freshmen are keenly experiencing a change in the usual style of mental activity that has developed over the years of schooling. They do not know how to summarize the lectures correctly, find the sources and the necessary sites, engage in the reading room. A large number of seminars and practical classes, the approach of the session cause students' anxiety. The third group of difficulties arises in connection with leaving the school staff. Freshmen experience the loss of former friends, friendships, mutual assistance and other common values. The fourth group of difficulties is caused by the psychological unpreparedness of the freshmen to master the legal profession.

The set of difficulties at the initial stages of university study creates a didactic barrier for many students. It occurs when the student is aware of the fact of changing methods and organization of learning, faces the need to work harder, and feels mental fatigue. Considerable attention should be paid to overcoming the difficulties of pedagogical and psychological nature, the development of students' interests, needs and values, which are associated with the development of the legal profession. The success of student learning depends on the process of professional-pedagogical and socio-psychological adaptation, on how much and how the student has the knowledge, skills needed in the student environment, what values he / she will orient himself / herself at the initial period of study [3].

According to the survey, 53% of students have interests, needs and values associated with their profession, the willingness to form professionally important qualities of a lawyer, interest in the legal profession. A large number of students (35%) have an uncertain attitude about their future profession. These are usually students who accidentally go to university. When working with such students during the adaptation period, a positive attitude towards the profession should be formed. Students who have a negative attitude to the profession (12%), as a rule, study without desire, do not show any initiative. Therefore, working with them we should destroy the stereotypical negative attitude towards the future profession and create the necessary conditions for the formation of a new stereotype.

The purpose of professional legal education is to form a system of relations of the student's personality to professional activity, where the basic should be a friendly attitude towards other people and professional activity. The main components of professional orientation are social-motivational and vocational- motivational qualities [4]. Planning the activity any student should mentally compare the actions with the rules of law governing these actions. This circumstance shapes the desire to strictly adhere not only to legal norms, but also moral and ethical norms, as well as to have a high level of justice.

The study of the professional orientation of law students has shown that individuals whose motivational sphere is determined by achievement motivation achieve far greater results in their learning activities than those who have the avoiding failure as leading motives. The problem of formation of professional motivation appears as a problem of psychological units formation that determine the development of a student's personality in terms of its preparation for professional activity. Thus, for most students, the main motivation for choosing a profession is its social importance and interest (76% of respondents).

The study of the professional-motivational qualities of the individual (level of consciousness, professional concept, professional motives) showed that, depending on the course of study, these parameters showed significant differences. For example, the formation of a professional concept as an element of professional orientation, as a set of acquired professional views, beliefs and motives, expressing an understanding of the goals and objectives of legal activity, is observed only in the part of the fourth-fifth Wschodnioeuropejskie Czasopismo Naukowe year students. However, graduates sometimes have problems in choosing a professional concept.

The success of student learning depends on many factors. The intellectual development of the student, his / her attention as a function of regulation of cognitive activity are the most important ones. We have asked first-year students what unusual have you faced in the first year. We have received the following answers: “another educational organization” (49.3%); “a large amount of independent work” (49.0%); “independent living far from family” (20.2%); “the new norms for the student life” (12.4%). All these factors have a significant impact on the process of adapting a student to new living conditions.

Studies show that first-year students do not always have poor preparation in high school but they do not have skills such as a willingness to learn, the ability to learn on their own, to control and evaluate themselves, to possess individual cognitive features, to distribute free and working hours for self-training. As a result, there is a thought about the false ease of studying at the university, the confidence is formed to catch up and master before the session, there is a carefree attitude to study.

Many freshmen experience great difficulties with lack of self-study skills, they are unable to work with textbooks, find and acquire knowledge from primary sources, analyze large volumes of information, and clearly present their thoughts. Adaptation of students to the educational process ends at the end of the second - beginning of the third semester. One of the main reasons that hampers the university's adaptation process is the lack of time for self-studying (50% of respondents said that was the reason). In this regard, almost 25% of students come to classes unprepared.

The working day of the student is quite tight; it exceeds 8-9 hours. Most students spend 2 to 3 hours each day doing their homework; and only 22% of students spend less than 1 hour. Speaking of nonprofessional subjects, we observe a different distribution of learning time: 50.1% of students spent up to 1 hour; 22.5% of students spent up to 2 hours. The system of study at the university is designed for a high level of consciousness, built on the interest of students, because formally it lacks a rigid system of daily school check, "fear" of the teacher, the need to prepare a lesson every day. Some students, after entering the institute, then find themselves not ready to study in it. The system of university control allows for possible irregularity in work, often focused on storming during the exam session. To the question “How do you prefer to prepare for the exams?” 9% of students answered that they were preparing during the semester, and during the sessional examination they only review the material, 47.6% of the respondents, as a rule, re-study the material by textbook and 42% are prepared by synopsis only.

The development of a student at the university has some special features. Thus, the first year solves the problem of involving the student in student forms of collective life. The behavior of freshmen differs in comfort, because there is no differentiated approach to their roles. The second year is the period of the most intense educational activity of students. All forms of education and upbringing are intensively included in their lives. Students receive general training, formed by their broad cultural demands and needs. Normally, the process of adaptation to the learning environment is largely complete. The third year is the beginning of specialization, strengthening of interest in scientific work, development and deepening of professional interests. The urgent need for specialization often leads to a narrowing of the scope of diverse personal interests. Forms of personality formation are determined by a factor of specialization. The fourth year is the first real acquaintance with a specialty during the period of training. The behavior of students is characterized by an intensive search for more rational ways and forms of special training, and students are reevaluated by many values of life and culture. Students are gradually moving away from the collective life forms.

We used the method of the Scale of Functional Mental State Assessment proposed [5] to study the dynamics of adaptive changes in students' educational activity. This method is widely used for individual research and diagnosis of mental states and performance in the process of educational and labor activity. The study involved 156 students of the Faculty of Management and Law (specialty Law), i.e. 49 students of the first year; 44 students of the third year; 63 undergraduate students of Vinnytsia National Agrarian University.

The analysis of the obtained results showed different expressiveness degree of the individual parameters of the states. However, there is a coincidence of the general configuration of the obtained profiles in the third-year students with the standard profiles, characteristic for the optimal and real states in the educational classes. We observe an increase in indicators of motivation (mood) and evaluation experiences (evaluation of success) in undergraduate students.

The average profile of freshmen differs from the above profiles of senior students both in terms of basic indicators and the structure of their overall configuration. Therefore, we conducted an individual analysis of freshman profiles, which revealed in 25% of students the presence of two negative conditions: 1) close to depression and 2) close to stress, high tension and the possibility of inadequate response. In 25% of the first year student's profiles were found corresponding to the standards of the states of reduced mental activity.

Thus, conditions that have a negative impact on the effectiveness of their learning activities, caused by various reasons have been found at half of the first-year students. At the same time, senior students had only a single case of depression or stress, indicating their higher adaptability and possibly formed social maturity, also included in the adaptation process. However, profiles of the states of reduced activity were found in the same groups (30% of cases in the third year students and 47% in undergraduates). The analysis of the parameters that make up the structure of students' mental states showed statistically significant differences between the groups of studied freshmen and upperclassmen by most indicators (table 1).

Table 1 shows that the highest scores on the studied parameters of stimulating and evaluative experiences were observed in third-year students and graduate groups, they were significantly higher than in first-year students (p <0.05).

Such pronounced differences between the indicators of the functional mental state of the first and third year students are related, in our opinion, to an increase in the overall adaptability of the students to the third year, habituation to the mode and methods of teaching in higher education, resulting in many students improving and successful experiences.

Table 1 Indicators of functional mental state of students

In addition, students develop compensatory and protective mechanisms and undergo correction of suboptimal types of self-regulation of mental states with repeated exposure to stressful factors. By this time, the problems of professional self-determination at the moment of life are also being solved: the student chooses to continue his / her education at this educational institution. Therefore, the emotional tension in the educational activities of third-year students, compared with the freshmen, is somewhat reduced, which is confirmed by statistical data.

Third-year students experience a decrease in the severity of depressive and subdepressive stress states, the level of neuroticism, reactive aggressiveness and irritability in the majority of respondents. We believe that the manifestation of positive emotional-sensory states at this stage of learning is associated with the formation of up to this time in a higher education institution of the antipyretic component, that is, the entry of the process of adaptation to the stage of preemptive reflection of stress.

It should be noted that our group of undergraduates has high marks. Besides, the research was held at the end of study. It is obvious, some of the undergraduate students of VNAU work in the specialty or are directed to postgraduate studies, so they have good mood and confidence in the future.

As you know, the experience of success-failure in the activity affects its quality and desire to carry it out in the future. The students with a general high level of negative emotional experiences had a low (below normative) level of motivation to succeed in learning. It is a signal of distress and the presence of a negative emotional background, i.e. expectations of failure, as evidenced by our data. So, undergraduate students' expectation of success is significantly lower than in other groups (p <0.05), but practical experience and persistent professional self-actualization do not diminish their confidence in themselves.

The mental states do not affect the concerted effect of mental processes (perception, attention, thinking, memory), positive adaptation changes and increased impact of positive stimulating experiences lead to an increase in the overall success of undergraduate students, which supports expectations success in learning. Creating new learning goals that meet the learning requirements is at the heart of the transition of educational motivation from the level of "know" to the level of the real acting, and the achievement of certain results leads to a restructuring of the attitude to the future profession. Therefore, the level of motivation of educational activity of undergraduate students is significantly higher than of the first year students (p <0.01).

Conclusions

1. Adaptation of students to educational and social activities at the university is a complex, dynamic and varied psychological process of internal and external restructuring of ordinary forms and methods of activity, development of the necessary complex of skills, abilities and habits for the implementation of new activities. The process of psychological restructuring of the motivational sphere, ideas about the forms and methods of activity, skills and habits of their implementation, as well as the formation of new psychological components of activity create the main content of student adaptation.

2. Adaptation of a law student at the university is a complex phenomenon that has different directions: adaptation to the new cultural environment, collective, activities (educational, professional, creative, public, etc.). The result of students' adaptation is to develop the qualities they need for their activities that allow them to perform optimally. Adaptation is a manageable process.

3. The main psychological factors that determine the sustainability of the intrinsic motivation of learning activities are the social expectations of law students; attitude towards yourself as a subject of educational activity; attitude to the profession and prospects for professional activity.

4. The main psychological and pedagogical conditions for optimizing the process of adaptation to university study are deep and comprehensive understanding of faculty and curators, management of faculties of the essence, content, dynamics and peculiarities of students' adaptation to university;organization of the educational process, taking into account the regularities of students' adaptation to different types of activities and their living conditions at university; ability of all categories of educators to diagnose and predict the process of student adaptation, psychologically and pedagogically justified to influence it for the purpose of optimization; purposeful organization of work with law students to constantly expand and deepen their ideas about new forms and methods of activity; development of the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities, and accumulation of relevant experience; continuous development in all educational activities and in the process of extracurricular social and professional creative activity of its motivational basis; development of intellectual- cognitive and emotional-volitional sphere of personality, professionalization of mental cognitive processes. It should be noted that all the above aspects of student psychological and pedagogical support require further elaboration.

References

1. Lytovchenko, O.V. (2004). Orhanizatsiino- pedahohichni umovy sotsialnoi adaptatsii uchniv 5-9 klasiv u pozashkilnykh navchalnykh zakladakh. Extended abstract of candidate's thesis. Kyiv [in Ukrainian].

2. Tereschenko, A.G., Bubnova, I.S. (2013). Sotsializatsiya i sotsialnaya adaptatsiya lichnosti. Irkutsk [in Russian].

3. Lisovskiy, A.V. (1980) Sotsialno- psihologicheskoe issledovanie obraza zhizni studenchestva. Leningrad [in Russian].

4. Sokolov, N.Ya. (1994) Pravosoznanie yuristov: ponyatie, suschnost i soderzhanie. Rossiyskaya yustitsiya. -- Russian jurisprudence. issue 11. 18-25. [in Russian]

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