Development of the world view and values of technical university students in the context of spiritual and moral education

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Development of the world view and values of technical university students in the context of spiritual and moral education

Mykhailo Palahniuk, Kateryna Fomin

Abstract

The article highlights the importance of the social and humanitarian disciplines, related to the spiritual and moral aspects of a young person's life to face the challenge of preserving the individual's integrity and spiritual growth in modern conditions of stressful, emotional, and psychological overload. It is impossible to implement it in practice without introducing new and improving existing paradigms of spiritual and moral upbringing in educational institutions, which is carried out precisely in the process of teaching social and humanitarian disciplines. The problem of spiritual and moral education of the individual has always been one of the relevant ones, and in the current conditions of the coronavirus pandemic, russia's military aggression and Ukraine's struggle for peace, and the European values of democracy, it acquires special importance. After all, in the process of radical socio-political, economic, and cultural reforms of society, the challenge of increasing the role of future specialists training concerning the demands of modern social development and humanization of the educational process generally requires scientists and teachers' significant attention. The article outlines the main ideals and educational guidelines of Ukrainian society, as they embody the real revival and further development of the Ukrainian nation. The authors emphasize the fact that instability and inconsistency of the moral atmosphere in Ukrainian society resulted in the spiritual and moral education of the young generation becoming particularly acute. This process encourages the revival of tradition and the search for innovative means of spiritual and moral education for Ukrainian youth. The key conditions regarding the importance of spiritual and moral education of future specialists are given.

Keywords; spiritual and moral education, spiritual values, outlook, religion, morality, spirituality, culture, education.

Анотація

Палагнюк Михайло, Фомін Катерина.

Формування світоглядно-ціннісних орієнтацій студентів технічних закладів вищої освіти в контексті духовно-морального виховання

У статті розглянуто значення дисциплін суспільно-гуманітарного циклу, які пов'язані з духовно- моральними аспектами життєдіяльності молодої людини задля вирішення питання збереження цілісності особистості та її духовного зростання у сучасних умовах стресового, емоційного, психологічного перевантаження. Це неможливо реалізувати на практиці без запровадження в закладах освіти нових та удосконалення існуючих парадигм духовно-морального виховання, що здійснюється саме у процесі викладання навчальних дисциплін суспільно-гуманітарного циклу, в т.ч. в університеті технічного спрямування. Проблема духовно-морального виховання особистості завжди була однією з актуальних та в сучасних умовах пандемії коронавірусу, військової агресії Росії та боротьби України за мир і європейські цінності демократії, вона набуває особливого значення. Адже у час радикальних реформ соціально-політичного, економічного, культурного життя суспільства значної уваги вчених-педагогів потребує питання підвищення ролі підготовки майбутнього фахівця у зв'язку з потребами сучасного суспільного розвитку та гуманізації освітнього процесу в цілому. У статті окреслено основні ідеали та виховні орієнтири українського суспільства, оскільки в цьому полягає реальне відродження і подальший розвиток української нації. Автори акцентують на тому, що нестабільність і суперечливість моральної атмосфери в українському суспільстві зумовили особливу гостроту проблеми духовно-морального виховання молодого покоління. Це спонукає до відродження традиційних і пошуку інноваційних засобів духовно-морального виховання молоді.

Ключові слова: духовно-моральне виховання, духовні цінності, світогляд, релігія, моральність, духовність, культура, освіта.

Introduction

The Concept of Spiritual Development in Ukraine emphasizes the importance and priority of the spiritual basics of social life since it is the spiritual dimension that will become a priority when selecting a model for the development of Ukrainian society, which requires the development of clear spiritual principles. The humanistic approach researchers noted that the crisis of modern society is connected with the crisis of traditional moral and spiritual values. Nowadays, the issue of implementing a spiritual and moral component in the educational process of higher education institutions has become particularly acute, which requires special pedagogical training and activities aimed at attracting students to the spiritual treasury, developing value orientations , student spiritual and moral qualities, and their creative potential.

Scientists emphasize that only the replacement of spontaneous self-directed learning with an organized and controlled system of educational classes can increase and make spiritual and moral needs habitual. In addition, the global coronavirus pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war, which began in February 2022, significantly changed the world community's perception of values, their reorientation in the aspect of humanism and spirituality took place (Budnyk & Mazur, 2017; Rusko, 2016).

The main task of the university teaching staff is to teach a young person to sympathize, empathize, and become better, to form an intelligent and highly spiritual personality (Dubasenyuk, 2014; Rembierz, 2018). Therefore, it is important to reorient the task of professional education to the development of student spirituality and the study of the category "spirituality" in the system of pedagogical sciences. In addition, to draw pedagogues-researchers' attention to the definition of the content, methods, means, and technologies of finding effective ways of spiritual development of the modern student personality in new socio-cultural conditions (Levingston, 2018; Budnyk et al., 2022).

Analysis and discussion

The main reason for the modern world crisis is that the disproportion (gap) between the technical capabilities of humanity and our spiritual and ethical development is progressing. Today, the positivist belief in the messianic role of science and the achievement of a highly humane society is completely lost. More and more people are discussing the anthropological crisis of modern civilization, the crisis of ideas, and the deformation of the worldview of both a person and society in general. Symptoms: disappointment, loss of the meaning of life, the increase of various morphological diseases alongside advanced medicine, anxiety and depression, emptiness and lack of spirituality, apathy and boredom, chronic stress and alcoholism, the increase of drug addiction, lack of feelings of happiness and peace, a sense of the futility of life's efforts, the decline of family values, fading of love and joy, feelings of loneliness and hopelessness.

As the scientific, technical, and production potential of humanity grow s, humankind's ability to influence environmental conditions and the fundamental basics of our existence increases, the importance of the moral direction of our specific actions increases and the basic values of our growing power become more and more important. Thus, if many centuries ago in human culture religious-confessional, cognitive, aesthetic, utilitarian-practical values, etc., dominated, now the time of ethical values becoming defining for human beings and mankind because the very survival of earthly civilization depends on them. Solving modern problems of society without relying on the moral component of human existence is impossible, because the intellect, which is half-empty, and not imbued with morality (moral values), is capable of destroying not only the surrounding world but also itself. Attention should be paid to the significant influence of the modern information space, which largely depends on the state of spirituality in society and the life of each individual.

Nowadays, when humanity has created so many material goods that, there is no urgent need for hard work; people have many opportunities that are more creative. At the same time, numerous "temptations of the world" divert a person's attention from self-improvement, and direct the individual to consumption instead of service, dedication, and creativity (Ayibo, 2020, p. 19).

According to scientist Pomytkin (2006), one of the features of the modern period of society is the increase in the amount of information and the involvement of a person in the information space from the first days of life. On one hand, a person receives enormous opportunities to access world events, and on the other hand, we risk turning into observers and consumers of information. Before now, spiritual leaders and messengers traveled the planet for years to bring the light of spiritual truths to followers, now any news can be spread instantly to all corners of the world through the Internet and mass media. At the same time, spiritual experience is acquired directly, and a significant amount of information surrounding a person turns out to be unnecessary, and sometimes harmful. A highly spiritual personality is characterized by the ability to select perception, find spiritual truths, and separate vital information from unnecessary information. Spirituality unites humanity in higher aspirations to realize the ideals of truth, goodness, and beauty. Under these conditions, it is easier for a modern person to compare different philosophical views and distinguish what is useful and what is acceptable. Spirituality unites humanity in higher aspirations to realize the ideals of truth, goodness, and beauty. Under these conditions, it is easier for a modern person to compare different philosophical views and distinguish what is useful and acceptable.

The essence of spirituality and moral education

To determine the essential characteristics of spirituality and morality in the concept of spiritual and moral education, the works of modern theologians are often used. Today, however, scientists urge against "taking the idea of theology as the philosophical rationalization of faith too unilaterally in adapting theological knowledge to contemporary mentality. The point is that, despite their methodological and epistemological differences, philosophy and theology must remain complementary" in terms of personal development (Ayibo, 2020).

In Christian-philosophical noology, Vasianovych and Onyshchenko (2012) consider personality as a category that characterizes the person's soul-spiritual essence - the image and likeness of God. After all, noology is defined as a Christian-philosophical teaching about the spirit and spiritual essence of a person, spiritual knowledge, and its meaning. Vasianovych and Budnyk (2019) note: "Noology considers the soul-spiritual essence of a person as his/her higher God-human nature. The very noosphere of a human being, his/her spiritual center connects us with God the Creator. Spiritual dominance determines the intellectual, moral aesthetic, and in general - a person's cultural development, that is, the development that actively forms the God-human personality. This means that the personality, as a noological entity, as the soul-spiritual principle of a person cannot be only a biological, social, or psychological factor, it is the source of a person's purposeful striving for God-human perfection, for soul-spiritual transformation; this transformation, this selfactualization, and self-realization of the individual begins at an early age, finds stable forms in the educational process and, for most people, lasts a lifetime. moral stress overload

In the dictionary of ethics "Encyclopedia of Morality", spirituality is defined as "a specifically human quality ...characterizing the motivation and meaning of an individual's behavior ... Spirituality is the possession of value consciousness, characteristic of all its forms - moral, political, religious, aesthetic, artistic, but especially significant in the sphere of moral relations. Spirituality is characterized by "... selflessness, freedom, emotionality separated from physiologically determined experiences..." (Sidanich, 2013, p. 87).

We consider "spirituality" as a category of humanistic pedagogy. Mind is only one part of a person, and the other is an individual's character, morality, desire, love, and passions. Therefore, it is very important not to ignore the second part of the human spirit in educational institution activities (Sidanich, 2013, p. 233).

We define spirituality as the ability to interpret the external world into the individual's internal world on an ethical basis, resulting in the realization of a person's identity depending on the constantly changing situation.

Knowledge becomes spiritual when it becomes a conscious means of understanding the meaning of the external and internal world of a person, a means of mastering higher values - truth, goodness, and beauty (Levingston, 2018).

Spirituality means entering the person's inside and allowing experiencing the full spectrum of feelings, not to the "ideal self", but to the "real self". This path passes through the mind and culture (Sidanich, 2015, p. 74).

The concept of "future specialist spirituality" is considered the individual's integrative professionally significant quality, characterized by an orientation to the cultural spiritual values in personal self-development and interpersonal interaction. The main criteria for the formation of this cultural competence are the representation of spiritual and cultural values in the individual's axiological potential, empathy, goal setting in the sphere of spiritual life, and student inclusion in spiritual and practical activities (Lugovyi et al, 2011, p. 6).

The Polish philosopher and educator M. Rembierz in his scientific articles repeatedly emphasizes the issues of research into the nature of values based on pedagogy, ethics, and public opinion, supporting the concepts of personalism and the nurturing of spiritual and mor al national education. Personalism, inspired by Christianity, the scientist notes, is becoming important in Polish pedagogical thought (Rembierz, 2018). Emphasizing morality and spirituality in education, it is important to consider the "possibility of the emergence of collectivist ideas and aspirations in pedagogy as destructive ideas and aspirations. At the same time, however, there is also a warning against inadvisable individualism without an individual, which is identical (also in destructive effects) to collectivism without an individual" (Rembierz, 2018).

The task of formation of the intelligentsia, assistance in the enrichment and renewal of the nation's intellectual gene pool, and education of the spiritual elite must be performed by higher educational institutions at the same level as the training of highly qualified specialists in the conditions of an integrated approach and involvement of all university professors and teaching staff, administration, student self-government and public student youth associations in this process.

It is also worth noting that youth, as a subject of the historical process, plays the role of a progressive transformer of society. Therefore, the problem of organizing the educational process in higher education based on spirituality is the most relevant in modern paradigms of education. Considering student age as the period of the most intensive personality formation, development of professional thinking, and self-assertion, the question of including spiritual and moral education in the system of the university educational process is extremely relevant (Pomytkin, 2006, p. 11).

From a scientific point of view, a person as a bearer of spirituality should embody the following features of behavior and activity: belief in a higher power, in the greatness of the human soul, and in everything that a person has created during his/her life; faith in God as the creator of heaven and earth, in the immortality of the human soul, combined with a person's morality and his/her prompts to constant self-improvement, the expressed need for justice and fairness; the ability to admit mistakes sincerely, to experience a sense of guilt for unworthy actions, which is manifested in readiness to repent; a sense of self-respect and respect for other people, for their human dignity; persistent need and capability to listen and hear others; willingness to help others selflessly, inclination to charity and benevolence; respect for social norms, their strict observance, law-abiding, readiness to show gratitude, forgiveness, and repentance (Lugovyi et al., 2011; Sidanich, 2015).

The main task of the teaching staff of a higher educational institution is to nurture empathy and sympathy in a young person to do good things as well as to develop an intelligent an d highly spiritual personality. Therefore, an extremely defining issue of our time is not only the necessity to draw the attention of professional education to the formation of students' spirituality and the real return of the category "spirituality" to pedagogical science but also the concentration of researchers-practitioners on understanding the content and finding the most effective ways of spiritual development of modern students in real sociocultural conditions (Koshkina, 2018, p. 69).

So, one of the spiritual values of a person is kindness, the ability to do good deed. As noted by M. Rembierz "Good education leads to respect of the inviolable dignity of the person, it is education for reliable, systematic and consistent shaping of independence (education for life-long self-education) and at the same time a challenge to free oneself from the bonds of binding and enslaving dependencies that take on addiction form." (Rembierz, 2022). After all, a person is constantly under the influence of certain factors, including in the educational environment of an educational institution. Sometimes this influence can be "pathological and deeply destructive", as the author notes, "sometimes it is not fully defined, appears mysterious, artificial".

Modern students must be sufficiently emancipated and independent, they are mostly not subject to the traditional influences of society, and however, some "fears" or "complexes" regarding the ability to master the relevant competencies at a high level still exist (Palahniuk, 2020, p. 29). Therefore, there is a necessity for interdisciplinary scientific research (Sociology, Psychology, Pedagogy, and Philosophy) to identify these negative influences and ultimately find effective ways to overcome them.

Development of a spiritually holistic personality using spiritual and moral education

Since the main field of social activity of student youth is studying, spiritual development, achieved by a particular student, is most vividly expressed in their attitude towards gaining knowledge, realizing the value of acquired knowledge, the culture of reading professional literature, and the desire to promote professional growth. The educator will be able to help students climb the ladder of spirituality by basing the teaching of subjects on a set of the following principles: axiological (considering the human being the highest value, orientation to spirituality as one of the defining characteristics of the value of higher education); personally oriented (taking into account the laws of a human being natural and sociocultural development, organization of the educational process in the context of Christian ethics); activity (implementing student's interests and needs in various types of spiritual and practical activities, nurturing young peo ple's independent spiritual search) (Koshkina, 2018, p. 70).

To achieve the goal of student youth spiritual and moral education, every higher educational institution in our country should become an educational, scientific, and cultural center for student youth development. The spiritual growth of university students requires the teaching staff to consider the influence of the above-mentioned factors in the process of searching for the most effective forms and methods of work aimed at the spiritual growth of the individual, an organic combination of education, upbringing, research, and methodical work.

This is evidence that student spiritual and moral education is a priority direction in the educational work of every university. It is aimed at raising the status of spirituality and morality in the entire system of university educational activities and determines its policy, behavior, and attitude towards inner development and the surrounding world.

In the direction of philosophical and pedagogical anthropology, for scientific research aimed at solving the problem of spiritual and moral education of young people, in particular, the formation of their worldviews, it is necessary: (1) "thoroughly analyze the person's essence, existence, his spiritual and inner world"; (2) achieve awareness that "each person has his own, unique inner center and the world"; (3) focus on the fact that "humanity has no future without proper unity, dialogue of cultures, interaction and communication"; (4) education and upbringing should be carried out in conditions of freedom, humanity, and tolerance; (5) take into account "when analyzing the problem of dialogue training, one should take into account the personification of the interlocutor's message in the dialogue process" since without this the educational process can be formal (Fomin, 2018, p. 34).

The content of the process of spiritual and moral education of university students should include educational resources of spiritual and moral assets and the best achievements of spiritual culture; the sociocultural potential of the educational environment of higher education institutions, spiritual self-development and self-improvement of the student's personality (Sidanich, 2013, p. 15).

In the process of mastering the social and humanitarian disciplines, studying and acquiring knowledge about human beings, human - nature-society relationships, students also develop spiritual values, value orientations, and moral attitudes. For example, educators of the Department of Social Disciplines of the Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas (Ukraine) are constantly searching for ways of combining the educational and cognitive process with the educational process by selecting certain literature and other materials about the Ukrainian heritage, the accomplishments of the Ukrainian people in various fields of knowledge, science, technology, sports, etc., about famous historical and cultural figures, especially in the modern conditions of integration into the European educational space, Russian-Ukrainian war, reconsidering of spiritual and moral ideals, etc.

Korean scientists characterize the moral education of young people in the era of technical progress and analyze how "to develop students' moral judgment, moral sensitivity, epistemological beliefs, and metacognition on the relationships between science and society" (Han & Jeong, 2009).

Fig. 1 presents a model of integration of social and humanitarian disciplines in higher education in the context of spiritual and moral education of a young person.

Fig. 1. Model of moral education involved in Science-Technology-Society (STS) education (Han & Jeong, 2009)

The development of youth spirituality in a higher educational institution is realized through a system of tasks and principles:

formation of culture, tolerant attitude to traditions and customs; preserving them and passing them on from generation to generation;

development of virtues and positive moral qualities, encouraging them to self-improvement;

attitude to Christian traditions;

development of significant personality traits and qualities;

enabling comprehension of essential questions about the meaning and purpose of human life and personal attitude towards them;

formation of personality traits of a future specialist.

Therefore, the actual integration of various branches of scientific knowledge (Fig. 1) in the context of higher education through the future specialists' spiritual and moral education is an effective way of solving the outlined problem.

A separate aspect of the formation and development of spiritual and moral values in an educational institution is a humane attitude towards people with disabilities (Vasianovych et al., 2020), tolerance in psychological-pedagogical interaction in conditions of inclusion (Budnyk et al., 2022), considering anthropological approaches in dialogic education in a higher education institution (Fomin, 2018).

Conclusions

Thus, the above-mentioned search makes it possible to state that the development of Ukrainian statehood, the implementation of reforms, and the formation of civil society are impossible without the development of Ukrainian spirituality. During the years of independence, the main task of state administration was the development of the economy; therefore, solving problems that occurred in the spiritual sphere of society took place according to the residual principle. The lack of a clear program for the spiritual revival of Ukrainian society hindered the implementation of any reforms in all spheres of social life, in particular in the field of education. Despite this, the priority area in the spiritual and cultural development of society was and remains education, the main task of which at the current stage of state formation is the development of the spiritual culture of the individual, which ultimately becomes the basis for the formation and establishment of a legal state, which must always take care of the spiritual, physical and social development of a person.

Spiritual and moral development and self-development of the future specialist, including technical profile, is an actual philosophical, cultural, psychological, and pedagogical challenge. Therefore, the necessity to update the content and procedural aspect of professional training awaits further scientific research.

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