Spiritual and moral education of students in the system of modern Russian higher education: main problems and prospects

Introduction. The relevance of the scientific study of the problems of spiritual and moral education of students in the system of modern Russian higher education is due to the fact that the degree of effectiveness of the educational activity in question depends on the assimilation and acceptance by students of relevant values and guidelines of a spiritual and moral nature, which form the basis of the Russian worldview, the foundation of national and civil identity, and the unified socio-cultural space of the country. The importance of spiritual and moral education is also determined by the fact that university graduates in the near future will form the elite of Russian society, whose representatives will have to make decisions affecting various areas of the country's life, implement socio-economic and cultural policies, the degree of effectiveness of which depends on the well-being of Russian citizens.

Purpose. The research is aimed at identifying the main problems of functioning and determining the prospects for the development of the system of spiritual and moral education in modern Russian higher education, as well as at studying effective means and methods of activity aimed at the assimilation and acceptance of spiritual and moral values by students, forming the basis of their worldview and identity. Achieving this goal will make it possible to determine the optimal methods of educational activities within the framework of teaching social and humanitarian disciplines, providing for the formation of civic and patriotic values in the minds of students.

Methods. The paper uses methods of comparative, statistical analysis, secondary analysis of materials from applied sociological research, as well as scientific works by Russian scientists devoted to the problems of spiritual and moral education of representatives of various groups of youth in modern Russian society. Both theoretical and practical research tools were used as the methodological basis of the study.

Results. The spiritual and moral education of students currently acts as an essential component of the educational process in higher education, and the university training system as a whole is designed to play a fundamental role in the formation of stable moral guidelines for students. The authors note that the introduction of the new course "Fundamentals of Russian Statehood" into the curricula is part of the state educational policy aimed at strengthening the social and humanitarian training of students, revitalizing the value component of the educational process in higher education, based on traditional Russian values of a spiritual and moral nature.

Conclusions. The need to strengthen the educational impact on students is currently due to the fact that in the post-Soviet system of higher education, despite individual educational programs and activities, there was a significant gap in the field of spiritual and moral education of young people, and educational activities in general were characterized by a certain haphazardness, lack of clear goals and objectives of educational impact on students. The main goal realized in the process of teaching the "Fundamentals of Russian Statehood" is to consolidate in the minds of students a system of values related to awareness of belonging to the Russian civilization, patriotic and civic attitudes, and the spiritual and moral foundation of a personality that perceives its own vital activity in the context of social development and combines its goals with social progress, sustainable and progressive the development of the country as a whole.

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