Scientific journal
European Journal of Natural History
ISSN 2073-4972
ИФ РИНЦ = 0,301

PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT IN STUDENTS’ SOCIAL-ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION SYSTEM

Shilova V.S.

The problem of students´ social-environmental education (SSEE) investigation carried out by us allowed establishing that its efficiency depends not only on the organization´s principles observance, but also on this process´ management principles accounting. The following principles can be referred to them: the one of SSEE connection with rational nature management in everyday life and activity; management and self-management conformity; variability; alternativeness and complementarity of educational perception of social-environmental relationships; social-environmental liability formation.

Let us reveal the features of each requirement. So, the principle of SSEE connection with rational nature management in everyday life and activity is conditioned, first of all, by a common scientific principle of general connection, second, by the principle of consciousness and activity unity generally recognized in native psychology and pedagogy (S.L. Rubinstein, A.N. Leontyev and others). In the considered context this principle means, on the one hand, social-environmental knowledge, abilities and skills formed in specially created conditions, on the other hand - the society and nature cooperation knowledge acquired in their direct interaction, in particular: in labour activity, the subject of which natural environment and resources appear; artistic activity, where nature appears as an object of learning and reflecting its properties and connections by specific means; other activities somehow involved in social-environmental relationships. Together with that, in both cases, students should be persuaded of the necessity of prudent management of natural potential, its protection, recovery and restoration; the necessity of getting true knowledge about the interaction of society and nature, its present-day state and development trends, obligation of ecologically rational behavior and activity. Considering this principle in terms of building an integral pedagogical process in conditions of a HEI, it should be noted that the formation of a cognitive component of readiness of students for the rational nature management must be coupled with the formation of motivation-requirement and operation-activity components, continue in real practical activities on saving and relishing the environment of people. Thereat, a special emphasis is made on the possibilities of the chosen vocation in solving social-environmental tasks, the potential of collective relationships able to negotiate the contradictions arising in the system "nature - society"; the possibility of everyone to contribute to the environmental friendliness idea propagation in all fields of production and non-production activities. The educating value of involving students in social-environmental practical activity consists in its socio-natural orientation, intellectual content, socially meaningful relations being formed in the process of its actualization; organizational and moral nature. This principle requires not only participating of students in social-environmental activity at the local level, but also studying the features of nature and society interaction at the regional and global levels, the acquaintance with achievements in the area of settlement of contradictions and conflicts accumulated by the world human experience.

The principle of management and self-management conformity in the process of students´ social-environmental education proceeds from the following two main positions: pedagogical system management and personality self-management within the structure of this process. The core of the HEI educational process management consists, in the eyes of scientists, in a regular action on its content, structure and efficiency preconditions for the purpose of theoretical and practical up-dated training of specialists; in creation of optimal external and internal conditions for the future specialist´ personality successful formation, rational use of educational opportunities of all forms of educational work. Giving it in other words, the pedagogical process management in a HEI supposes the performance of the main pedagogical functions: analysis, definition of objectives and planning, organization, control, regulation and correction for the purpose of this process improvement or its changing into a new more qualitative state. The self-management of a personality consists in managing its state, activity and way of living. The essential components of self-management are as follows: self-study, self-esteem, self-organization, self-control and self-regulation. Proceeding from these two positions, the essence of the considered principle is defined. It supposes such a requirement, when the external side - management - creates external conditions for the students´ social-environmental education process successful functioning: methodological, financial-material, personnel, etc. The internal side - self-management - promotes the digestion by students of the social-environmental experience, the main components of which are developed in curricula and syllabi, training aids and other sources; the involvement in vigorous activity concerning rational nature management; the advocacy of social-environmental knowledge among great masses of population. The most important condition in this cooperative process is the agreement of objectives, content, managerial and self-managerial activity, selected combination of methods, means and forms of cooperation, forged external relations with all the subjects of the natural management process.

The principle of students´ social-environmental education variability (varians - lat. varying) supposes the existence of many possible variants of students´ education in the environmental area. In this case the variability is referred to all the integral pedagogical process elements: objectives, content, methods, means and forms of organization, control. As applied to objectives the variability concerns their concrete manifestations, specific tasks solved in the defined already conditions: educational institution, group, etc. However, the changing operative goals and problems should, nevertheless, proceed form the central objective of general ecological education - the formation of environmental liability of everyone irrespective of its peculiarities. The students´ social-environmental education variability is found in modification of educational normative documents existing today (curricula and syllabi, training aids, etc.), in development of new educational conceptions reflecting the system "nature - society" and taking into account "... the intellectual climate of the epoch, the dominating axiological-ideological orientations, the richness of spiritual requirements of the society" (N.M. Mamedov).

The procedural side components´ variability is traced in the variety of methods, means and forms of social-environmental education of our youth, in their different combinations aimed at the optimization of the teacher and students´ cooperation process connected with the social-environmental interaction experience digestion, in the use of cognitive, educational and self-educational activities´ various kinds and methods, the involvement of students in the process of close cooperation with natural environment for the purpose of its studying, protection, recovery and restoration. On the other hand, the existence of various approaches to the students´ social-environmental education problems solution allows every its participant, teachers and students in the first place, to exercise as well the right to choose the variant of preparation for the establishment of harmonic relations with natural environment in conditions of a HEI; to choose such a variant, which, besides educational and vocational tasks, could promote the revelation of abilities of a separate personality, its development, realization of creative potential. The principle of variability concerns also such an element of the pedagogical process, which management appears. In this context the principle requires to choose the management variant corresponding to the conditions: its principles, content, character, style, management cycles. The principle allows humanizing the educational process; that, in its turn, reflects on the results of not only education in the area of environment, but also the training of specialists possessing ecological culture and able to manage their conduct and activities in the natural habitat, to create necessary foundations for a further development of the present and future generations.

The principle of alternativeness and complementarity of educational perception of social-environmental relationships is closely connected with the previous one. Let us remind you that an alternative (alternative - lat. one of two) means a necessity of choice between mutually exclusive possibilities. The obligation of this principle in the students´ social-environmental education is defined by the necessity of modern science variable development, what is mentioned by many scientists (A.D. Ursul, N.M. Mamedov and others). In conditions of the educational process in a HEI this principle requires studying social-ecological relationships from positions of various sciences, natural as well as humanitarian; searching a general methodological foundation combining various conceptions of nature and society cooperation; revealing complimentary resources of specifying the peculiarities of this cooperation and reflecting them within the framework of scientific knowledge. Together with that, the principle allows drawing the information represented by not only the science, but also other forms of social mind: philosophy, politics, right, art, ethics, religion. In short, the considered principle supposes the necessity of including social-natural objects, phenomena, processes, various social mind spheres, every one of which reflects one aspect of social-environmental relationships in the process of cognition, what doesn´t enable inferring cause-and-effect relationships by virtue of complexity and non-single-nature of real processes. The establishment of objective causes of any phenomena is possible in terms of various sciences integration, using the "nature - society" system studying methods and means developed by different sciences.

One of the most important principles of the students´ social-environmental education process management appears the principle of social-environmental liability formation. The liability is understood by psychologists as the performed-in-various-forms control over the subject´s activities in the context of performing the rules and guidelines accepted by him. This principle was formulated by Russian scientists I.D. Zverev, I.T. Suravegina, N.M. Mamedov in terms of general environmental education of school children. By the environmental liability the degree of freedom of a human in conditions of environmental necessity as the oneness of consciousness, emotion and will, as the worldview basing on concrete knowledge is meant. The considered principle requires a conscious observation of moral principles and standards of cooperation with the environment in accordance with the perspective of sustained development of the society, harmonious social-environmental relationships by the students in the process of learning the chosen trade, and also in their further professional activities. Mastering the profession will allow students to learn its possibilities to negotiate social-environmental contradictions, to acquire methods of environmental damage liquidation, to restore nature´s productive, cultural and health-improving potential, to reveal new opportunities for its being learned and included in the process of vital activity. The principle supposes that the development of environmental liability in conditions of a HEI is performed in both study and extracurricular time, in various activities: academic, cognitive, labour, research, social, artistic, etc. The most important direction of ecologically advisable activities, wherein the sense of responsibility and obligation grows strong, appears the one connected with the unmediated enhancement of the nearest environment, with one´s and other people´s healthy lifestyle. In the context of the considered principle the opinion of psychologists emphasizing that liability for making a decision and its success (especially in a collective) is largely defined by the development level of this collective - a student group, for example - its solidarity, common value system, emotional identification with regard to the natural environment, in particular, should be entertained.

Summing the above said up, let us point out that the observance of management principles together with the ones of students´ social-environmental education process organization will promote a more successful solution of various educational and professional problems, harmonization of social-environmental relationships.

References:

  1. Mamedov N.M. Culture, Ecology, Education - M., 1996.
  2. Shilova V.S. Students´ social-environmental education. Monograph - Belgorod, 2006.

The work was submitted to international scientific conference «Basic and applied research», Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), February 19 - March 3, 2009. Came to the editorial office on 20.12.2008.