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FORMATION OF SPIRITUAL VALUES OF STUDENTS BY MEANS OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

This publication reveals the essence of spiritual values, provides various classifications of them, defines the author’s point of view on this issue, analyzes the possibilities of using digital technologies to form spiritual values of student youth, and gives examples of educational activities.
Keywords: spiritual values, student youth, education, means, digital technologies.

Tkachov S. I.
Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor,
Kharkiv State Academy of Physical Culture, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Tkachova N. O.
Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor,
H. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, Kharkiv, Ukraine

10.34142//2708-4809.SIUTY.2022.141

In the situation of complex challenges facing the Ukrainian people today, the role of spiritual values, which embody the highest spiritual aspirations, leading goals and ideals of humanity, is growing significantly. These values are expressed in the form of normative ideas about the purpose of man, about good and evil, just and unjust, beautiful and ugly, lawful and unlawful.

The result of internalization of these values by an individual is the system of his/her personal spiritual values, which are individual value priorities, ideals and beliefs that guide the activities and behavior of an individual and act as a worldview guide when making decisions in complex and controversial situations and generally give meaning to his/her life in society as a social being.

The purpose of the article is to reveal the essence of spiritual values based on the analysis of scientific research, to present the author’s approach to their classification and to analyze the possibilities of using digital technologies to form the spiritual values of student youth.

Based on the analysis of scientific literature, it was found that scholars offer different classifications of spiritual values. Thus, M. Boryshevsky distinguishes the following values in their structure: worldview, intellectual, moral, civil, aesthetic, environmental and valeological [2, p. 23-25]. To a certain extent, sharing the point of view of this author, E. Pomytkin classifies spiritual values into: civic (humanistic), aesthetic, environmental, values of self-knowledge, self-improvement and self-realization of a person [6, p. 142].

M. Blikhar distinguishes the following groups of values: personal spiritual values (honesty, mercy, kindness, morality, etc.); group spiritual values (solidarity, cooperation, mutual respect, mutual support, etc.); socially significant spiritual values (peace, tolerance, respect for traditions, national position, etc.); universal spiritual values (justice, humanity, humanism, freedom, etc.) [1, p. 99-100].

According to O. Vyshnevsky, there are five groups of spiritual values: absolute, civic, national, family, and personal values [3, p. 209-211]. Of considerable interest is also the point of view of A. Grzegorczyk, who combines these values into the following groups: values of one’s own structure (cognition, understanding, inner harmony, etc.); values of connection with other people (mutual respect, justice, benevolence, etc.); values of connection with the totality of being (numinous – acceptance of fate, faith in the meaning of the world, obedience, hope) [4, p. 265].

According to O. Kuznetsov, spiritual values are divided into the following two groups: terminal values (kindness, beauty, humanism, conscience, etc.) and instrumental values (politeness, honesty, decency, conscience, etc.) [5, p. 97].

Taking into account the points of view of various scholars, it was concluded that the classification of spiritual values includes the following fundamental, basic, universal values (life, goodness, happiness, etc.); national values (national idea, native language, national symbols, etc.); civic values (democratic rights and responsibilities, tolerance of dissenters, religious tolerance, etc.); family values (love, respect, loyalty, etc.); personal values (creative activity, life optimism, comprehensive excellence, education, etc.). Note that each of these groups of values is analyzed in more detail in the author’s work [7].

For the successful functioning and further development of Ukrainian society, it is important to ensure the formation of spiritual values in each of its members. However, the task of forming these values in higher education graduates as future representatives of the intellectual, political and creative elite of our country is especially important, because it is spiritual values that determine the general direction of human activity as a specialist and a unique personality.

It is well known that it is impossible to “instill” certain spiritual values in the minds of young people from the outside; they are the result of active internal activity. However, a teacher can provide effective support to students in the process of mastering social spiritual values. To do this, it is necessary to search for and implement in practice innovative technologies, methods and forms of work with future professionals.

It should be noted that one of the megatrends in the development of higher education today is digitalization. Moreover, scientists emphasize the significant pedagogical potential of digital technologies, which makes it expedient to use them actively in the process of not only teaching but also educating students.

According to the founders of the so-called “generation theory”, U. Strauss and N. Howe, people born in 2003-2023 are the digital generation (XZ), whose representatives are well versed in modern digital technologies, value independence, honesty, and openness, but have a clip thinking formed on the basis of processing unsystematized information from various electronic sources.
Obviously, this theory raises many criticisms from scholars, but at the same time, it has certain rational germs that encourage readers to actively think for themselves.It should be noted that the Covid-19 pandemic that began in 2019 and the most terrible event, the outbreak of war on February 24, 2022, which changed the lives of every Ukrainian and brought much grief to every family, have turned digital technologies into the main means of shaping the spiritual values of students.We present some effective methods and forms of education in higher education based on the use of various digital technologies. Thus, in this regard, the use of social media has significant potential.

In particular, according to a sociological survey conducted in Ukraine, the most popular social networks among young people during the war were the following: Telegram, YouTube, Viber, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It should be noted that these networks are conveniently used to transmit the necessary information to members of groups created on their basis, to organize people to take certain actions (for example, holding patriotic flash mobs and charity auctions to raise money for the needs of the Armed Forces, creating volunteer groups to help wounded soldiers in hospitals, packing and distributing humanitarian aid to those in need, organizing online leisure activities for children living in the liberated territories). In the process of organizing educational work with students, programs that provide video telephony services for conferences, such as Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, Proficonf, etc., are also useful.

According to the analysis of the experience of conducting educational work, these services allow organizing various educational activities to form the spiritual values of future professionals, such as curatorial hours (“Vyshyvanka is the genetic code of the nation”, “I am a Ukrainian, and I am proud of it”), online holidays (on the occasion of the Independence Day of Ukraine and Flag Day, the Day of the Ukrainian Cossacks and the Day of Defenders of Ukraine), online lectures (“The heroic past of the Ukrainian people in the works of Taras Shevchenko”), webinars (“Day of Ukrainian Writing and Language”) web quests (“What I know about spiritual values”), contests (“Letter to the Defender of the Motherland”, for the best essay “Spirituality in my life”), student scientific and practical online conferences (“Preserving the health of young people – preserving the nation”), development of telecommunication projects on relevant topics (“To you – our memory! “), collective performance of the spiritual hymn “Prayer for Ukraine” in the online format, visits to virtual museums and exhibitions, online excursions and virtual travels around Ukraine, etc.

Thus, the use of digital technologies can significantly expand the range of methods and forms of educational activities in higher education and significantly increase its effectiveness. Therefore, an urgent need of our time is the active implementation of these technologies in the process of forming the spiritual values of students.

List of references

1.Blikhar M. P. Spiritual values of student youth in modern Ukrainian society: Candidate of Social Sciences:22.00.04. Lviv, 2018. 271 с.
2. Spiritual values as a determinant of civic education of the individual. Values of education and upbringing : scientific and methodological collection / edited by O. V. Sukhomlynska. Kyiv: APN of Ukraine, 1997. С. 21-25.
3. Vyshnevskyi O. I. Theoretical foundations of modern Ukrainian pedagogy: a manual. Drohobych: Kolo, 2003. 528 с.
4. Grzegorczyk A. Introduction to rationalist philosophy / translated from Polish. O. Hirnyi, B. Dombrowski. Warsaw; Lviv: Scholar; Wydawnictwo naukowe, 1997. 263 с.
5. Kuznetsov O. I. Psychodiagnostics of terminal and instrumental spiritual values of a personality. Bulletin of the H. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University. Psychology. 2018. Issue 58. С. 92-104.
6. Pomytkin E.O. Psychology of spiritual development of personality: monograph. Kyiv: Nash Chas, 2007. 280 с.
7. Tkachova N. Axiological approach to the organization of the pedagogical process in a general educational institution: monograph: Caravel, 2006. 300 с.