Tolerance in the student environment of the University (based on the materials of a sociological study in Barnaul)

Akhmedova Angelina Rustamovna Assistant, Department of General Sociology and Conflictology, Altai State University 656049, Russia, Altai Krai, Barnaul, Dimitrova str., 66, office 520 axmedovaangelina@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Vakker Polina Andreevna Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Conflictology, Altai State University 656011, Russia, Altai Krai, Barnaul, Dimitrova str., 66, office 520 vpa@mc.asu.ru Other publications by this author     Zheldakova Arina Vladimirovna Student, Department of Sociology and Conflictology, Altai State University 656049, Russia, Altai region, Barnaul, Dimitrova str., 66, room 520 arina.zheldakova@gmail.com Other publications by this author     Medvedeva Margarita Vyacheslavovna Student, Department of Sociology and Conflictology, Altai State University 656049, Russia, Altai region, Barnaul, Dimitrova str., 66, office 520 margaritochkamed@gmail.com Other publications by this author     Gomonov Denis Ivanovich Student, Department of Sociology and Conflictology, Altai State University 656011, Russia, Altai Krai, Barnaul, Chervonnaya str., 5, sq. B123m1 nfs398@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Gerakina Valeriya Olegovna Student, Department of Sociology and Conflictology, Altai State University 656049, Russia, Altai Territory, Barnaul, Solnechnaya Polyana str., 27, sq. 2 vgerakina@mail.ru

Relevance

Today, one of the significant social problems is that the student youth is not well aware of issues of tolerance, which leads to social tension, Tolerance is considered as tolerance for other kinds of views, mores, habits. The younger generation is one of the most important age social groups, since, gradually joining the activities of social processes, this group takes an active part in their regulation, as well as integrates accumulated knowledge and skills into the formation of new social categories. The further development of the state and society as a whole depends on this age group.

The relevance of studying the problem of tolerance among university students lies in the fact that by now there has been a panoramic vision of the problem of tolerance. It should be noted that it is the youth who is the main subject of tolerance. Since it is during this period of human socialization that the norms of the worldview with which he will lead his future life in society are laid down for him through social institutions.

In this regard, it is worth finding out the subjective attitude of students to tolerance as a social phenomenon, consider the factors of tolerance formation among students, identify the ideas of students about tolerance, determine students' awareness of the term "tolerance". This article presents an analysis of the ideas of Barnaul students about tolerance.

Scientific elaboration of the problem

The theoretical basis of the presented research was the works of such scientists as: G. Allport, G.A. Asmolova, G.U. Soldatova, V.A. Tishkov, S.D. Bakulina, V.A. Lectorsky, etc.

First of all, let's consider the term "tolerance". The etymology of the term "tolerance" goes back to the Latin verb tolero – "to carry", "to hold", "to endure". This verb was used in cases where it was necessary to "carry", "hold" some kind of thing in your hands. At the same time, it was implied that in order to hold or carry this thing, a person must make certain efforts, suffer and endure. However, the term "tolerance" is widely used in its English interpretation – tolerance – where, along with tolerance, it also means "to allow". A comparative comparison of both meanings shows that this term expresses the idea of a measure, a limit to which another person or phenomenon can be tolerated, even if they are incomprehensible, cause confusion, rejection or resistance ^[1].

In the Philosophical Encyclopedia, it is defined as "tolerance of a different kind of views." This is "a sign of self-confidence and consciousness of the reliability of one's own positions, a sign of an ideological trend open to all, which is not afraid of comparison with another point of view and does not avoid spiritual competition" ^[2].

If we turn to the dictionary of S.I. Ozhegov, we will find three words that are close in meaning: "patience", "endure" and "tolerance". Patience is defined on the one hand as the ability to endure, on the other – as perseverance, perseverance and endurance. Tolerance is used in the meaning of tolerance towards someone, something, other people's opinions, beliefs, and behavior in general.

According to academician V.A. Tishkov, tolerance is a personal or social characteristic that implies the realization that the world and the social environment are multidimensional, which means that views on this world are different and cannot and should not be reduced to uniformity or in someone's favor. Tolerance education is the first, initial and extremely important level in the formation of a student and teacher ^[3].

The essence of tolerance is most fully set out in the "Declaration of Principles of Tolerance", adopted in 1995 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The concept of tolerance is given in Article 1 of the Declaration and sounds like this:

1) Tolerance means respect, acceptance and understanding of the rich diversity of cultures of our world, our forms of self-expression and ways of expressing human individuality. Tolerance is harmony in diversity. This is not only a moral duty, but also a political and legal need.

2) Tolerance is not a concession, condescension or indulgence. Under no circumstances can tolerance serve as a justification for encroaching on these basic values. Tolerance should be shown by individuals, groups and States.

3) Tolerance is an obligation to promote human rights, pluralism (including cultural pluralism), democracy and the rule of law.

4) The manifestation of tolerance, which is consonant with respect for human rights, does not mean tolerance of social injustice, abandonment of one's own or concession to other people's beliefs. This means that everyone is free to adhere to their beliefs and recognizes the same right for others. This means recognizing that people are inherently different in appearance, position, speech, behavior and values and have the right to live in peace and preserve their individuality. It also means that one person's views cannot be imposed on others ^[4].

Since there are quite a lot of approaches to the definition of the term "tolerance", there is also no single typology.

A.S. Petrukhina believes that the typology of tolerance includes three positions. In her opinion, personal tolerance is based on value-semantic factors, the leading of which are respect for a person, the right to responsibility for one's own life and recognition of it for each individual. Social tolerance is based on the interaction of an individual with society and is realized in the social responsibility of an individual for members of a social group from the point of view of morality, ethics and law. The ethnic type of tolerance is based on the attitude towards others based on their ethnicity ^[5].

The manifestation of tolerance is determined by the socio-cultural situation, in this regard, in modern scientific literature it is customary to distinguish several types of tolerance. S.K. Bondyreva and D.V. Kolesov distinguish its following types:

1. Natural tolerance manifests itself in the absence of grounds for a negative reaction and with a positive assessment of the subject. A special case of natural tolerance is the tolerance of identity, when a person does not see any special differences between himself and another.

2. Problematic tolerance manifests itself in a situation where there are grounds for a negative reaction, but the subject of the relationship restrains himself for various reasons.

3. There is also forced tolerance (includes tolerance of submission), tolerance of benefits associated with constructive tolerance, tolerance of intent, tolerance of upbringing, as one of the ways of personal self-affirmation. According to S.B. Gershkovich, these types of tolerance are interrelated and can manifest themselves in a complex ^[6].

Other authors divide tolerance into types depending on the sphere of manifestation of human relations:

1) Interfaith (religious) tolerance – recognition by a believer of another religion as an alternative, equal form of achieving salvation, respect for religious values and norms of an alien denomination.

2) Gender tolerance – recognition of gender equality, unbiased attitude towards representatives of the other sex, lack of ideas about the superiority of one sex over the other.

3) Sexually oriented tolerance - recognition and open–mindedness towards people of non-traditional sexual orientation.

4) Physiological tolerance is a tolerant attitude towards the sick, the disabled, people with physical or mental disabilities.

5) Political tolerance – recognition of equal rights and opportunities by figures of various parties and political movements, respect for a political opponent, despite differences in views (political correctness).

Despite the variety of typologies, the Russian philosopher V.A. Lektorsky believes that tolerance can be expressed in only four forms:

1. Tolerance as indifference implies a clear separation of truth from opinion. According to this understanding, the truth, the basic moral norms, the basic rules of political community can be indisputably and convincingly established and justified for everyone on rational grounds. In these matters, it makes no sense to talk about tolerance, since the evidence and rational justification are convincing for everyone. However, people also have opinions (religious views, metaphysical statements, special ethical beliefs, etc.). Not all of them can ever be rationally proven, therefore they are the sphere of tolerance. Tolerance in this case is justified by the fact that the differences in these views are indifferent to the basic values of civilization and do not interfere with normal living and these differences will gradually fade when solving specific practical problems. Tolerance in this case is considered as indifference to the existence of different views and practices, since the latter are considered unimportant in the face of the main problems that society is dealing with ^[7].

2. Tolerance as the impossibility of mutual understanding – proceeds from the fact that the premise of the first understanding cannot be accepted since religious, metaphysical views, specific values of a particular culture are not something secondary to human activity and society as a whole. There is no privileged system of views and values. The only exception should be made to the idea that all people, regardless of race, gender and nationality, have an equal right to physical existence and cultural development. Tolerance in this case acts as respect for another, whom it is impossible to understand and with whom it is impossible to interact.

3. Tolerance as condescension – this kind of tolerance is based on the fact of the history of culture and science: interaction and mutual criticism between different cultures. As a result of the competition of systems, the selection of those norms, values, and intellectual traditions that correspond to the constantly changing situation takes place. It can also be noted that for an individual, his value system is always unequal in relation to others. This kind of tolerance acts as condescension to the weakness of others, combined with a certain amount of contempt for them.

4. Tolerance as an extension of one's own experience and critical dialogue. According to this understanding, there is not only a competition between different cultures and value systems, different philosophical views, during which they try to show their advantages and leave the stage if they cannot do so. In fact, each culture, value and cognitive system not only enters into a struggle with another system, but in one way or another tries to take into account the experience of another system, thereby expanding the horizon of its own experience. The clash and mutual criticism of cultures is extremely fruitful. Tolerance in this case acts as respect for someone else's position in combination with an attitude towards mutual change of positions as a result of a critical dialogue ^[7].

Thus, the concept of tolerance, although identified by most sources with the concept of tolerance, has a more vivid active orientation. Tolerance is a concept that denotes respect, acceptance and proper understanding of the rich diversity of cultures of our world, various forms of self–expression and ways of expressing human individuality, the desire and ability to establish and maintain community with people who differ in some way from the prevailing type or do not adhere to generally accepted opinions. It should also be noted that the authors have not yet been able to come to a unified typology of tolerance. In addition, it can be concluded that of the four presented forms of tolerance, only the last one reflects modern ideas about this phenomenon, since it emphasizes the active attitude of the individual to tolerance.

The analysis of the research shows that the formation of students' tolerance is influenced by a number of objective and subjective factors: the peculiarities of the surrounding reality, individual psychological and age characteristics of the personality, the nature of interpersonal relationships, etc.

One of the factors in the formation of tolerance is the acquisition of socially significant norms and rules of behavior by a person. There is a certain value system all over the world, which is fixed in most countries at the legislative level. It includes such norms as tolerance for the shortcomings and mistakes of other people, the value of consent and non-violent conflict resolution, adherence to the norms of law, compassion, empathy, empathy, and the value of human life.

Another factor in the formation of a tolerant personality is considered to be a person's desire for self-awareness, the expansion of his horizons, the formation of a worldview position. These qualities strengthen a person's ideas about himself, make them more positive and adequate ^[8].

The educational environment can also be a factor in the formation of tolerance. The educational environment is understood as a system of influences and conditions for the formation of a personality according to a given pattern, as well as opportunities for its development contained in a social and spatial-subject environment.

The educational environment is understood primarily as an educational environment, i.e. capable of ensuring the formation and development of a personality, aimed at creating conditions for self-determination, self-realization, cultural identification, obtaining skills for effective self-learning, self-education, self-development, familiarization with the cultural values of one's own people and understanding the significance of cultural values of other peoples. The modern university is today one of the important social institutions in which the formation of a tolerant culture of the subject of the educational process takes place ^[9].

One of the tolerance researchers B.G. Ananyev says that the age of a person is quite important for the formation of tolerance. For example, the student age is the most sensitive period for the development and formation of a tolerant attitude towards others in a person. While studying at the university, a person develops his mental functions and personal qualities, while simultaneously laying down the main aspects of a tolerant attitude towards others ^[10]. Student life coincides in time with the stage of the second youth, or as other researchers say, with the stage of the first maturity, this period is characterized by a rather difficult development of personal traits. The period of study at the university is characterized by a contradiction between the student's need for communication and an insufficiently formed conscious regulation of behavior, adherence to communication stereotypes. At the university, students encounter people of a different faith and culture. Hence the need to develop skills of tolerant interaction, a communicative attitude that promotes the transformation of tolerance into a personality quality. Tolerance in the system of intercultural education involves the promotion of the idea of a tolerant attitude and raising the level of culture ^[11].

There are other factors in the formation of tolerance:

1) the environment as a means for a person to acquire socially significant norms and rules of behavior;

2) cultural traditions;

3) mass media, art, literature;

4) individual typological characteristics of a person, his lifestyle, etc.

E.V. Kartavshchikova believes that the features of the content and semantic aspect of the motivational sphere of a person are also a factor in the formation of tolerance ^[12].

It can be concluded that the formation of student tolerance is influenced by many factors, but higher education institutions, which are given the function to have a direct impact on the development and formation of personality traits and behavioral attitudes, play a fairly large role in the development of tolerance among students. Also, the student age plays an important role in the formation, since this is the most optimal period for the formation of tolerance, which is facilitated by: attention to issues of one's own cultural identity, interest in the lifestyle of other people, determining one's position in the field of human relations, the desire to express one's opinion on many topical issues, the development of reflection and a sense of social responsibility.

Research methodology and methods

In the process of scientific research, the following methods were used: descriptive method; categorization method; analysis method, as well as a survey. To study students' ideas about tolerance, a methodology was developed and a sociological study was conducted among the students of the city of Barnaul. The study was implemented through a quantitative method of collecting information – a survey in the form of a questionnaire. The general body of the study was made up of students from Barnaul. The sample size was 348 people. The type of sampling is targeted. The study used a selection method such as the method of spontaneous selection. The practical significance of the research lies in the need to form a tolerant educational environment and increase the level of tolerance among students, which, in turn, can lead to the creation of a harmonious and peaceful society.

The results of the study

For this study, a questionnaire has been developed containing the following blocks of questions: questions revealing the students' understanding of Barnaul about tolerance, determining students' awareness of the term "tolerance", as well as determining the information coverage of the concept, according to students, and the last block consists of questions characterizing the subjective attitude of students to tolerance as a social phenomenon.

According to the results of the study, it was revealed that most of the students understand tolerance as it is defined in socio-humanitarian knowledge. The rest of the student youth believes that in addition to tolerance and respect, tolerance implies acceptance, support and indifference to a different worldview, lifestyle, behavior and customs

Table 1. Distribution of respondents' responses to the question:

"Choose the tolerance judgment that you think is the most accurate" (as a percentage of the number of respondents)

The question of whether the concept of "tolerance" is identical to the concept of "tolerance" was answered in the affirmative by the majority (65%) of representatives of student youth, while 16% disagree with the majority and believe that these concepts are different in meaning, 8% are convinced that a tolerant person will not be tolerant to social injustices, only 6% believe that tolerance is primarily respect, and a small part of respondents (2%) believe that the identification of these concepts depends on the situation.

Recently, there have been more and more discussions about whether it is correct to identify tolerance and tolerance, since the latter is understood as a conscious refusal to show open rejection of other people who are different in one way or another. At the same time, internally, a person may experience very noticeable discomfort when communicating with people who are unlike him. Nevertheless, the majority of students still adhere to a conservative point of view, where the concepts of tolerance and tolerance are equivalent – Table 2.

Table 2. Distribution of respondents' answers to the question: "In your opinion, is the concept of "tolerance" identical to the concept of "tolerance"?" (as a percentage of the number of respondents)

When mentioning the concept of "tolerance", students most often have such associations as: respect, support (38%), tolerance (23%), understanding and acceptance of other phenomena, views, opinions (21%), movements in the struggle for various rights (18%), friendship, kindness, humanity, politeness (14%), equality (9%), religious denominations (8%), diversity of nationalities (7%), various forms of self-expression (4%).

Table 3. Distribution of respondents' answers to the question: "Where do you think the topic of tolerance is most often raised?"

(as a percentage of the number of respondents)

According to students, the topic of tolerance is most often raised in social networks (90% of respondents' responses), least often in government and local government (8% of respondents' responses) - Table 3.

Figure 2. Distribution of respondents' answers to the question: "Is the information provided on tolerance (in the media, educational institutions, government agencies, etc.) enough for you?" (as a percentage of the number of respondents)

The sufficiency of the information provided on tolerance (in the media, educational institutions, authorities, etc.) is noted by 48% of student youth representatives. 46% of students noted the lack of such information – Figure 2.

More than half (56%) of the surveyed students believe that society pays less attention to the problem of tolerance than it needs, about a third of respondents believe that the problem of tolerance is given as much attention as it needs, and only 13% believe that more attention is paid than necessary – Figure 3.

Figure 3. Distribution of respondents' answers to the question: "In your opinion, how much attention is paid by society to the problem of tolerance?" (as a percentage of the number of respondents)

The relevance of the topic of tolerance in modern Russian society was stated by 81% of student representatives, among whom: the topic of tolerance is quite relevant – 49%; rather relevant – 32%. 19% of respondents spoke about the irrelevance of the topic of tolerance, of which 14% believe that tolerance is rather not relevant; 5% – tolerance is not relevant at all – Table 4.

Table 4. Distribution of respondents' answers to the question: "How relevant do you think the topic of tolerance is in modern Russian society?" (as a percentage of the number of respondents)

Conclusions

According to the results of the study of the ideas of tolerance among the students of the city of Barnaul, the following conclusions were made.

Firstly, the main semantic content of the concept of tolerance in the representations of the student youth of Barnaul is expressed through the concept of tolerance. In addition to tolerance, students consider tolerance through a category such as respect. It was respect that became the main association among students when mentioning the concept of tolerance. Students believe that the main qualities inherent in a tolerant person are: tolerance for differences, the ability not to judge others, affection for other people, humanism, self-control, benevolence and condescension.

Secondly, most of the students were unable to indicate any kind of tolerance. Among those who are aware of such types, gender, interethnic, religious, and sexual orientation tolerance were most often called. According to the students, the development of humane attitude towards various social groups is the main positive influence of tolerance on society. The use of tolerance for the purpose of manipulating people, covered with good intentions, according to students, is a negative consequence of tolerance.

Thirdly, most often, according to students, the topic of tolerance is raised on social networks. The majority of Barnaul students believe that tolerance is highlighted in a positive way. In addition, about half of the student youth representatives believe that the information provided on tolerance is sufficient. More than half of the respondents believe that society pays less attention to the problem of tolerance than it needs to be.

Fourth, the vast majority of students consider the topic of tolerance to be relevant, and also note the need for tolerance in Russian society. The prevailing part of the student youth believes that significant attention should be paid to the education of tolerance. For students of the city of Barnaul, such types of tolerance as political, interethnic, gender, interfaith and sexual orientation turned out to be the most difficult to manifest. In modern Russian society, the most necessary types of tolerance, according to students, are sexual orientation tolerance, interethnic tolerance, tolerance to various forms of self-expression. Physiological, religious and gender issues received a lower percentage of respondents' responses, from which it can be concluded that students do not consider these types of tolerance necessary.