Improving the System of Legal and Civic Education of Students in Higher Education Institutions

Dianov Sergei Aleksandrovich Doctor of History Professor, Department of Public Administration and History, Perm National Research Polytechnic University; Professor, Department of Private Law, Perm Institute of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia 614990, Russia, Perm Krai, Perm, Komsomolsky Prospekt str., 29 sadianov@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Dianova Yuliya Viktorovna PhD in Cultural Studies Assistant Professor, Department of Design, Graphics and Engineering Geometry, Perm National Research Polytechnic University 614990, Russia, Perm Krai, Perm, Komsomolsky Prospekt str., 29 julok1@mail.ru Other publications by this author

*Previously published in Russian in the journal Pedagogy and Education.

Introduction: In Russian universities, special attention was paid to forming a legal and civic education system at the turn of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

At that time, students were acquainted with the basics of legal knowledge and aspects of lawful behavior within the framework of studying the substantive elements of the academic disciplines "Jurisprudence," "Fundamentals of Law," "Social Security Law," "Labor Law," "Human rights" ^{[1; 2]}. In pedagogical universities, the approbation of the methodology of teaching the discipline "Educational Law" began, which later became known as the "normative legal support of education" in the curricula of training areas ^[3]. Thus, at Perm State Pedagogical University, students studying in the specialty "Pedagogy and Psychology" for the first time began to master this course. The total labor intensity of the course was 72 hours ^[4]. At the Perm Institute (branch) of RGTEU, a special course, "Fundamentals of the Social State," was introduced into the educational process, the structure of which included issues of legal regulation of the education system in the Russian Federation ^[5]. At the same time, in the professional-pedagogical community, by no means were difficult questions postulated about what the performance indicators of legal education and civic education in higher education should consist of and what points should be taken into account when developing criteria for the effectiveness of legal education methods used in classes with students. The increase in the number of offenses and facts of delinquent behavior among student youth groups in the twenty-first century was due to many factors, among which the problem of legal literacy of students was not the least. The scenarios of legal education (adaptation programs) in many universities turned out to be sufficiently formal—"for reporting," their addressee was instead a control and supervisory agency rather than student collectives.

The main part: Within the framework of this study, we will formulate a number of project proposals intended for practical application in the implementation of scenarios of legal education and civic education in higher education institutions of the Russian Federation, taking into account the orientation (profile) of the leading professional educational programs being implemented.

1) Project proposals for a pedagogical university. Today, in pedagogical universities, it is advisable to build legal education within the framework of classroom (contact) work, and the civic education of future teachers should be tied to the practices of their extracurricular work, which is implemented based on educational organizations of general education (school, lyceum, gymnasium).

In the classroom, the main emphasis should be placed on teaching the academic disciplines of "normative and legal support of education," "human and civil rights," and "children's rights." In this regard, a few words should be said about the results of introducing the discipline "normative and legal support of education" (hereinafter: NPOO) into the educational process of pedagogical universities in the 2000s.

Scientists and practical teachers were engaged in developing the conceptual provisions of the NPOO. The publication of the first textbooks and teaching aids took place in a relatively short time. For example, the Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor N.M. Borytko and associate Professor I.A. Slovtsova ^[6] developed the draft textbook "Normative and Legal Support of Education" at the Volgograd State Pedagogical University. The project was supported by their colleagues from the Southern Branch of the Russian Academy of Education. We express the opinion that the appearance of this educational publication demonstrated the possibilities of a pedagogical approach to the study of legal phenomena and features of legal relations in the Russian Federation's education field. In the structure of the textbook, the following sections were presented most meaningfully: "Normative and legal regulation of the teacher's activity," "Rights of participants in the educational process," and "Legal support of reforms in the field of education." A peculiar alternative was the appearance of a textbook by the Yekaterinburg jurist D.A. Yagofarov, in which conceptual provisions approaching the legal approach were outlined. This edition highlighted the section devoted to comparing Russian and foreign education systems ^[7]. The problems raised by the author concerned not so much educational (and pedagogical) aspects as the specifics of legal relations in education.

From 2008 to 2016, one after another, textbooks on NPOO were published by M.Y. Fedorova ^[8], A.V. Skorobogatov and N.R. Borisova ^[9], E.Y. Sizganova ^[10], etc. The universities of the Perm Region mainly received textbooks from the Doctor of Law, Professor M.Y. Fedorova. At Perm State Pedagogical University (PSPU), the basic textbook on the discipline "Normative and Legal Support of Education" was the textbook by Fedorova. This publication was recommended by the Russian Federation's Ministry of Education and Science and was widely replicated ^[11]. A small volume distinguished the textbook in terms of content and original titles of thematic sections: "Education as an object of legal regulation," "Management of the Education system," and "Economics of the education system." Complex topics and plots were presented in an accessible language. The experience of using this textbook in the author's course of teaching the discipline at PSPU allows us to conclude that it is in demand, especially among young teachers ^[4]. In addition, the content of the textbook is regularly updated. However, the disadvantages of the textbook include, in particular, a relatively small amount of illustrative factual material, elements of visibility, and the lack of reviews of regional educational projects and sites. Of course, teachers and researchers in the subjects of the Russian Federation will have to fill this gap and show the practical implementation of legal norms in the field of education (including innovative projects in the field of education management, protection of the rights of participants in the educational process, the results of the activities of commissions and control bodies in the educational field).

In line with the legal approach, A.V. Skorobogatov and N.R. Borisova's textbook is maintained ^[9]. Three chapters of the publication are devoted to a detailed study of the legislative framework regulating educational legal relations. The most valuable are those thematic parts that highlight the issue of the distribution of powers between federal, regional, and municipal authorities in the field of education. The title of the paragraph, "Powers of local self-government bodies of municipal districts and urban districts," and its content (based on concrete factual material) do not allow us to doubt the innovation of the author's decisions. In addition, the textbook not only contains extracts from the Federal Law "On Education in the Russian Federation" but also includes the author's comments and reference material on the subjects of the Russian Federation. It should be noted here that the actual and illustrative material is still insufficiently presented in modern educational literature.

We will briefly present an overview from personal experience teaching the academic discipline "Normative and legal support of education." From 2008 to the 2010s, we conducted classes in this discipline for students of the 4th and 5th courses of PSPU. The analysis of the conducted training sessions made it possible to ensure that students were in demand for legal knowledge about where they were to perform professional duties in the future. Undergraduate students demonstrated a conscious understanding of the insufficiency of mastering only theoretical knowledge of pedagogy and methods of teaching their subject (history, literature, physical culture, foreign language). During their pedagogical practice at school, they faced issues of legal regulation of educational relations. At school, in real-time and place, the trainee teacher sometimes faces problems of a legal order (for example, conflict situations), and the lack of knowledge and, most importantly, understanding of the technology of their resolution often leads to negative consequences. The students also showed particular interest in the issues of legal regulation in the educational organization of higher education. Students admitted that having mastered the discipline of jurisprudence in the 1st year, they did not think much about the organization of the university's educational process nor the realization of their rights and obligations. Not everyone at admission read the PSPU charter, and they "forgot about it" completely during the training process. This phenomenon was typical not only for students of PSPU.

Based on the above, we present the author's draft of the substantive part of the work program of the discipline "Normative and legal support of education" (Table 1). The sections and topics of the program are formulated based on the goals of legal education and civic education of future teachers:

- achievement of solid knowledge about the legality, rights, and obligations of all participants in educational relations (teachers, students, parents, administrators, LSG bodies, etc.);

- irreconcilable attitude to legal nihilism;

- promotion of a healthy lifestyle;

- formation of stable orientation among young teachers, attitudes to lawful behavior, prevention of professional burnout.

Table 1Draft work program of the discipline

"Regulatory and legal support of education"

2) Project proposals for a law enforcement university. In departmental universities, legal education and civic education are a priority strategic direction in the professional training of employees for the law enforcement system ^[12].

In the process of teaching humanities and social disciplines at the Perm Institute of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, it was found that not all cadets in their first year of study who entered the university imagined the conditions for organizing the educational process at the institute, the mode of classes and recreation, household arrangement and leisure. Once in the atmosphere of a departmental university, some first-year students made typical mistakes, demonstrating various forms of deviation (swearing, smoking, evading official duties, trying to "negotiate" with a teacher, etc.). In sociology class, cadets did not always correctly understand the peculiarities of the social status of a law enforcement officer. Analyzing examples of deviant behavior with cadets at seminars and practical classes, we set the primary goal of achieving an understanding among students of the value-semantic foundations of professional service in the bodies of the criminal justice system. Let's express our opinion on the relevance of the academic discipline within the framework of which the parameters of political and educational education and legal socialization of cadets would be reflected.

We consider it reasonable to propose the introduction of the discipline "Regulatory and legal support of vocational education" into the basic plans of training areas in law enforcement universities. The author's draft of the substantive part of the discipline's work program is presented below (Table 2). The sections and topics of the program are formulated based on the goals of legal education and civic education of future law enforcement officers:

- achievement of solid knowledge about the rights and obligations of all participants in educational relations at a departmental university (cadets, officers, civilian teachers, trainers, specialists, etc.);

- irreconcilable attitude to the manifestation of misconduct (including "hazing");

- promotion of a healthy lifestyle and the usefulness of physical labor;

- formation of future officers' ideas about the creative role in society, condemnation of forms of professional destruction.

Table 2Draft work program of the discipline

"Regulatory and legal support of vocational education"

3) Project proposals for a technical (engineering) university. In modern conditions of sanction pressure on Russia from unfriendly countries, the tasks of import substitution of foreign-made technologies and products come to the fore.

The training of a creatively thinking engineer is the primary task of an advanced technical university ^[14]. Today, the task of legal education is present within the framework of teaching the discipline "Jurisprudence." At the same time, the author's experience of teaching humanities and social sciences at Perm Polytechnic University (PNRPU) makes it possible to state the high demand among students for knowledge and ideas from the field of intellectual property law (copyright, related rights, patent law). In addition, students are actively interested in a range of problems that are only indirectly related to the field of education. We record quite a lot of requests for advice on incidents of a domestic nature, the purchase and sale of goods, damage to property, traffic accidents, divorce proceedings, inheritance cases, etc.). To satisfy the legal interest of a student, of course, a teacher with a higher legal education and practice of teaching legal disciplines is capable.

Thus, we consider it logical to propose an introduction to the basic training plans of the academic discipline "Regulatory and legal support of specialized (technical) education." At the same time, it is expedient to integrate the content of the already existing course "Leading to a Specialty" as a basic module for this academic discipline. The author's draft of the substantive part of the discipline's work program is presented below (Table 3). The sections and topics of the program are formulated based on the goals of legal education and civic education of future highly qualified engineers:

- achieving solid knowledge of civil legislation, legality, rights, and obligations of a citizen of the Russian Federation;

- respect for the law for the traditions of Russian society;

- promotion of the usefulness of physical and intellectual work;

- formation of ideas among future engineers about the creative role in society and the importance of technological sovereignty of the country.

Table 3Draft work program of the discipline

"Regulatory and legal support of specialized (technical) education"

Conclusion: The formulated project proposals are intended for application in the context of strategies (scenarios) of the legal and civic education of students adopted by universities in the Russian Federation.

As indicators of effectiveness and efficiency, it is possible to identify the following:

- the number of students actively participating in the university self-government bodies;

- types and forms of students' participation in the trade union movement;

- forms of application by students individually or in a group of actions to restore their violated rights (by the university administration, scientific and pedagogical workers and others);

- the number of established facts of participation of university students in unauthorized rallies, pickets, and protest actions;

- facts of high-profile crimes committed by university students;

- facts regarding the emigration of university students and graduates;

- cases of renunciation of Russian citizenship;

- facts of heroic and selfless behavior of students in the performance of civic duty (official duties), etc.

In the context of the current global challenge, an effective legal and civic education strategy should function in every Russian university, regardless of its profile. At the same time, we should not forget about the integration of regulatory and legal support programs for education (professional and specialized) into these strategies.