INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL & SCIENCE EDUCATION 2016, VOL. 11, NO. 11, 4595-4609 OPEN ACCESS Psychological and Pedagogical Support of Teenage Inmates of Children's Village Alia M. Muhanbetzhanovaa, Svetlana M. Bakhyshevab, Asylbek S. Irgalievb, Ruskanim S. Kinghekovab, Shynar T. Gabdrahmanovab and Ludmila G. Kolesovab aAtyrau State University Named After Kh. Dosmukhamedov, Atyrau region, KAZAKHSTAN; bWest Kazakhstan Engineering Humanitarian University, Uralsk, KAZAKHSTAN ABSTRACT The urgency of the stated in the article issue is caused by the necessity to solve the problems of education and way of life of orphans and children without parental care, the severity of which increases not only because of the continuous growth of the number of children coming into care of the state, but also the inefficient functioning of the existing state orphanage children education system. The aim of the research is scientific and theoretical development of pedagogical conditions of successful socialization of orphans in children's villages of family type and experimental study of their effectiveness. Theoretical and methodological basis of the research is the concept of social development and individual activity determinism, pedagogical and psychological theories on the human nature and socialization, its diagnosis, correctional and development activities concepts. The article contains the results of the socio-psycho-pedagogical diagnostics of socialization of teenage inmates of family type children's village; the authors describe the concept, certain principles and make a summary of educating principle for this category of children. The results are explained in terms of socialization: axiological, behavioral and communicative, emotional and volitional and personal self-assessment. The study does not cover the full problem of the children's village activities, but it can serve as a basis for the development of methodological approaches in solving for a number of practical problems of social adaptation of teenage children, and need to be supplemented by experts in fields of psychology, pedagogy, etc. KEYWORDS ARTICLE HISTORY Socialization, teenage inmates of children's village, Received 13 May 2016 successful socialization, socialization level, social Revised 28 June 2016 adaptability Accepted 9 July 2016 Introduction The last decades witnessed considerable changes in the Kazakhstan society, in all areas of its political, economic and social life. One such transformation is an emergence of critical reflection of changes in social and spiritual life, defining development trends, choosing the structure and content of social education and socialization of the younger generation. The socialization problem of the younger generation is most relevant when it comes to educating orphans. History shows that after the economic crisis of the CORRESPONDENCE Asylbek Irgaliev [email protected] © 2016 Muhanbetzhanova et al. Open Access terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) apply. The license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, on the condition that users give exact credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if they made any changes. 4596 A. M. MUHANBETZHANOVA ET AL. 1990s there was a sharp increase in the number of children in the institutions replacing family. Analysis of this problem has led to an understanding of conditions dominant in children's institutions replacing family, has led to understand the difficulties of socialization, manisfestation of social deprivation and distortion of personal development (Bayserke & Musabekova, 2006). As a result, orphans are unable to solve their own problems, they have a low level of socialization and are considered "strangers" in society. Thus, many orphans came to understand their helplessness, end up in criminal environment and as a result find themselves in prison (Makina, 1999). The main concept of the article is the study of pedagogical conditions for orphan socialization and developing a methodology for successful gender role, family and work socialization of orphans as a basis for effective social and educational activities of children's family type villages. The research objective was the development of scientific and theoretical pedagogical conditions for successful socialization of inmates of children's family type villages and experimental validation of their effectiveness. As to the key research terms, we have formulated an author's definition of such concepts as "socialization", "successful socialization", "social adaptability" and "personality isolation" (Furmanov & Furmanov, 2004; Shulga, Oliferenko & Bykov, 2003). We understand socialization as a process of identity formation under certain social conditions, learning and active reproduction of the existing social experience which a person converts into his own values and concepts, selectively introduces into his system of relations and behavior those rules and cliches that are accepted in the society or reference group. Successful socialization is defined as a process of identity formation under socially significant controlled conditions, learning and active reproduction of positive social experience which a person converts into his own values and concepts, selectively introduces into his system of relations and behavior those norms and cliches that provide full self-realization and self-actualization. Social adaptibility of orphan's personality is defined as adopting the existing valuable social experience (social adaptation) and development of their own individual social experience (personal isolation). Accordingly, the higher the adaptation and isolation level, the higher the socialization level of a teenager. We need to explain that adaptibility and isolation are not opposite components of a whole entity, but side-by-side parameters. Thus, there are such possible combinations: low adaptability and low isolation (low socialization level); low adaptability and high isolation (low socialization level); high adaptability and low isolation (medium socialization level); high adaptability and high isolation (high socialization level) (Schiffrin et al., 2015). Materials and Methods Theoretical and methodological basis for studying the socialization process Theoretical and methodological basis of the research is the concept of social development and individual activity determinism, pedagogical and psychological theories on the human nature and socialization, its diagnosis, correctional and development activities concepts. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL & SCIENCE EDUCATION 4597 Historical precedence in socialization study belongs to western schools (Giddings, 1894; Durkheim, 1974; Simmel, 1890; Tarde, 1891). Since the 1960-70s first attempts of objective socialization analysis have been made by Soviet scholars (Levada, 2000; Merlin, 1986; Andreenkova, 1970). The process of the child's becoming a full participant of modern public relations has been researched in the works of Russian scholars (Abulkhanova, 2011; Ananiev, 2008; Andreeva, 1986; Asmolov, 2002; Bueva, 1968; Vygotsky, 1986; Con, 1973; Leontiev, 1977; Mudrik, 2007). An important contribution to the development of various pedagogical socialization aspects has been made by Kazakh scholars (Beysenbaeva & Uzakbaeva, 2014; Nurgaliyeva, 1985; Toleubekova, 1991; Tileuova, 1995; Uzakbaeva, 2000; Zharikbaev, 1995; Kozhakhmetova, 1998; Kalyuzhny, 1994; Muhanbetzhanova & Irgaliyev, 2012). On the theoretical and empirical research stages we applied several methods: analysis and generalization of scientific and pedagogical progressive experience; modeling and design; questionnaires, interviews, conversation, observation; pedagogical experiment; statistical and mathematical methods of experimental data processing. To understand the socialization level of teenage inmates of children's village we have used 8 diagnostic techniques: diagnosis of social and psychological adaptation (Rogers & Dymond, 1954): option A (for boys) and B (for girls), methods of diagnosing learning motivation and emotional bonds to middle and high school (Spielberger, 1962), I-concept scale method (Piers & Harris, 1986), personal anxiety scale for 13-16 year old students (Prikhozhan, 2000), children's anxiety scales (the CMAS), "System of values" method (Rokich, 1973), "Emotion assessment scale" technique and "Incomplete sentences" method (Sacks & Levy, 1950). These methods have been repeatedly tested and endorsed by a wide number of experts (Prikhozhan, 2000; Shulga, Oliferenko & Bykov, 2003; Furmanov & Furmanov, 2004). The socio-pedagogical process in family-type children's village was chosen to be the object of research, subject of research being pedagogical conditions for successful socialization of inmates of family type children's villages. The study hypothesis: if special classes for enriching reflexive experience of teenagers modeled in group interaction through participation in role-play, training, exercises and group discussions, are organized, it will contribute to a successful gender role, family and work socialization of teenage inmates of family type children's villages. Social adaptability and personal isolation as an element of socialization of teenage inmates of children's village and socialization criteria The main elements of orphan's successful socialization (social adaptability) is social adaptability and personal isolation. Based on the state standards of general secondary education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, we give the following characteristics of the above mentioned terms: 1. Social adaptation of teenage orphans: mastering the culture of communication with peers; ability to develop new social roles; a manifestation of a conscious interest towards the philosophical problems, their social status in a group of peers; the ability to develop social relationships outside school and obedience to the rules of social life; acquiring knowledge about the complex patterns of gender 4598 A. M. MUHANBETZHANOVA ET AL. role behavior, understanding the importance of choosing a future profession (behavioral and communicative adaptation); the need for spiritual, moral and civil- patriotic way of life; mastering self-representation, understanting the value of their identity and that of another person; the need to acquire national and world culture; conscious moral responsibility for the environment and the need for constant environmental protection (axiological adaptibility); 2. Teenage orphan's personal isolation: existance of their own views, values, ability to change them and accept new values (axiological autonomy); maturity of holistic self-concept, self-esteem and self-acceptance, self-reflection, evaluation of his activities and their results (personal self-esteem autonomy); understanding and controling their feelings and emotions, selectivity in emotional bonds, their preservation and complementarity (emotional-volitional autonomy); willingness and ability to independently solve their own problems, awareness of the need to participate in various activities for self-realization and self-determination; make decisions based on critical re-evaluation of information - creativity (behavioral autonomy). Based on these elements we have defined four criteria for successful socialization (social adaptability) of orphans: 1) axiological; 2) behavioral and communicative; 3) emotional-volitional; 4) personal self-evaluation. Results and Discussion Characteristics of children's village for orphans An alternative educational institution for orphans – a family-type children's village "SOS-Kinderdorf International" – has been choosen as the object of our study. Orphans support is prerequisite for social partnership. Social competence in most cases is seen as a socialization result. The socialization theory has been developed by foreign scholars as: J. Piaget (1970), G.H. Mead (1964) and E. Fromm (1936). Socialization is associated with the formation of "I" and "me" patterns, comparing them with "significant others", whereas communicating with them results in abstracted representation of the "generalized other" (Mead, 1964; Grant & Yeatman, 2014). E. Fromm's theory which had been evolving from the Middle Ages until the twentieth century, studied the development of freedom and self-awareness. Jean Piaget (1970) in his works described socialization as a process of adaptation to the social environment: a child who reached a certain age, associated with his development level, strives for cooperation and communication with others. Russian scholars have also made a considerable contribution to the study of younger generation's socialization (Korolczuk, 2014). Socialization is a process of learning and active reproduction of social experience under the influence of social institutions, family being the main institution (Coneus, Mühlenweg & Stichnoth, 2014). Socialization consists of individual experience, social experience assimilation, represents the process of individual development and is carried out in three areas: activity, communication, self-awareness (Berger, 2014). According to research, almost all authors associate socialization with the processes of assimilation and INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL & SCIENCE EDUCATION 4599 appropriation of social knowledge, skills and standards in order to create their own experience which regulate relations with society. According to most scholars, successful socialization of orphans contributes to personal development of the orphan who possessed a so-called social competence. Recent analysis of psychological and educational research has allowed us to identify the factors that inhibit orphans' socialization: Consolidation of special social status in the child's mind - the status of an "extra" person; Tendency towards orphan subculture with antisocial values and standards, development of inadequate relation to "us-them" pattern, emergence of a special feeling of "us"; Frequent deviations of social and mental development, poor health; Deprivation of communication with others; Social activity limitation; Lack of involvement in socially useful activity, which leads to social apathy; Inability to acquire social experience, lack of social norms application due to limited living space; Bad habits, deviations which are encouraged by the orphan environment; Living together with a large number of peers with weak communication skills, leading to stress, increased anxiety level, aggressive behavior; Strict regulations of life in the orphanage, limited choices, impossibility of self- reliance and initiative, lack of internal self-control; Absence of a positive leader, role model, which results in a certain orphan subculture; Limited social contacts leading to isolation and detachment from real life which creates dependency and affirmation of "They must" principle. Those reasons cause peculiarities of orphan socialization which can be seen in orphanages (Frank-Wilson et al., 2016). Requirements that society imposes on mental and personal development of its members does not correspond to the orphans’ potential, limitations in intellectual development provokes inadequate response and actions (Kelly et al., 2015). The level of adaptive capacity of orphans is extremely low, their potential is below the level required for successful socialization (Piasecki, Waligora & Dranseika, 2015). Orphans lack the ability to take care of themselves which is reflected in the untidiness of their clothes and appearance, poor taste; swaggering, foul language and uncontrollable behavior; unwillingness to learn and work, a tendency to break the law; household helplessness, inability to calculate budget and use their material resources wisely (Gür, 2013). When they begin to live by themselves, they will not be able to create a complete family, to raise children, they have no experience in dealing with utilities and other services or official institutions. This is explained by the lack of positive experience of living in a family, building a life, distributing family responsibilities on a fair basis and managing the household. After leaving the orphanage, young people experience great difficulties with employment, finding accomodation, organizing household activities, budget expenditure, defending their legal and social rights (Naterer & Lavrič, 2016). 4600 A. M. MUHANBETZHANOVA ET AL. We have generalized an orphanage graduate and came to the following conclusion: orphans are experiencing the greatest difficulties in socialization and adaptation to independent life in society after leaving children's home (Wiseman, 2015). Lack of social competences obtained in an orphanage does not allow them to fully adapt to life, to realize their inner potential, to succeed professionally (Evans et al., 2015). They need special training for future life within the orphanage walls by various means and mechanisms, one of which is the social partnership (Sinha et al., 2016). The criteria of orphans’ readiness for independent life, successful integration into society, many scientists consider a painless entry into the new world in which he knows how to behave and how to engage in self-realization, the ability to develop, adopt and implement their decisions concerning their life problems, to predict the consequences of their actions for themselves and others (Saltzman et al., 2013). Therefore, considering the mechanisms of successful socialization of orphans we believe that their social competence, which is recognized as an integrative characteristic of the modern man, will contribute to the achievement of these goals (Schiffrin et al., 2015). The very quality of social competence characterizes a person whose socialization has been successful, who is adaptive and capable of self- realization in modern conditions. The most important condition for the development of social competence, social behavior, social health orphans educational process is getting ready them for future life (Karimli et al., 2015). The term "competence" came from abroad, and literally it has a very vague meaning. Competence includes a set of interrelated personality qualities (knowledge, skills, ways of life) (Wilson & Golding, 2016), defined in relation to a particular range of objects and processes and necessary for quality productive activities; competence means possession, possession of a suitable qualification, including a personal attitude to it and to the object of activity (Medeiros et al., 2016). Possessing qualification means having certain knowledge, being aware; whereas possessing competence means the ability to apply this knowledge, specific abilities in any field (Szente, 2015). However, many scholars equate these concepts. Nevertheless, almost all scolars believe that most orphans have low social competence, as they are not ready to apply their knowledge in an individual life, often they do not even possess the knowledge (Brilli, Boca & Pronzato, 2016). Orphanages are intended to create optimal conditions for the development of social competence of orphans, formation of a socially competent person who knows how to apply his knowledge in real-life situations (Binagwaho et al., 2016). Developing a constructive social competence is possible in specially organized social and educational environment. This type of institution was first established in 1949 in Austria using the money collected by physician H. Gmeiner. He built the first home for orphans in Imst. The children lived a normal family life, with the family headed by a single woman (unmarried, divorced, childless or whose children have grown up). The house is the center of Gmeiner model, it is one of the key elements of the children's village. Cooking, laundry, cleaning - everything is performed by a female mentor living with the children. The family members were of different sex and different age. These principles became the basis of modern children's villages. H. Gmeiner idea was supported by the public, and ten years later there were ten villages not only in Austria, but also in Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL & SCIENCE EDUCATION 4601 Today children villages have been built in 130 countries. Children's villages have been opened in the Republic of Kazakhstan also. In Kazakhstan, the first family-type children's village was established on the initiative of the President of the National Scientific and Practical Education Center "Bobek" S.A. Nazarbayev in Almaty. Creating children's villages required an appropriate legislative framework. S.A. Nazarbayev initiated the adoption of the Law "On Family Type Children's Villages and Houses of Youth". Regional family-type Children's Village in Uralsk city, West Kazakhstan region, consists of 10 residential cottages for the families, each family consisting of 7-8 children and housemother (mentor). Family-type Children's Village is a public institution educating orphans on a contractual basis with local guardianship authorities in close-to-family-life conditions. The children's village consists of one administrative building "Dosug" ("Leisure") with the principal's and deputy's office, accounting, library, assembly hall, psychologist's office, offices for industrial arts and music studios, fitness center, doctor's office and phyto-bar. Blood brothers and sisters live in the same cottage. Living conditions are similar to a family environment. Inmates of Children's Village attend ordinary schools. The Children's Village activities are based on 4 principles: - housemother is the head of the family; - Family is a group of inmates of different age groups united by kinship ties (brothers and sisters); - Family for the housemother and inmates is located in a permanent accomodation, i.e. home; - Children's Village is not only a public institution, but also a community of likeminded people. Assessing the merits of regional family type children's village of Uralsk, it should be noted the organization of social and educational activities for the successful socialization of students, especially teenage inmates, needs to be improved. Teenage problems associated with discipline and village order violations, academical failure and misconduct in school, display of anti-social behavior – these are all reasons dictating the need for improvement. The primary diagnosis results of teenage orphans socialization level, concept and content description of author's training program "Successful socialization of teenage inmates" Primary socio-psycho-pedagogical diagnosis of teenage inmates of Children's Village has identified significant violations in the socialization process: deviant behaviors; problems and abnormalities in emotional and volitional field; underdeveloped communication skills; inability to engage in constructive problem- solving; disruption in self-consciousness structure (the "we"phenomenon), weak self- identity development; violation of psychological timeline; gender identity problems; manifestation of dependent position; moral development problems, reduction of social responsibility and lack of remorse. Author's training program "Successful socialization of teenage inmates" has been developed based on primary diagnosis. The training concept was based on the 4 stages of the individual social experience accumulation by teenage inmates of children's village: 4602 A. M. MUHANBETZHANOVA ET AL. 1. Reproductive stage – reproducing a set of mastered moral and spiritual values, interaction standards (personal preliminary adaptation); 2. Adaptive stage – reflection and self-determination, adaptation and application of humanitarian experience to the situation (subjectivization); 3. Local modeling stage – reflection on the situation's development, mastering skills for resolving the situation, behavior strategy development; 4. System modeling stage – securing mastered values for resolving the situation, attempt to influence the problem's resolution. The process is cyclical and is determined only by the personality of the teenager and his prevailing socialization level. Author’s program "Successful socialization of teenage inmates" consisted of 3 parts: 1. Seminar "Meeting myself" (94 hours); 2. Children and parental training "My Family" (14 hours); 3. Training "World of profession" (8 hours). Program's objective: creating conditions for successful socialization and creating positive social experience for teenage inmates of children's village through active self-awareness (сognition), recognition by the other participants of the training and educational process (housemothers, peers, teachers) and of achievements in socially significant activities (interpersonal communication and learning). Program objectives: - raising the participants's awareness of psychological and pedagogical peculiarities of teenagers' personality development; - cultivating positive self-cognition methods (emotions and feelings, motives and needs, character, behavior, relationships with others, etc.); - creating adequate self-esteem and social adaptation level (awareness of the importance of family status, values, foundations of profession guidance, planning and designing their own future); - laying the foundations for further harmonious development (reducing anxiety and aggression, building self-confidence, cognitive activity and motivating achievement); - creating conditions for experiencing success and social significance awareness by all participants of the seminar. Methods used in the program: - Oral survey to determine the needs and interests of the participants; - Appeal to teenagers' personal experience in the course of the seminar; - Conversation with the participants while completing tasks; - "Generalization" of emerging pedagogical situations by making a projection ("A man ...", "Most teenagers ...", "Many of your peers ..." and others.); - making intra- and inter-group communication more interactive (motivation, comprehension, reflection); - Individual work in notebooks; - Anonymous appeal to their own problems; - Control of applying the studied material to the participants' subjective social experience (reflection on the seminar results). The seminar complied with the following principles: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL & SCIENCE EDUCATION 4603 - Voluntary participation and confidentiality; - Equal positions, recognition of personal standards; - Safety and security for the participants; - Impartiality and understanding of personal roles; - Approval and mutual support for each other. Each class based on the training method consisted of the following phases: - Defining objectives, topics of discussion, the nature of the problem, as well as focusing participants on these issues; - Circular discussion of the problem, gathering information, knowledge, opinions, views, new ideas and suggestions from all participants; - Streamlining the information and discussing it; - Summarizing the discussion, joint summarizing, comparing the objectives with the results; - Debriefing. The main social work methods chosen by us are: warm-up and getting started exercises, exercises in pairs, exercises in small groups, assessment exercise, speech exercise, projective exercises, feedback exercises, mutual understanding exercises, skills development exercises, etc.. Teenage inmates of children's village aged 11 - 15 years took part in the experiment. The seminars were held in a specially equipped psychologist's office 1 or 2 times a week when the inmates were free from domestic responsibilities. Best time for the seminar was discussed with housemothers, teachers and children. Children and parental trainings were conducted in each cottage with the "family" after dinner. Describing the secondary diagnosis results (experiment's control stage) Summarizing the results of the first stage of the experiment, we need to point out that the qualitative and quantitative changes have taken place in the teenager's personality, in all spheres of his activity (communication, learning, labor, physical and creative activities), which served as a basis for raising the socialization level of teenage participants of the special program "Successful socialization of teenage inmates." Thus, the quantative composition of groups based on the socialization level of teenagers has changed (Figure 1 and Table 1). Table 1. Quantative dynamics of group composition based on the socialization level of teenagers before and after the experiment № Number of teenagers Social adaptability Experimental group Control group level Before After Before After 1. High level 6 10 6 6 2. Medium level 18 23 17 18 3. Low level 17 8 20 19 4604 A. M. MUHANBETZHANOVA ET AL. Figure 1. Quantative dynamics of group composition based on the socialization level of teenagers in the experimental group In the personal and social aspect of the general collective and inter-group communication has undergone positive changes. Thus, during the first stage of the experiment almost all participants noted fear of making new social contacts, lack of confidence in their actions and deeds, predominance of negative psychological defense mechanisms, lack of social experience, stereotyping in choosing important axiological orientations and emotional experiences. After the comprehensive program "Successful socialization of teenage inmates" (116 hours) we witnessed positive dynamics of personal and social qualities of inmates. The dynamics can be characterized by the following changes: 1) axiological sphere: - emergence of a persistent demand for spiritual, moral and civil-patriotic values, axiological orientations; - Awareness of the importance of humanistic attitude towards the world and the people around us; - Conscious desire for socially approved way of life and acquiring national and international cultural values; - Mastery of holistic self-recognition, self-identity and the identity of another person; 2) behavioral and communicative sphere: - mastering the art of conflict-free and productive dialogue with peers; - understanding their own social status in the society, community and group; - desire to build relationships outside educational institution; - acquiring and applying knowledge of gender role behavior in the family; - determination concerning the choice of future profession; - Informed participation in different educational activities, self-realization and self-determination; 3) emotional-volitional sphere: - understanding and controling their feelings and emotions; - readiness to independently solve their own problems; - increasing the level of learning motivation, cognitive activity, emergence of productive achievement motivation, a significant decrease of anxiety and anger during the learning process;