www.jsser.org Journal of Social Studies Education Research Sosyal Bilgiler Eğitimi Araştırmaları Dergisi 2018:9(2), 329-348 329 Pedagogical technology for identifying the level of patriotism formation in Senior school students within actualization of social commitment and initiative Sariyat A. Alieva1, Magomed K. Bilalov 2, Ramazan D. Gadzhiev3, Raisa V. Radzhabova4, Dzhamila A. Salmanova5 Abstract The relevance of the problem under study stems from the new social and economic, moral and psychological situation in the society. In its development, the priority is currently given to both shared human values and national ones, to initiative and entrepreneurial spirit of the young people who can transform their homeland and improve Russia's life in general. With regard to this, the objective of this research is to outline the pedagogical technology for measuring the patriotism formation level in senior school students in conditions of social commitment and initiative gaining importance. The leading method of studying the problem is the criteria- and levels-based approach which allows singling out the criteria and levels of formation of patriotism in the contemporary senior school students. In the paper, the following criteria are suggested for the extent of formation of patriotism: the needs-related and motivational one, the cognitive and emotional one, and the behavioral criterion. The authors distinguish between a very high, a high, an average, and a low patriotism formation level. They also discuss the foreign experience of shaping social commitment and initiative in children and youth. The materials of the paper are of practical importance for teachers, educators, class teachers of comprehensive institutions and further education institutions, as well as for the young teachers and students of pedagogical higher educational institutions. Keywords: pedagogical technology; criteria- and levels-based approach, patriotism, social commitment, initiative, value orientations. Introduction In all times, the idea of patriotism has occupied a special place not only in the spiritual life of the society but also in all major spheres of its activity – in ideology, in politics, in culture, in economics, in ecology and so on. The state program "Patriotic upbringing of citizens of the RF for the years 2016–2020" (2015) and the "Strategy of upbringing development in the RF for the years 2015-2025" (2015) pay quite a lot of attention to fashioning social commitment and initiative in both children and youth. 1 Assoc. Prof., Candidate of Pedagogy, Dagestan State Pedagogical University, sabiyat-alieva@yandex.ru 2 Assoc. Prof., Candidate of Pedagogy, Dagestan State Pedagogical University, bilalov79@inbox.ru 3 Assoc. Prof., Candidate of Pedagogy, Dagestan State Pedagogical University, gadjiev82@mail.ru 4 Assoc. Prof., Candidate of Pedagogy, Dagestan State Pedagogical University, valiraya_9@mail.ru 5 Assoc. Prof., Candidate of Pedagogy, Dagestan State Pedagogical University, djamila@mail.ru mailto:gadjiev82@mail.ru mailto:valiraya_9@mail.ru Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9(2), 329-348 Currently, the problem of patriotic upbringing has not been completely resolved so far. There are some questions that remain understudied: the essence of patriotism as an integral phenomenon, the opportunities for development of social commitment and initiative and for creation of the new socially important projects influencing its upbringing, the ways for upbringing patriotism in schoolchildren, and the psychological and pedagogical conditions which would render the process of upbringing of patriotism in schoolchildren more successful. Development of market relations has brought about into pedagogy the interest in senior school students' social commitment and initiative as the principal personal quality of a free and successful individual. The traditional pedagogy views the constituent of initiative – commitment – as a compulsory condition for the development of children's capacities and talents, as a means for succeeding, as a life need of children and an indicator of their achievements. There is almost no consideration of the process of making social commitment and initiative important as a factor for efficiently shaping patriotism in children and youth. The authors view social commitment and initiative not only as a result of upbringing but also as a prerequisite for development of the senior school students who do care both about their own well-being, about that of the others, and about their country's prosperity. Shaping social commitment and initiative implies turning the activity of senior school students which they organize jointly with adults into their self-activity. Recently, scientists have shifted their focus toward the content-related aspects of socially important activity. Anyway, the need of a pedagogical technology to be developed for identifying the senior school students' patriotism formation level in conditions of social commitment and initiative gaining importance is quite an urgent question. Literature Review Patriotic upbringing in the contemporary pedagogical discourse In psychological and pedagogical literature, various recommendations can be found on how to measure the formation levels of patriotism in students. Some authors believe the level of social training should be identified by the total of patriotic qualities while others define social training as the individual's being oriented to the public. The third ones hold the schoolchildren's real actions for the decisive factor and yet the fourth authors emphasize the correlation to the activity and so on (Lisovskiy et al., 2000; Alieva, 2003). The validity of different approaches to finding out the level of patriotic social training in students is justified by the dependence of these Alieva et al. approaches on certain pedagogical objectives. In particular, Bondarevskaya (1995) suggests the criteria- and levels-based approach i.e. exploring the students' social training according to different criteria and at different levels. Kraevskiy (2001) singles out three formation levels of readiness for defending one's Motherland: the schoolchildren's complete understanding of the essence of patriotism; their positive attitudes toward the liabilities that follow from them; the ability and the habit to act in real life in line with the requirements learned. In this case, the levels of readiness for protecting one's Motherland rely on understanding, attitudes, and ability to act in various situations (Kraevskiy, 2001). The analysis of special literature shows that the contemporary school disposes of a large arsenal of methods for studying the personality and the condition of social training in patriotism worked out by psychological and pedagogical science (Tarman, 2016; 2017; Tarman & Chigisheva, 2017; Tarman & Dev, 2018). For example, there are methods of exploring the students' social training in the natural conditions of the academic and upbringing process (pedagogical observation, the method of independent characteristics, and the method of projective questions) (Alieva et al., 2017; Belousov, 2001). Some researchers support the method of spiral pedagogical diagnostics (involving the diagnosing moral situation, pedagogical concilium, rating method etc.). However, the range of criteria and indicators singled out by the authors for measuring the extent of patriotism being brought up in young men and women are covered by the techniques suggested only partially (Likhachev,1997; Nikolaev, 2003; Sacks and Levy research technique. Practical diagnostics: technique and tests. Samara. Bakhrakh, 2001). Patriotic upbringing as a social initiative The activity of the children and youth related to social initiative is in the focus of attention of many international structures. In the experimental research, the authors have looked into the foreign experience of different countries dealing with upbringing social commitment and initiative in children and youth. The countries in question view public service as an organized, more frequently institutionalized and usually non-governmental activity. The uniting role of public service is based on the general humanist idea of agape. So, for example, the educational program of the European Council "Youth" is aimed at supporting the young people's initiatives and international cooperation. Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9(2), 329-348 The main objective of the European program "Youth" is upbringing of a committed, initiative and responsible individual and assisting the young people in obtaining the required knowledge, competencies, skills, as well as ensuring various opportunities for participation in the public life. The main tasks of the program are: - encouraging the young people to participate in creating the multi-cultural Europe; - orienting the upbringing of children and youth to perceiving the principal European values; - respecting the human rights; - preventing any manifestations of racism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia; - creating favorable conditions for the young people to participate in international exchange projects. Meanwhile, the USA have created the National Corporation for National and Community Service the main functions of which are: implementing the current programs and establishing national organizations; accumulating the partners' investments; managing the innovations in social services; supporting the activity of not less than 400 educational associations and public organizations; teaching specialists and fulfilling the potential of services for solving the public problems. The Corporation provides extracurricular programs that ensure partnership of members of the projects, national control bodies and non-governmental public organizations. It also holds contests for the best national service and leadership in many schools. The government of Great Britain pays attention to upbringing social commitment and initiative too. They provide support for social projects of the children, which is one of the essential means for achieving the ideas of social policy of the state, contributing to reduction of social tension and consolidation of communities. The country's policy also benefits from allocating larger resources for implementing the young people's initiative community projects. Support of social initiatives develops the youth culture, encourages the young people to undertake responsibilities and bring up initiative in themselves, without which the progressive development of the state is impossible (Alieva et al., 2017). The government of Great Britain has rendered considerable support to the program "Millennium volunteers" which involves a system of awards for young initiative leaders – volunteers. The government has made accessible education for volunteers and has encouraged Alieva et al. the young people to design and fulfill their own initiative projects (supported by adults). They have carefully laid out a system of privileges for sponsors of the youth projects. So, public organizations have come to act as "brokers" between the young people – volunteers – and people or services needing their assistance (preservation of health, social support, education, environmental protection etc.) (Sviridova, 2011). Germany is a country paying quite a lot of attention to social work; it sets an example to be followed – one of manifesting and upbringing the best qualities of charity and kindness in people. Germany has a priceless experience of charity and aid for the under-privileged, of working with youth, the homeless and the disabled. Having developed numerous social programs, the Germans have quite a few points for other countries to learn from. The country's first state agency aimed at developing the social sphere was the German union of charity and care about the poor (Deutscher Verein für Armenpflege und Wohltätigkeit) founded back in 1880. The organization is quite functional nowadays, called the German Association for Public and Private Welfare, and counts around 2000 members. The Association unites all charity organizations working in the country. Social work is done by Catholics, Protestants, and numerous German public organizations with the state support. The state renders aid to the most vulnerable and low-income segments of the population – to the disabled, orphans, multi-child families, and the retired ones. There are organizations offering various "Social Year in Germany" programs which enable children and the young people to pursue volunteering activities in the social sphere within the country. The Voluntary Social Year has existed in Germany since 1964. In 1993, they introduced additional Voluntary Ecological Year. According to Article 18 of the UN Declaration of human rights and Article 9, items 1 and 2 of Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the principal laws of the Federal Republic of Germany dated May 23, 1943, not only guarantee the religious freedom for citizens of the country but also establish its boundaries. Alongside with that, the state recognizes not only freedom of person but also that of religious organizations (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948). The above examples of the advanced world experience of upbringing social initiative and supporting social initiative in children and youth clearly show the trends of cross-sectoral social Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9(2), 329-348 partnership which is based first of all on rendering the relations between the state and the public more pedagogical, and on changing the approaches to the content of upbringing and educational policy in general. Methodological Framework The objective of the research is to develop the pedagogical technology for identifying the patriotism formation level in the contemporary senior school students in conditions of social commitment and initiative gaining importance. The tasks of the research are: - to detail the essence and the content of notions "social commitment and initiative" and "pedagogical technology"; - to find out the efficiency conditions for pedagogical technologies; - to determine criteria and indicators of the extent of formation of patriotism in senior school students; - to identify patriotism formation levels in senior school students; - to explore foreign experience in shaping the social commitment and initiative of children and youth. The following methods were used in the research: - theoretical methods of cognition: comparison (Fedotova & Chigisheva, 2015), generalization, modeling; - methods of studying the social training of students in the natural conditions of the academic and upbringing process: pedagogical observation, survey, discussion; - special pedagogical diagnostics methods: the sentence completion method, the experiment method, and the pedagogical monitoring method; - qualimetry, scaling. Results and Discussion As the opportunities for development of social commitment and initiative and creation of new socially important projects influencing the process of patriotic upbringing are currently understudied, the authors set the task to develop a pedagogical technology which would allow finding out the formation levels of patriotism in the contemporary senior school students during their performing socially important and moral activities and social projects. Alieva et al. In order to fulfill the task, in 2016-2017 an experimental study was conducted which involved senior school students of Makhachkala (secondary school No. 17), Kaspiysk (secondary school No. 1), Derbent (secondary school No. 3), and Levashi village (municipal state-owned educational institution "Levashi gymnasium school"). The total of 850 people participated, with 750 of them being from urban schools and 100 – from the rural one. At the ascertaining stage, the following assignments were given to the students for them to have correct ideas about patriotism: 1. Suggest words that are close or synonymous in meaning to the word "patriotism". 2. Complete the sentence "Patriotism is…" (Sacks and Levy research technique. Practical diagnostics: technique and tests. Samara. Bakhrakh, 2001, p. 119). 3. Write down examples that you know well for: a) actions characterizing patriotism; b) someone's acting up to patriotism. The analysis of the research results shows the students can fulfill the assignments but they give such words as "honesty" or "truthfulness" as synonyms for "patriotism", which means they do not fully understand the meaning of patriotism. Some students considered this notion from one aspect only, listing as synonyms "devotion", "courage" and "heroism". The greatest difficulties were caused by the sentence completion assignment ("patriotism is…"). Some wrong answers were: "patriotism is honesty"; "patriotism is hatred toward enemies"; "patriotism is studying well"; "patriotism is knowing how to protect one's Motherland from enemies"; "patriotism is the ability to speak truth to everyone!". When doing the next assignment, a part of the tested ones showed not quite complete and clear ideas about actions characterizing patriotism. So, some of them wrote giving examples from life: "A person helps another one who is off badly", "…when you give your seat to an old-age person", "when people are considerate to each other". Moreover, the majority of cases among the examples of manifestation of patriotism given list ones in which patriotism is expressed toward everything. For instance, "A man fed a stray dog", "people giving alms", "caretakers keep the streets clean", etc. Among the answers, there are ones giving a one-sided perception of patriotism: "Patriotism is manifested in emergency situations when one does something heroic", "patriotism is manifested during wars when people give up their lives for Motherland". The fact that the students see no examples of people's patriotism in daily life around them causes deep concern. Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9(2), 329-348 "Adolescents of the time of troubles" – this definition by F. M. Dostoevsky characterizes the young people of today as precisely as hardly another one can, because some processes and phenomena have emerged that are not peculiar for another time span (Shchennikov, 2008, p. 140). The very nature of the young people's reproducing the values of the society inherited from their parents has changed. The young people face the necessity of rather negating than adopting the older generations' experience. Nowadays the last thing the young people aspire is to be similar to some example. The contact of the rising generation with the new social mediators has scaled up (new forms of hired labor and its payment, the changed attitude toward property, small business). In many respects, the social position of youth has changed for the worse, which has considerably expanded the sphere of their conflict with the society. Increasingly frequently, among the young people's values there are "career and business success", "material welfare", "good education", "an interesting occupation". A disregard of studies is shown by only 18% of the senior school students. The majority (62%) are intended to continue education. 20% of the senior school students are not sure about their future prospects yet. In the recent years, the professions of a lawyer, economist, and accountant are among the most attractive ones for the Russian senior school students. Very few students choose the career in the military, of an engineer, programmer, manager, or a law enforcement worker. Being a teacher is considered a prestigious occupation by 2% of the school- leavers. In these conditions, the problem of exploring the pedagogical technology for identifying the patriotism upbringing level in the contemporary senior school students is becoming increasingly relevant in the pedagogical theory and practice. A pedagogical technology is a strictly scientific and precise reproduction ensuring the success of pedagogical actions (Kraevskiy, 2001). The process of creation and implementation of pedagogical upbringing technologies differs considerably from the technologies of teaching, because they always rely on teacher-to- students interaction. The interaction urges the teacher to be an ideal for the schoolchildren, guided by which they develop their own viewpoints of certain things. Proceeding from the general characteristics of pedagogical technologies (Kraevskiy, 2001, p. 4), the following definition of pedagogical technologies can be given: a structure of scientifically proven practices Alieva et al. and techniques using which such teacher-to-students relations are maintained as to attain the ultimate objective – introducing the schoolchildren to the shared human values. E. N. Shchurkova believes that in order to fulfill a pedagogical upbringing technology a number of conditions have to be observed that will determine the efficiency of the upbringing technology: - organizing and performing an upbringing action, with its logical structure strictly adhered to; - a high cultural level of the content and forms of the action; - tailoring the spiritual "exertion" of the upbringing action; - informing about the action to an extent only – in order to keep interest in it; - using all three perception channels: auditory, visual, and sensory ones (Shchurkova, 2000, p. 7). The particularity of upbringing technologies, similarly to teaching technologies, is the capacity for reproduction and the analysis of the work done. The technological sequence of an upbringing situation is as follows: - the preparatory or introductory stage (kindling the interest for it, collecting the required materials); - the beginning of the upbringing situation (state of mind): greetings of the participants, the teacher's outlining the main objectives and tasks; - the main stage: the content-related (subject) activity; - completion: summing up the work done, any remarks and new ideas; - prospects: insights on the plans for the future (Likhachev, 1997, p. 6). In order to render the use of pedagogical technologies for upbringing patriotism in senior school students more effective, the technologies have to be selected which take into account the current social situation of schoolchildren – the young people – and are up to it. So, the best result of using pedagogical technologies is obtained when it is the technologies factoring in the present-day interests of schoolchildren that are applied. Various methods are suggested by psychologists and teachers for identifying patriotism formation levels in senior school students. For example, V. V. Kraevskiy singles out three formation levels of readiness for defending one's Motherland: the schoolchildren's complete understanding of the essence of patriotism; their positive attitudes toward the liabilities that follow from them; the ability and the habit to act in real life in line with the requirements Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9(2), 329-348 learned. In this case, the levels of readiness for protecting one's Motherland rely on understanding, attitudes, and ability to act in various situations (Kraevskiy, 2001). The criteria- and levels-based approach has enabled the authors to identify the criteria and indicators of social training in patriotism in the senior school students: - the needs-related and motivational criterion considers individual needs and motives of patriotically oriented activity; - the cognitive and emotional criterion allows finding out to what extent the knowledge and understanding of patriotic notions turns into consistent patriotic ideas in the senior school students; - the behavioral criterion enables the young people to direct their activity for the benefit of their Motherland and for fulfilling their civic duty. The above criteria and indicators were used by the authors for measuring the main criteria and indicators of the extent of formation of patriotism in the senior school students (Table 1). Table 1 Criteria, indicators, and methods of studying the extent of formation of patriotism in senior school students Criteria and indicators of the extent of formation of patriotism Methods of studying 1. Needs-related and motivational - Realization of significance of actions done for the benefit of Motherland Discussion for understanding the social commitment, activity, and projects. Questionnaire survey - Affection for one's native shore Questionnaire survey, composition on the topic "I was born to make the fairytale come true". Tell a tale about your Motherland. - The capacity for finding the projects that improve life of one's fellow countrymen Discussion with students and class teachers - The need of serving one's Motherland through social commitment and initiative Questionnaire survey 2. Cognitive and emotional - Understanding of the essence of patriotism Introductory questionnaire survey "What it means to be a patriot" - Confirming the theoretical knowledge by examples from real life Discussions and interviews with students, questionnaire survey - Being interested in the nature and willing to enrich it Questionnaire survey - Feeling of pride of one's homeland Interviews, questionnaire survey 3. Behavioral Alieva et al. - Being a part of the society, extensively participating in public events and actions Games "My choice", "Volunteers, go for it!" - Having a steady positive experience of patriotic behavior skills Technology "I'm growing up a citizen", questionnaire survey - The capacity for acting patriotically both in daily-life and in extreme situations The problem situations method, questionnaire survey, training session - Tolerant behavior Technology "You and me and he and she – the whole big country are we!", questionnaire survey Source: Lushnikov, 2014, p. 28 With the above criteria and indicators, the authors used the qualimetric method for measuring the formation levels of patriotism in senior school students (Table 2). Table 2 The indicators of manifestation and formation levels of patriotism in senior school students Criteria Indicators of manifestation and formation levels of patriotism Very high (4) High (3) Average (2) Low (1) Needs-related and motivational - brightly developed need of serving one's Motherland; - being deeply concerned about the well-being of one's native shore; - always finding something to do for the benefit of the small Motherland and organizing other people's actions consciously; - keenly understanding their social value and importance. - developed need of serving one's Motherland; - feeling affection to one's native shore and Motherland; - finding something to do for the benefit of the small Motherland and organizing other people's actions; - understanding their value and importance. - poorly developed need of serving one's Motherland; - there is some understanding of importance of acting for the benefit of the small Motherland; - not relying on the understanding of their value and importance. - not developed need of serving one's Motherland; - not participating in actions for the benefit of the small Motherland, not assisting in them. Cognitive and emotional - profound knowledge of the main attributes of patriotism; - detailing notions of patriotism consciously and correctly; - having the capacity for backing up theoretical notions with examples from real life; - having a keen interest in the history and culture of one's Motherland; - profoundly developed feelings of love for one's Motherland, pride of and devotion to it - a knowledge of the main attributes of patriotism; - detailing notions of patriotism correctly; - having the capacity for backing up notions with examples from life; - having an interest in the history and culture of one's Motherland; - sufficiently developed feelings of love for one's Motherland, pride of and devotion to it - knowing only certain attributes of patriotism; - being unable to describe the essence of patriotism correctly; - sometimes incorrectly backing up the notions with examples from life; - having little interest in the history and culture of one's Motherland; - poorly developed feeling of love for and pride of one's Motherland. - having no idea about the notion and essence of patriotism; - being unable and unwilling to support the notions of patriotism with examples from life; - having disregard of the history and culture of one's Motherland; - not developed feeling of love for and pride of one's Motherland. Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9(2), 329-348 Behavioral - clearly seen capacity for solving problems from the standpoint of a patriot both in daily life and in difficult situations; - steady positive experience, opinions and skills of patriotic behavior; - being an organizer of various practical activities; - clearly shown tolerance to dissenting views of people of other nationalities living in the same country; - showing a deep respect for cultural heritage of other countries and peoples; - expressing a protest against manifestations of nationalism. - marked capacities for acting patriotically both in daily life and in difficult situations; - steady positive experience, abilities and skills of patriotic behavior; - being busy with participating in various practical activities; - shown tolerance to dissenting views (opinions of people of other nationalities living in the same country); - a respectful attitude toward cultural heritage of other nations and peoples; - lack of nationalist traits of character. - showing the capacity for acting patriotically in daily life situations (poorly pronounced); - poorly pronounced experience, abilities and skills of patriotic behavior; - participating in various activities only if urged by teachers; - shown tolerance to dissenting views; - a respectful attitude toward cultural heritage manifested mainly to the peoples living in the same country; - occasional manifestation of nationalist traits of character. - not showing any capacity for acting patriotically; frequent actions of anti-patriotic nature; - no experience, abilities and skills of patriotic behavior; - disregard of participation in various activities; - a negative attitude to the opinion of people of other nationalities living in the same country; - no respect for cultural heritage of other nations and peoples; - no respect for people of other nationalities. Source: Lushnikov, 2014, p. 35 Using the qualimetric method, the authors assessed each indicator according to the above criteria scoring points in the following way. Needs-related and motivational criterion 1. Affection for one's Motherland and native shore: very developed - 4, developed - 3, poorly developed - 2, not developed - 1. 2. The need of serving one's Motherland: brightly pronounced - 4, pronounced - 3, poorly developed - 2, missing - 1. 3. The ability to find actions for the benefit of the small Motherland: very developed - 4, developed - 3, poorly developed - 2, not developed - 1. 4. The understanding of values and importance of actions done for the benefit of the homeland: formed - 4, partially formed - 3, poorly formed - 2, not formed - 1. Cognitive and emotional criterion 1. The knowledge of the main attributes and essence of patriotism: clear - 4, insufficiently clear - 3, unclear - 2, no ideas -1. 2. The capacity for backing up notions with examples from life: having the capacity - 4, able - 3, hardly any - 2, unable - 1. 3. The interest in the history and culture of one's Motherland: existing - 4, partially existing - 3, poorly developed - 2, missing - 1. Alieva et al. 4. The feeling of love for and pride of one's Motherland: developed - 4, insufficiently developed - 3, poorly developed - 2, not developed - 1. Behavioral criterion 1. The capacity for acting patriotically both in daily-life and in extreme situations: developed - 4, insufficiently developed - 3, poorly developed - 2, not developed - 1. 2. A steady positive experience, abilities and skills of patriotic behavior: developed - 4, insufficiently developed - 3, poorly developed - 2, not developed - 1. 3. Extensive participation in various activities for the benefit of one's Motherland: extensive participation - 4, participation - 3, passive participation - 2, non-participation [lack of participation] - 1. 4. Tolerance: continuously present - 4, present - 3, partially present - 2, missing - 1. After scoring points according to this system of criteria and indicators of the extent of formation of patriotism in senior school students, the following figures were obtained (see Table 3). Table 3 Criteria of the patriotism formation extent in senior school students Quantity of indicators Quantity of points Difference min max Needs-related and motivational 4 4 16 12 Cognitive and emotional 4 4 16 12 Behavioral 4 4 16 12 Total extent of formation 12 12 48 36 Source: the authors Dividing the difference in points into three parts, the authors have determined the increment and limits of the low, average and high levels of formation of patriotism in the senior school students and obtained the following data (see Table 4). Table 4 Limits of the low, average and high patriotism formation levels Criteria Limits of the levels, in points Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9(2), 329-348 Low Average High Very high Needs-related and motivational 4-6 7-9 10-13 14-16 Cognitive and emotional 4-6 7-9 0-13 14-16 Behavioral 4-6 7-9 10-13 14-16 Total extent of formation 12-20 21-27 30-39 42-48 Source: the authors Table 5 shows the distribution of the senior school students depending on the points they scored according to their patriotism formation levels. Table 5 Patriotism formation levels in the senior school students (in % of the total quantity of the surveyed ones) Patriotism formation levels in the senior school students grades 7-9 Needs-related and motivational Very high 13 High 27 Average 26 Low 34 Total 100 Cognitive and emotional Very high 12 High 25 Average 30 Low 33 Total 100 Behavioral Very high 10 High 21 Average 33 Low 36 Total 100 Total extent of formation Very high 12 Alieva et al. High 24 Average 30 Low 34 Total 100 Source: the authors It can be seen from the above data that it is only 12% of the senior school students who have the very high level of patriotism formed, with 24% featuring the high one, about 30% – the average one, and 34% having the low formation level of patriotism. It is also clear from the data that the cognitive and emotional sphere of the extent of formation of patriotism and the needs- related and motivational one are almost the same in the senior school students. The studies have shown that the rural schoolchildren's patriotism formation level is higher than that of the urban ones. It can be seen from the Table 6 and Table 7 below. Table 6 Patriotism formation levels in the senior school students: control group Ascertaining stage (2016-2017) Patriotism formation levels in the senior school students Urban Rural Very the high 8 13 The high 20 31 The average 26 30 The low 46 26 Total 100 100 Source: the authors Table 7 Patriotism formation levels in the senior school students: experimental group Ascertaining stage (2016-2017) Patriotism formation levels in the senior school students Urban Rural Very the high 4 16 The high 20 27 The average 53 30 The low 23 27 Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9(2), 329-348 Total 100 100 Source: the authors The main cause of a high extent of formation of the patriotic feeling in the senior school students of rural areas is the fact that there the children work side by side with adults since childhood. They work in the field, they help their parents with housekeeping, and they get in touch with nature quite frequently. All the factors nurture the feelings of patriotism and love for their Motherland in them. The research conducted has enabled the authors to explore the discussed formation levels of this quality in the senior school students at the ascertaining stage. The very high formation level of patriotism made so few as 4%. It is characterized by the students having a profound idea, understanding and realization of what a true patriot must be, of a true patriot's main traits. These students deeply consciously and correctly detail the main notions of patriotism and can exemplify the described qualities by cases from their own experience and from life of the numerous literary characters – patriots. They know their native language, history and culture of their native country. The high patriotism formation level was shown by 20% of the students. They are characterized as having sufficient idea about the main qualities of a patriot, describing its main notions consciously and correctly, being able to give examples from life for the said qualities. They know the language of their people and they are massively keen on the history and culture of their Motherland. The average extent of formation of patriotism amounted to 28%. These are the students who have a formed idea about the main criteria of patriotism; they cite quite good cases from life to exemplify patriotism. They show interest in customs and traditions of their people and a developed feeling of duty. They treat representatives of other religious denominations, their religion, customs and traditions with respect. The low level of patriotism was found in 48% of the senior school students. It is characterized by their poor interest in history and culture of their homeland, a lack of patriotic orientation of personality. The students have disregard for the history of their own land and the country's culture while also failing to know their native language well enough, which hinders their communication with others. Alieva et al. It has to be pointed out that in the school practice, first of all, qualitative characteristics of certain formation levels of patriotism in the senior school students are more common as a symbiosis of different levels, and secondly, the qualitative attributes may contradict each other. For instance, a vague idea about the qualities of a patriot can be inherent in an adolescent who at the same time has a brightly pronounced feeling of social commitment and initiative and a wish to do something useful for others. However, some attributes are the principal ones for identifying the formation level of patriotism in the senior school students — such as love for one's small and great Motherland, a wish to improve it, knowledge of one's native language and culture. The senior school students who have the clearly mature social commitment and initiative have a high formation level of patriotism too. The students whose social commitment and initiative are unsteady in nature have the average extent of formation of patriotism. Finally, the students who have episodic and poorly pronounced social commitment and initiative show a low patriotism formation level. A conscious idea about having to use one's own hands to improve one's Motherland, the "who if not me" guiding principle for senior school students, and consistent commitment and initiative – the total of these aspects forge an active life stance of the senior school students. They stimulate the students' participation in social projects, their feeling of being important and proud of having personally done something for their Motherland, which in its turn nurtures the feeling of affection for the homeland, their native shore, social and patriotic activity. As a rule, such students demonstrate the high level of patriotism. Conclusion The paper presents results of the ascertaining stage of the pilot research as well as testing- out of the main theoretical and methodological statements concerning the process of patriotic upbringing through the lens of development of the pedagogical technology. The authors have developed mechanisms and conditions for making social commitment and initiative of schoolchildren relevant that in the practice of experiments confirm the efficiency of patriotic upbringing. The outlined criteria- and levels-based approach has allowed singling out the following criteria and indicators of the extent of formation of patriotism in Dagestan senior school students: the needs-related and motivational one, the cognitive and emotional one, and the behavioral criterion. Based on these criteria, the levels of formation of patriotism in the senior school students have been identified: the very high, the high, the average, and the low level. Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2018: 9(2), 329-348 The research conducted in educating decent patriots of their homeland has shown that the following aspects can be emphasized among the qualities found out: - commitment and social initiative; - ongoing involvement of senior school students into activities of transforming their Motherland; - fostering the interest in social and public projects at the level of village, city, and the entire country; - high organizing capacities available in many volunteering social projects. 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