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PREVENTIVE MEASURES AGAINST THE USE OF PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCES IN SOCIAL AND PEDAGOGICAL COLLEGE WORK
Е. М. Popova
The organization of preventive measures against addictive behavior on the part of learners presumes the observation of their personality, activities (studying, work, sports, public, creative, etc.,) and environment (family, college, micro-group). The technology of social and pedagogical work aimed at preventive measures against deviant behavior consists of three stages, which are diagnosis, correction and development, and reflection. Each of these stages is conducted regarding the personality of a learner, his activities and the environment he lives in.
An educator should start working with a deviant learner using such methods as conversation and surveillance: they should gather information about the family relations of the learner, his/her social environment and health. Afterwards, the educator should observe behavior of the learner, determine the peculiarities of his/her communicative skills, value system, interests and the level of motivation toward study and work.
The educator should also pay attention to the way the learner refers to drugs in individual and group conversations. The logical level of the drug discourse in the learner's conversations may be as follows: "I have heard about drugs” (first level); "I have seen other people taking drugs” (second level); "I know how and why people take drugs” (third level); "I think there are situations in life which drugs may help to handle” (fourth level); "I'm convinced that it is impossible to live without being doped up' (fifth level); "I know that drugs change the consciousness and open a way to other worlds and realities” (sixth level). The idea of diagnostic conversation is that the more a leaner talks about some phenomenon, the more meaningful and important it is to them and the possibility of its realization is greater. A college psychologist should help the teacher in observation of the individual and personal features of a leaner by conducting a psychological diagnosis. There are various methods to determine the psychological status, personal peculiarities, presence of psychological/psycho-neurological and other deviations, character actualization, and personal pathologies of a learner, as well as finding out whether he or she is predisposed to deviant behavior, including alcohol and drug abuse.
The results of a psychological diagnosis can draw educators' attention to such parameters of learners' behavior as increased anxiety,
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hostility, aggressiveness, apathy, depression, insomnia, melancholy, feelings of guilt, decreased mental and physical activities, etc. The presence of these important factors raises suspicions that a learner might be using psychoactive substances. A complex socio-psychological and pedagogical approach also allows for the detection of whether the learner belongs to a risk group and the recommendations of a psychologist can help teachers and parents elaborate the right way to communicate with the teenager and assist in the process of his or her education.
Correctional and development work encompasses purposeful activities aimed at the management of the teenager’s behavior. Teachers (class teacher, social teacher, additional discipline teacher, etc.) conduct the following types of correctional and developing activities: (a) continuous pedagogic control over attendance, progress and behavior of learners, studying and eliminating reasons for poor results, truancy and disciplinary violations; (b) formation and expansion of parents' awareness of laws related to the use of psychoactive substances and the illegal distribution of drugs and psychotropic substances; (с) cultivation of a healthy lifestyle and use of anti-drug an anti-alcohol propaganda; (d) formation of an active social position on the part of learners by engaging them in socially important public, creative and other activities including volunteering; (e) formation of creative activities by engaging learners in the professional work of the college, the city and other forms of psychological and teaching activity.
The reflexive component of social and pedagogical activities encompasses results' assessment at a group and college level. In the assessment process, we apply the following criteria: (а) personal criteria that indicate a dynamic personal change of learners in the risk group; (b) rating criteria that indicate the dynamics of general parameters (progress, attendance, learning activity, etc.); (c) environmental criteria that indicates the level of psychological comfort in the educational environment (the methodology of the educational environment assessment presumes conducting questionnaire polls of teachers, learners, parents, pedagogical observations, conversations as well as applying such methods as 'Open Mail' and 'Question-Answer'; (d) pedagogical criteria (an increase in the psychological and pedagogic competence of educators taking measures against deviant behavior).
As our experience has shown, important factors in increasing the effectiveness of preventive measures in colleges are the psychological and pedagogic competence of educators and their readiness to take action. The
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general logic of preventive policy is, first of all, the formation of a unified value system and attitude to drugs among the college's pedagogical staff, who must be convinced of the necessity of preventive measures. They should also realize that they are responsible for the health and safety of learners and deny obsolescent behavioral traditions, the declarative form of communication with learners and parents, and act on the idea that a learner is an active participant in the educational process, not its passive subject. In order that such a system can function successfully, it is very important to convince the pedagogical staff that preventive work should be conducted systematically and in accordance with a plan. Also, it should be kept in mind that cultivating the idea of strong immunity to drugs in the learners' mentality is one of the most important educational missions of the teacher.
Special attention should be paid to the training of class teachers, social teachers, psychologists and other educators related to the basis of preventive activities. It is reasonable to organize special seminars on drug problems and principles, and forms and methods of preventive work for the pedagogical staff. They should also be taught to use diagnostic methodologies, conduct individual work, training, discussions and conversations as well as be provided with informative materials. Practice has shown that anti-drug education programs should be conducted throughout the entire academic period at college. Educators conducting such programs should also be well prepared for each lecture or seminar because young people today are very well-informed. The following aspects should not be allowed: (а) providing any false information such as misrepresentation of influence of some types of substances or exaggeration as to their negative effects; (b) describing substances and their types, classification and effects. The emphasis should be made on the consequences of drug use; (c) justification of drug use for any reason; (d) strategies of drug use.
Another important task is creating the necessary conditions for introducing preventive measures into the educational and pedagogic process. The problem is that training, lectures, and seminars require a certain amount of time. In our experience, incoherent measures do not provide the necessary preventive effect. Therefore, the college administration, psychologists and class leaders should plan and coordinate their activities. For example, additional classes of 7th and 8th class may be left free in the schedule on particular days of a month. Besides, it is necessary to pay attention to the formation of conducting extracurricular
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creative and sporting activities, hiring teachers with additional education, organizing excursions and field trips, and other leisure activities. Comfortable educational conditions, developing the interests and talents of learners and their satisfaction interacting with classmates may greatly contribute to protecting them against drugs and crime.
Therefore, the systematic organization of activities, integration of efforts by all participants in the educational process, initiative on the part of the pedagogical staff as well as the application of various creative approaches, personal interest in the result of preventive work, support from student government, parents and the community in general, and cooperation with other institutions and organizations contribute to the success of preventing deviant and addictive behavior in learners.
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