Keyword: «mentor»

The paper discusses the issue of effective functioning of mentoring in the internal affairs bodies. Mentoring is a critical element of training and education of employees (trainees) of the bodies of internal affairs for its efforts to build a decent moral character of the employee, his sense of duty, and responsibility for the assigned work, contributing to the professional and spiritual growth.

The author considers the problems related to mentoring as a significant learning strategy that involves providing students with emotional and instrumental support during the period of study in higher education institutions. By providing informative, guiding and motivational support, mentors aim to play a significant role in stimulating students’ aspirations and preparing them for future careers. The article tries to answer a number of challenges faced by modern students, both during training and in the subsequent professional activities, and offers practical recommendations in the context of traditional foreign language classes at the University.

At present, society requires from a person the ability to constant personal and professional improvement, which actualizes the development of students’ “self-concept”, the formation of their personality in the educational process of the university. The purpose of the article is to study the influence of students’ “self-concept” on the willingness to participate in volunteer work. The study was conducted on the basis of the Tula State Pedagogical University named after L. Tolstoy with first- and second-year students. The research methods included a theoretical analysis of domestic and foreign literature on the research problem; questionnaires, testing, and a pedagogical experiment were used as empirical methods. The principles of consistency and integrity, taking into account the individual and age characteristics of students, etc. were determined as fundamental ones. The article presents the experience of implementing the program of classes for volunteer students "The First Step into Volunteering", which promotes the involvement of students in various areas of volunteering. Its distinctive feature is the form of interaction organization in the "student-mentor - first-year student" system. The proposed program provides theoretical and practical modules aimed at developing the “self-concept”, individuality of students, reveals the potentials of personal and professional growth by means of volunteer work. The program consists of the following modules: “Who am I?”, “I am a volunteer”, “Helping others”, “Volunteer project”, “From volunteering to employment”. The theoretical significance is presented by an overview of approaches to the structure of the students’ “self-concept” and the development of the volunteer movement. The practical significance of the research is in the worked out program for the development of students’ “self-concept” at the pedagogical university in the process of active involvement in volunteer work. The introduction of students to project activities deserves special attention. The research results can be useful for the development of volunteer centers of universities, the organization of psychological and pedagogical support for the creative activity of students.

The goal is to work out and test a program for implementing mentoring in pairs as a basis for developing the personal potential of a mentor and a troubled teenager, taking into account their individual characteristics. The study has been conducted on the basis of the Central Educational Institution No. 27 and Tula State Pedagogical University named after L.Tolstoy, which teenagers, senior schoolchildren, and students have attended. Research methods include theoretical ones (study and analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature; analysis, generalization and systematization of information from scientific sources); empirical ones (questionnaires, testing, pedagogical experiment); and methods of quantitative and qualitative analysis. The diagnostic program includes the following methods: «Questionnaire of interpersonal relations» (author – A. A. Rukavishnikov), «Communicative and organizational inclinations» (authors – V. V. Sinyavsky, B. A. Fedorishin), «Unfinished sentences», the test «Who am I?» (author – M. Kuhn). Based on the results of the study of troubled teenagers and mentors from among students and senior schoolchildren, a program for the development of mentoring in pairs is compiled in order to form a positive image of a mentor–friend for troubled teenagers, prevent deviant behavior through inclusion in various activities, and provide systematic assistance to troubled teenagers. The development of mentoring relationships is based on the principles of trust, dialogue and constructive partnership, and mutual enrichment, as well as the direct transfer of personal and practical experience and knowledge. The content of the mentor training program includes the following sections: «I am a mentor», «How to become a mentor for a troubled teenager», «Steps of cooperation», «To help a mentor», «Feedback». The authors' approach to the content of the program consists in the development at mentors from among students and senior schoolchildren of models of positive prevention of deviant behavior of troubled adolescents in extracurricular activities. The analysis of the implementation of the mentoring program shows that the presence of a mentor-friend has a positive effect on the formation of positive behavioral patterns of a troubled teenager. Mentors help teenagers to reveal their personal potential by personal example and develop themselves as a pair (team), helping the younger ones. Mentoring at the same time is a way of direct and indirect personal influence of the mentor on the troubled teenager. For the mentor, such work turns into an element of personal improvement and self-development, acting as a test for a person in the future profession.