On the Formation of Youth Civic Identity of Students (the Case Study of the Republic of Kalmykia)

Abstract

In terms of sociocultural modernization of Russian society, close attention is being paid to the issue of forming civic identity in young people. In this regard, students’ civic consciousness is central to the mission of Russian higher education institutions, especially, within their concepts of sustainable development. So, the research seeks to examine the formation of civic identity among students of Kalmyk State University which created favorable conditions for modeling and designing students’ civic engagement activities. A major rationale for inspiring civic virtue in young people is their involvement in student activities at the university such as the Council of Student Associations of the university, Starostat (the committee, consisting of monitors of all the study groups of the Faculty), primary student trade union organization and the headquarters of student brigades “Dzhangar”. The analysis of forming civic identity of Kalmyk State University students includes different developmental levels. The first is the information level, which covers, primarily, freshmen, dealing with a variety of outreach activities (meetings with veterans, thematic curatorial hours, etc.). The nature of the civic identity formation, at this level, is mainly focused on students’ involvement and their acquiring civic values, as they are still the object of educational influence. The second level is considered to be more productive, as it involves students’ participation in civic engagement activities. Thus, students are becoming strongly dependent on educational process, which aims to develop a certain number of their behavioral strategies to help them become socially committed members of society who would willingly participate in socially important matters. At the third level, students are supposed to have already developed their civic identity, as they start demonstrating leadership qualities and take the initiative in organizing different types of events, as well.