Diagnostics of the development of the ideological component of the readiness of cadets of the departmental higher education institution of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for moral self-education: the results of an empirical study

This article examines the empirical aspects of developing cadets' readiness for moral self-education at a departmental university of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia. This development facilitates the development of moral resilience in future penal system employees, shaping them into responsible professionals and moral individuals. The article presents the structure of cadets' readiness for moral self-education, including ideological, axiological-motivational, volitional, and behavioral components, and outlines their content. It is substantiated that the diagnostics of the development of the ideological component of cadets' readiness for moral self-education is possible with the use of the conceptual dictionary method and the association method, with the help of which, firstly, the knowledge of cadets about the concepts of «morality», «morals», «professional morals», «moral standards», «professional moral standards», «self-education», «moral self-education» are studied, on which (knowledge) the moral convictions forming the content of the ideological component of cadets' readiness are based, and, secondly, the attitude of cadets to this knowledge. Criteria for the analysis of the concepts presented to cadets using the conceptual dictionary method are defined, allowing to identify the levels of development of cadets' ideas about morality, ethics, etc. It is substantiated that the use of the association method allows to identify the meaning invested by cadets in the content of the concepts of «morality», «morals», etc., the emotional and value coloring attached to them by cadets. This article compares the results obtained using the conceptual dictionary method and the association method during the control and ascertaining stages of an experimental study to develop cadets' readiness for moral self-education. Significant differences were identified between the experimental and control groups, and the dynamics of the development of the ideological component of readiness for moral self-education in cadets in the experimental group under targeted pedagogical intervention were documented.