Formation of assertive behavior of students – future state and municipal employees

Introduction. Based on the analysis of modern scientific research, the importance of assertive behavior for the successful professional activity of state and municipal employees is shown. The need for the comprehensive development of all components of the structure of assertive conduct in the development of programs for its formation is emphasized, which should begin in the process of training students – future civil servants in a specialized university. 

Materials and methods. The following methods were used in the study: theoretical – analysis of Russian and foreign psychological and pedagogical literature, generalization, systematization and interpretation of data. empirical – questionnaires, psychodiagnostic methods; instrumental and statistical methods.

Results of the study. The study took place in two stages. The first stage is ascertaining, during which a pilot study of preferences and differences in the answers of students (112 people) and working civil servants (163 people) about professionally important qualities, motives and models of behavior of civil servants was carried out. It was shown that students know little about assertive behavior, what importance it has in the professional activities of state employees. In the experimental study, it was found that the components of assertive behavior among students participating in the experiment (240 people – 1st, 3rd and 4th year students) are mainly at an average level of development, there is no positive dynamics of their growth from course to course, and negative dynamics are demonstrated in terms of autonomy-dependence and self-confidence.

The second stage of our research was the development of a program for the formation of assertive behavior of students – state and municipal employees in the conditions of psychological and pedagogical support, the content of the program is presented. As the main conditions for the formation of assertive behavior of students, we have singled out: the continuity of the theoretical and practical parts of training and the use of educational situations to deploy the environment of interpersonal interaction between civil servants and clients, modeling their professional activities. At the formative stage, 127 students took part in the study: 57 of them made up the experimental group and 70 people made up the control group. To assess the effectiveness of the program, a comparison of positive changes in the structural components of assertive behavior in the experimental group compared to the control group was carried out, which showed that the students of the experimental group showed statistically significant positive dynamics in the entire complex of studied indicators of assertive behavior. In the control group, no positive dynamics was revealed.

Discussion and conclusion. The results obtained in the study show that the effective formation of assertive behavior of students – future state and municipal employees can be carried out with the help of the program of psychological and pedagogical support in the process of studying at the university. This allows us to recommend this program for inclusion in the process of training students of management universities. 

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