6.5. Methods of control and self-control in education

This group of methods is aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the educational process, that is, at studying the activities and behavior of pupils by a teacher (control methods) and at pupils' knowledge of themselves (self-control methods).

The main control methods include: a) pedagogical observation of students; b) conversations aimed at identifying education; c) polls (personal, oral, etc.); d) analysis of the results of socially useful activities, activities of student government; e) the creation of pedagogical situations to study the behavior of students.

Pedagogical observation is characterized by direct perception of activity, communication, personal behavior in the integrity and dynamics of their change. There are various types of observation: direct and indirect, open and closed, continuous and discrete, monographic and narrow, etc.

For effective use of this method, it is necessary that the observation: a) be systematic; b) was conducted with a specific purpose; c) based on the knowledge of the program of studying the personality, the criteria for assessing its upbringing; d) had a well-thought-out system of fixing the observed facts (entries in the observation diary, on the observation map, etc.).

Conversations with pupils help teachers find out the degree of awareness of students in the field of moral problems, norms and rules of behavior, to identify possible causes of deviations from compliance with these norms. At the same time, teachers record the opinions, statements of students, in order to assess the quality of their educational influences, the attitude of children to each other, their likes, dislikes, etc.

Psychological questionnaires reveal the nature of relationships between team members, companionship or negative attitudes towards one or another of its members. Questionnaires allow timely detection of any inconsistencies and take measures to resolve them. When compiling questionnaires, you should follow certain rules, for example, do not put questions in a straightforward form, make sure that the content of answers includes mutually verifiable information, etc.

Methods of self-control, aimed at self-organization of the feelings, mind, will and behavior of the individual, provide a process of inner spiritual self-improvement of the pupil and contribute to the transfer of the process of education to self-education. Among these methods, self-analysis and self-knowledge can be distinguished.

The essence of the method of self-analysis lies in the fact that the child (most often a teenager) shows an interest in himself as a person and more persistently reflects on his attitude to the world and his own actions, gives a moral assessment of his position in society, his desires and needs. The methodical instrumentation of the self-analysis process assumes the consideration of the following requirements: first, it is important to prompt the schoolchildren to think that a person’s desire for self-analysis is logical, because it helps him orient himself in the outside world and establish himself in it; secondly, it is necessary to teach schoolchildren how to self-analyze (assessing their own specific actions; forming their own opinions about their behavior, their position in the team, and about relationships with their friends, parents and teachers).

Self-knowledge contributes to the transformation of the child into a subject of education based on the perception of oneself as an independent, unique, unique personality (creation of the “I-concept”). Self-knowledge is connected with the child's discovery of his inner world, which implies, on the one hand, awareness of his own “I” (“Who am I?”, “What am I?”, “What are my abilities?”, “Why can I respect myself?” ), and on the other hand, an awareness of my position in the world (“What is my life ideal?”, “Who are my friends and enemies?”, “What do I want to become?”, “What should I do for myself and the people around me? the world got better? ").

Competent management of the process of self-knowledge is based on the consideration of the following factors: 1) the teacher must ensure that the process of self-knowledge does not cause the child a mental crisis based on awareness of the inconsistency of his inner world with ideals and value orientations; 2) in the process of self-knowledge, the child should not be allowed to “withdraw into himself”, thereby creating a real danger for the emergence of sustainable egocentrism or an inferiority complex, manifested in inadequate self-esteem and poor interpersonal contacts.