A small recipe for the great future

The students make the best part of the youth. Active, mobile, full of initiative, smart, risky and even revolutionary – this is how we imagine the students that celebrated the International Students’ Day on November 17. According to the Ukrainian and foreign polls, the level of social, economic and cultural development of the countries, democracy development and respect for human rights in the society directly influence the world-view of the younger generation, and students in particular. Thus, according to the researchers, the values of the Polish students differ from the ones of the Russian students and the values of the Ukrainian students differ from the ones of their Finnish fellows. For example, the young people from the post-Soviet countries are focused on the material values whereas the students from the countries of high social standards are focused on the universal values. We spoke to the head of laboratory of the Institute of Social and Political Psychology at the National Academy of Psychology of Ukraine, Ph.D. in psychology Iryna ZHADAN about the basis the 2.5 million of students will rely on when developing Ukraine in future.

The modern students are thought to be ambitious and focused on career and individualism. Do the researches of your institute reflect it somehow?

“According to the studies of my laboratory and partially the studies of the Institute of Social and Political Psychology, the modern young people, just like the previous generation are not focused on the developmental values. They are mostly focused on the values of adaptation. These are the values related to the satisfaction of the material needs, the values of order and stability: the need for strong leaders, motivation of the achievement, the opposition of the state and private property and the accent on the importance of the superior power (unlike the developmental values when the authority is not that important and the self-actualization is prioritized). I mean that today the two thirds of students making the best part of the youth focus on the economic progress. It is no coincidence since they hear the appeals to the economic development from everywhere and the economic goals and values are being permanently discussed. The major part of politicians and reputable people mostly say that when we achieve a certain economic level we will live better at once. It is not quite so. When focusing on the economic components we lose a lot, especially, the motivation for self-actualization, self-development and life quality.

“Certainly, there are some objective reasons for this since to aim at the self-development and self-actualization the young have to feel protected. However, today nine out of ten students are concerned about the ecological safety. In general, the youth prioritize the ecological safety among other topical problems. In addition, 80 percent of students feel insecure because of the lower living standard and the lack of social protection, first of all, the social justice. Only 12 percent of the young people think that human rights are respected in our country and 44 percent are satisfied with the civil liberties. The youth trust nobody and feel the need for the values that would unite the people. Over 70 percent of young people think that we lack these values. In general, every second student is a social pessimist – they do not expect the situation in the country and their lives to improve. The reason behind it is that the youth just like the older generation focus on the systems of relations ‘citizens – the power’ meaning that they expect the government to improve their life without putting their own efforts into it. Suffice it to say that when answering the question why their life is not going the way they want the young people enumerate the external reasons: the situation in the society (the lack of equal possibilities took the first place), the second reason is the unfavorable conditions and the third reason is the lack of their own abilities (courage, self-confidence, etc.). By the way, every second student emphasizes the lack of self-confidence. When we interrogated the wider age group 18 to 29 years old 24 percent of respondents mentioned this problem as an obstacle for certain achievements. So, the youth are external: they cannot find the problems in them; for example, only 5.7 percent of people admit that their failures are caused by their bad studies. So, there is no reason to say that the young people significantly differ from the older generation.

“According to our researches, the youth essentially differ from the previous generation in two parameters. First of all, the youth are more focused on the individualism than the collectivism; secondly, the youth tend to the innovations unlike the conservative older people. At the same time, the youth outstrip the older people in consumption. In all the other aspects, the youth, just like the older people tend to the control, authoritarianism, revolution, equality, ecology and morality. We can often hear older people saying that the youth are immoral; however, in fact, the young people often choose morality and not reasonability. The students, just like the older generation emphasize the control instead of the freedom and the authoritarianism instead of the democracy yet their rate is much lower.

“We saw that most of the young people are endowed. When answering a question what they really lack, they mention a nice car, nice clothes, nice furniture, etc. They have usual cars and clothes but they lack nice ones.”

A lot of social studies demonstrate that the youth are focused on going abroad in order to employ and make a career. Do your studies reflect it?

“Our scientist Olena Blinova studied the psychological factors of the labor migration among the students. She found out that 80 percent of students consider the migration to be a negative phenomenon. They were careful and discreet when estimating their prospects of working abroad. Only 8 percent of students were ready for the unskilled labor with a low social status. Nearly 49 percent of students said that they were ready to go working abroad on a condition that they will get a high-skill job. Our youth is not ready to go abroad on any conditions. About a third of respondents said that they would like to choose a country where to live.”

You have mentioned the ecological consciousness of the youth. Do they realize the ecological threats or is it just a fashion?

“Except the ecology, the young people consider the health to be one of the basic values unlike the older generation. Probably, the youth is putting the health at one of the first places because its level is low and the ecological situation is a problem for us. It is good that the students are more focused on the ecological problems. For example, many of them are ready to participate in cleaning, ecological actions and environmental care. It should be noticed that the youth have accepted and realized the importance of the ecology for our life.”

COMMENTARIES

“Better Ukraine will not appear out of nowhere, because it is an everyday job for each one of us”

Yulia YARUCHYK, The National University of Ostroh Academy:

“Students have always been active participants of social, political, and, in a general sense, national life in our country. When Ukraine reached a deadlock, this distinct layer of youth always found out their own, unique way out. The readers will probably remember samizdat literature, the begginning of the students’ Granite Revolution, the first tents in Maidan. Students are not afraid of taking the responsibility, because they are the creators of tomorrow, creators of the country they will have to live and work in.

“Being a student of the Ostroh Academy I can say that quality European-standard education and a hope that knowledge will be valued in future give me confidence as I look ahead. Only those who have a broad outlook and erudition (I am not talking about theoretical knowledge), are ready for further development and get adjusted to new areas of activity, and realize themselves in some aspects required by their lives. Universities, including the Ostroh Academy, have a huge advantage in that respect. Their main priority is developing the overall competence of students, their patriotic feelings, and the feeling that their country needs them, rather than professional competence.

“That is why, in my opinion, the first thing each of us can do for our country is to obtain quality education. Despite the new legislation and university traditions, which do not always seem justified to us, nobody blocks the access to libraries, to the world of data, and no one can deprive us of the desire to develop and express our ideas. Nodoby can make marginals out of us, unless we choose to become marginals. Of course, people who understand it, associate their future with their motherland only. Lina Kostenko in her novel Zapysky Ukrainskoho Samashedshoho cited a phrase, very popular among young people: “If you are the last to leave the country, please turn off the light at the airport.” That is deeply saddening. It is sad that Ukrainians are determined to become... nobody. Because this is what you are when you are in a foreign country. I hope that in the future Ukrainians will realize that every foreign word they use, every instance of indifferent attitude towards the situation in the country dooms them to the feeling of inferiority, and takes away personal dignity and freedom of each one of us.

“Ukraine needs us, needs our support, and finally, our love. We do not need to do anything grand or extreme to remain Ukrainians and hold an active civic stand. We needn’t organize meetings, protests, or revolutions. It is enough to be a patriot in whatever you do, to be proud of what you have, to achieve what you lack, and finally, to realize that our lives and our reputation in the world are in our own hands.”

Kateryna YAKOVLENKO, student, Donetsk National University:

“All students want to know for sure that the five years at the university and the degree will prove useful for the country where they live. And I am no exception. I don’t want to study only in order to go abroad later, run away from here, look for a better lot ‘in the Russified cities.’ No student dreams of that while applying to the university. But as you proceed with studies, such thoughts start to arrive – when you get a better idea of what is going on in the country, what legislation gets passed, and how it is going to influence your life.

“I am perfectly aware that life abroad won’t be any better. People abroad also question the actions of their governments, they have the same kind of problems with benefits and unemployment. Maybe, in this case it is best to just do your job, and do it well – and of course, help other people. They say that the number of volunteers in a country equals to living standards: the more volunteers there are, the more open the society. That is why I am trying to do as much as I can, while I’m still a student. By organizing literature clubs, BookCrossing events, conferences, and participating in other student events, initiative, and volunteering projects, I sincerely believe that I’m already helping build our society today. This is similar to when you buy a CD to promote the artist instead of just downloading the music from the Internet. You can never know what tomorrow will bring you, especially when you graduate. This is even more difficult when your country is unstable both economically and politically. Yet as you give something to your country, you are sure to get something back.”