Within the framework of the EU project “Intensification of Influence of Teachers of Luhansk Region on the Processes of Reconciliation and Peace-Building”, a primary sociological research was completed.
So, at the end of 2020, within the framework of the EU project “Intensification of Influence of Teachers of Luhansk Region on the Processes of Reconciliation and Peace-Building,” the main executor of which is Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University, a primary sociological research was completed, which was aimed at diagnosing the level of conflict in the social environment of the Luhansk region and willingness to influence teachers on the processes of reconciliation and peace.
At the beginning of the academic year, the first stage was carried out using a survey (questionnaire) method. In carrying out auxiliary tasks, the reconnaissance research became a source of operational information of interest to the research team. For a detailed analysis, it is advisable to triangulate quantitative and qualitative methods for collecting primary sociological information, namely, using a focused group interview (FGI), to supplement, validate and interpret the information obtained during the online survey.
To conduct the FGI, a toolkit was created to determine the needs of teachers / lecturers and pupils / students, their understanding and interpretation of conflict situations, to highlight their causes and to correct the following actions to improve the qualifications of teaching staff in the direction of reconciliation. So, two FGI scenarios were developed: separately for teachers / lecturers and education applicants. They are similar, but adapted for each group.
The aim of the study was to clarify the results of the survey, to deepen into the needs and problems of not only the social environment of society, but also educational institutions and subjects of the educational process.
The subject of the research is to determine the needs and expectations of teachers / educators and applicants for education to work on reducing the level of conflict in the social environment of the Luhansk region.
The object of research is needs and expectations.
The subjects of the study are teachers / lecturers and applicants for education in the Luhansk region.
General population: teachers / lecturers (9357 people) and applicants for education (87647 people) of the Luhansk region.
The sample was determined for each FGI – 6-12 people from among teachers / applicants for education. It is this amount, on the one hand, that ensures a variety of views and effective interaction, and on the other hand, does not interfere with the full participation of each group member in the discussion. Six meetings were held, of which three were with teachers / lecturers and three with applicants for education.
Due to quarantine restrictions, it became necessary to apply online interviews with focus groups. Conducting group focused interviews on the Internet takes place in modern science, in particular, you can find the name “online discussion”, and not a focus group, but this technique solves the same problems as the traditional offline method.
The results of the focused group interviews confirmed the results of the teacher / lecturers survey. Based on the analysis of transcriptions, the FGI managed to determine several thesis results:
- The conflict concept consists of the academic and everyday definition of controversy, misunderstanding and the clash of opposing views.
- Among conflict situations, informants most often named cases on the street, in shops or institutions, in the family and at work.
- The conflict in the east of Ukraine has caused additional social tension, which peaks in 2014-2016. Internally displaced persons, armed groups, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and residents of communities were named as frequent subjects of conflict.
- Most of the respondents are experiencing social tension and an increase in the level of conflict in the Luhansk region. The reasons are most often called the impact of the conflict in the East of Ukraine, instability in economic life and quarantine caused by the pandemic.
- Assessing personal potential, teachers / lecturers support the main idea of the project and want to develop and learn, mastering new work skills.
- Among the knowledge and skills that the informants would like to master, the following were most often named: the main provisions of mediation, techniques for the cohesion of society or participants in the conflict, methods for developing communication skills in conflict situations, flexibility when working with conflicts, taking into account the peculiarities of the temperament and nature of the parties to the conflict, personal development.
- The respondents rarely independently work with applicants for education to stabilize their psycho-emotional state associated with the trauma of the war, however, some note that they have such experience with their own children or at work and emphasize the importance of work to stabilize the psycho-emotional state of pupils (students) who survived the trauma of war and add those who want to learn the techniques of such work.
- Applicants for education must realize their creative and leadership potential in an educational institution through circles, and in the extracurricular process through youth public organizations and associations. Among the needs, teachers and lecturers note a relaxation room, materials for creativity, psychological and entertainment games, and also emphasize the feasibility of measures to diagnose and support leadership skills among young people, etc.
The report on the results of the social research ends with conclusions and recommendations that will form the basis for the design of the work of six educational centers, a conference room and the development of educational programs planned by the project.
The Project team expresses sincere gratitude to the pupils, students, teachers and lecturers who took part in the sociological research for their joint and thorough work. We invite everyone who is not indifferent to further participation in the project!
The full version of the report.
This document has been prepared with the financial assistance of the European Union. The content of this document is solely the responsibility of the SI “Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University”, and in no case can be considered as the position of the European Union.
Project team