Informal Career Guidance or the «School of Personal Growth of KBSU» for children

Experts of the Center for Psychological Assistance of the Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after H.M. Berbekov held a scientific and practical seminar «School of Personal Growth» for students of specialized pedagogical classes. The two-day seminar was held for two days from October 29 and 30 on the basis of the Elbrus educational and scientific complex of the KBSU. Schoolchildren from the village of Primalkinskoye and the urban settlement of Chegem came to the author’s training seminar from the candidate of psychological sciences, head of the Center for Psychological Assistance at KBSU Rimma Bagova.

During the meeting, the theme of the development of motivation for introspection, self-development was discussed. The head of the Center for Psychological Assistance at KBSU provided the children with psychological support in the process of professional and personal self-determination. Zarema Bagova, Deputy Director of the KBSU Library, Candidate of Psychological Sciences, took part in the discussion of the problems of developing motivation and self-development. Ruslan Zhidkov, a graduate student of the KBSU, the head of the interdisciplinary student scientific society «Adaptol», and undergraduates of the Pedagogical Psychology profile, members of the student scientific society «Unicum» Milana Bekulova and Indira Karamurzova helped in the preparation and conduct of trainings, practical exercises.

Also on the first day of the seminar, a team building training was held, where the guys learned to analyze their personal qualities, reflect on aspects of their interaction with other people. Schoolchildren worked on the ability to reasonably open up to others, trust, and provide psychological support to each other. After the training, the participants watched the film «Roll Over the Head» and discussed it in terms of styles and techniques of family and school education. Art therapy tools, games and exercises came to the aid of the children in recognizing and working through negative emotional experience and actualizing positive experiences. The experience gained will allow schoolchildren to develop the skills of introspection, reflection, strengthen their psychological and pedagogical orientation and awareness of choosing a professional and life path.

The second day of the seminar was dedicated to supporting the process of professional and personal self-determination. As part of art therapy, high school students created “The Purpose of My Life” collages and then presented them to the audience. This exercise gave them the opportunity to comprehend priorities, to more clearly understand and formulate life goals, to predict methods for achieving them, and to get to know themselves and their classmates even better. The seminar ended with a reflection in a circle, where each participant had the opportunity to formulate the results of their work, to speak the most important thoughts and feelings, to share their impressions and experiences.

Many schoolchildren noted that they have learned communication skills, are not afraid to open up to others, and have gained experience in psychological analysis and introspection. The guys managed to make friends and hope to meet soon and continue working together. The work of the Center for Psychological Assistance at KBSU continues. The next seminar with students of specialized university classes will be devoted to interpersonal cross-age communication. The announcement of the meeting will be published on the Center’s Telegram page.