INTERNALIZATION OF MORAL NORMS AS A FACTOR IN THE FORMATION OF THE MORAL SELF-ESTEEM OF THE PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENT

Abstract

Introduction. The growing role of morality in social and personal relations in all spheres of life of Ukrainian society is the main indicator of the moral, spiritual, and social revival of our nation and demands new approaches to organization and psychological-pedagogical support of moral education of the younger generation. That is why the problems associated with moral development at the early stages of ontogenesis gain special importance nowadays. The process of awareness of moral norms by children requires a purposeful personal approach, where the level of self-esteem plays an important role, which influences the nature of their relations with others and encourages moral choice in everyday-life situations. The importance of the mentioned problem and the lack of coordination of pedagogical and developmental psychology views concerning peculiarities of the process of moral norms internalization and formation of moral self-esteem in children’s age has prompted the choice of our scientific research. Purpose – highlighting the results of the theoretical and empirical research on psychological features of moral selfesteem of junior pupils and the influence of the internalization of moral norms on the formation of stable and adequate moral self-esteem in the primary school age. Results. It has been established that moral self-esteem is the result of personal assessment as a subject of activity and communication on the basis of learned moral norms, and ideals and as a result of moral identification and selfidentification with apparently existing positive or negative moral standards. The main factors of the formation of moral self-esteem of the pupils of the primary classes have been characterized: adequate assessment of the moral aspects of their behavior by referent adults and encouragement of moral self-esteem in conditions of activity and communication by the teacher. It has been found that the motivation for the moral self-esteem of a child is a moral act, which is positively characterized by significant adults. It has been determined that in most cases the moral self-esteem of the junior pupil depends on external circumstances, authorities, or the approval of the adults, which testifies to the decisive importance of the process of the internalization of moral norms in the formation of moral self-esteem at this stage of ontogenesis. The peculiarities of moral norms internalization in the primary school age are outlined and the direct impact on the process of moral self-esteem is established. It has been observed that the reasons for the lack of moral self-esteem in primary school age are the absence of moral standards of self-esteem. It has been proved that to form stable and adequate self-esteem in primary pupils, a teacher must know the psychological peculiarities of moral self-esteem and the patterns of its formation and development, be morally educated, take a stable moral position in the organization of the educational process, and clearly understand those ideas, which he cultivates for children and to correspond to these ideals.