Military psychology in modern ukrainian historiography of the epoch of ATO (2014–2021)

Abstract

This article is devoted to the content analysis of textbooks and manuals of the epoch of ATO.

Information support for the pedagogical training of military psychologists is represented by curricula, textbooks, teaching aids, and methodological recommendations. It is worth noting that in modern Ukraine, several specialized higher education institutions are engaged in the targeted training of military psychologists. In the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the functions of military psychologists are now mostly performed by clergymen - military chaplains, imams, and rabbis. The experience of the ATO has enriched the educational materials with data from practical activities. Military psychology and military pedagogy have progressed significantly over the period 2014-2021. The adaptation of military veterans to peaceful life is currently carried out by social workers. There are not so many educational institutions that train military psychologists and military educators. Ukraine as a state needs to widely introduce the specialty of military psychologist and military teacher in military, medical and general higher educational institutions. A large number of people will have post-traumatic stress disorders and adaptation disorders. This will also pose a question to scientists at universities and research institutes. It will be necessary to prepare educational-methodological and educational-pedagogical support for the specialties of military psychology and military pedagogy. It will be important for Ukraine to take into account the experience of Azerbaijan, Syria, Israel and other countries that have experience of protracted conflicts.

After conducting a content analysis of three manuals, one textbook and one methodological recommendation, we came to the following conclusions. The manual “Psychological Resilience of a Soldier” published in 2017 by Z. Komar in collaboration with British colleagues is the best of the analyzed educational and methodological support for the disciplines “Military Psychology” and “Military Pedagogy”. Its authors widely used field material and the manual has applied value. In 2007, a manual was developed at the International Academy of Personnel Management, where the author focused on the functioning of the psyche and personality of a serviceman. The authors of the manual developed in 2020 at the Kharkiv University of Internal Affairs focused their attention on military groups and the deviant behavior of their members. It is aimed at preventing deviant behavior of servicemen. The authors of the textbook developed in 2021 at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute focused on the problems of military pedagogy. Methodological recommendations developed by the Scientific Research Center for the Humanities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, published in 2016, focus on the problems of training military psychologists and selection of military personnel based on psychological qualities. The historiography of military psychology includes the study of existing theoretical developments in the field of military psychology and military pedagogy. Military psychology studies military psychogenic disorders and methods of adapting veterans to peaceful life in the post-war period. Knowledge of the source base, and the actual legal framework that regulates the activities of military psychologists, is also important