Methodological support for spiritual and moral education at various age stages of development

Researched are problems of spiritual and moral education of children and adolescents at various age stages, identifying the content and methods of their spiritual and moral development. The following age periods are considered: preschool age, primary school age, adolescence and adolescence, taking into account the leading activity (according to L.S. Vygotsky and D.B. Elkonin), the level of intellectual and moral development (L. Kohlberg, J. Piaget), self-awareness. The age characteristics of children and adolescents also determine the specific ways of educational work from preschool story-role-playing games to discussions, trainings, conferences, group work in older adolescence and youth. The article presents the content and methods of spiritual and moral education and self-education, areas of activity identified in the course of empirical research. The purpose of spiritual and moral education is aimed at developing spiritual qualities that ensure the development of the spiritual consciousness of children, adolescents and youth in accordance with the tasks of the new education, which characterizes the expansion of consciousness by realizing its relationship with the Cosmos, with the deep processes of the evolutionary development of mankind, overcoming the narrow framework of personal egoistic consciousness. The materials of the article are of practical value for researchers of educational problems, students and also school teachers.