How values affect choices - Student integrity

KURAM VE UYGULAMADA EĞİTİM BİLİMLERİ EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES: THEORY & PRACTICE

2833

Received: January 15, 2018

Revision received: August 21, 2018 Copyright © 2018 ESTP

Accepted: August 25, 2018 www.estp.com.tr

DOI 10.12738/estp.2018.6.183 ⬧ December 2018 ⬧ 18(6) ⬧ 2833-2844

Research Article

A Study on College Students’ Integrity Cultivation from

the Perspective of “Social Person” *

Junbo Zhang1

Shaanxi Normal University, Xidian University

Abstract The fundamental objective of college students’ ideological and moral education is for them to be a “social

person,” and integrity is the basic guarantee and key factor for the establishment and development of their

socialization and moral self. Given the status quo of college students’ integrity education that’s “boring in theory

and confusing in reality”, we can cultivate students' integrity and morality subject from awakening their

awareness of being “social person” and in the process of their full socialization and the development of their

moral self. We can also create a good atmosphere of integrity on campus, make it part of their self-cultivation

and value, so that they can live an honest and moral life.

Keywords Integrity Education • Social Person • Socialization • Moral Self

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* This work was supported by 2015 Philosophy and Social Science Foundation of China: “The Internalization of Integrity

System as a Mechanism, Path and Guarantee for Citizens' Standardized Beliefs and Actions” (Approval No.: 15AZD019);

Xidian University Students' integrity education counselor studio stage results.

1Correspondence to: Junbo Zhang (PhD), School of Marxism, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710119, China; School of

Telecommunications Engineering, Xidian University, Xi'an 710119, China. Email: [email protected]

Citation: Zhang, J. B., A Study on College Students’ Integrity Cultivation from the Perspective of “Social Person”.

Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 18(6), 2833-2844. http://dx.doi.org/10.12738/estp.2018.6.183

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According to Herschel, the survival of human beings outweighs their existence (Herschel, 2009). To be a

social person, one lives, not just exists, in the world, and grows him/herself from subjective initiative. It is when

one gives forth the radiance of humanity, transcends pure existence, and makes his/her life full meaningful.

Such a state of existence is an external manifestation of the ethical concerns of a social person. As an outstanding

group of young people, college students shoulder the historical responsibility of the great rejuvenation of the

Chinese nation and the responsibility of the era of socialist modernization with Chinese characteristics. They

must constantly enhance their personality, improve their quality, actively develop themselves, and make

themselves “social people”, and people with both ability and political integrity required for the development of

the country and the society (Bai, 2014).

The goal of ideological and moral education is to improve people’s ideological understanding, transform

their subjective world and promote social harmony and stable development. For college students, its

fundamental aim is for them to full grow up. Integrity education is an important part of college students'

ideological and moral education. Honesty and integrity are the most basic moral criteria that must be possessed

by people to live in the real society. It is also the basic moral requirement of human beings. The integrity

education should be incorporated in the education system of teaching college students how to grow up, and

integrity personality into the development process of students’ development. It should awaken college students’

awareness of being a “social person”, and encourage them to live an honest and moral life (Cao, 2013).

How college students should do to be a “Social Person”

Socialization is the premise of being a “social person”

Socialization is an important development task for students when they are in colleges and universities, and

an important prerequisite for them to be “social people”. Marx points out that the essence of human was not the

abstraction inherent in a single person; rather, it is the sum of all social relations." The essence of Marx's

humanity reveals that human growth and development must be in a certain social relation, constantly interact

with the social environment around them, and that people construct, develop and improve their essence through

social practice, and complete their transition from existence to survival in the pursuit of their essence. To be a

“social person,” one possesses the characteristics of people required to live in the world. As far as Herschel is

concerned, the reason why a person is a person lies in his/her basic emotion, how he/she reacts to the reality ...

how he/she relates to his own reality and the reality of others, how he/she relates to what is presented in his

immediate environment, and to what exists but not directly." People must actively involve in social life in order

to be successfully socialized, develop their humanity in this process, thus forming their social characteristics.

The socialization of college students lies in the continuous internalization of certain values, knowledge and

abilities into the essential elements for self-development. It is a constant cultivation, shaping of personality, and

construction of spirit in the social environment, so as to be a socialized person, one that is truly adapts to the

socialized living situation, and one that is in harmony with social development. Socialization is the premise for

college students to be “social people,” and full socialization is a necessary condition for them to truly grow up.

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The process of socialization is a process in which college students establish complex social relations. To adapt

to the socialized survival situation, college students must establish good social relations. It is therefore suggested

that students be well guided in how to correctly handle the relationship between the environment and people in

their self-development (Lin, 2011).

To become “social people,” college students constantly involve themselves in new connections with the

society, when their self-knowledge is more profound and perfect and when they can improve themselves in a

more definite manner, and when they can make constant breakthroughs and self-actualization. It is also when

their awareness of being “social people” fully develops in the real social situation. Socialization is the first step

for college students to be “social people”, to be true social persons, and to possess the ability to survive,

communicate and develop in society. However, the educational guidance should not stop there, as the real

“social people” should be able to live in society, be the master of their own destiny, and transcend their

existence, or an overall control of themselves from the outside to the inside.

Establishing and developing moral self as the key for college students to be “social people”

As Herschel points out, the moral issue is important not only because the society needs it, but because

without it one can be confused with “what it is to be a human being.” As a social ideology, morality is the code

of conduct and norm for people to survive and develop in society. Morality, as a kind of comprehensible wisdom

lifestyle and shared social spirit of human existence, forms through reflection in generational social life. It hides

in people's deep inside, is internalized into habits and behavioral norms in daily life, and becomes the most

profound value basis for the meaning and choice of ethical behavior. The reason why a person is a human being

lies in the humanity manifested by his/her unique emotions, morality, social and psychological activities, etc.

The moral light of human nature is the living wisdom that people have realized through reflection, internalized

in the heart and externalized in behavior, which is also a key factor for college students to truly “grow up”.

According to President Xi Jinping, morality is of fundamental significance to both the individual and the society,

and the pursuit of self-cultivation should go first for one as a person and when he/she do something. It is an

important period for students to become “social people” when they are in colleges and universities. The

fundamental task of higher education is to establish morality and cultivate talents, that is, to continuously

strengthen the cultivation of students' moral education, so that the latter can form a good moral order and truly

become “social people” in their thoughts and behaviors. The key to it is to make college students grow into

people with good moral cultivation, so that they can transcend their reality, establish and develop their moral

self, and show good judgment and consciously develop a moral life when faced with moral dilemmas.

Dewey believes that the moral self is an individual in a society, a social self, and therefore, the understanding

of this moral self cannot be separated from the specific social situation in which it is located... and only through

society can we grasp ourselves. Socialization is the premise of establishing moral-self. Moral self is a rational

self in moral situation. Only in the society can we guide the self to carry out moral life. Once moral self is

established, it can guide and control the development of the real self. As is pointed by Tang Junyi, the essence

of morality is the liberation of the real self, and the liberation of the real self is the realization of moral self. The

establishment of moral self is a breakthrough in the real self. It means “making the individual the existence of

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noble ethics and moral sentiment culturally, the adherence to the solemn goal of life and its corresponding

norms, and the firm adherence to oneself in the face of infinitely expanding material desires.” (Yuan, 2016;

Zhu, 2017) The establishment of moral self is essentially the transcendence of the real self, the shaping of the

individual moral personality, the self-conscious moral persistence in various moral situations and the moral

cultivation rooted in the heart. Full socialization is the premise of establishing and developing the moral self.

The moral confusion generated in the face of specific moral situations in real life can trap college students in

the real self, thus impossible to make judgment choices living up to morality. One that do not exceed the real

self cannot truly establish a moral self and live a moral life, let alone to be truly a “social person”. The

establishment and development of moral self requires college students to face the real problems encountered in

their self-development, guide the real life with moral personality higher than the real life, and try to construct a

moral and spiritual order to create, construct and guide a moral life in the future. The development of moral self

is not separable from the development of the country, the nation and the society, and should become the

successor and promoter of the moral value of the country, the nation and the society. College students should

make the development of their moral self a conscious activity.

Integrity training and college students to be “social people”

The connotation of integrity from the perspective of being “social people”

Integrity is the traditional virtue inherent in the Chinese nation known for its Confucian political ideology.

It is the basis of a universal normative social moral system and a significant part of China's socialist core values.

Be it the Confucian thinking or the requirements of modern society for civic moral sentiment, integrity is the

most basic requirement of being a “social person”. Confucianism emphasizes one should grow up in the

realization of group value and the perfection of human relations (Jing, 2012; Marx & Engels, 1995). In the

moral system advocated by Confucianism, integrity is one of the five ethical norms and takes up a core position.

“Integrity is the law of heaven; to be honest is the law of humanity.” (Mencius • Lilou Part One) The core of

morality is integrity. The humanity lies in integrity, and a person who is born honest can within him/herself

reach moderation without worrying unnecessarily his/her deeds or words. Integrity is also an important basis

for the ideal personality cultivation and the realization of the great political ambition the Confucian School

believes. As it goes, “In ancient times, those who want to carry forward the virtues in the world must first run

their own country well; to run their own country well, they must first manage their families well; to manage

their families well, they must first cultivate their own characters well; to cultivate their own characters well,

they must first correct their own thoughts; to correct their own thoughts, they must first make their own ideas

sincere; to make their own ideas sincere, they must first acquire knowledge; to acquire knowledge, they must

learn and integrate things.” (The Book of Rites • The Great Learning) To make ideas sincere, people should be

honest, strengthen inner concentration, refuse to deceive others or themselves. To grow up, one should cultivate

him/herself and the ideal goal advocated by Confucianism is moral cultivation and the realization of lofty

political ambitions. Without integrity, what on earth can one do well? (The Analects of Confucius) It means

without integrity, one loses the basis as a human being.

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To be a social person in the current era means to become a qualified citizen that meets the requirements of

the socialist modernization drive with Chinese characteristics. The integrity and moral quality of human beings

reflects both their individual value and the social value in promoting social harmony and stable development.

Integrity is an important guarantee for the normal operation of the socialist market economic system, and a

social capital universally recognized, that can be accumulated and brings great value. The social environment

of integrity is an important part of the governance of the country, while integrity and morality are also basic

virtue requirements of citizens. Therefore, in China, integrity is an essential moral rule of traditional universal

ethics and ethical principle for modern governance. It is the basis for the normal operation of China's social and

economic order, and a must-have virtue for qualified citizens. Higher education turns out builders and

successors of socialist modernization with Chinese characteristics, which reflects the expectation of the party

and the state on students to grow up as citizens with integrity.

Integrity as the moral protection of college students’ socialization

Integrity is the most basic moral quality of human beings, a necessary moral foundation in human

socialization and an important part of moral personality. Undergraduates in the early stage of adulthood are at

a critical stage when their morality and mentality tend to be stable, their personality development shapes up,

and their self-identity is established. As the scope of their social interaction in primary and secondary schools

is relatively narrow, their moral personality is mostly developed under the care and planning of the family and

the school, and as a result, their judgment of right and wrong often has the standard answer. Different from this

stage, the social psychology of college students becomes more and more mature as they are separated from the

constraints of the original family environment. In the collective life on the campus as a relatively independent

individual, their scope of communication expands, so are their opportunities to contact with the society, when

they are able to recognize themselves in a more profound process of socialization, and more actively in shaping

their moral self and participating in moral practice and experience. This is also when they independently make

judgment out of moral values, and lay a solid foundation for the stable development of lifelong moral life. The

shaping of moral personality must be completed in moral practice. Socialization provides a good external

environment for the development of moral personality of college students. In socialization, to abide by the

contract and accumulate credit, one has to be honest in social interaction, without which they may lose their

stand, let alone be deemed as a “social person.” Integrity is the ethical norm that people must follow in social

communication. Without mutual trust, individual credit and good faith in communication, human society cannot

be formed and developed, and human socialization is definitely out of the question. As it goes, “People should

be honest in interpersonal communication,” (The Analects of Confucius) In their socialization, college students

should make integrity of their inner side a basis for their external social interaction. They should continuously

develop their honest personality for better integration into society and socialization.

Integrity as the key to the moral self-development of college students

The establishment and development of moral self reflects people's unremitting pursuit of moral personality

and their close relation with the interests of the state, society and others. Self-discipline is the external

manifestation of moral self and formed with self-conscious based on physical practice and constant

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understanding built in socialization. It is the coordination, with morality as the criterion, of social relations.

Integrity is a universal value regardless of the times or regions. It is an insurmountable bottom line of morality,

and also the basic principle of being a human being. It is an important quality that guides people to transcend

their reality self and develop their moral self. To develop a moral self, one must first be confident, that is, believe

that human nature can be shaped, that life situations and self-behavior controllable, and that he/she can have

good moral judgment to live a moral life. This requires people to be sincere with themselves, not obscured by

reality or affected by others. Second, they should believe in others, that is, believe that everyone can develop

their moral self and behavior. It is precisely because with a desire for truth, kindness, and perfection, people

have the motivation to transcend the reality. Third, one must have self-disciplined integrity, rather than

heteronomous or blind obedience. It is the inner need of a person to consciously improve and perfect the self.

It is a manifestation of a mature moral order, which allows people to understand integrity, experience integrity,

and consciously choose honest behavior and honest practice. The goal of moral self is to consciously live a

moral life, and behind it is absolute self-discipline, as reflected in the cautious and independent conduct

advocated by Confucianism. Fourth, integrity must be externalized. The external manifestation of moral self is

to consciously carry out moral practice in daily life. A person that truly internalizes the morality of integrity

will inevitably externalize it in real life and interpersonal communication. They will treat people with sincerity

and loyalty, and show integrity in daily words and deeds. It can be seen that with integrity, people can

consciously restrain themselves, believe themselves and others, and be self-disciplined. College students are in

an important stage of learning about the society and developing themselves. They should constantly deepen

their understanding of integrity, or the important foundation for establishing and developing their moral self,

and living a moral life in the future. They should constantly comprehend and reflect it in concrete practice, and

ultimately internalize it as an indispensable part of their moral and spiritual order. Integrity is an important

component of college students' moral personality. To guide college students to establish and develop their moral

self, we should stress the cultivation of their integrity, self-confidence and self-discipline, make integrity the

necessary rule for the establishment of spiritual order, thus laying a solid foundation for the establishment and

development of their moral self.

The real dilemma faced by integrity education of college students

The conceptual integrity that students learn in the classroom education in primary and secondary schools

begins to further develop in the real world when they start their college life. Under the influence of unfavorable

social ethos, such as utilitarianism, money worship, impetuousness and expanding private desires, college

students are prone to be at loss in socialized practice, which can shake their faith, affect the establishment and

development of their moral self, and impact on the effectiveness of college students’ integrity education and the

shaping of their honest personality.

Dishonest conduct on campus

The untrustworthy behaviors that college students are exposed to during schooling will directly affect the

formation of their honest personality. These behaviors often occur in the nuances of daily study and life. With

the expansion of their social scope and social activities, college students will inevitably face dishonesty in their

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growth, and unconsciously have untrustworthy behavior intentionally or unintentionally. The cost of dishonesty

on campus can be low and relatively hidden. As institutions of higher learning, colleges and universities

generally take criticism and education, or give administrative disciplinary punishment against students'

untrustworthy behaviors, and the former means often prevail. Consequently, the benefit and cost of dishonesty

are seriously unbalanced, and it is difficult for students of dishonesty to receive the proper punishment. The

immediate and tangible benefits from dishonesty will induce further attempts and will lead to a “Broken

Window Effect”. Once dishonesty forms a general atmosphere within a certain scope, it will inevitably damage

the interests of the group that keeps to integrity, and threatens the atmosphere and image of the campus. For

instance, for disciplinary violations, some invigilators simply drive out the violators out of the examination

room. For those unable to pass the examination without violating the rules, the punishment is too weak, and the

sloppy treatment will bring negative cognitive experience to students that abide by the discipline of the

examination room. Organized cheating occurs in examinations due to the lack of strict organization and

supervision will have a more direct impact on the integrity perception of college students, and affect the fairness

and justice of the examination and campus justice.

Severe integrity crisis in the society

Since the reform and opening up and the development of the socialist market economy, China has been

overwhelmed in modernity and values, and witnessed rapid growth of material civilization. Meantime, bad

social ethics such as utilitarianism and money worship also spread. There are staggering exposures of

dishonesty, such as tax evasion, academic, performance or environmental monitoring data fraud. The blind

pursuit of money and real interests brought about by the modernity of capitalism has caused the degradation of

social morality and produced an increasingly serious crisis of credibility. The contact scope and focus of college

students are no longer confined to campus. Rather, they are more proactive in reaching out to the society and

following hot issues in society. Dishonest behaviors in society, after spread and fermentation, especially when

moral criticism and law can do nothing about them, will greatly disturb college students' perception of integrity.

The credibility crisis exposed by the society from time to time seriously affects the honesty and cognition

accumulated by college students in the early stage, and their confusion of reality appear constantly in later

contact with society. Integrity and moral confusion will also occur in students' social interaction. College

students are relatively simple and lack social experience. They are often in a weak position in social interactions.

When they are deceived and their rights are damaged, they may choose to forgive and forget for the lack of the

awareness or the way to safeguard and defend their legal rights. These undesired experiences will seriously

damage the integrity and moral cognition of college students and even distort their normal mentality. For

instance, in the case of “campus loan”, after being cheated, some students bring their classmates into the trap

and thus embarking on the road of crime. Dishonesty on campus and the severe social credibility crisis around

the students have brought unavoidable practical confusion to the formation of the integrity values and honest

personality, and also have an impact on the integrity education of higher education. Positive guidance is often

pale and weak in the face of some practical problems. The imperfections of institutions and laws and the spread

of social utilitarian ideas make moral education weak.

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Passive education management

College students' integrity is the key issue of students' education management in colleges and universities

and is dealt with mainly via classroom education, strict management of points where dishonesty tends to appear,

and the punishment of dishonest behaviors. However, the actual education management is often very passive,

as is mainly reflected in the following aspects. First, the positive guidance faces a boring dilemma. As a basic

moral requirement, after long-term education in primary and secondary schools, college students have a certain

understanding of integrity. The integrity education provided by teachers and instructors is always single in

content and form. As a result, students often passively accept it and their confusion about reality is difficult to

solve through classroom teaching. Second, the management of points where dishonesty tends to appear is

difficult. The physical and psychological development of college students has not yet been sound and stabilized.

When faced with real problems, they may make wrong choices. Campus dishonesty are mostly concentrated in

areas related to students’ own interests, such as course achievement, scholarship, student subsidies, loan,

allowance, and job application process. Some students do not hesitate to cheat in order to pass the exam or get

better results. In order to get subsidies, some deliberately conceal the actual economic situation of their families,

or create personal social experience in order to get a better job. Students with different interests will have

different tendencies of dishonesty, and the types and nature of dishonesty vary, so do the consequences, making

the actual education management more passive and difficult. Third, schools are passive in dealing with students'

dishonest behaviors. The severity of the treatment is difficult to determine in individual cases. Moreover, they

have to take into consideration the psychological endurance of the students, their follow-up development, etc.

which make the strict school disciplines often fail to be implemented in practice.

Exploring the path of integrity education from the perspective of being “social

people”

The author believes that the passive situation of college students' integrity education and the repeated

emergence of dishonesty behavior on campus are directly related. The lack of education on the surface and the

inadequate handling of individual cases make college students confused in the face of specific social problems

and practical problems, thus affecting their value judgment and personality shaping. Integrity as a kind of value

should be shaped in students' “growing up” education guidance, and integrity education should tackle the

realistic confusion faced by students. It should take the perspective of “social people” in clarifying the value of

integrity and integrating it into the whole process of college students' socialization and the establishment of

their moral self.

Colleges and universities should take the initiative to explore how to connect college students from the

depths of the soul and the actual integrity behaviors, awaken, motivate and guide students' consciousness of the

“adulthood”, and internalize integrity into moral requirements that must be consciously abided by in their

socialization and the development of moral self. They should shape students' integrity and moral personality in

real social environment and life situations, and guide the latter to live a moral life.

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Encourage students to fully socialize

Closedness leads to rigid and backward education and management methods, making it unable to adapt to

the rapid development of information in the Internet era. The walls of colleges and universities can only

delineate the campus at the physical level, and can't block the interaction between students and the outside

world. Therefore, maintaining campus stability with closed management methods and carrying out ideological

and moral education with rigid and backward concepts and boring indoctrination will inevitably lead to the

separation of education and student demand, as means and content of education are unable to meet students'

socialization demand. Adequate socialization is an important basis for college students to prepare for social

integration and to be socialized “social people”. Only by fully engaging with society can they understand the

society and in turn, know the self in a realistic social environment and develop the self in a comprehensively

manner. The process of becoming a “social person” is the process of constant socialization. Full socialization

is the premise of real self-breakthrough and the establishment of moral self. Students' integrity and moral

personality is only consolidated in the process of full socialization.

First, colleges and universities should actively change their mindset and attach great importance to the

socialization of students. They should start from the institutional mechanism of student education, create a good

environment for student growth, promote the combination of personnel training and social development, and

make integrity education a consistent effort. Colleges and universities are obliged to turn out quality personnel

for the development of the country, society and industries. To achieve such goals, they must be output

orientated, and strengthen the contact of students with the society and enterprises. They should allow students

to fully experience the real working environment and fully engage with the society through social practice,

internship, training, field research, etc. and prepare them for entering the real social life after graduation.

Colleges and universities should stress the cultivation of students in a good environment, guide them to fully

socialize, and strengthen the shaping of their integrity by enabling them to fully contact with the society. They

should require students to complete relevant tasks, prevent them to cheat or deceive, and encourage them to

treat each other honestly. At the same time, strengthen the management of off-campus internship units to protect

the legitimate rights and interests of students, properly handle disputes between students and enterprises, and

create a good social atmosphere.

Second, colleges and universities should pay attention to the revolutionary changes brought about by the

Internet to the education of students. The Internet brings with it the easy access, making it possible for college

students to fully socialize. For one thing, colleges and universities should guide students to abide by integrity

in various social connections through the Internet, and accumulate personal network credit. Network morality

is an extension of individual moral cultivation on the Internet. A clean and honest network environment requires

the common maintenance of every netizen. College students should be honest and trustworthy in network

communication, protecting their own rights and interests while adhering to the principle of honesty in the virtual

world. For the other, colleges and universities should establish a solid network work front on network platforms

students concern themselves with and gather, enhance its credibility and authority, and strengthen the education

guidance on social hot events, so that students can correctly view the incident of dishonesty and the current

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determination of China to comprehensively deepen the rule of law and combat all kinds of violations. Last but

not least, colleges and universities should keep pace with the times and constantly improve relevant

management regulations to adapt to new changes and new situations brought about by the Internet, and prevent

the Internet from becoming a high-risk place for dishonesty because of the loss of institutional constraints. For

instance, resolutely investigate and punish cheat on an examination via the Internet. Properly guide student

speeches on the media platform. Teach students not to readily believe rumors, create and disseminate rumors,

or vent their anger on the Internet, make vicious defamation or tamper with the facts. Make the students

understand that although open, the network is not a place outside judicial reach. Guide students to be netizens

civilized, honest, and law-abiding.

Third, colleges and universities should mobilize the initiative and enthusiasm of students to participate in

socialization, encourage them to “see the world” and accumulate personal credit in socialization. Materialist

dialectics believes that the development of things is the result of internal and external factors, and external

factors are the external conditions for such development, and internal factors play a decisive role. Therefore, to

guide college students to fully socialize, it is necessary for college students to fully realize the importance of

socialization and actively involve in socialization. College students bear the historical mission of the great

rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Individual development must be consistent with the development needs of

the nation and society. Therefore, college students should not busy themselves in the classics and ignore what

is going on beyond their immediate surroundings. Instead, they must take the initiative to learn about the society,

the industries, constantly adapt to the development and changes of the society, while keeping in mind that the

all-round development of individuals must be based on the platform provided by institutions of higher learning.

They should actively participate in various social activities, join communities and student organizations, get

involved in volunteer service and undertake social work to accumulate social experience and personal credit. In

such process, they can gain better understanding and experience of integrity, and shape a sound personality.

Guide students to establish and develop moral self

The goal of providing integrity education in colleges and universities is not only for students to learn the

moral requirements of integrity, but to enable them to develop themselves based on morality, make moral

judgment and embody integrity in specific practice. The formation of integrity is a process of balanced

development of many factors, such as students’ honest cognition, feelings, will, faith, and behavior under the

influence of culture infiltration and community constraints. It is ultimately reflected in the conscious and honest

practice of the behavior subject. While encouraging students to fully socialize, colleges and universities should

further guide the shaping of students' integrity and moral personality, encourage them to establish and develop

moral self, and to become the real subject of moral life. Make integrity a conscious practice of students and a

foundation for them to behave in society.

First, strengthen the cultivation of students' awareness as subject of moral integrity. To provide ideological

and moral education for college students is to cultivate in them sound personality. Establishing and developing

moral self is a necessary condition for students to shape healthy personality, as moral self can make moral

individuals independent and obtain the ability to make moral judgment, control themselves and transform

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themselves, thus consciously living a moral life. Colleges and universities should continuously strengthen the

guidance of integrity education, integrate the training of such quality into the whole process of the healthy

development of college students' personality, the cultivation of students' innovative, cooperative, learning,

social personality, etc. Make it an important factor in the internal harmony of students' healthy personality, and

guide students to shape their own personality by dealing with various social relations as a moral subject. To

cultivate students' sense as subject of integrity is to cultivate their habit of observing, diligent thinking, daring

to doubt, cautious judgment and strict self-discipline in the ever-changing and complicated moral situation. Let

students know that they are the main part in the construction of integrity campus and society. To gain the trust

of others, they must first restrain their own words and deeds, be honest, and develop their moral self from small

things. Colleges and universities can cultivate students' sense as subject of integrity in daily teaching activities,

for instance, guiding them to collect and analyze real data in coursework, graduation design, and internship

training. Prevent them to have blind faith in books, plagiarize, or avoid simple repetition in design and topic

selection. It is also possible to further refine the division of labor in the form of grouping, and encourage students

to complete topic selection independently, so that each practical and diligent student can have the sense of

collective honor and personal accomplishment in the group work. In the daily management, colleges and

universities can make student association, class, dormitory, etc. as unit and tilt the resource allocation toward

groups that is honest and trustworthy. For instance, allocate better faculty, increase evaluation indicators, or

give more opportunities for internship visits to classes with high attendance rate, good discipline and no

individual dishonest behavior, thus strengthening students’ sense as moral subject.

Second, make integrity a part in the creation of a moralized campus life, and strive to build a campus culture

of good faith. The establishment and development of moral self is the goal of self-development, which is related

to the shaping of students’ value and the realization of the goal of being a “social person”. Guiding college

students to establish and develop moral self requires continuous consolidation and creation of a moralized

campus life situation. The infiltration of campus culture of good faith is an effective carrier for the development

of college students' integrity education. The cultivation of students’ integrity and moral quality is inseparable

from the creation of a good and honest campus atmosphere, which in turn requires the joint efforts of schools,

teachers and students. Colleges and universities should pay attention to the cultivation of the campus

atmosphere, regulate and restrict the behavior of teachers and students with mechanisms, reinforce the reward

and punishment, let the dishonest pay high costs, while protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the

honest. Colleges and universities can establish a personal integrity file to clarify the criteria for teacher and

student integrity evaluation and as an important reference for the evaluation for awards and the promotion for

professional titles. Teachers should keep to the quality of integrity in research, teaching, and daily interaction

with students, be true in word and resolute in deed, influence students with a realistic and pragmatic style, and

treat them with a serious and responsible attitude. Students must abide by school rules and regulations, be self-

disciplined, and treat others, academics, exams and evaluations with sincerity and integrity. They should

accumulate their credit and make integrity deep rooted in their individual values, lifestyles, and everyday life.

In summary, guiding students to fully socialize and establish and develop moral self is an important

prerequisite for awakening college students' sense of being a “social person.” The cultivation of college students'

integrity should be introduced into the process of their full socialization and the development of their moral

Zhang / A Study on College Students’ Integrity Cultivation from the Perspective of “Social Person”

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self. Colleges and universities should actively change their concepts, create a good campus atmosphere, grasp

the opportunities and challenges brought by the Internet, and cultivate students' sense as a moral subject. They

should enable students to better experience integrity in their journey to become a “social person.” Meanwhile,

it is important to create a good campus atmosphere in school management, among teachers and students, and

finally internalize integrity into the moral cultivation of students.

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