The author refers to the analysis of the problem of the effects of the various institutions of social education in the formation of ethnic and cultural identity of students, thinking about the complexities and contradictions of this process in today's multicultural world, existing approaches and methods of diagnostics of the effectiveness of this process. Based on the classical concepts and phenomenon of ethnic and cultural identity of the person, the author identifies the most important components in the structure of the integrative qualities of the person, the indicators, criteria and levels of formation. The author cites the results of his own empirical studies that illustrate the complicated process of inculturation of the youth, formation of their ethnic and cultural identity in the modern multiethnic world. Based on these statistics, the author indicates the presence of a steady trend of increase of xenophobia, extremism, and nationalist sentiments in teenagers and young people. Particular attention is given to measures to ensure productive socialization of teenagers and young men. These measures include: strengthening the institution of family and marriage, promotion of healthy lifestyles, the formation in the public consciousness the cult of family and family man; intensification and provision of conditions for the productivity of intergenerational interaction, and natural transmission of sociocultural experience in the ethnic group; retransmission of the genuine national culture and national history, their glorification, the emphasis on "eternal" values and sense of national culture; all-round integration of children and adolescents in a single social community, the restoration of the ideas and principles of collective education, as one of the most important traditions of Russian national culture.