Socio-pedagogical conditions for the development of future social workers’ soft skills

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of developing future social workers’ social skills (soft skills). The relevance of the study is due to the public need for training competent and competitive social workers who are able to solve various social issues in society promptly and in a team, creatively perform social tasks, have motivation for self-development and self-realization. For this purpose, such research methods as the analysis and generalization of normative, literary sources, educational and scientific programs of higher educational institutions on the investigated problem, as well as questionnaires among students of higher education at bachelor's and master's levels – future social workers – were used. We understand soft skills as social skills – skills, abilities and characteristics that allow one to be competitive and successful in professional activities. As a result of the survey conducted among students of 9 institutions of higher education, it was found out that 10 skills are the most important soft skills of future social workers: knowledge of a foreign language, an active civic and life position, analytical thinking, communication skills, the ability to inspire new ideas, time management, the ability to build an algorithm of actions to provide the necessary social assistance to people, the ability to resolve conflicts, leadership qualities and the ability to lead, work organization skills. The necessary socio-pedagogical conditions for the effective development of future social workers’ soft skills at a higher education institution were defined and substantiated: the motivation and readiness of future social workers to develop soft skills necessary for successful social work; integration of the development of the complex of social skills "soft skills" in students in the process of educational work and during extracurricular practical social activities; availability and integrative implementation of various forms of "soft skills" development; use of a complex of innovative technologies and interactive methods of "soft skills" development; self-education through the involvement of students in practical social work beyond school hours. The set of factors affecting the introduction of socio-pedagogical conditions for the development of students’ social skills in institutions of higher education is characterized. Integration forms, innovative technologies and methods are highlighted, which are expedient to use in the educational process of modern institutions of higher education for the effective development of future social workers’ soft skills.

Keywords

• future social workers
• social skills
• soft skills
• development
• educational process
• institution of higher education
• socio-pedagogical conditions
• motivation
• readiness
• various forms
• technologies
• innovative methods
• integration
• self-education