218
h tt ps: //a mazo ni ai nv est ig a. in fo/ I S S N 2 3 2 2 - 6 3 0 7
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Reproduction, distribution,
and public communication of the work, as well as the creation of derivative works, are permitted provided that the original
source is cited.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2024.77.05.16
How to Cite:
Horiachok, I., Ostapiovskyi, O., Vasylenko, I., Snisar, O., & Kukhniuk, O. (2024). Development of social competence in university
students: an innovative pedagogical approach. Amazonia Investiga, 13(77), 218-232. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2024.77.05.16
Development of social competence in university students: an innovative
pedagogical approach
Розвиток соціальної компетентності студентів ЗВО: інноваційний педагогічний підхід
Received: April 1, 2024 Accepted: May 22, 2024
Written by:
Inna Horiachok1
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1708-9705
Oleksandr Ostapiovskyi2
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5006-9290
Iryna Vasylenko3
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9237-3020
Olena Snisar4
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4624-2959
Oksana Kukhniuk5
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2140-1084
Abstract
The article emphasizes the importance and
explores the essence and content of the concept of
social competence. It identifies the main
components of social competence and the
conditions for organizing the educational process
to foster it. By analyzing the professional and
social functions of specialists, the article identifies
the components that should be based on an
acmeological direction, social functions, and
social norms of the individual, all of which are part
of the main components of social competence. The
optimization of the entire system of professional-
pedagogical training involves finding effective
approaches (in the context of level education) to
develop social competence in future specialists.
The article also demonstrates the importance of
applying contextual learning theory to develop
social competence in specialists. It outlines the
components included in the structure of social
competence and the main provisions of effective
1
Сandidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Slavic Philology, Khmelnytskyi National University,
Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: HJF-5913-2022
2
Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Pedagogy and Psychology, Volyn In-Service
Teachers Training Institute, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: HII-5932-2022
3
Ph.D. (Pedagogy), Head of the Department of Fundamental Disciplines, Cherkasy Medical Academy, Ukraine. WoS Researcher
ID: KQU-9118-2024
4
Ph.D. (Pedagogy), Head of the Department of Natural Sciences, Cherkasy Medical Academy, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID:
KQU-8968-2024
5
Ph.D. (Agricultural Science), Head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Disciplines, Cherkasy Medical Academy, Ukraine.
WoS Researcher ID: HNR-6000-2023
Horiachok, I., Ostapiovskyi, O., Vasylenko, I., Snisar, O., Kukhniuk, O. / Volume 13 - Issue 77: 218-232 / May, 2024
Volume 13 - Issue 77
/ May 2024
219
h tt ps: / /a maz on iain ve sti ga .i nfo/ IS S N 23 2 2 - 6 3 0 7
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Reproduction, distribution,
and public communication of the work, as well as the creation of derivative works, are permitted provided that the original
source is cited.
approaches and principles for the formation of
social competence in students. Finally, the article
shows ways to form and develop social
competence through the use of information and
communication technologies.
Keywords: social competence, students, higher
school, effective conditions for organizing the
educational process, formation and development
of students' social competence.
Introduction
In connection with the expansion of a person's manifestation of social activity, the circle of his personal
opportunities, the unfolding of global integration processes, and the democratic progress of society, the
problem of developing social competence is extremely relevant for student youth. Its solution is connected
with the development of a person's ability to solve complex problems and with preparation for professional
self-realization of the individual, which puts life before the modern person.
Nowadays, the need for the development of social competence in students is caused by the aggravation of
the life of a young person in all areas of social problems: a decrease in the level of social integration of a
person in society, an increase in unemployment, a decrease in professional responsibility, low legal
protection and social literacy of citizens, etc. The importance of the development of issues of social
competence of young people, and its thorough study, is increasing nowadays in connection with the growth
of a significant number of people with signs of life limitation in the social structure of the society's
population and the insufficient level of inclusion of people with limited psychophysical capabilities in the
social and educational environment, which is one from numerous groups of the planet's population
(Andreyeva, 2023).
The modernization of higher education, which is currently taking place in society, involves the training of
specialists who are able not only to build strategies for their own professional and personal growth but also
to establish relationships in society, to be capable of future professional activities of constant
implementation and use of innovations, productive partnership (Zhukova, 2019). Modern society needs
specialists who will be socially in demand and mobile in various spheres of life and are interested in the
training of specialists who adequately respond to today's challenges.
The development of social competence of students of higher education institutions is currently a relevant
issue of theory and teaching methods in the educational process. Based on this, we considered the following
questions in the article:
• Importance, essence, and content of the concept of social competence.
• The main components of social competence and conditions for the organization of the educational
process.
• Application of the theory of contextual learning in the formation of social competence of specialists.
• Components provided by the structure of social competence and basic provisions of effective
approaches and principles of forming students' social competence.
• Formation and development of social competence through the use of information and communication
technologies.
• Organization of experimental work.
Literature Review
Recently, the study of the development of the social competence of an individual has been updated in
society – an important socio-pedagogical process in a person's life. This is evidenced by a thorough analysis
of various electronic and printed sources of information, which shows that the study of development of
220
h tt ps: //a mazo ni ai nv est ig a. in fo/ I S S N 2 3 2 2 - 6 3 0 7
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Reproduction, distribution,
and public communication of the work, as well as the creation of derivative works, are permitted provided that the original
source is cited.
social competence of an individual is studied at different age stages of human development, in different
centers, since it is relevant for a person and society throughout his life.
Thus, D. Dzvinchuk, & O. Kachmar (2022) consider the importance of the formation of sociocultural
competence for a person. Scientists prove that the social competence of students at the current stage of
human development is a fundamental competence for future managers. They show the relevance of this
issue in the conditions of noospheric civilization, prove that the level of formation of social competence
and its formation on the professional development of an individual has a great influence on the value
attitudes of a person, the formed level of social competence in the young generation will have an impact on
the further development of all humanity. Scientists revealed the content of the artistic component of
professional competence and presented their own interpretation of social competence, which "represents
the sum of certain personal characteristics, social abilities, theoretical knowledge and practical skills, which
includes existential skills (soft skills), social intelligence and historical memory "yeah".
The conditions for the formation of students' social competence in institutions of higher education were
highlighted by Ya. Lukatska (2021), which during the educational process should be created by the teacher,
which helps the development of social competence and its formation in students, improving and facilitating
this educational process. It has been proven that one of the key tasks of a higher school is the development
of social competence, because mastering social competence without acquiring social skills is impossible,
in general, the very concept of social competence is inextricably linked with the professional competence
of a future specialist. Each of these constructs requires students to develop different levels of competence.
This problem is investigated by O. Zhukova (2019), who, during a theoretical-experimental study of the
problem of forming social competence using game technologies in higher education institutions among
students of humanitarian specialties, substantiated the conceptual foundations of the formation of social
competence of specialists. The author theoretically substantiated the created didactic system of social
competence formation and experimentally verified its effectiveness using game technologies for students
of humanitarian specialties of universities; proposed indicators, criteria, levels, and components of the
formation of social competence, developed appropriate diagnostic tools for students of humanitarian
specialties of universities.
M. Andreyeva (2023) highlighted the ways of developing the social competence of students of professional
preliminary higher education, in particular, the study covers the category of people with special educational
needs. Using the example of the generalized pedagogical experience of the basics of personality
socialization, the author specified the meaning of the definitions "social competence" and "competence"
and considered the main ways of developing social competence in students with special educational needs,
developing a system for the development of social competence of students for work with the category of
people with special educational needs. The developed system ensures the achievement of socially
significant goals in various social situations with a clear awareness by the student of his own role in this
process, which is implemented through several components, the implementation of which ensures the
direction of external and internal personal resources.
An analysis of the content and structure of social competence of students of a pedagogical university was
carried out, the definition of the structure of social competence of pupils and students was systematized and
considered, and various approaches to clarifying the problem were shown – S. Sharov (2020). The social
competence of pupils and students is outlined as a characteristic that is multi-component for the individual,
which allows for avoiding conflicts and interacting comfortably with the social environment. It has been
proven that the social competence of students in connection with uniqueness and specificity has certain
features.
A thorough analysis of various electronic and printed sources of information shows that the study of the
development of the social competence of an individual is studied in many studies because it is relevant for
the individual and society throughout a person's life.
Scientists have proven the importance and necessity of forming sociocultural competence for a person, it is
shown that at the current stage of human development, the social competence of students is a fundamental
competence for future specialists.
Volume 13 - Issue 77
/ May 2024
221
h tt ps: / /a maz on iain ve sti ga .i nfo/ IS S N 23 2 2 - 6 3 0 7
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Reproduction, distribution,
and public communication of the work, as well as the creation of derivative works, are permitted provided that the original
source is cited.
But due attention has not been paid to the study from a socio-pedagogical position in the student age of the
features of the development of social competence and the development of a system that would promote the
self-development of the individual during integration into the professional sphere and adult life of a person.
Theoretical analysis of scientific sources and practical experience of institutions of higher education that
train specialists in the social sphere proves that, despite the presence of a significant amount of materials
(theoretical, methodological, practical, etc.) from the investigated problem, there is a lack of scientific
research on the specifics of the formation of social competence of students at the level of a systemic
approach, and the need to develop and implement progressive changes in the higher education system of
Ukraine in the context of the formation of social competence of students.
The relevance of this problem is greatly enhanced by the revealed contradictions between:
– Modern society's requirements for specialists in the social sphere, requests from employers who need
socially competent students who are able to effectively interact with society, establish contacts with
objects and subjects of professional interaction, productively implement social roles, functions within
the competence of students, with social significance competence as a leading personality quality and
the insufficient level of its formation in future specialists in general and its individual components in
particular;
– The need for the formation of students' social competence in the conditions of the educational
environment of the institution of higher education, internal instructions for students on socio-
professional self-development, self-education and the insufficient development of scientific and
methodological support for this process;
– The need for complex diagnostics and monitoring of the level of social competence formation of
students and the insufficient development of relevant criteria, indicators and mechanisms for the
implementation of the above.
The outlined contradictions actualized the need to create a system for the formation of students' social
competence, which is focused on the integration of university education, informal and informal, and in
which the key place belongs to the internally motivated student, who is oriented to socio-professional self-
development and capable build his individual trajectory, is socially active and effectively interacts with
various social groups, institutions, clients, is able to learn throughout his life.
The topicality of the voiced problems, their insufficient theoretical and methodological development in the
theory and practice of social work, the need to resolve and eliminate contradictions determined the choice
of the topic of the article.
The aim of the study. To find out effective ways of development and formation of social competence,
conduct a comprehensive diagnosis of students of higher education.
Methodology
The research used a set of methods:
– Theoretical – analysis of periodicals, pedagogical, medical, psychological, socio-pedagogical, and
sociological literature to determine the state of development of students' social competence and ways
of developing the problem; systematization of facts, theoretical generalization of material for
characterizing basic definitions, generalization of the experience of the educational process of students
in institutions of higher education, formation of conclusions;
– Empirical – student testing, pedagogical observation, to assess the level of development of social
competence of an adult.
In the process of conducting a pedagogical experiment, a comprehensive diagnosis of students was
conducted to find out effective ways of developing and formation of social competence.
256 students of humanitarian specialties participated in the experiment (156 students made up the
experimental group (EG), and 100 students made up the control group (CG).
222
h tt ps: //a mazo ni ai nv est ig a. in fo/ I S S N 2 3 2 2 - 6 3 0 7
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Reproduction, distribution,
and public communication of the work, as well as the creation of derivative works, are permitted provided that the original
source is cited.
In the process of the experiment, the stages of the formation and development of social competence among
students were developed, because the verification of the formation in the educational process of universities
and the development of social competence among students is not possible without substantiation of the
stages of implementation of the formation and development of social competence, which is necessary for
the verification of the developed pedagogical system within the framework of which it was carried out
education and training of students in the created purposeful process of stimulating and organizing
pedagogical educational activities for the development of activity, value-motivational, cognitive
characteristics of a person, which will allow the student to self-realize in – professional and educational –
environments in various social situations.
Defined and proposed effective conditions, the introduction of which in the process of formation and
development of students' social competence was accompanied by the implementation of the following
functions: communication, diagnostic-prognostic, creative, and the use of active learning methods,
performance of various degrees of complexity of creative tasks; using self-training and training forms.
At the ascertaining stage of the experiment, to find out the state of formation and development of social
competence among students, a test survey was used that diagnosed the desire to be in society and the
formation of motivation for the formation of social competence of students.
At the ascertaining stage of the pedagogical experiment, we see mainly a low and medium level of
formation of students' social competence. It is this stage of the experiment that confirms the expediency
and relevance of our research.
At the formative stage of the conducted experiment, experimental verification of the hypothesis was
foreseen – the introduction of the developed didactic system into the educational process of the higher
school and its implementation at such stages as the motivational stage, the creative stage, the cognitive
stage, the corrective and reflective stage of the formation and development of social competence among
students will be effective by implementing the effective conditions developed by us. The process of
implementation of the proposed stages of formation and development of social competence among students
was accompanied by the use of appropriate methods, necessary forms, and methodological techniques.
The dynamics of changes in the control group, compared to the experimental group, were significantly
lower. Using Pearson's statistical test (2) the results of the pedagogical experiment were verified and
statistically significant differences were recorded in the results of the control and experimental groups of
respondents, which confirms the proposed hypothesis.
Comparing the results of the study (initial and final) according to the levels of formation and development
of the social competence of students in CG and EG makes it possible to prove their positive dynamics in
the experimental group.
Results and Discussion
Importance, essence, and content of the concept of social competence.
An important task of institutions of higher education, in particular social and pedagogical activities of
institutions, is to promote the development of social competence of students at the internal and external
levels of university functioning.
Recently, more and more researchers have given social competence the main place in higher education.
A specialist, in modern conditions, must be able to interact constructively with various social institutions,
with groups of people, and with other people, to effectively resolve conflicts and avoid their initiation, and
not only to develop the professional qualities of a specialist, that is, to have developed social competence
using a competence approach (Sharov, 2020).
Social factors play an important role in the educational process of a higher school because higher education
institutions train specialists who change society by interacting with it. Social competence is considered an
integrated ability of a person, which includes such human competencies, which are key for him: civic,
spiritual, communicative, professional, household, language, etc., that is, integration of different types of
Volume 13 - Issue 77
/ May 2024
223
h tt ps: / /a maz on iain ve sti ga .i nfo/ IS S N 23 2 2 - 6 3 0 7
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Reproduction, distribution,
and public communication of the work, as well as the creation of derivative works, are permitted provided that the original
source is cited.
competencies takes place. So, we see the importance of the concept of social competence for the formation
of professional competence, because it is impossible to fully master professional competence without
mastering social competence (Lukatska, 2020).
The analysis of scientific works made it possible to find out the essence, content, and structure of social
competence:
1) The content, essence, and structure of social competence are defined either as a person's ability to social
interaction from the point of view of social competence, or as an integrative quality of an individual
from the standpoint of understanding such competence;
2) Social competence is evaluated as an indicator of an individual's achievements in society, in a certain
type of functioning; the ability to solve specific social tasks; as a result of certain pedagogical socially
determined activity – social competence is characterized;
3) The content component of social competence is determined by the social context, on the one hand – it
depends on the external social situation, its specifics, and where the realization and formation of social
competence takes place, on the other hand, the content component of social competence – is defined
by the internal social situation: characterological features (influence the social human behavior), a
person's age (character of individual characteristics of a person), belonging to a specific social group
(Andreyeva, 2023).
A person's social competence, which is closely related to professional competence, is based on social
intelligence. Social competence is manifested both in knowledge and in the ability to use this knowledge
in the process of creative activity and social interaction because, without successful interaction of the
individual with society, it is impossible to acquire the skills, knowledge, and skills inherent in a qualified
specialist (Herrera Granda et al., 2023).
The success of the activity in society as a whole and of an individual speaks about the level of social
competence of the individual. It is the obtained high level of social competence that makes it possible to
exert personal influence on society and the processes taking place in society, to be successful in professional
activities, and to feel stability in social life. It should also be taken into account that "social competence is
an integrated ability that includes other key competencies: spiritual, civic, communicative, linguistic, every
day" (Lukatska, 2020).
The basis of a person's professional competence is social competence, which includes social intelligence,
soft skills, soft-kills – existential skills, and historical memory.
A socially competent person must be able to solve various conflict situations, understand the "pitfalls" that
a certain situation creates, the essence of the situation, and solve it competently. Emotional and social
intelligence is an important component of social competence. Thus, an important basic characteristic of an
individual is social competence, which reflects the ability to construct different life scenarios of a person,
the level of motivation, allows one to form a healthy social climate and make corrections in the social
process (Dzvinchuk & Kachmar, 2022).
The teacher needs to take into account when successfully forming the social competence of a higher school
student:
– Integrated educational activity;
– Interdisciplinary connections;
– Awareness of the role of a moderator as a teacher;
– Ensuring the process of humanization of education;
– Formation of information culture of the student;
– Introduction of high-quality educational work.
The teacher must undertake: the involvement of students in research activities, the organization of
independent work, the introduction and development of new methods of conducting classes, and the
educational process, which will contribute to the creation of a socially successful personality (Pegalajar
Palomino, 2017).
224
h tt ps: //a mazo ni ai nv est ig a. in fo/ I S S N 2 3 2 2 - 6 3 0 7
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Reproduction, distribution,
and public communication of the work, as well as the creation of derivative works, are permitted provided that the original
source is cited.
The main components of social competence and conditions for the organization of the educational
process.
Analyzing the professional and social functions of a specialist, we will distinguish those components that
should be based on the acmeological direction, social functions, and social norms of the individual and are
part of the main components of social competence:
– Ethical component (tolerance, pedagogical tact);
– Professional and methodical component (ability to empathize, erudition);
– Social and personal components (sincerity, self-identity);
– Socio-communicative component (communicative abilities) (Vázquez-Cano et al., 2017).
Optimization of the entire system of professional-pedagogical training involves the search for effective
approaches (in conditions of level education) to the formation of social competence of future specialists,
which speaks of ensuring certain effective conditions for the organization of the educational process:
– Humanitarianization of education, forms the culture of the individual, contributes to the spirituality of
a person, the formation of social competence of future specialists, and forms a holistic picture of the
world and planetary thinking;
– Humanization of education, contributes to the establishment of the individual as the highest social
value, aimed at satisfying various educational needs of the individual, the fullest disclosure of the
student's abilities, education of a sense of freedom, self-esteem, harmony of relations with society;
creation of an innovative new model of the educational field, which gives priority to education that is
focused on the personality of the student (personally oriented approach) to an educational field focused
on subject knowledge;
– The national orientation of education consists of an organic combination of the history of education,
its national traditions, the inseparability of education from the national basis, the enrichment and
preservation of national values of all peoples and nations;
– Transition to active technologies and teaching methods from mainly informative forms and even to
scientific research, to the use of problem elements, to innovative independent work of higher school
students in the formation of social competence of future specialists;
– Transfer of emphasis on educational and cognitive activities of the individual from educational
activities;
– The creation of conditions for the self-determination of the individual, self-realization, and self-
affirmation, which is the result of human self-organization and the formation of social competence of
future specialists;
– Ensuring the creative orientation of the educational process in the formation of social competence of
future specialists;
– Partnership, personal and equal positions of student and teacher. This approach is necessary for the
formation of the social competence of future specialists and is related to the change of functions and
roles of participants in the educational process of the higher school, activation, stimulation of learning,
activity, formation of motives for self-development of the student, creation of conditions for self-
development;
– The transition to activating means, developing means of organizing the educational process of the
higher school, which provide for the stimulation of personality, the organization of independent,
creative activities of students;
– The formation of a continuous education system, which allows constant deepen the formation of the
social competence of future specialists, promotes professional training throughout life (transforming
education into a process of self-development of a person that continues throughout life), provides the
opportunity for continuity in the educational and educational process, and the achievement of the
integrity of the educational process (Holguin-Alvarez et al., 2021).
Application of the theory of contextual learning in the formation of social competence of specialists.
To ensure optimal conditions for the organization of the educational process in the formation of the social
competence of specialists, it is advisable to apply the theory of contextual learning, to focus on the future
practical activity of the specialist, which is the main requirement of the competence approach (Puhach et
al., 2021).
Volume 13 - Issue 77
/ May 2024
225
h tt ps: / /a maz on iain ve sti ga .i nfo/ IS S N 23 2 2 - 6 3 0 7
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Reproduction, distribution,
and public communication of the work, as well as the creation of derivative works, are permitted provided that the original
source is cited.
The essence of the contextual approach, as a way of achieving professional competence, is to create
conditions for the formation of social competence of specialists and an organic combination of professional
and educational activities of a person. The implementation of the contextual approach is carried out by
reproducing the methods of student educational activities and forms of real relationships, industrial
situations, the environment, and society. In contextual education, the main unit of creating high-quality
educational content in the formation of social competence is a problematic situation in social ambiguity
and all its subject contradictions. It is the system of such problematic situations that creates significant
opportunities for the integration of knowledge of various disciplines and allows the content of education to
be dynamically developed by designing simulated professional activities, which is important and necessary
for solving these situations.
The selection and creative use of certain teaching methods and interactive forms for the formation of the
student's social competence imply a higher degree of complexity in the educational and professional
program. The specific application of such innovative methods and forms is determined by the features of
the content and structure of the curriculum, the contingent of students, and the specialized educational
program. The development and formation of social competence among graduates is facilitated by a
combination of extracurricular work and active, interactive forms of classroom work and worldview content
of university education:
– Professional communication between students and teachers;
– The corporate culture of the university;
– Participation of students in the system of academic communications;
– Advising students in offline and online modes, etc.
With this approach, interactive and active methods and forms of learning are the main components of the
formation of human social competence.
To increase the effectiveness of the educational process in a higher educational institution, it is necessary
to create conditions for the formation of the social competence of specialists, for the maximum
approximation of the system of control and assessment of the competencies of future specialists to the
conditions (case banks, profile virtual knowledge bases, etc.) of their future professional activity (Subina,
2016).
Components provided by the structure of social competence and basic provisions of effective
approaches and principles of forming students' social competence.
Various components are attributed to the structure of social competence:
– Personal, value-motivational, active, and reflective (Zarubinska, 2009);
– Emotional-motivational, cognitive, communicative-behavioral, and personal-value (Datsenko, 2012);
– Implementation-management, participative-active, motivational-personal, and reflective (Kachalova,
2014);
– Status-role, communicative, value-dispositional (Shakhrai, 2016).
Social competence is responsible in society for constructive interaction and effective life activities with
different people, institutions, and social groups and is one of the key competencies of a modern personality
(Sharov, 2020).
We see that the structure of social competence includes components related to motivation, social
knowledge, appropriate activity, and assessment of social situations.
Social competence, which is one of the key competencies of a future specialist in the process of professional
activity, provides an opportunity to build constructive relations, communication, etc. with the surrounding
society. An integral characteristic of a person is his social competence, which includes interactive and
communicative, personal, behavioral, and psychological abilities, as a system of moral values, with the help
of which a person interacts with society and performs social roles (Sharov, 2020).
226
h tt ps: //a mazo ni ai nv est ig a. in fo/ I S S N 2 3 2 2 - 6 3 0 7
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Reproduction, distribution,
and public communication of the work, as well as the creation of derivative works, are permitted provided that the original
source is cited.
In the formation of the social competence of students of higher education institutions, the main provisions
of effective approaches were applied:
– Systemic approach, which characterizes the educational process as a complex system of elements that
are interconnected, as a system that, in the process of innovative ideas, understanding of the historical
and cultural heritage of mankind, and instrumental technologies, is aimed at the development of the
student's personality;
– A competency-based approach that orients the universe to the formation of a young interactive
generation that can navigate the information space and is mobile in the labor market; will be able to
make personal value and worldview choices, learn throughout life, using rationally acquired skills,
abilities, and knowledge in various spheres of activity to solve difficult situations;
– A personal approach aimed at the versatile (social, personal, professional) development of a person
through the formation of students' ways of behavior and practical actions, the maximum application of
the possibilities of subject knowledge, which is necessary for solving problems that arise in various
spheres of human activity;
– A person-oriented approach, which focuses the center of attention on the person – open, unique,
integral to the perception of extraordinary ideas and new social experience, capable of conscious,
rational choice in various situations (Polanco-Levicán et al., 2023).
Therefore, the generalization of the characteristics of systemic, competence-based, personal, and person-
oriented approaches, the implementation of their main provisions in the educational process of the
university in the plane of the formation of social competence of a person, will contribute to the increased
of their professional and personal potential and the effectiveness of the life process through the observance
of the following principles: the expediency of support and pedagogical activity, integrativeness, dialectical
unity of the development of the individual and society, constructive synthesis in the process of developing
social competence among students of higher education (Zhukova, 2019).
Formation and development of social competence through the use of information and communication
technologies.
Often, a person is unable to process large amounts of information, because the existence of an individual
in the information society of a modern person significantly affects his ability to perceive information and
process it, therefore, human activity is counterproductive (Kuchai et al., 2022). Nowadays, we observe
widespread visualization and processing of information to increase the speed of learning through the use of
information and communication technologies (ICT), in particular in institutions of higher education in the
production of digital content, communication, educational activities, business, scientific activities, etc.
Given this, modern specialists should be familiar with professional activities and training in the ways of
using ICT. At the same time, one of the main components of a modern person's personality, social
competence, can be effectively developed through the use of cloud and mobile technologies, visualization
tools, electronic tools, etc. – information and communication technologies (Shetelya et al., 2023).
We agree with S. Sharov's (2019) opinion that "in the case of massive open online courses, you can
additionally improve your own qualifications depending on the chosen course. In addition, different types
of online platforms have different means of providing feedback between participants in the learning
process. Therefore, to form and develop social competence, they used the Internet, information, and
communication technologies, which have wide and powerful opportunities for students of higher education
to develop and form social competence.
Organization of experimental work.
In the process of conducting a pedagogical experiment, a comprehensive diagnosis of students was
conducted to find out effective ways of developing and formation of social competence.
256 students of humanitarian specialties participated in the experiment (156 students made up the
experimental group (EG), and 100 students made up the control group (CG).
In the process of the experiment, the stages of the formation and development of social competence among
students were developed, because the verification of the formation in the educational process of universities
and the development of social competence among students is not possible without substantiation of the
Volume 13 - Issue 77
/ May 2024
227
h tt ps: / /a maz on iain ve sti ga .i nfo/ IS S N 23 2 2 - 6 3 0 7
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Reproduction, distribution,
and public communication of the work, as well as the creation of derivative works, are permitted provided that the original
source is cited.
stages of implementation of the formation and development of social competence, which is necessary for
the verification of the developed pedagogical system within the framework of which it was carried out
education and training of students in the created purposeful process of stimulating and organizing
pedagogical educational activities for the development of activity, value-motivational, cognitive
characteristics of a person, which will allow the student to self-realize in the environments – professional
and educational – in various social situations.
The motivational stage involves providing students with help and support from the teacher to create
attitudes for sustainable motivation regarding the formation and development of social competence in
students – through pedagogical support.
The creative stage of the formation and development of social competence is characterized by the process
of mastering certain skills by students through certain effective conditions, in particular:
– The use of modern pedagogical technologies in the educational process of a higher school;
– Implementation of the principles of partnership pedagogy in the educational process of the higher
school, as a basis for the social activity of students and the need to develop a positive position of higher
education seekers;
– Provision of active learning methods for the formation and development of human social competence;
– Coordination, coherence, and correction of psychological and pedagogical attitudes of the subjects of
the educational process of the higher school during independent activities in overcoming the barriers
of sociocultural life;
– During extracurricular and classroom work of the student – immersion in various types of activities
during social practices;
– In the process of formation and development of students' social competence – implementation of
pedagogical support of the education process.
The introduction of the specified effective conditions into the process of formation and development of
students' social competence was accompanied by the implementation of the following functions:
communication, diagnostic-prognostic, creative, and the use of active learning methods, performance of
various degrees of complexity of creative tasks; using self-training and training forms.
The cognitive stage of the formation and development of social competence among students ensured the
familiarization of education seekers with their moral values: with the foundations of social policy and
society's legislation, the nature of social reality, and norms of behavior in society. At this stage, the task
related to the identification of possible ways to prevent identified barriers of sociocultural life and the
identification of methods and specific techniques for overcoming the barriers of sociocultural life was
solved.
The corrective and reflective stage of formation and development of social competence among students
was aimed at the development of personal qualities of students:
– Rethinking the consequences, results, and reflection of one's own activity;
– Independence in making important decisions;
– Overcoming conflict situations and preventing barriers to socio-cultural life;
– Self-assessments of actions, feelings, own qualities during socially useful affairs and performing
activities in society.
– Feedback on the expediency and effectiveness of the student's own actions.
At the ascertaining stage of the experiment, to find out the state of formation and development of social
competence among students, a test survey was used that diagnosed the desire to be in society and the
formation of motivation for the formation of social competence of students.
The obtained results of the ascertaining stage of the pedagogical experiment indicate that the social
competence of students of humanitarian specialties is formed mainly on low level and medium level. At a
high level, it is formed only in a small part of students.
228
h tt ps: //a mazo ni ai nv est ig a. in fo/ I S S N 2 3 2 2 - 6 3 0 7
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Reproduction, distribution,
and public communication of the work, as well as the creation of derivative works, are permitted provided that the original
source is cited.
At the ascertaining stage of the pedagogical experiment, we see mainly a low and medium level of
formation of students' social competence. It is this stage of the experiment that confirms the expediency
and relevance of our research.
At the formative stage of the conducted experiment, an experimental testing of the hypothesis was foreseen
– the introduction of the developed didactic system into the educational process of the higher school and
its implementation at such stages as motivational stage, creative stage, cognitive stage, corrective and
reflective stage of formation and development of social competence among students will be effective by
implementing the effective conditions developed by us. The process of implementation of the proposed
stages of formation and development of social competence among students was accompanied by the use of
appropriate methods, necessary forms, and methodological techniques.
We used the questionnaire "Didactic Game in the educational process of the higher school". The study
showed that only 3% of the respondents were able to perfectly describe the game situations that form and
contribute to the development of social competence among students in institutions of higher education.
In the experimental group, in the process of training students of humanitarian specialties, the following was
introduced:
– Lectures with problem elements, interactive methods (brainstorming, debates, discussions, round
tables), problem-based learning methods (problematic situations), project development, reflection
methods, research, and search methods were used in practical classes;
– Various types of practices were aimed at the development of social competence among students;
– Various types of extracurricular and classroom work, university-wide events;
– Master classes and training;
– Various types of work provided by tasks aimed at developing social competence among students:
1. Study and application of game interaction, and its various aspects; acting out and solving pedagogical
situations proposed by the teacher; analysis of film fragments;
2. Writing essays, letters of reflection, and essays; reviewing, and writing annotations to articles;
compilation of various recommendations, advice, and reminders; preparation of pedagogical collage,
crosswords, etc.; creation of a card index of techniques and methods of forming social competence;
establishment of interdisciplinary connections;
3. Use of gaming technologies in the process of forming social competence; preparation of discrete
presentations from professional disciplines, development of projects by the algorithm provided by the
teacher; creation of video clips and videos.
Students of the control group studied according to the usual method.
At the formative stage of the pedagogical experiment, the analyzed work results were summarized. To
characterize the dynamics of the formation of social competence, an analysis of the comparative results
obtained at the ascertaining and formative stages of the experiment was made. We see that the students of
the experimental group experienced more significant changes compared to the students of the control group,
which confirms the hypothesis put forward by us.
The application of the developed pedagogical system and effective conditions in the process of formation
and development of students' social competence confirmed that as a result of the pedagogical experiment,
there were quantitative changes in the indicators, which showed significant qualitative transformations in
the behavior and consciousness of the respondents, which indicates the positive dynamics of the formation
of social competence.
The dynamics of changes in the control group, compared to the experimental group, were significantly
lower. Using Pearson's statistical criterion (2), the results of the pedagogical experiment were checked and
statistically significant differences were recorded in the results of the control and experimental groups of
respondents, which confirms the proposed hypothesis.
Comparing the results of the study (initial and final) according to the levels of formation and development
of the social competence of students in CG and EG makes it possible to prove their positive dynamics in
the experimental group:
Volume 13 - Issue 77
/ May 2024
229
h tt ps: / /a maz on iain ve sti ga .i nfo/ IS S N 23 2 2 - 6 3 0 7
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Reproduction, distribution,
and public communication of the work, as well as the creation of derivative works, are permitted provided that the original
source is cited.
High level:
– 29.7% – at the beginning of the experiment;
– 65.5% – at the end of the experiment;
Sufficient level:
– 37.1% – at the beginning of the experiment;
– 25.4% – at the end of the experiment;
Average:
– 22.2% – at the beginning of the experiment;
– 7.9% – at the end of the experiment;
Low level:
– 11% – at the beginning of the experiment;
– 1.2% – at the end of the experiment.
The following results were obtained in the control group.
High level:
– 27.7% – at the beginning of the experiment;
– 31.1% – at the end of the experiment;
Sufficient level:
– 38% – at the beginning of the experiment;
– 41.3% – at the end of the experiment;
Average:
– 22.1% – at the beginning of the experiment;
– 18.9% – at the end of the experiment;
Low level:
– 12.2% at the beginning of the experiment;
– 8.7% – at the end of the experiment.
The results of the pedagogical experiment, in particular, the formative stage, showed a significant decrease
in the low level and an increase in the high level of the formation and development of social competence
of students of the higher school. The general research hypothesis was confirmed during the pedagogical
experiment, the goal was achieved.
Therefore, the application of the developed pedagogical system and effective conditions in the process of
formation and development of students' social competence is effective and can be proposed for distribution.
Recommendations.
For more effective formation and development of students' social competence, the following pedagogical
conditions must be observed:
– The use of modern pedagogical technologies in the educational process of a higher school;
– Implementation of the principles of partnership pedagogy in the educational process of the higher
school, as a basis for the social activity of students and the need to develop a positive position of higher
education seekers;
230
h tt ps: //a mazo ni ai nv est ig a. in fo/ I S S N 2 3 2 2 - 6 3 0 7
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Reproduction, distribution,
and public communication of the work, as well as the creation of derivative works, are permitted provided that the original
source is cited.
– Provision of active learning methods for the formation and development of human social competence;
– Coordination, coherence, and correction of psychological and pedagogical attitudes of the subjects of
the educational process of the higher school during independent activities in overcoming the barriers
of sociocultural life;
– During extracurricular and classroom work of the student – immersion in various types of activities
during social practices;
– In the process of formation and development of students' social competence – implementation of
pedagogical support of the education process.
The process of formation and development of social competence of future specialists will be effective if: –
the educational process developed pedagogical system and effective conditions are applied in the process
of formation and development of social competence.
Regarding the discussion on the implications of the findings of the results of the social competence of
university students, the ability to apply effective methods of interaction with colleagues and students
according to the situation, the ability to predict problematic situations with the aim of their timely avoidance
and positive resolution is provided; use of various innovative technologies to achieve the set goal; tolerant
attitude towards interlocutors, avoidance of criticism; a critical attitude towards oneself and one's behavior
in the process of performing professional activities.
The obtained research results can be used to organize the educational process in institutions of higher
education that train future specialists in the social sphere, as well as in the process of creating educational
and methodological manuals and in the self-educational activities of students.
The conducted research does not exhaust all aspects of the raised problem and proves the need for its further
development in such promising areas as the search for innovative approaches to the formation of social
competence of students using the global Internet, effective mechanisms of social interaction with
interlocutors/clients in the process of virtual communication; development of mass open online courses on
the formation of social competence of future social workers and their placement on online distance learning
platforms.
Conclusions
We have shown the importance and revealed the essence and content of the concept of social
competence. The main components of social competence and the conditions for organizing the
educational process are listed. Analyzing the professional and social functions of a specialist, those
components that should be based on acmeological direction, social functions, and social norms of the
individual and are part of the main components of social competence are singled out.
The optimization of the entire system of professional-pedagogical training involves the search for
effective approaches (in the conditions of level education) to the formation of social competence of
future specialists, therefore it is shown to ensure the development of effective conditions for the
organization of the educational process.
The importance of applying the theory of contextual learning in the formation of the social competence
of specialists has been proven.
The components provided by the structure of social competence and the main provisions of effective
approaches and principles of the formation of social competence of students are singled out.
Ways of formation and development of social competence are shown through the use of information
and communication technologies.
In the process of conducting a pedagogical experiment, a comprehensive diagnosis of students was
conducted to find out effective ways of developing and formation of social competence.
256 students of humanitarian specialties participated in the experiment (156 students made up the
experimental group (EG), and 100 students made up the control group (CG). In the process of the
experiment, the stages of formation and development of social competence among students were
developed, because the verification of formation in the educational process of universities and
Volume 13 - Issue 77
/ May 2024
231
h tt ps: / /a maz on iain ve sti ga .i nfo/ IS S N 23 2 2 - 6 3 0 7
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Reproduction, distribution,
and public communication of the work, as well as the creation of derivative works, are permitted provided that the original
source is cited.
development of social competence among students is not possible without substantiating the stages of
implementation of the formation and development of social competence, which is necessary for
checking the developed pedagogical system within which the education and training of students were
carried out in the created purposeful process of stimulating and organizing pedagogical educational
activities for the development of the activity, value-motivational, cognitive characteristics of a person,
which will allow a student to self-realize in various social situations – professional and educational.
Defined and proposed effective conditions, the introduction of which in the process of formation and
development of students' social competence was accompanied by the implementation of the following
functions: communication, diagnostic-prognostic, creative, and the use of active learning methods,
performance of various degrees of complexity of creative tasks; using self-training and training forms.
At the ascertaining stage of the experiment, to find out the state of formation and development of
social competence among students, a test survey was used that diagnosed the desire to be in society
and the formation of motivation for the formation of social competence of students. At the ascertaining
stage of the pedagogical experiment, we see mainly a low and medium level of formation of students'
social competence. It is this stage of the experiment that confirms the expediency and relevance of our
research.
At the formative stage of the conducted experiment, an experimental test of the hypothesis was
foreseen – the introduction of the developed didactic system into the educational process of the higher
school and its implementation at such stages as motivational stage, creative stage, cognitive stage,
corrective and reflective stage of formation and development of social competence among students
will be effective by implementing the effective conditions developed by us. The process of
implementation of the proposed stages of formation and development of social competence among
students was accompanied by the use of appropriate methods, necessary forms, and methodological
techniques.
The dynamics of changes in the control group, compared to the experimental group, were significantly
lower. Using Pearson's statistical test (2) the results of the pedagogical experiment were verified and
statistically significant differences were recorded in the results of the control and experimental groups
of respondents, which confirms the proposed hypothesis. Comparing the results of the study (initial
and final) according to the levels of formation and development of the social competence of students
in CG and EG makes it possible to prove their positive dynamics in the experimental group.
Recommendations for more effective formation and development of students' social competence have
been developed.
The conducted research does not cover all aspects of the mentioned problem. It requires further study
of the formation of social competence, in particular, the development of educational and
methodological support for this process and; the implementation of foreign experience in the formation
and development of social competence of students of higher education.
Bibliographic References
Andreyeva, M. O. (2023). Development of social competence of students with special educational needs in
the institution of vocational pre-university education. "Kharkiv Humanitarian and Pedagogical
Academy", Kharkiv. http://repository.khpa.edu.ua:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/3581/1/metod-
2.pdf
Datsenko, N. (2012). About the structure of social competence of students. Bulletin of the Taras Shevchenko
National University of Kyiv. Psychology. Pedagogy. Social work, (6), 8-10.
http://nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/vknuppcr_2012_6_4
Dzvinchuk, D. I., & Kachmar, O. V. (2022). Socio-cultural competence as a basis for professional training
of professionals in the field of public administration. Taurian Scientific Herald. Series: Public
Management and Administration, (1), 19-29. https://doi.org/10.32851/tnv-pub.2022.1.3
Herrera Granda, A., Yepes, S. M., Montes Granada, W. F., & Alvarez Salazar, J. (2023). Students’ self-
perception of social, emotional, and intercultural competences in a public higher education institution
in Colombia. Journal for Multicultural Education, 17(1), 70-82. https://doi.org/10.1108/JME-02-2022-
0032
232
h tt ps: //a mazo ni ai nv est ig a. in fo/ I S S N 2 3 2 2 - 6 3 0 7
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Reproduction, distribution,
and public communication of the work, as well as the creation of derivative works, are permitted provided that the original
source is cited.
Holguin-Alvarez, J., Garay-Rodríguez, P., Amasifuén-Sánchez, V., Huaita Acha, D. M.,
Luza Castillo, F. F., Cruz-Montero, J., & Ledesma-Pérez, F. (2021). Digital Competences in the Elderly
and University Students: Didactic Interaction from the Use of Social Networks. International Journal
of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 16(04), 188-200.
https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v16i04.18519
Kachalova, T. H. (2014). Structural and functional components of a didactic model for training students'
social competence. Educational Dimension, 43, 186-189. https://doi.org/10.31812/educdim.v43i0.2749
Kuchai, O., Hrechanyk, N., Pluhina, A., Chychuk, A., Biriuk, L., & Shevchuk, I. (2022). World Experience
in the Use of Multimedia Technologies and the Formation of Information Culture of the Future Primary
School Teacher. International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, 22(3), 760-768.
https://doi.org/10.22937/IJCSNS.2022.22.3.100
Lukatska, Ya. S. (2020). Conditions of formation of social competence of students in higher education.
Pedagogy of creative personality formation in higher and secondary schools: Collection of scientific
papers, 3(69), 10-14. https://dspace.dsau.dp.ua/handle/123456789/3143
Lukatska, Ya. S. (2021). Analysis of the concept of "personal social competence" in Ukrainian and foreign
scientific works. Bulletin of Alfred Nobel University. "Pedagogy and Psychology" Series. Pedagogical
Sciences, 1(21), 49-53. http://doi.org/10.32342/2522-4115-2021-1-21-6
Marrero-Sánchez, O., & Vergara-Romero, A. (2023). Digital competence of the university student. A
systematic and bibliographic update. Amazonia Investiga, 12(67), 9-18.
https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2023.67.07.1
Minyar-Beloroucheva, A., & Sergienko, P. (2022). Desarrollo de competencias en la educación de
estudiantes de relaciones públicas de L2 en la era digital. Amazonia Investiga, 11(50), 282-289.
https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2022.50.02.26
Pegalajar Palomino, M. d. C. (2017). Formación en competencias en alumnado universitario mediante
prácticas basadas en aprendizaje cooperativo. Revista Complutense de Educación, 29(3), 829-845.
https://doi.org/10.5209/RCED.53970
Polanco-Levicán, K., Gálvez-Nieto, J., Mayorga-Muñoz, C., Salvo-Garrido, S., & Norambuena-Paredes, I.
(2023). Estructura Factorial del Cuestionario de Competencias Sociales y Emocionales (SEC-Q) en una
Muestra de Estudiantes Universitarios Chilenos. Revista Iberoamericana de Diagnostico y Evaluacion-
e Avaliacao Psicologica, 4(70), 57-71. https://doi.org/10.21865/RIDEP70.4.05
Puhach, S., Avramenko, K., Michalchenko, N., Chychuk, A., Kuchai, O., & Demchenko, I. (2021).
Formation of Specialists’ Legal Competence in the System of Life Long Education. Romanian
Magazine for Multidimensional Education, 13(4), 91-112. https://doi.org/10.18662/rrem/13.4/472
Shakhrai, V. M. (2016). Theoretical and methodological principles of formation of social competence of
elementary and high school students using theatrical art (Unpublished doctor of pedagogical science
dissertation). Institute of Educational Problems of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Sharov, S. (2020). The structure and content of social competence of students of a pedagogical university.
A New Pedagogical Thought, 3(103), 97-100.
http://npd.roippo.org.ua/index.php/NPD/article/view/222/191
Sharov, S. V. (2019). The use of ICT for the development of social competence of future teachers. In
Innovative development of higher education: dimensions of global, European and national change:
materials V International. science and practice conference (April 16-17, 2019, Sumy) (Vol. 2, pp. 119-
122). Editor-in-chief of Sumy DPU named after AS Makarenko, Sumy.
http://eprints.mdpu.org.ua/id/eprint/3350/1/sharov_2019_119.pdf
Shetelya, N., Oseredchuk, O., Cherkasov, V., Kravchuk, O., Yarova, L., & Kuchai, O. (2023). Competency
approach in preparing professionals in an innovative educational environment in higher education.
Revista Conrado, 19(S3), 298-307. https://conrado.ucf.edu.cu/index.php/conrado/article/view/3512
Subina, O. O. (2016). Formation of social competence of future teachers in the conditions of professional
training: Monograph. Kyiv: Publishing House of M.P. Drahomanov NPU. https://acortar.link/ELdOoA
Vázquez-Cano, E., Marín Díaz, V., Maldonado Berea, G. A., & García-Garzón, E. (2017). La competencia
digital del alumnado universitario de Ciencias Sociales desde una perspectiva de género. Revista Prisma
Social, (19), 347-367. https://revistaprismasocial.es/article/view/1680
Zarubinska, I. B. (2009). The problem of diagnosis of social competence of students of higher educational
institutions. Information Technologies and Teaching Aids, 5(13).
https://journal.iitta.gov.ua/index.php/itlt/article/view/189/175
Zhukova, O. A. (2019). Didactic system of formation of social competence of students of humanities majors
of classical universities using game technologies (Unpublished doctor of pedagogical science
dissertation). Ternopil National Pedagogical University named after V. Hnatyuk.
http://dspace.tnpu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/13763