SOCIALIZATION OF PERSONALITY WITHIN THE COMPETENCY APPROACH

The development of students’ social competency implies
projecting the content and modelling socially significant
situations, setting the social context of graduates’ future life and
contributing to fulfilling their educational potential. The nature of
the tasks facing the modern Russian society dramatically
increases the relevance of competency issues, both in
professional and non-professional activities. At the same time,
numerous studies in sociology, culturology and psychology
indicate widespread inadequate beliefs, expectations, values and
attitudes not only in ordinary citizens, but in leaders as well.
There is a very low interest in innovations, work productivity,
effective management, which is a universal, worldwide
phenomenon. The solution of the tasks facing modern Russian
society depends largely on people’s beliefs, expectations, values
and attitudes, determining their attitude to innovation, content,
effectiveness and efficiency of various types of activities. An
individual’s social adaptation (active inclusion in the social
environment) implies achieving a certain level of social
competency as a necessary condition.
“Competency” is a characteristic of the subject and his/her
activity, which in reference and normative literature is often
defined as possession of knowledge allowing to judge about
something, to express a competent opinion. An increase in the
competency level is interpreted as a measure of the knowledge
depth and breadth. In other words, competency is primarily based
on existing knowledge, which is necessary to perform
professional duties and achieve personal goals. Therefore, the
modern understanding of competency includes both a person’s
ability to perform certain functions and certain mental qualities
(conditions) that allow one to act independently and responsibly.
It is important to emphasize that the competency is assessed
considering the activity results, not resources invested in their
achievement. Competency cannot be reduced to education,
efforts, etc.
The following types of competency are distinguished: 1) special
competency – ability to fulfill one’s professional activity at a high
level and to design one’s further professional development;
2) individual competency – ability to use the methods of selfrealization and individuality development within the profession,
readiness for professional growth, aptitude for individual selfpreservation, counteraction to professional burnout, ability to
rationally organize their work; 3) personal competency –
knowledge of personal self-expression and self-development
techniques, means of resisting professional deformation; 4) social
competency – knowledge of methods concerning joint (group,
cooperative) activities, cooperation and communication;
leadership and social responsibility for the achieved results.
Turning to the phenomenon of the social competency, we focus
on the types of motivation that modern society needs and the
factors which determine them. In other words, we are talking
about the stimuli that motivate members of society to gain the
key elements of the social competency – initiative, leadership,
responsibility, effective work in cooperation with others. An
innovative person, striving for a high level of the social
competency, is characterized by: 1) attitude to the world, which is
characterized by curiosity and the desire to control (manipulate)
it, which is expressed in the persistent search for its main
regulators in order to influence and control various phenomena;
2) accepting responsibility for the bad aspects of life, coupled
with finding the best solutions and constant attempts to make
alterations; 3) frankness and tolerance towards fellow citizens, an
approving attitude towards their originality and striving for
innovations in all areas of life; 4) creativity, stimulating
originality and striving for novelty, indomitable curiosity.
In Russian pedagogy, the concept of the social competency has
been recently explored within discussions about the quality of
education, about what a student should be. At the same time, the
generalized form of this phenomenon includes various types of
readiness for certain activity types: professional labour activity;
family creation; performing civilian functions and improving the
society in which he/she will live; creative activity in any field;
preserving and strengthening the student’s physical and mental
health; awareness of the need to self-change and study throughout
life. In psychology, the social competency is often correlated with
the concept of “self-confidence”.
When considering the social competency, scientists tend to
include knowledge, social skills and abilities in its structure.
These components form the basis of the social competency.
Keywords: personality, socialization, modernization of
education, competence-based approach, social competence.