Social Competences In Higher Education – History, New Technologies And Positive Human Interaction

Abstract

The higher education is the final step of the student’s professional training in a specific domain. But the university must prepare him/her to be integrated in a social and cultural space, certainly, different from ethnic and human perspective. This means be able to accept, relate and collaborate with different people. Frequently, the virtual space and electronic technology are more attractive and useful for both communicating each other and knowing, working together. This perspective of understanding the higher education imposes even another requirement: the interdisciplinarity as a solution for develop the positive relationship between people and countries. Thus, History and New technologies can be a strong motivation for breaking or develop the social, interpersonal, politic or cultural dialogue. Our study starts from the premise that the discrimination and violence are often caused by un-, or bad knowing, by the ethnical stereotypes, wrong communication and unsocial reactions. In this respect, it is very important focusing the education on the contents and subjects which encourage collaboration with the other, communication and social interaction. The paper is based on the systematically observations made during the activities with students who working on a degree in history domain. The paper proposes some theoretical and methodological aspects for develop the social, communication and interaction competences of the students, the attitudes and values by the cooperation in the learning activities, also. Our methodological proposes, recommendation, tools and methods are some good examples to diminish the interpersonal conflicts.

Keywords: Educationcooperationuniversitycommunicationemotion

Introduction

It is well-known that the universities teach students to be professionals in a specific domain, to have knowledge and skills enough for their successful working integration. For this, the higher education should be connected to the nowadays’ reality and future socio-cultural evolution. But, the technological society accelerated, globalization and human mobility increased affect both the labour market and the human interaction and communication. Certainly, such changes could cause multiple tensions, conflicts or different crises at the social, interpersonal and interinstitutional level. For this reason, the university have to develop the social, civic and students’ intercultural competences.

Although the cultivation of these competences is mentioned in Learning Standards, the disciplines targeting them directly, like “The Ethics of researching through means of new communicational technologies”, „Education for changing”, „Intercultural education”, „Democratic citizenship” are missing from the university curriculum. Sure enough, there are scientific contents that can contribute to their building up, and they can be approached in a modular manner or they can be integrated in different specialized disciplines. Another solution would be the interdisciplinary approach of the scientific units, a fact that would help the intersection between different disciplines (as technical and socio-humanistic disciplines) pertaining to different fields of expertise.

Problem Statement

History is a science of past and present world. The general consideration is that history circulates historical data and its interpretation. Today, its status is re-dimensioned because it inspires the public speeches and the (non)dialogue between nations. In this way, in school for example, it can become a factor for developing chauvinism, racism, xenophobia, also. The situation is even more obvious now that the new technologies and the virtual space are present into the life of humans. The speed with which the information is travelling, the relativism of information, space expansion and the diversity of the human contacts (Ogan, 2007) are caused, among others, by the lack of patience and perspective in getting to know and to accept the other, the use of clichés, the neglectful or intentional distortion of relationships (Brett, Behfar, & Kern, 2006). This is one of reasons to be considered history and new technologies of communication as efficient tools for the (dis)tension of interhuman, social and interethnic relationship. In nowadays, the historical knowing has new problems: an accentuating relativism of information and a low controlling emotional and actional reaction. The information digitalization,”electronic democracy” ( eDemocracy ) and ”electronic government” ( eGovernment ) (Lockyer & Patterson, 2008). influence the historical knowledge and, implicit, human, social and politic interactions (Dobrica, 2006).

Research Questions

The paper presents History as an important subject for interpersonal and social communication which can has a positive / negative emotional effect on it. Thus, History can be a good tool for cultivating social and human relationship, offering models of actions, of thinking, personalities, gestures, values and attitudes for different times. But the new media, new communication technologies contribute to increasing or nonincreasing of affective connotation of History. New media and new communication technologies are a concept developed from the middle of the last century, including electronic communication, websites, Internet, and others virtual spaces. All of them allow establishing a dynamic and emotional connection between virtual space and people consumers of information. For this reason, it is necessary studding relation between History and new technologies as a modality to develop the positive human emotion, positive relationship, attitudes and values (participative tolerance, real implication, trust, collaboration, cooperation, desire and interest of working together).

The study develops this perspective of understanding of two scientific fields, by emphasizing the positive emotional and relational aspects of their disciplinary intersection at the level of academic education and of the didactic means to accomplish and monitor this collaboration. Of course, we are focusing on the educational process, on the didactical strategies and modalities which develop communication and relationship.

Purpose of the Study

Our paper has allowed the presentation of the didactical means to train and build-up the social abilities needed in history field. The following approach directions were included in the paper:

• identifying the connection between the socio-humanistic and informatic technologies domains;

• identifying the didactical methods and techniques that stimulate and enhance communication and social relationship;

• correlating those methods and techniques with the types of learning activities;

• focusing on some recommendations regarding the encouragement of teachers to give more attention to training and developing social abilities.

Research Methods

Our paper is a theoretical research that respected the specific research strategies. In the same measure, paper is a part of practical research more extended which are still developing in this academic year. The research proposes implementing the educational program based on methods and techniques of learning through collaboration and cooperation for students from History, Philosophy and Theology Faculty at University of Galati.

This paper uses the results, during seminars, and also during the professors’ lectures, which have been obtained by the systematic observation, oral and written interviewing (evaluation and self-evaluation).

Findings

The relation between History and new communication technologies can be analysed from many perspectives. Next, we propose a presentation of the disciplinary occasions in which these fields meet.

History and new communication technologies are two domains that influence the communication and relationship

Apparently, History and New technologies are two domain which have nothing in common. But, each of them has an emotional dimension, influencing some feelings and experience, like in the following schema : (Figure 01 ).

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As it can be noticed, the new communication technologies are a support and modality of expressing emotions developed by the history contents.

The congruence History and New technologies and academic learning

In higher education, these domains are being studied separately, from professional perspective. But it is possible a modular approach, also, in the structure of specialized disciplines. For example, the students from the Informatica specialization, can learn about History of the communication tools and resources. Also, students at the History specialization can learn about Computer assisted technologies. It is well-known that the interdisciplinarity is a useful modality for students to transferring their knowledge, skills and capacities in the real life (Jones & Issroff, 2005). In Venn Diagram we present the linking components of History and New technologies of communication: (Figure 02 ).

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It is evidence that both history and new technology contribute to realize the Standards education and a positive, optimistic educational climate, also. History needs new technologies for the following reasons:

• having a support for storing, arranging and processing information, interpretation of some realities and their understanding;

• fast means to obtain and diversify information, to adjust and complete it;

• possibility to work with historical texts, completing it or reviewing it;

• tool used for managing information;

• adapting to the learning, documentation activity, writing and presenting it according to the intellectual particularities of each individual;

• keeping the knowledge, organizing and managing the information, using the informatic tools and virtual space.

Conclusion

Using the new technologies of communications, history can be more attractive and responsible for its information and formative objective. The materials created and posted by students will become „a virtual portfolio” appreciated not only by their professors, but also it will be made available to all those interested (colleagues or “visitors”). Students will be encouraged to put down their ideas, to share their experiences, their personal impressions about the activity at hand, to make demands regarding the clarity of the notions presented, to resolve some conflicts and to offer additional information.

The reactions and the comments received will help them achieve some objective self-evaluations, to improve their manner of working and communicating, and to control their emotions. By means of their own comments and their valuable judgements, students will become co-participants at the learning act and will encourage the exchange of both cognitive and emotional experience. By understanding one’s own emotions, they will be capable to manage them in favour of developing their communication and relationships with others.

The use of the new informational and communicational technologies, beyond the idea of freedom that they cultivate, impose a set of rules that model attitudes and behaviors. Therefore, the gathering, processing and transmission of information (Vangen, 2017) by means of cybernetics presumes respecting the laws governing the use of Internet, “the use of decency” in the scientific activity, the responsibility for one’s own statements.

History and the new media generate a good mediation: between the social reality and the personal experience, between the community’s expectations and one’s role among others, and the gain of a new sense for the social experiences. By underlining the student’s quality of being a good, responsible and socially engaged citizen, capable to find one’s existential purpose in the community, it harmonizes one’s own interests with the ones of others. Also, the collaboration between historical knowledge and the use of Computerized Information Technology encourages the expression: of constructive emotions, of the interest towards the feelings of others, of the motivation to keep and develop the favorable feelings, the dialogue with others, and of being open towards the scientific communication and social relationship. It also develops creativity and the inventiveness in favor of keeping them. All of them help reach the education goals and to build up an optimistic educational and relational climate.

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