Social Partnership As A Mechanism For Developing Students Flexible Skills

Abstract

This article is devoted to the problem of social partnership as a leading mechanism for educating students' flexible skills. Various forms of social partnership are the leading tool for educating the flexible skills of young people in the region, which are so in demand in modern conditions on the labor market. The study of the phenomenon of "social partnership" and the mechanisms of education of flexible skills of students can enrich both of these phenomena. A high level of formation of various aspects of empathy was revealed in an average of a quarter of students, they are emotionally responsive, they are characterized mainly by a positive attitude when communicating, they tend to create an atmosphere of openness and trust. High results in the course of studying emotional intelligence were revealed in terms of "Awareness of their feelings and emotions", i.e. most students accept their emotions and are aware of them. At the same time, the remaining indicators mainly revealed medium and low levels, i.e. students are not clearly aware of their own feelings, do not accept them to a greater extent, and have difficulties in managing them. Students with low and medium levels of emotional intelligence experience difficulties with managing other people's emotions and relieving emotional stress in stressful situations. Thus, it can be concluded that the level of development of flexible skills of students is at a low level, while social partnership can become a key tool for their education.

Keywords: Emotional intelligence, empathy, flexible skills, social partnership

Introduction

Currently, the potential of social partnership is extremely important for solving a complex of social problems, organizing stable and long-term interaction between education and business, developing flexible skills of young people in the region to realize their potential and improve the quality of life in general. The social partnership is based on the state's desire to use the innovative and energy potential of the younger generation for the implementation of state modernization. The study of the phenomenon of "social partnership" and the mechanisms of education of flexible skills of young people can enrich both of these phenomena. It is the various forms of social partnership that should become the key mechanisms that ensure the effectiveness of the process of educating the flexible skills of young people in the region.

Problem Statement

Social partnership helps to offset the decline in the role of the public and civil society institutions in the process of social development of young people. The organization of social partnership, in our opinion, will allow all its subjects to adapt to modern market conditions, involving constant improvement of technologies, will help to respond sensitively to the requirements of the labor market by educating flexible skills of students, to meet the economic and social situation in the region.

In the Russian literature, social partnership in the field of vocational education is considered as a method of solving social and economic problems and regulating contradictions between the university, the employer and the state (Chvanova et al., 2012). Petrova (2013) research presents a large-scale typologization of social partnership and an analysis of its modern forms in the sphere of state youth policy. Shvetsov and Dugarov (2012) highlights the specifics of the impact of social partnership on the process of modernization of vocational education in the region, highlighting, among other things, the following mechanisms: "formation of an institutional environment for the innovative development of financial and economic mechanisms in vocational education; public-social management in the system of vocational education; involvement of social partners in co-founding educational institutions, etc.

The youth entrepreneurial environment, as one of the forms of social partnership, is considered as an additional opportunity for students to develop professional and socio-personal competencies that influence students ' self-determination and their motivational readiness for professional activity (Cuenca, 2017). Thus, by social partnership, we understand the joint activities of several organizations, including the exchange, unification and joint use of economic, material, technical and human resources, aimed at achieving a common goal-the education of flexible skills of young people (Han & Yin, 2016; Steinmayr et al., 2019; Vorob'eva & Makarova, 2018). Social partnership is aimed at structuring the resources of several organizations, allows them to be exchanged or combined-shared if necessary, and also involves partnership and cooperation between the subjects of interaction (Bogatenkova, 2016; Sarkisyan 2016). Social partnership involves the collaboration between the organizations, but at the same time, requiring "soft skills" actively began to be developed by Western scientists in the early XXI century, in recent decades abroad developed a number of different international and state programs dedicated to their development (Svirin & Titor 2017; Yusupova & Khudoiberdieva, 2017). Flexible skills are actively included in educational standards, curricula of educational organizations at various levels (Tang et al., 2015).

In foreign studies, a number of scientists pay attention to the flexible skills of students (Ngang Tang & Kaen, 2018; Tang et al., 2015). A number of researchers believe that flexible skills of students can include resourcefulness, ethics, sociability, independence, self-motivation, ability to cooperate, activity, energy, the desire for self-learning and self-development (Lippman et al., 2015; Schulz, 2018). Hurrell (2016) believes that flexible skills are not just individual personal characteristics and inclinations, they "include interpersonal and intrapersonal abilities that facilitate pedagogical activity in certain aspects" (p. 619).

Thus, the study of the phenomenon of "social partnership" and the mechanisms of education of flexible skills of students can enrich both of these phenomena. It is the various forms of social partnership that should become the key mechanisms for ensuring the effectiveness of the process of educating flexible skills of young people.

Research Questions

The key research issues of this article include the theoretical justification of the problem of social partnership as a mechanism for educating flexible skills of young people in the region. In our opinion, it is necessary to study the works of foreign and domestic authors that reflect the conceptual, substantive, normative, structural aspects of the concepts of "social partnership" and "education of flexible skills", as well as to analyze the various views and approaches proposed by the authors to consider this problem.

Purpose of the Study

The aim of the study is to theoretically substantiate the problem of the relationship between "social partnership" and" flexible skills " and empirically identify the level of formation of emotional intelligence and empathy as key flexible skills of students.

Research Methods

The analysis of scientific literature was chosen as the methods of theoretical research. For the empirical research of the level of formation of empathy we have chosen the method of Diagnostics of the level of empathic abilities century. Assessment of the level of formation of emotional intelligence was carried out by means of the Author's Method of Diagnostics of Emotional Intelligence - MEI . The empirical study involved 149 students.

Findings

Empathy is one of the most important and popular flexible skills in society, and the method Diagnostics of the Level of Empathic Abilities was used to assess it. The technique is designed to diagnose various manifestations of empathy and assess its overall level. Diagnostic results for this technique are presented in Table 1

After analyzing the results of this diagnostic technique, we found that the highest indicators were identified for the component "Intuitive channel of empathy" and "Penetrating ability in empathy", which indicates the ability of respondents to act in conditions of a lack of initial information based on the experience of the subconscious and intuition, to create an atmosphere of openness, trust, and intimacy in communication. The lowest indicators are marked on the scale "Rational channel of empathy", which reflects the focus of attention, perception and thinking of the student on the essence of any other person — on his condition, problems, behavior.

Qualitative analysis of the data showed that all aspects of empathy in the majority of respondents are formed at a very low and understated level, which indicates their inability to empathize and empathize, to understand the behavior of communication partners. A high level of formation of various aspects of empathy was revealed in an average of a quarter of students, they are emotionally responsive, they are characterized mainly by a positive attitude when communicating, they tend to create an atmosphere of openness and trust. Thus, we can conclude that students ' empathy is formed at an insufficient level.

Emotional intelligence is also a significant flexible skill, and the author's method of diagnosing emotional intelligence – MEI was used to identify it. The results of this method are presented in table 2.

After analyzing table 2, we found that the highest results were found in the indicator "Awareness of their feelings and emotions", i.e. the majority of students accept their emotions and are aware of them. At the same time, according to other indicators, the average and low levels are mainly revealed, i.e. students are not clearly aware of their own feelings, do not accept them to a greater extent, and experience difficulties in managing them. Students with low and medium levels of emotional intelligence experience difficulties with managing other people's emotions and relieving emotional stress in stressful situations.

Conclusion

According to the results of the study, we found that students have low and sufficient levels of formation of indicators of empathy and emotional intelligence, while the results for indicators related to stable personality qualities are higher than for indicators related to flexible personality qualities. Students with a low and sufficient level are prone to making hasty decisions, are not always able to manage their emotional state, and tend to focus on negative emotions. Summing up the results of the study, we can conclude that the level of development of flexible skills of students is at a low level, while social partnership can become a key tool for their education.

Acknowledgments

The scientific article was supported by the e-grant of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research No. 21-18-00139.

References

• Bogatenkova, E. Y. (2016). Formation of an innovative attitude to work during the period of training at the university. Business. Education. Law. https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=25979863

• Chvanova, M. S., Khramova, M. V., & Molchanov, A. A. (2012). Social partnership is one of the mechanisms for improving the social and innovative activities of the university. Educational technologies and society. https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=17787413

• Cuenca, A. (2017). Preparing Teachers for a New Generation of Social Studies Learners: Introducing the National Standards for the Preparation of Social Studies Teachers. Social Education. https://www.socialstudies.org/publications/socialeducation/november-december2017/ introducing-the-national-standards-for-the-preparation-of-social-studies-teachers

• Han, J., & Yin, H. (2016). Teacher motivation: Definition, research development and implications for teachers. Cogent Education.

  Google Scholar

  Crossref

• Hurrell, S. A. (2016). Rethinking the soft skills deficit blame game: Employers, skills withdrawal and the reporting of soft skills gaps. Human Relations.

  Google Scholar

  Crossref

• Lippman, L. H., Ryberg, R., Carney, R., & Kristin, A. (2015). Workforce connections: key “soft skills” that foster youth workforce success: toward a consensus across fields. Child Trends Publication. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=3Fg7-tYAAAAJ&hl=en#d=gs_md_cita-d&u=%2Fcitations%3Fview_op%3Dview_citation%26hl%3Den%26user%3D3Fg7-tYAAAAJ%26citation_for_view%3D3Fg7-tYAAAAJ%3AdhFuZR0502QC%26tzom%3D-300

• Ngang Tang, N., & Kaen, K. (2018). The importance of soft skills acquisition by teachers in higher education institutions. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences.

  Google Scholar

  Crossref

• Petrova, I. E. (2013). Social partnership in the sphere of youth policy: search for optimal models. Youth World Politic. https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=21765658

• Sarkisyan, Y. V. (2016). Social entrepreneurship in Russia and France: materials of the report of the international internship in Paris of the project group of students of the National Research University RANEPA. Bulletin of the Nizhny Novgorod Institute of Management. https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=27496055

• Schulz, B. (2018). The Importance of Soft Skills: Education beyond academic knowledge. NAWA Journal of Language and Communication. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-importance-of-soft-skills%3A-education-beyond-Schulz/c1d3e21ea8496e2d828678cde2981 aac1bd4ce3e

• Shvetsov, M. Y., & Dugarov, A. L. (2012). Network interaction of educational institutions of professional education in the region. Scientific notes of the Trans-Baikal State Humanitarian and Pedagogical University named after N. G. Chernyshevsky. https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=18076551

• Steinmayr, R., Weidinger, A. F., Schwinger, M., & Spinath, B. (2019). The Importance of Students’ Motivation for Their Academic Achievement – Replicating and Extending Previous Findings. Frontiers in Psychology.

  Google Scholar

  Crossref

• Svirin, Y. A., & Titor, S. E. (2017). Social partnership in professional education in Russia. The works of scientists of the Russian Academy of advocacy and notaries. https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=29246742

• Tang, K. N., Mohd, Y. H., & Hashim, N. H. (2015). Soft skills integration in teaching professional training: Novice teachers' perspectives. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences.

  Google Scholar

  Crossref

• Vorob'eva, M. A., & Makarova, T. D. (2018). Factors influencing the formation of self-motivation of students in the field of education-state and municipal management. Vestnik Udmurt University. Philosophy series. Psychology. Pedagogy. https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/faktory-vliyayuschie-na-formirovanie-samomotivatsii-u-studentov-napravleniya-obucheniya-gosudarstvennoe-munitsipalnoe-upravlenie

• Yusupova, F. Z., & Khudoiberdieva, A. H. (2017). Social partnership as a special type of integration of education, science and production. European Research. https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=29366407