PREPARATION OF FUTURE SOCIAL WORKERS TO WORK WITH THE ELDERLY

Abstract

The urgency of the problem of preparing future social workers for social work with the elderly in the local community is determined by the following factors: the reform of decentralization of power in Ukraine, which provides for changes in the administrative-territorial structure of the country and shifting the focus to address many social issues, social work with the elderly, on territorial communities; demographic trend of increasing the number of elderly people; the growing demands of the elderly to the conditions of their lives and ways of self-realization; shortage of professional social workers motivated to work with the elderly. The purpose of the article is to analyze the possibilities of the educational program "Social Administration in the Territorial Community" in the field of knowledge 23 "Social Work" Master's degree in social work with the elderly in a united territorial community with a focus on strengths perspective and the disclosure of the practical implementation of this task in the educational process of Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University. The research methods are as follows: analysis of normative documents, scientific works in order to clarify theories, perspectives, approaches, models of social work with the elderly in the local community; systematization of theoretical positions, as well as generalization and correction of theoretical and methodological positions for scientific substantiation of theoretical and practical aspects of professional training of students of master's degree in specialty 231 "Social work" to implement an approach focused on community strengths in social working with the elderly. The article reveals the experience of teachers of the Department of Social Work and Management of Socio Cultural Activities of Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University on the implementation of theoretical and practical components of training future professionals based on the prospects of strengths in social work with the elderly.