The essence of the concept of the social and educational environment of the university as a space for the implementation of social activity of students has been clarified in the article. The influence of this environment on the professional development of the personality of the future specialist of elementary education, the formation of the social mobility and personal and professional culture are researched. The peculiarities of the organization of the social and educational environment during the training of future teachers of primary education have been considered, its tasks and functions have been substantiated. The attention has been focused on the fact that the socio-educational activity of the university involves not only the creation of certain pedagogical conditions for the student’s socialization but also the diagnosis and development of the readiness of future teachers to carry out their professional activities. It has been noted that in order to create a favorable social and educational environment during the professional training of students, it is necessary to adhere to the following requirements: the unity of education, upbringing and development of future teachers of elementary school; awareness of the social significance of the process of education in higher education as the dominant factor in the development of the general cultural potential of the future teacher; formation of professional-value orientations of the future specialist. It has been preconditioned that the social-educational environment in the universities will be effective if its activities are organized according to the corresponding types and directions. As the criteria for the effectiveness of the development of the social and educational environment in the system of training the future teachers of primary schools, its characteristics have been substantiated: liberality, social activity, mobility. The conclusion has been made that the organization of the social and educational environment in higher educational institutions needs to be reformed. In particular, the important directions of improvement of social and educational work at universities have been noticed: provision of social and pedagogical assistance to the individual and professional formation of future specialists of primary education; asserting the health care the life of future teachers as an effective alternative to the spread of destructive trends in the youth environment and an important indicator of the effective activity of educational work in universities.