Key Research Concepts Research Articles

ESCHATOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS OF CHRISTIAN CONSCIOUSNESS

The article is dedicated to the problem of revival and restoration of spirituality in the space of everyday and secular consciousness, the "sacred values" by cultivating eschatological topics (on which the religious systems of the civilized world are based) as a universal factor of prosperity of the world and native culture. Eschatological systems as a treasury of history worldview (philosophical, scientific, religious ideology on the global scale) are being undertaken, as well as from the point of view of new realities. The work is devoted to reconstruction of key eschatological themes, identification of semantic dimensions of their actualization in various forms of manifestation of individual (human) and general (culture, civilization) existence, their disclosure from the point of view of sacred-religious outlook, nuances of understanding in Christian world. "Eschatology", the history of its development in the religious picture of Christian world are pointed out. The key concepts of research are singled out, which are perceived as linguistic "imprints" engraved in words by different historical periods. Within eschatological consciousness, the basic theme of destiny is revealed. In the dimension of theological thought, the destiny of the soul is revealed in the system of considerations about its earthly destiny and the heavenly destiny. Methodology of the article is complex, it combines the following basic strategies: the history of ideas, analytics, comparative studies, phenomenology, philosophical hermeneutics. It is established that the concept of "eschatology" (it is a product of ancient times - the ancient era), its word form had not been used by theological thought until the twentieth century. Thus, the semantic content of the term "eschatology" (accumulated by history) has not been fully disclosed, and its evolution needs further rediscovery. In the article the concept of destiny is substantiated as a basic idea, a matrix of eschatological pictures (religious systems) of the world. The idea of Destiny is presented as an attribute of religious consciousness, eschatological model of the world, Principle of Universe existence and existence of its representatives, as a matrix of eschatological system of the Christians.

DIAGNOSTICS OF FORMATION OF COMMUNICATIVE UNIVERSAL LEARNING ACTIONS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN INCLUSIVE PRACTICE

This article presents the results of a diagnostic observation of the formation of communicative universal learning actions of primary school children in inclusive practice. The article defines the terms “diagnostics” and “communicative universal learning actions” as key research concepts; demonstrates the development of simulators for the diagnostics of communicative universal learning actions in pupils of grade 1; presents the characteristic of the level of formation of communicative universal learning actions of elementary school children and the dynamics of their progress in mastering communicative universal learning actions (KUUD). In the study, the following methods were used: analysis of psycho - pedagogical literature; entrance and final testing; and quantitative and qualitative processing of experimental data. Diagnostics of the level of formation of communicative universal learning actions was carried out at two stages: entrance and final testing. The stage of entrance diagnostics was carried out in order to identify the level of formation of communicative universal learning actions at the beginning of the school year and made it possible to single out a group of children with learning difficulties. The final diagnostics was carried out at the end of the school year and allowed tracking the dynamics of the progress of students in the course of purposefully carried out training. The conclusions about the state of the formation of communicative universal learning actions in elementary school students in an inclusive environment are laid out in the article. As a result of the study, the levels of the formation of communicative universal learning actions in primary school pupils with the help of an express simulator were determined and a group of children with learning difficulties was identified. The use of express simulators to diagnose the formation of universal learning actions in school practice may be useful for primary school teachers.

Аналіз стану розробленості проблеми підготовки майбутніх учителів до надання фасилітативної педагогічної підтримки сімей в Україні

The article is devoted to the issues of the preparing future teachers for providing facilitative pedagogical support to families. The analysis of the conditions of the formation and the development of a teacher of a new formation, a teacher – as a facilitator has been done. Key research concepts are revealed: facilitator, facilitation, teacher – facilitator, support, pedagogical support. The attention is focused on the important psychological qualities of the facilitator teacher that contribute to increasing student motivation and help to create the conditions for discovering the potential of all participants in the educational process. The author’s definition of “facilitative pedagogical support” has been developed; a comparative analysis of various types of pedagogical support, the practical elaboration of the problem of preparing future teachers for the provision of facilitated pedagogical support for families in Ukraine has been carried out. It is taught that understanding the important aspects of the facilitative pedagogical support of the family and its tools will allow the teacher to build trusting relationships, communicate productively, taking into account the individual characteristics of all participants in the educational process, to realize more successfully the goals of the New Ukrainian School.

Approximating relatedness from a business model perspective: towards a taxonomic approach

Despite sustained scholarly efforts for almost half a century, the definition and measurement of “relatedness” as a key concept in diversification research are impeded by a whole bunch of conceptual and methodical limitations. This article attempts to rectify three major concerns voiced by diversification scholars. First, the distinction between industries, devised in the industrial era, is blurring in today’s business environment, making their use for the study of diversification problematic. Second, most conceptualizations of relatedness employ a particularistic perspective and are thus bound to miss central aspects that are outside the scope of their theoretical vantage point. Third, the increasingly pervasive consensus that relatedness should be viewed as a multifaceted construct has not been adequately captured so far. To overcome these limitations, this study draws on the burgeoning concept of the business model as a new and more meaningful way to capture relatedness. The viability of the resulting construct, business model relatedness, is explored both conceptually and by a first empirical test. This study contributes to two theoretical strands of literature: In the field of diversification, it proposes an innovative way to conceptualize relatedness that is based on a taxonomic—as opposed to a typological—approach and that promises to better reflect firms’ actual diversification logics; in business model research, it introduces a novel approach to investigating the performance implications of managing multiple business models.

ПРОФЕСІЙНА ПІДГОТОВКА МАЙБУТНІХ УЧИТЕЛІВ МУЗИЧНОГО МИСТЕЦТВА ДО ОСВІТНЬОЇ ІНКЛЮЗІЇ: ПОНЯТТЄВО-ТЕРМІНОЛОГІЧНИЙ АСПЕКТ

The article reveals the results of study on the problem of modern art education - vocational training of future music teachers for educational inclusion: conceptual and terminological aspect. The urgency of the problem is that today Ukrainian society makes demands on art education. In the Pedagogical University, they must train a music teacher as a leader of humanistic values of the highest standard. A teacher should be able to implement the principle of education accessibility for all. Vocational training of future teachers for educational inclusion is increasingly treated as a vital and integral component of education. It is because the number of children and young people with special educational needs is increasing worldwide. The purpose of the article is to determine the conceptual and terminological vocabulary on the problem of future music teacher’s vocational training for educational inclusion. To achieve this purpose, a set of research methods was used: theoretical analysis, search and bibliographic analysis to determine the essence of key research concepts; comparisons to identify common and distinctive features in the concepts; generalization to outline the author's comprehension of the conceptual and terminological vocabulary components. According to results of the problem of future music teacher’s vocational training for educational inclusion, a conceptual and terminological vocabulary was outlined. It includes the following concepts: «educational inclusion», «vocational training», «professional preparedness», and «professional and pedagogical competence», «readiness of a music teacher», «readiness of a music teacher for educational inclusion». In the study, future music teacher’s vocational training for educational inclusion is considered as an educational process aimed at formation students' readiness to provide in the future professional activity a system of educational services for persons with special educational needs. It involves their mastery of inclusive-oriented music and pedagogical competences, skills and personal qualities. Readiness of a music teacher for educational inclusion is defined as a professional and personal education, the result of competence gaining in the field of inclusive music and pedagogical education and training for inclusive music activity in general secondary education institution.

Методологічні аспекти реалізації педагогічних технологій за філологічним спрямуванням: еволюція та трансформація в українській школі

The article is devoted to an important problem – the implementation of pedagogical technologies in the philological direction. As a result of the analysis of the current legislative base, scientific achievements of Ukrainian scientists on the problem of specialized education and pedagogical technologies, it was found out how the basic concepts, in particular, the concepts of «educational technology» and «pedagogical technology» are correlated. The author tracks the evolution and transformation of key research concepts – «pedagogical technologies in the philological direction» and «information (reading) competence», describes the classification of pedagogical technologies in the philological direction. The author defines the concept of «pedagogical technologies of the philological field» as an integrative system, a designed pedagogical process containing a set of methods, actions, operations and didactic conditions aimed at guaranteed achievement of didactic goals and results: personal development, comprehensive humanitarian development ofpupils, formation of their intellectual and personality components. Attention is drawn to the experience of the staff of the Institute of Pedagogy of the Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine in line with this problem. The author substantiates the created didactic model for the implementation of pedagogical technologies in the conditions of profile training in the philological direction. The author's model consists of three blocks: methodological, definitional and content-technological. The methodological block contains: tendencies of realization of pedagogical technologies of profile training in humanitarian (philological) direction (humanization of education, of integration of learning and variability) and principles of implementation of pedagogical technologies for the conditions of profile school. The definition block contains the basic definitions of the study: "educational environment", "technology", "pedagogical technology" "pedagogical technology in philological direction" (author's definition). The content-technological block contains: classification of pedagogical technologies of philological direction; conditions of realization of pedagogical technologies of philological orientation in profile education.

Using Corpus Linguistics to Analyse how Design Research Frames ‘Design Thinking’

Academic research communities create knowledge which helps them to claim authority over their investigative domain. The knowledge is not necessary objectively true—often it is skewed to help communities to claim legitimacy. This paper investigates how the design research community frames ‘Design Thinking’, a key concept in design research. Existing literature identifies skewed methods which the community uses when framing Design Thinking. The literature suggests that creating an artificial separation between the ways that designers and scientists think helps the community to claim knowledge on Design Thinking. To further investigate how the community creates knowledge, this paper subjects abstracts from peer-reviewed journal papers which focus on Design Thinking to empirical analysis using Corpus Linguistics methods. The study suggests that use of ‘nominals’ and the creation of ‘meta-knowledge’ helps researchers to claim authority on Design Thinking. These practices appear however to perpetuate an artificial separation between Design Thinking and other design domains.

TERMINOLOGICAL APPARATUS OF MODERN LINGUISTILISTICS IN THE MIRROR OF THE EDITION "NOTES ON UKRAINIAN LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE"

The article summarizes the theoretical and practical directions of modern linguistic stylistics, which reflect the interests of the authors of publications in the scientific publication of Odessa National University named after I. I. Mechnikov "Notes on Ukrainian linguistics". The key research concepts are identified, the relevant terms are compared with known registries of Ukrainian linguistic stylistics concepts.The Ukrainian linguistic stylistics develops in a single paradigm of research into the functional and genre diversity of literary Slavic languages. Today, the most relevant are the directions of communicative-activity, communicative-pragmatic, anthropocentric, that is, subjectivized approaches to the texts created in literary linguistic practice. Researchers in the field of linguistic style are not separated from the expansion of research objects and level implementations of the linguistic structure in texts of different styles and genres, which broadens the presentation, knowledge of the system of language.The terminological apparatus of modern Ukrainian linguistic studies, as evidenced by the analysis of the scientific articles of the edition "Notes from Ukrainian Linguistics", has both stable paradigms and concepts that are used in a limited way, which become active and require the work of terminologists and specialists in the field of linguistic stylistics to polish their definitions, processing for the purpose of introduction from other integrated science systems in linguistics and corresponding codification.Therefore, the publication "Notes on Ukrainian Linguistics" is also an important source for us, reflecting modern approaches to the text, relevant directions of linguistic studies in the field of level stylistics, stylistics of artistic language, language of advertising, oral conversation practice. The Odessa edition is a mirror of the formation of the Ukrainian school of poetic onomastics, which was headed by Yu. O. Karpenko These aspects are the subject of our review.

Journalists’ level of knowledge on empirical research and opinion polling: A study of Kenyan journalists

This study examines the level of knowledge of Kenyan political reporters on a few key concepts of empirical research and opinion polling. Although data from this study are from a nonrepresentative sample, it offers important insights into levels of knowledge on an important topic in journalism. Results indicate that 63.4 percent of the reporters did not know that survey findings from a nonrandom or nonprobability sample cannot be generalized to the population. Another 63.4 percent did not know that sampling error cannot be computed from data that were collected using a nonrandom sample, while 49.3 percent did not get it correct that the main difference between a nonrandom and random sample was that a random sample ensures that each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected as a study participant. Editors interviewed for this study were in agreement that majority of the reporters were ill-prepared when it comes to interpreting results from an opinion poll and accurately reporting on them. This analysis finds that structural factors, such as ownership, government control, political power, and lack of resources impact a journalist’s level of knowledge on opinion polling. Most immediate interventions such as the need for universities and colleges to incorporate research methods courses in their curriculum and sponsoring journalists to workshops and fellowships on opinion polling with a view to bridging the knowledge gap are recommended.

PREVENTION OF DEVIATIVE BEHAVIOUR IN JUNIOR SCHOOLCHILDREN

Abstract. The problem of deviant behaviour, which most scholars understand as some actions violating the norms and rules adopted in society, has been the subject of scientific researches since ancient times, but nowadays it is becoming ever more acute in view of widespread deviant manifestations among juveniles (including pupils of primary schools) during the last decades. This category of pupils and the most important peculiarities of preventive measures are the aim of our investigation. Both theoretical and empiric methods were used. The purpose of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of preventive work with junior pupils inclined to deviant behavior. Methods of research used: theoretical: analysis of scientific literature, generalization, classification (for clarification of key concepts of research), systematisation, grouping (for conceptualisation of the main provisions of the study); empirical: observation, document analysis, conversation, interview (to identify the actual state of preventive work in schools). It was revealed that in general, the emergence of juvenile deviations is influenced by a range of factors among which socio-economic (low standards of living, unemployment, social stratification, family crises); psychological and pedagogical (difficulties of adolescence, disadaptation, lack of educational work at school, family and other social institutions); medical and biological (genetic disorders, increased excitability, emotional instability, mental disorders). Prevention is part of the education process at a comprehensive school. The prevention system in an educational institution should be presented in two forms: general early prevention involving all pupils and special prevention – difficult pupils who are vulnerable to deviations, which should be conducted in cooperation with law enforcement agencies and social institutions. Simultaneously, prevention should be complex in essence, that is, include primary, secondary and tertiary prevention and be provided at the national, special and individual levels. It is obvious that one is unable to ensure effective prevention at the individual level, provided that it is not carried out at the national and special levels.

THE PROBLEM OF READINESS OF FUTURE SOCIAL EMPLOYEES FOR THE SCIENTIFIC AND RESEARCH ACTIVITY

The article examines the problem of the readiness of future social workers for research activities. It is established that in the pedagogical theory and practice there are no coherent researches of essential characteristics and structure of readiness of social workers for carrying out scientific researches. The purpose of the article is to study the essence and content structure of the readiness of social workers for scientific research activities. Methods of research used: analysis of scientific literature, systematization (for clarification of key concepts of research), generalization (in order to formulate author's conclusions). The scientific approaches to understanding the concept of readiness of a specialist to a certain type of activity - personal and functional are analyzed. It was established that the readiness of the future social worker for research activities is an integral system of professional and personal qualities of a specialist, a solid theoretical and methodological knowledge and research skills, an active personal position in the process of realization of research roles, which is expressed through a positive and conscious attitude to the scientific-research as a component of professionalism. The range of qualities that a social worker must possess: professional competence from a wide range of social problems, high level of general education and culture, knowledge of the related scientific fields, kindness, love for people, sincerity, kindness, sensitivity, mercy, empathy, sociability, flexibility, the ability to support the others and to stimulate them for the development of their own forces, organizational skills, etc. Motivational-value, cognitive, activity and emotional-volitional components are determined in the structure of readiness of social workers for research activities. The motivational-value component implies the presence of interest in SRA (scientific-research activity) in the process of solving professional problems, the desire to deepen scientific research knowledge, and the attitude towards the SRA (scientific-research activity) as a value. The cognitive component defines knowledge of the theory and methodology of scientific knowledge, interdisciplinary research methods. Activity component involves the formation of a number of research skills; emotional-volitional - a sense of intellectual satisfaction from SRA (scientific-research activity), emotional stability, persistence, responsibility, organization, ability to self-reflection.

DEFINING THE CONTENT OF THE CONCEPT «SOCIAL COMPETENCE OF A FUTURE SOCIAL WORKER»

Abstract. The article substantiates the urgency of the problem of formation of social competence of future social workers in the conditions of a higher education institution. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the concepts of «social competence», «social competence of the student», «social competence of the student» (in the context of training specialists of different professions), «social competence of the future social worker». Main methods of research used: analysis and synthesis of scientific literature (for the clarification of the key concepts of research and leading directions); content-comparative analysis, systematisation of scientific literature to find out the essential characteristics of the phenomenon of «social competence» and generic derivative concepts, their comparative-comparative and definitions analysis; method of theoretical generalization (for the formulation of the final provisions and conclusions). On the basis of a generalisation of the analytical review of the concepts of «social competence», «social competence of the student», «social competence of the student» (in the context of training specialists of sociological occupations), «social competence of the future social worker», their correlation and intrinsic characteristics are defined, the author’s interpretation of the concept «social competence of the future social worker». It has been established that the content of social competence is complicated, enriched as the person develops new roles (student, specialist), in particular, a professional component in terms of studying at a higher education institution and acquires qualitatively new content. It is a prerequisite for the development of professionalism and the improvement of the quality of services provided by social workers.

(Re-) conceptualising vulnerability as a part of risk in global health emergency response: updating the pressure and release model for global health emergencies

Vulnerability has become a key concept in emergency response research and is being critically discussed across several disciplines. While the concept has been adopted into global health, its conceptualisation and especially its role in the conceptualisation of risk and therefore in risk assessments is still lacking. This paper uses the risk concept pioneered in hazard research that assumes that risk is a function of the interaction between hazard and vulnerability rather than the neo-liberal conceptualisation of vulnerability and vulnerable groups and communities. By seeking to modify the original pressure and release model, the paper unpacks the representation or lack of representation of vulnerability in risk assessments in global health emergency response and discusses what benefits can be gained from making the underlying assumptions about vulnerability, which are present whether vulnerability is sufficiently conceptualised and consciously included or not, explicit. The paper argues that discussions about risk in global health emergencies should be better grounded in a theoretical understanding of the concept of vulnerability and that this theoretical understanding needs to inform risk assessments which implicitly used the concept of vulnerability. By using the hazard research approach to vulnerability, it offers an alternative narrative with new perspectives on the value and limits of vulnerability as a concept and a tool.

Homo Touristicus, or the jargon of authenticity 2.0

This paper argues that the concept of authenticity has evolved since the time of Adorno’s critique in The Jargon of Authenticity, and that an analysis of tourism offers a way of grasping the altered status of the concept of authenticity and its current ideological function in the contemporary capitalist system. It is suggested that authenticity no longer refers to an existential state, but instead to a purchased experiential moment. This paper traces the alterations in the understanding of existential authenticity from its origins in existential phenomenology to its current status as a key concept in tourism research. It suggests that, while Adorno’s critique of authenticity has become somewhat outdated due to changes in the social relations of modern capitalism, its central argument still holds true, in that contemporary notions of authenticity still play an ideological role in securing the socio-economic status quo by both expressing and concealing the sense of alienation caused by social relations under capitalism.

ФОРМУВАННЯ НАВИЧОК ПРАЦЕОХОРОННОЇ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ В СТУДЕНТІВ МАШИНОБУДІВНИХ СПЕЦІАЛЬНОСТЕЙ: ТЕОРЕТИЧНИЙ АСПЕКТ

The necessity of development of skills of safety activity of students of machine-building specialties in the process of professional training in institutions of higher education of technical direction are considered in the article. The urgency of the problem of formation of skills of safety activity future specialists in mechanical engineering in the process of professional training in institutions of higher education of technical direction is determined by the peculiarities of future professional activity. The key concepts of research are analyzed, in particular such as «safety activity», «safety competence», «culture of safety» and actual ways of developing labour-protection competence in the process of training specialists in machinebuilding specialties. Based on a solid analysis of scientific publications on the research problem, we outlined the conditions for the formation of skills of labour protection activities of future specialists in mechanical engineering in institutions of higher education. We relate to them clarification of the content of the concept of «labour protection competence» taking into account the peculiarities of the professional activity of specialists in the machine-building industry, determination of the components of safety competence of specialists of the machine-building industry and its interconnections in the structure of professional competence, determination of peculiarities and tasks of formation of safety competence of specialists in the machinebuilding industry in the system of professional training, ensuring motivation for the development of safety competence of future specialists in the machine-building industry as a necessary condition for professional adaptation and further professional growth, determination of the peculiarities of skills development in safety activities in the process of theoretical and practical training, industrial practice and graduation design, as well as the selection of appropriate pedagogical means for the educational process. Prospects for further research, we see in the development of methodological conditions and ways of developing the safety competence of future specialists in mechanical engineering at all stages of professional training in higher education institutions.

How and How Much Does Expert Error Matter? Implications for Quantitative Peace Research

Expert-coded datasets provide scholars with otherwise unavailable cross-national longitudinal data on important concepts. However, expert coders vary in their reliability and scale perception, potentially resulting in substantial measurement error; this variation may correlate with outcomes of interest, biasing results in analyses that use these data. This latter concern is particularly acute for key concepts in peace research. In this article, I describe potential sources of expert error, focusing on the measurement of identity-based discrimination. I then use expert-coded data on identity-based discrimination to examine: 1) the implications of measurement error for quantitative analyses that use expert-coded data, and 2) the degree to which different techniques for aggregating these data ameliorate these issues. To do so, I simulate data with different forms and levels of expert error and regress conflict onset on different aggregations of these data. These analyses yield two important results. First, almost all aggregations show a positive relationship between identity-based discrimination and conflict onset consistently across simulations, in line with the assumed true relationship between the concept and outcome. Second, different aggregation techniques vary in their substantive robustness beyond directionality. A structural equation model provides the most consistently robust estimates, while both the point estimates from an Item Response Theory (IRT) model and the average over expert codings provide similar and relatively robust estimates in most simulations. The median over expert codings and a naive multiple imputation technique yield the least robust estimates.

Strategizing for social change in nonprofit contexts: A typology of communication approaches in public communication campaigns

Public communication campaigns aim to create social change by influencing audiences’ behaviors and thus help nonprofit organizations fulfill their mission. These campaigns, however, often fail to deliver their anticipated impact. Using public relations research as a theoretical lens, this paper's contribution is twofold: first, we develop a typology that classifies the different communication approaches used in public communication campaigns. Based on one of the most prominent public relations theories, the Four Models of Public Relations, we differentiate communication approaches along the dimensions of communication purpose and communication style. Combining these two dimensions in a typology, we identify the following communication approaches: directing, platforming, mobilizing, and involving. We provide numerous real‐life examples of public campaigns for each one. Second, we formulate propositions about these communication approaches’ effectiveness relying on a key concept of public relations research: namely, audience segmentation. Using the transtheoretical model, we show that audiences can be segmented along five “stages of readiness to adopt a promoted behavior.” Conceptualizing behavior change as an iterative, dynamic process that entails stage progresses as well as backdrops, we derive how audiences’ “stage of readiness” relates to the effectiveness of the identified communication approaches.

COMPETENCY-BASED APPROACH TO THE SCIENTIFIC AND RESEARCH TRAINING OF FUTURE SOCIAL WORKERS

The article deals with the methodological principles of professional training of social workers to scientific and research activities. It is substantiated that scientific research activity is one of the leading one in the social practice and involves the formation of knowledge on the organization and conduction of scientific research as well as the complex of research skills for social work specialists. The mentioned actualises the process of scientific research training of social workers and the definition of scientific approaches to its implementation. The purpose of the paper is to study the peculiarities of the application of competency-based approach in the process of scientific research training of future social workers. Methods of research: analysis and synthesis of scientific literature (for clarification of key concepts of research); comparison, systematisation (in order to identify the existing scientific approaches to solving a given problem); method of theoretical generalization (for the formulation of the final provisions and conclusions). The notion of social worker's readiness for scientific research activity is defined, which implies the dynamic, integrative personal formation characterised by a positive attitude to the profession, conscious desire and a focus on the organization of professional activities based on scientific approaches to the solution of social problems. The scientific approaches to the formation of readiness of social workers for scientific research activity are singled out. Peculiarities of the competence approach in the process of scientific research training of social workers are considered. The implementation of competency-based approach in the process of preparing students for scientific research activities involves creating of the conditions for the development of professional and research knowledge, skills of social workers, experience and methods of creative activity as well as development of the ability to independently carry out research activities, solve problems of different levels of complexity on the basis of the use of own and social experience.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TECHNOLOGY OF DIFFERENTIATED EDUCATION IN THE PROCESS OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH TRAINING OF SOCIAL WORK MASTERS

The article deals with the problem of implementation of the technology of differentiated learning in the process of scientific research training of social work masters which is conditioned by the transition to the two-level system of professional training of future social workers. Since every graduate of the bachelor's degree, regardless of his acquired previous specialty, can enter the magistracy for the specialty «Social Work», such conditions put the masters of the first year of study into an unequal situation, in particular, in terms of their degree of readiness for research activity. This leads to the implementation of certain educational technologies in the process of scientific research preparation of the students, in particular, the differentiated learning. The purpose of the article is to determine the peculiarities of the implementation of the technology of differentiated learning in the process of scientific research preparation of masters of social work. Methods of work: analysis and synthesis of scientific literature (for clarification of key concepts of research); historical and retrospective (in order to identify the features of differentiated learning in the historical aspect); systematization, generalization (in order to formulate the final provisions and conclusions). It is clarified that the actualisation of the technology of differentiated learning is conditioned by the need to «equalize» the degree of readiness of future social workers for scientific research activities. Differentiated learning is defined as the form of organization of educational process, in which, with the help of certain content, forms, methods, rates and volumes of learning, the optimal conditions for mastering the students with the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities are created. It has been established that differentiated learning is a progressive form of organization of scientific research training of future social workers and is implemented at practical and seminary classes, during frontal, group and individual work at lectures as well as in the process of independent work of future specialists. The necessity of developing the appropriate educational and methodological support for students' preparation for scientific research activity (differentiated research tasks with gradual complication of educational material, multilevel independent work) is substantiated, as well as the counseling of students at all stages of their scientific search.

Scientific Olympiad as Means of Students’ Youth Development

The article reveals the problem’s urgency of the students’ youth development in the conditions of the Olympiad movement. It analyzes the scientific views on the essence and significance of Olympiads on subjects. It defines the research key concepts and presents the scientists’ positions on the concept essence of “Olympiad”. The article specifies the objective and tasks of the Olympiads. It stresses the importance of Olympiads in improving the training quality of qualified specialists. It suggests the author’s understanding of the Olympiad educational potential on pedagogy and psychology. It points out the need of interactive technologies for the development of communicative, research, design and other competences. The article gives a brief description of individual practice-oriented competitions providing development of creative initiative activities, students’ mobility and their intellectual abilities.