Information influence on the formation of social competence in higher education students

Dmytro Prima; Nataliia Osmuk; Tetiana Tyulpa; Oleh Ieresko; Oleksandr Ratsul

doi:https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2024.83.11.3

Prima, D., Osmuk, N., Tyulpa, T., Ieresko, O., & Ratsul, O. (2024). Information influence on the formation of social competence in higher education students. Amazonia Investiga, 13(83), 36-51. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2024.83.11.3

Вплив інформації на формування соціальної компетентності студентів вищої освіти

Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate, Professor of the Theory and Methods of Primary Education Department, Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: LNQ-3615-2024

Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, Associate Professor of Pedagogy Department, Sumy State Pedagogical University named after A.S. Makarenko, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: JXM-2872-2024

Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor at the Department of Primary Education Pedagogy and Psychology, Oleksandr Dovzhenko Hlukhiv National Pedagogical University, Ukraine.

Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Pedagogy Department, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: IZP-5348-2023

Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, Professor of the Department of Psychology and Social Work, Volodymyr Vynnychenko Central Ukrainian State University, Ukraine.

The article reveals the content of social competence and the role of information in forming social competence among higher education students. Methodological approaches to conducting the study involve establishing worldview positions, general pedagogical patterns of information influence on the formation of social competence of higher education students, and identifying their impact on the results obtained. An experimental study was conducted to assess the optimality of the process of information influence on the formation of social competence of higher education students, the result of which is the integrative quality of the personality-social competence. The conducted cross-section of the levels of formation of social competence of respondents after the completion of the formative experiment showed significantly greater positive changes in the formation of social competence of higher education students in the EG through information influence. In the conclusions, we noted that we experimentally verified the effectiveness of the proposed method of using information technologies in the formation of social competence and monitored the dynamics of the growth of the levels of formation of social competence of students.

Keywords: information influence, formation of social competence, students of higher education, information technologies, multimedia, cloud, social media technologies.

У статті розкрито зміст соціальної компетентності та роль інформаційного впливу на формування соціальної компетентності здобувачів вищої освіти. Методологічні підходи до проведення дослідження передбачають встановлення світоглядних позицій, загальнопедагогічних закономірностей інформаційного впливу на формування соціальної компетентності вищої освіти та виявлення їх впливу на отримані результати. Проведено експериментальне дослідження з метою оцінки оптимальності процесу інформаційного впливу на формування соціальної компетентності здобувачів вищої освіти результатом якого є інтегративна якість особистості – соціальна компетентність. Здійснений зріз рівнів сформованості соціальної компетентності респондентів після завершення формувального експерименту показав в ЕГ значно більші позитивні зміни сформованості соціальної компетентності здобувачів вищої освіти шляхом інформаційного впливу. У висновках ми зауважили, що експериментально перевірили ефективність запропонованої методики використання інформаційних технологій у формуванні соціальної компетентності та відслідкували динаміку зростання рівнів сформованості соціальної компетентності учнів.

Ключові слова: інформаційний вплив, формування соціальної компетентності, здобувачі вищої освіти, інформаційні технології, мультимедійні, хмарні, соціомедійні технології.

In the conditions of today's challenges, with the constant informatization of society, the basis of personal development and professional development of the future specialist is social competence, which provides opportunities for self-realization of the individual and is an integral quality of a modern professional due to the positive formed social experience of a person (Kurlishchuk & Shvyrka, 2021).

One of the leading competencies of a modern specialist is social competence as a complex, integrative characteristic of the personality, a set of value orientations, social knowledge, skills, experience, psychophysiological and psychological qualities that allow achieving socially significant goals and self-realization based on the productive fulfillment of social roles, constructive interaction with the social environment, effective problem-solving in constantly changing social conditions. Therefore, the need for purposeful formation of social competence of student youth as an integral component of a competent specialist is currently undeniable. The problem of forming social competence of students of higher education institutions in the activities of self-government bodies is interdisciplinary, considered in the context of philosophy, sociology, pedagogy, theory, and practice of social work (Benkovska, 2023).

The formation of social competence of specialists in the conditions of informatization of society should ensure the life position of the future competitive specialist, which involves his attitude to the environment, awareness of himself as a successful person, attitude to the natural world, its representatives, characterized by the ability to understand interpersonal and social processes, approaches to others, to oneself, the ability to act by the assigned tasks. With such an approach to the formation of social competence of future specialists, social competence becomes one of the priority directions of the functioning of the modern educational system in higher education. Intellectually spiritual, all-round development of the personality and its self-realization is provided by the modern concept of education both in the professional sphere and in the social sphere based on formed social competence and successful socialization of the personality (Makar, 2021).

The influence of information on the formation of social competence is currently a relevant issue of the theory and methodology of teaching in the educational process. Based on this, we considered the following issues in the article:

1) The content of social competence and the role of information influence the formation of social competence in higher education students.

2) Characteristics, components, and functions of social competence.

3) The essence and structural components of the content of socio-cultural competence.

4) The influence of ICT tools on the formation of social competence of higher education students.

5) The most important information technologies that contribute to the effective formation of social competence.

6) An experimental study was conducted to assess the optimality of the process of information influence on the formation of social competence in higher education students.

7) The range of tools for implementing the developed methodology for using information technologies in the formation of students' social competence is described.

The relevance of the problem under study, its social and practical significance, and the absence in domestic pedagogical science of a holistic study that would reveal the content of social competence and the role of informational influence on the formation of social competence of higher education students, determined the choice of the topic of the article.

The purpose of the study. To show the role of informational influence on the formation of social competence of students of higher education.

Given that social competence is an important characteristic of a person that ensures effective interaction with society and optimizes a person's relations with various social institutions, scientists focus on various aspects of its formation. Thus, I. Kurlishchuk & V. Shvyrka (2021) devoted their research to the theoretical justification and determination of the pedagogical conditions for the development of social competence in future specialists using volunteering.

We share the opinion of O. Kuchai, N. Hrechanyk, A. Pluhina, A., Chychuk, L. Biriuk & I. Shevchuk (2022), who note that currently in the field of informatization of education in terms of increasing social competence, one of the priority areas is the introduction and development of multimedia products, multimedia equipment in the educational process. Multimedia tools are of particular importance, which, with the development of the Internet, are oriented towards web technologies and can be used for educational purposes.

The features of the implementation of the leading provisions of the competency-based approach in the educational process of educational institutions of different levels are disclosed in scientific works. T. Tulpa (2020) describes social competence as personal development, a quality integrative category that combines specific personality qualities, valuable understanding of social reality, abilities, skills, social knowledge as a guide to action, as a subjective readiness for application in the main areas human activities of social experience, as the ability to analyze the consequences and implement socially perspective transformative influences. L. Nos & M. Stakhiv (2021) considered the problem of forming socio-cultural competence in future elementary school teachers using information and communication technologies.

Analysis of social and educational practice shows that often, graduates of higher pedagogical schools are not ready to implement the requirements that society places on them not only as specialists but also as carriers of a high moral culture, which they will try to transmit to their students as effectively as possible in their further professional activities. Active scientific discussion around the problems of ensuring harmonious interaction of a modern specialist in the educational field with the constantly changing surrounding information space mainly boils down to the question of what competencies a graduate of a higher pedagogical educational institution should master. The current state of education development is characterized by the presence of scientific and methodological foundations for the development of competency models of educational activity, while there is a virtual absence of conceptually sound works related to the description and explanation of the processes of competence formation, in particular, social. Given the constantly growing need for specialists in the social and humanitarian field, the training of specialists with a high level of social competence formation is of particular importance.

The philosophical and purely pedagogical understanding of the interdependence of social phenomena and pedagogical reality was consistently reproduced in their fundamental research. V. Polishchuk (2022) revealed the potential possibilities of a systematic approach to the formation of social responsibility among future specialists in the process of their professional training and through the improvement of the content and technological support of the research process and the activation of students' motivation, the practical plane of the implementation of this task was characterized. V. Kovalenko (2020) analyzed the crucial importance of the interrelationship of culture and communication between speakers of different social groups and different cultures; the factors that most influence the socialization process of language majors in the communication space of higher education institutions are analyzed; in the aspect of sociocultural and intercultural communication, the emphasis is on the main influencing factors in the process of socialization (tolerance, mutual understanding, respect for the culture of the partner, tolerance, communication, at the same time as awareness of the cultural and social values of one's society. The study of L. Makar (2021) is devoted to the specifics of the formation of social competence in future social workers during their practical training – educational and industrial. The importance of the practical component in preparation for a bachelor of social work is emphasized; the issue of the level of requirements for the specialist's competence, which is due to the characteristics of professional activity, is highlighted in the field of social services provision; the issue of the role of practice among social workers in the process of formation of social competence is revealed.

The problem of the formation and development of social competence of students was considered in his scientific works by N. Oleksiuk (2024). He emphasized the importance of developing social and professional competencies for higher education students. The concept of "professional competence" and "social competence" is revealed, and their essence is determined. A close connection between professional competence and social competence has been proven because the very acquisition of skills and abilities characteristic of a qualified specialist is impossible without interaction with society, and it is precisely the high level of a person's social competence that will provide the opportunity to be successful in professional activity.

According to the results of studying the works of Ukrainian and foreign scientists, it was found that the problem of the influence of information on the formation of social competence of higher education students, as a complex problem, was not the subject of separate special studies. The need to study and solve this problem and its relevance is due to the existing contradictions between:

The methodological basis of the study is presented at four hierarchically subordinate levels: philosophical, general scientific, specifically scientific, and technological.

In the process of research, we applied general scientific and pedagogical research methods. In particular: synthesis and analysis, comparison, generalization of scientific publications, reference literature, methodical literature in order to determine the state of development of the outlined problem; induction, deduction, comparison, systematization and generalization for the purpose of clarifying different views on outlining ways to solve a scientific problem; comparing the views of various scientists on the specified problem for a comprehensive and objective coverage of the researched issue; terminological analysis in order to specify the definition and essence of concepts; observation of the educational process in institutions of higher education in order to find out the specifics of informational influence on the formation of social competence of higher education; classification for ordering and logical distribution of scientific principles, approaches to the development of social competence of future specialists; generalization and systematization of scientific information for formulating conclusions; pedagogical observation for the purpose of obtaining primary information about the object of research, building a theory of the researched problem and verifying it in practice; questionnaire, expert assessment, self-assessment and self-analysis, pedagogical experiment with the aim of obtaining the most accurate results; mathematical and statistical for processing actual research material, evaluating its results.

We can state, based on the analysis of several scientific sources, that the methodological approaches to conducting research involve the establishment of worldview positions, general pedagogical patterns of informational influence on the formation of social competence of higher education, and the identification of their influence on the obtained results.

The implementation of the pedagogical experiment was carried out in three stages: preparatory, main, and final.

At the preparatory stage, the goal and objectives of the study were determined, the experimental plan was developed, methods of measurement and processing of results were identified, control and experimental groups were selected, and their homogeneity was checked.

At the final stage, the results of the experiment were analyzed, their reliability was confirmed, and conclusions were drawn about the pedagogical effect of the experiment.

The reliability and validity of the obtained results and the objectivity of their assessment were ensured by the methodological soundness of the initial positions and the qualimetric mechanism for assessing the quality under study, the use of a complex of complementary research methods, and the involvement of a group of respondents from a higher educational institution in the analysis of its results.

Research relies heavily on the accuracy and reliability of data. In research, the quality of data collection and analysis not only adds weight to the research but also contributes to the formation of sound conclusions, which is key to academic success. The following digital data collection tools were useful in the study: MS Excel and SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) programs.

We used quantitative methods in our study to study a large group of people and subsequently analyzed the data obtained using statistical methods.

A cognitive-cognitive criterion with indicators: student youth's perception of the world, the ability to arbitrarily regulate one's own cognitive activity, the ability to express one's thoughts, analyze what one hears and sees, the ability to navigate the Internet, master the main flow of information from the mass media.

Socio-emotional criterion with indicators: the ability to evaluate one's activities, oneself, attitude towards others, transfer information received from mass media and the Internet into one's own life; the ability to identify virtues, one's own traits (positive and negative); the ability to navigate in the names of feelings, emotions, the specifics of their manifestation.

Activity-behavioral criterion with indicators: the ability to prevent the occurrence of conflicting situations to resolve promptly; higher education students' awareness of rules and generally accepted norms of behavior in various social situations; the ability to find adequate forms of interaction and cooperation in mass media, to use them in joint activities with others.

During the research, based on the specified criteria and indicators, the levels of formation of social competence of higher education students through informational influence using multimedia technologies were characterized as high, medium, and low.

Conducting an ascertaining experiment and the obtained results made it possible to show the shortcomings of the formation of social competence through informational influence, which is a significant and integral element of ensuring the educational process, purposeful and conscious socialization of the young generation using mass information, multimedia, etc. The social formation of the personality remains outside the attention of teachers in conditions of increased informational influence.

We have proposed (for EG students) a range of tools for the implementation of the developed method of using information technologies in the formation of students' social competence, which gives reason to talk about the pedagogical expediency and the possibility of its application in higher education.

A formative experiment was conducted to check the effectiveness of the developed method of using information technologies in the formation of students' social competence.

The total sample size in the article is 120 respondents. When creating the sample, the criteria of content, representativeness, and equivalence were taken into account. The sample of respondents was formed by random selection using the technical procedure of calculating the selection step.

1) Experimentally verify the effectiveness of the proposed method of using information technologies in the formation of students' social competence;

2) To monitor the dynamics of growth in the levels of social competence formation of students.

We note that the distribution of students according to the three-level system at the end of the pedagogical experiment in the CG group did not change significantly compared to the changes in the EG, as can be seen from the study.

The cross-section of the levels of formation of the social competence of the respondents after the completion of the formative experiment showed significantly greater positive changes in the formation of the social competence of the students of higher education through informational influence in the EG.

Based on the developed methodology for using information technologies in the formation of social competence, we have identified its main components. The methodology for using information technologies in the formation of social competence involves:

The content of social competence and the role of information influence the formation of social competence of students of higher education.

Social competence is one of the key competencies that students of higher education and working professionals should possess. Today, we can state the fact that young people systematically use various online resources to form social competence and spend a significant amount of time in the virtual space of higher education seekers. Therefore, the role of informational influence on the formation of social competence is important, and the topic is relevant.

The most effective for those seeking higher education are various means and directions for the formation of social competence, which include the integration of topics, thematic seminars, training, participation in various educational and scientific events, the introduction of special courses related to social competence into the educational process, the updating of existing disciplines, which is especially relevant now (Sharov & Sharova, 2022).

Most often, social competence is interpreted as the presence of social authority, the possession of powers, and social knowledge, which allows an individual to act and exist in society.

Scientists offer various means and contexts for the formation of social competence of pupils and student youth.

Let's note the expediency of using: means of project activity; means of information and communication technologies; means of game technologies; means of theatrical art; and means of non-formal education (Zhukova, 2019).

Let's define the components of social competence: the adoption of social values; development of cultural competence; acquisition of interpersonal interaction skills; development of personal identity; decision-making; the ability to regulate personal behavior (Marrero-Sánchez & Vergara-Romero, 2023).

We consider social competence in the context of personality socialization, that is, a person's self-change, constant personality change throughout life under the influence of relatively directed, spontaneous, purposeful factors (Viznіuk et al., 2023).

The essence and structural components of the content of sociocultural competence.

Recently, the concept of "sociocultural competence" has become widespread in the scientific literature and society, which is mostly used in the context of different cultural groups and their social relationships, it involves acquiring new knowledge to fulfill a desire when faced with an unfamiliar environment, new life situations; implies the formation of a system of skills and knowledge related to cultural, social, and historical processes (Association of Rectors of Pedagogical Universities in Europe, 2016).

Within the framework of the educational process, the concept of "socio-cultural competence" acquires innovative meanings associated with the formation of the principles of the European community, which include the development of international relations, internationalization, democratization, tolerant attitude towards representatives of different cultures, ethnic groups, religions, harmonization social relations, etc. (Salmona et al., 2015).

Let's consider each of the components of the studied phenomenon in detail. Sociocultural mobility, which combines the psychological, intellectual, and motivational readiness of an individual for professional activity in a multicultural environment, is considered a "qualitative characteristic of an individual" (Koval et al., 2023).

Leadership is another component of sociocultural competence. The ability to organize an environment that is multicultural and based on social justice is its main requirement for formation. Compliance with this requirement is related to the practice of working with interdisciplinary material and its content, prejudices regarding the ethnocultural specificity of others, which reflects the peculiarities of solving social problems and complex global concepts, as well as encouraging others to make socially just decisions and become responsible citizens.

Awareness in the sphere of culture is considered a system of ideas, knowledge, the experience of perception of other cultures, and one's own culture, which proves the ability of the individual to gain new cultural experience. This component of socio-cultural competence in different cultural contexts should reflect the peculiarities of decision-making, i.e., the future specialist should optimally adapt his thoughts, approaches, and decisions to ensure the achievement of positive results in the conditions of intercultural interaction. In this context, it is appropriate to mention tolerance, tolerance, endurance, and stability, i.e., tolerance to a way of life, a different worldview, customs, and behavior. Within the framework of the educational process, based on the concept of multicultural education, tolerance is formed among students, which is aimed at their further professional activities in a diverse environment, taking into account the specifics of religious, social, and ethnic contexts (Hughes & Marcus, 2017).

The influence of ICT tools on the formation of social competence of students of higher education.

If we are talking about the role of information influence on the formation of social competence, then ICT tools for the development of social competence are of great importance here.

With the help of remote technologies (social network, Moodle system, programs for instant messaging), a student of higher education can build a dialogue with the teacher to clarify educational issues. Such a transition to a dialogic from a monologic approach will allow the acquirer to better master the resources or use the information they contain. Between students of higher education during virtual communication, negative consequences can be observed less often than between teachers (negative comments in chats, indirect and direct insults, disrespect to the teacher during a video lecture in the form of ignoring the completion of an additional task, etc.) (Sharov & Sharova, 2022).

At the current stage, the expansion of the information and communication space is becoming a catalyst for the technologization of the educational process, which is understood as a set of connections between societies, individuals, continents, and states. The importance and necessity of the formation of social competence of higher education seekers is connected with the high technology and globalization of media, which actualize the methods and means of their representation, the need to display various information processes that can be implemented at the modern stage by involving high-tech communications. The development of satellite systems, computers, the Internet, and cable television over the previous decades, which supplemented the classical means of information transmission, makes it possible to exchange information at the level of communication between the subjects of the educational process, as well as to implement interactive education, within which the individual is an active participant in the educational process. This is primarily related to the wide implementation of information technologies in the educational process of higher education institutions (Shuliak et al., 2022).

Social media technologies belong to information technologies that contribute to the formation of social competence and ensure the interaction of students and teachers. They are presented by the network communication systems that are available – Facebook, X, Linkedin, as well as Flickr, MSN, Wiki, etc. resources (Sichkar & Denysiuk, 2023).

Facebook, which contains the following applications, is of great importance and educational opportunities for informational influence on the formation of social competence:

Therefore, since the acquisition of skills and abilities characteristic of a modern innovative specialist is impossible without his successful interaction with society and because the professional competence of the future specialist is closely related to his social competence and the high level of social competence of a person will provide an opportunity to be successfully realized in professional activities, we define the social competence of the future specialist as an integrated ability of the individual, which allows him to define and fulfill various social roles; solve problems in various life situations; interact with other people effectively; to form personal, social, civic values, communication skills; allows her to be a mobile person in the process of professional training; move to competence from motivation, and later to professionalism, constant professional growth and self-improvement, self-development

The implementation of the pedagogical experiment was carried out in three stages during 2022-2024: preparatory, main, and final.

At the preparatory stage, 2022, the goal and objectives of the study were determined, an experimental plan was developed, methods for measuring and processing the results were determined, control and experimental groups were selected, and their homogeneity was checked.

At the final stage, 2024, the results of the experiment were analyzed, their reliability was confirmed, and conclusions were drawn about the pedagogical effect of the experiment.

Research relies heavily on the accuracy and reliability of data. The following digital data collection tools were useful in the study: MS Excel and SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) programs.

The total sample size in the article is 120 respondents. The sample of respondents was formed by random selection using the technical procedure for calculating the selection step.

During the experimental study, diagnostic data on the levels of social competence of higher education applicants were determined through information influence and were divided into a control group (59 students) and an experimental group (61 students).

The study was implemented by applying methods and various forms: multimedia technologies (projector, multimedia board, video, and audio equipment), software that combines animation, graphic, text, video, and sound data and information, and their simultaneous use in the information space; mobile devices, personal computers, web-based resources that are freely available and free of charge (YouTube, author's website, specialized sites, social networks, cloud technologies, social network technologies), etc.

The limitations of this study allowed it to have the following impact on the results: improving the qualitative characteristics of the material, optimally specifying goals and objectives, and increasing the effectiveness of the results.

We conducted an experimental study to evaluate the optimality of the process of information influence on the formation of social competence, the result of which is the integrative quality of individual-social competence.

Cognitive-cognitive criterion with indicators: student youth's perception of the world, the ability to arbitrarily regulate one's own cognitive activity, the ability to express one's thoughts, analyze what one hears and sees, the ability to navigate the Internet, master the main flow of information from the mass media.

Socio-emotional criterion with indicators: the ability to evaluate one's activity, oneself, attitude towards others, transfer information received from mass media and the Internet into one's own life activities; the ability to identify virtues, one's own traits (positive and negative); the ability to navigate in the names of feelings, emotions, the specifics of their manifestation.

During the research, based on the specified criteria and indicators, the levels of formation of social competence of higher education seekers through informational influence were characterized as high, medium, and low.

The high level of formation of social competence of higher education students through informational influence is characterized by a formed view of the world. Students can arbitrarily regulate their own cognitive activity, consciously orient themselves in the flow of information offered by a large number of information sources, work with the means of multimedia, cloud technologies, and social media technologies, correctly name manifestations of emotions and feelings, understand the specifics of their manifestation; objectively determine their own negative traits and positive ones; adhere to the rules of behavior and generally accepted norms in various social situations.

The average level of formation of social competence through information influence was characterized by a partially formed view of the world. They do not have sufficient means of multimedia, cloud technologies, social media technologies, or the ability to arbitrarily regulate their own cognitive activity, but they consciously orient themselves in the flow of information coming from the Internet mass media, however selectively orient themselves in the names of emotions and feelings, the specifics of their manifestation by television and computer characters, guided by personal sympathies and mood; cannot always identify negative and positive personal traits, virtues and compare them; do not always follow norms, generally accepted rules of behavior in various social situations.

The low level of formation of social competence of higher education students through informational influence was characterized by an unformed view of the world. The respondents are practically not oriented in multimedia, cloud technologies, social media technologies, in the flow of information coming from the Internet and mass media, are not able to regulate their own cognitive activity arbitrarily, cannot correctly name manifestations of feelings and emotions and their specificity; respondents are dominated by selfish traits, they are unable to identify their own virtues, negative and positive traits, and compare them; they do not understand the need to observe the rules of behavior and generally accepted norms in different social situations, they do not know how to compare them.

Experimental work with respondents included the use of methods: conversation, survey, observation method, individual classes, identifying their ability to establish relationships with peers and adults using multimedia technologies, and informational influence to form the social competence of higher education students.

So, after considering the content characteristics of the levels of formation of social competence through informational influence, a general characteristic of the levels of formation of social competence among students was developed according to the specified criteria. In particular, three levels of formation of social competence were determined through informational influence based on comprehensive assessment. Generalized data on the levels of social competence formation are presented in Table 1 and Figure 1.

Distribution of students of higher education according to the levels of formation of social competence through informational influence

Figure 1. Distribution of Students of Higher Education by Levels of Social Competence.

Therefore, 15% (EG) and 18% (CG) of respondents are assigned to a high level of formation of social competence of higher education seekers through informational influence. Respondents with a high level of social competence formation: conscious orientation in the flow of information, a formed view of the world, the ability to arbitrarily regulate one's own cognitive activity, correctly name manifestations of feelings and emotions, the specificity of their manifestation; objective determination of one's own positive and negative traits, virtues; compliance with norms and generally accepted rules of behavior in various social situations.

45% (EG) and 40% (CG) are attributed to the average level of formation of social competence of higher education students through informational influence. For respondents of an average level of formation of social competence through informational influence, the following is characteristic: conscious orientation in the flow of information, a partially formed view of the world; selective orientation in the names of feelings and emotions, the specifics of their manifestation; lack of ability; arbitrariness of regulation of one's own cognitive activity, management of personal mood and sympathies. They cannot always identify virtues and negative and positive personal traits and compare them; they do not always follow norms and generally accepted rules of behavior in different social situations and adequately compare them.

40% of respondents (EG) and 42% of respondents (CG) are classified as having a low level of formation of social competence through informational influence. Respondents with a low level of formation of social competence of higher education seekers through informational influence are characterized by an unformed view of the world, impossibility of orientation in the flow of information offered by a large number of sources, not the ability to regulate one's own cognitive activity, to correctly name the manifestations of feelings and emotions and the specificity of their manifestation. Respondents with a low level of formation of social competence students of higher education through informational influence are dominated by selfish traits, which affects the inability to identify virtues, negative and positive own traits, and compare them. Therefore, they do not understand the need to follow generally accepted rules and norms of behavior; they do not know how to compare them in different social situations.

Thus, the research procedure included conducting a study using the selected methods, processing the results obtained using mathematical statistics methods, and drawing conclusions. During the experiment, the ascertaining section revealed approximately the same professional level of both groups; we did not observe any significant differences between the groups, which was proven by the input control.

Conducting an ascertaining experiment and the obtained results made it possible to show the shortcomings of the formation of social competence through informational influence, which is a significant and integral element of ensuring the educational process, purposeful and conscious socialization of the young generation using mass information, multimedia, cloud technologies, social media technologies, etc. The social formation of the personality remains outside the attention of teachers in conditions of increased informational influence.

We see that various social factors in forming a socially competent personality occupy one of the main places in the improvement of the education system in the world space.

The process of forming the social competence of an individual through informational influence is carried out throughout a person's life and is continuous.

As a result of the research, we were interested in the organization of the process of forming social competence through informational influence; we developed a method of using information technologies in the formation of social competence. Let's describe its main components.

The method of using information technologies in the formation of social competence involves:

Ensuring the implementation of the forms and methods of the educational process is impossible without certain means: multimedia technologies (projector, multimedia board, video, and audio equipment), software tools that integrate animated, graphic, text, video and sound data and information in their simultaneous use into the information space; mobile devices, personal computer, web-oriented resources that are freely available and free of charge (YouTube, author's site, specialized sites, social networks, cloud technologies, social media technologies), etc.

Compared to traditional means of education, the advantage of using information technologies in the formation of students' social competence is that students can freely communicate with the teacher and peers in the process of completing tasks and projects without limiting this communication to classes at the institution.

Thus, the above-described range of tools for the implementation of the developed method of using information technologies in the formation of students' social competence gives reason to talk about the pedagogical expediency and the possibility of its application in higher education.

A formative experiment was conducted to check the effectiveness of the developed method of using information technologies in the formation of students' social competence.

One hundred twenty students of higher education were involved in the formative stage of the pedagogical experiment.

1) Experimentally verify the effectiveness of the proposed method of using information technologies in the formation of students' social competence;

2) To monitor the dynamics of growth in the levels of social competence formation.

The research-experimental work of the formative stage of the pedagogical experiment was preceded by a preparatory stage, during which diagnostic data on the levels of formation of social competence of students of higher education were determined through informational influence, and the distribution was carried out into a control group (CG) and an experimental group (EG): EG 61 students; CG 59 students.

Declarative section – determination of the levels of formation of social competence of higher education seekers through informational influence was carried out according to the indicators and components described above.

Implementation of the methodology aimed at forming the social competence of higher education students through informational influence was the next stage of the experiment.

Differences between groups. Work on the formation of social competence through informational influence in EG was carried out according to the methodology using information technologies, and work with CG respondents took place without the use of information resources.

Having analyzed the distribution of respondents using a three-level evaluation system, we note that the results of the formative cut of the levels of formation after the implementation of the methodology were as follows: in CG, there was a slight decrease in the number of respondents with a "low" level of social competence formation – from 42% to 30% and a simultaneous slight increase in the number students with "average" and "high" levels of competence: "average" – from 40% to 48%; "high" – from 18% to 22% (Fig. 2).

In EG, the number of respondents with a "low" level decreased from 40% (declarative cut) to 25% (formative cut), there was also an increase in the number of students with an "average" level – from 45% (declarative cut) to 48% (formative cut). Significant positive changes are observed at the "high" level of social competence – from 15% to 30%.

The results of the experimental test showed differences between the groups of students CG and EG and proved that the students of the experimental group demonstrated a higher level of formation of social competence of students of higher education through information influence and professional skills than the students of the control group. This indicates the effectiveness of the proposed method of using information technologies in the formation of students' social competence since the dynamics of the growth of the levels of formation of students' social competence is observed.

The reason for the obtained research results was the introduction into the experimental groups of the developed methodology for using information technologies in the formation of students' social competence. This methodology provided for: students' participation in training sessions to practice social skills and abilities necessary for socialization and the formation of social competence; the ability to use information technologies for communication in society; viewing a fragment of a film and discussing its impact on society or personality with further discussion of the behavior of the characters, a problematic socially significant situation; checking tasks using information technologies, multimedia tools, cloud technologies, social media technologies in the formation of students' social competence for mini-groups (group work); tasks for the formation of social competence of higher education applicants through information influence, which should help in the acquisition of practical skills and abilities; specially organized information technology classes aimed at the practical application of knowledge from the information component, since students must learn to conduct self-analysis of their own behavior.

The content of social competence and the role of information influence on the formation of social competence are disclosed. Characteristics, components, and functions of social competence are presented. The essence and structural components of the content of sociocultural competence have been clarified. The influence of ICT tools on the formation of social competence is shown. The most important information technologies that contribute to the effective formation of social competence of higher education seekers (multimedia technologies, cloud technologies, social media technologies) are considered.

An experimental study was conducted to assess the optimality of the process of informational influence on the formation of social competence, the result of which is the integrative quality of individual-social competence.

During the study, criteria were determined (cognitive-cognitive criterion with indicators, social-emotional criterion with indicators, activity-behavioral criterion with indicators).

Based on the specified criteria and indicators, the levels of formation of social competence through informational influence using multimedia technologies are characterized as high, medium, and low.

Conducting an ascertaining experiment and the obtained results made it possible to show the shortcomings of the formation of social competence through informational influence, which is a significant and integral element of ensuring the educational process, purposeful and conscious socialization of the young generation using mass information, multimedia, cloud technologies, social media technologies, etc. The social formation of the personality remains outside the attention of teachers in conditions of increased informational influence.

The described range of tools for the implementation of the developed method of using information technologies in the formation of students' social competence gives reason to talk about the pedagogical expediency and the possibility of its application in higher education.

A formative experiment was conducted to check the effectiveness of the developed method of using information technologies in the formation of students' social competence.

One hundred twenty students of higher education were involved in the formative stage of the pedagogical experiment.

1) Experimentally verify the effectiveness of the proposed method of using information technologies in the formation of students' social competence;

2) To monitor the dynamics of growth in the levels of social competence formation of students.

As a result of the analysis of scientific sources, we claim that the researchers devoted their work to the theoretical substantiation of the development of social competence in future specialists, the problem of forming socio-cultural competence in future primary school teachers using information and communication technologies, the potential possibilities of a systematic approach to the formation of social responsibility in future specialists in the process of their professional training; the features of the formation of social competence in future social workers during their internship; analysis of factors that most influence the process of socialization of language students in the communication space of higher education institutions; emphasis is placed on the main influential factors in the process of socialization in the aspect of socio-cultural and intercultural communication. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the informational impact on the formation of social competence in higher education students in the research of scientists, which is why this prompted us to write the article.

The materials of the article can be used in the process of activities of student self-government bodies in institutions of higher education, professional pre-higher education, in the process of self-educational activities of student youth, in the development of educational and methodological support for the professional training of future pedagogical and scientific-pedagogical workers, social educators and social workers.

Future lines of research are needed: formation of a new high-quality information system for professional training of specialists; consideration of the crucial importance of the interrelationship of culture and communication between speakers of different social groups and different cultures; analysis of factors that have the greatest influence in the communication space of higher education institutions on the process of socialization of students of higher education.

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