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Anne Lanham, Lillian Mwanri

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Providing a Spiritually Full Stimulating and Creative Environment as the Condition of Effectiveness of Social and Pedagogical Activities for Sustainable Development of Social Groups

Natalia Kabus

Department of General Pedagogy and Pedagogy of Higher Education, G.S.Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, Kharkiv, Ukraine

Abstract: The article substantiates that the training of prospective social pedagogues and social workers (as specialists who participate in the implementation of state social and educational policy) to purposeful activity with a view to stimulate sustainable development of various social groups (in particular, children, youth, adults, families, representatives of ‘risk groups’) is essential for implementing the strategy of the civilization’s sustainable development. It has been shown that social and pedagogical activity in the context of sustainable development should contribute to the development of the individual (as a key element of the social community of any level) as the subject of life, capable of preventing and solving life problems as well as responsible social subject, representative of family, community, nation, civilization, who is ready to consolidate efforts for sustainable progressive development of society. It has been proved that an important condition for the effectiveness of social and pedagogical activity to stimulate social groups to sustainable development is the creation of a spiritually full stimulating and creative environment in various social spheres, which would contribute to the spiritual-creative, personal-social and subjective development of various social groups’ representatives, stimulate them to self-organization and self-management, encourage to create their own living space. It has been shown in the study that future social pedagogues and workers should gain the skills to create spiritually full stimulating and creative environment with a view to promote sustainable development of social groups during their professional training at the university. There have been revealed the essence and components of spiritually full stimulating and creative environment (namely, socio-psychological, spiritual-value, creative-activity, developing-subjective, resource), which are invariant for creation of such environment, both in the process of professional training of future social pedagogues and workers and during their professional work in various social spheres. Methodological foundations, ways and indices of the creation of spiritually full stimulating and creative environment as well as the conditions for its effective functioning are determined. There also have been shown the elements of the experience of establishing such atmosphere by students future social pedagogues in the process of practice and volunteering in various social spheres. It has been proved that such activities have positive holistic impact on the representatives of various social groups stimulating them to their own self-improvement as well as to individual and joint activity for improving social life.

Keywords: spiritually full stimulating and creative environment, sustainable development, social group, social and pedagogical activity, prospective social pedagogues, social workers, training

Citation: Natalia Kabus, Providing a Spiritually Full Stimulating and Creative Environment as the Condition of Effectiveness of Social and Pedagogical Activities for Sustainable Development of Social Groups. Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 1 (1). 17-25. January 2017. doi:10.12691/jsa-1-1-3

1. Introduction

Implementation of the strategy of the civilization’s sustainable development that is on the agenda of the humanity in the third millennium is only possible by joint efforts of various social groups, including children, youth, adults, family and community who make up social structure of the society and determine the vector of its development [[1], pp. 270-278]. In the agenda XXI it is emphasized that solving global challenges can not be achieved by the efforts of individuals, it is important to consolidate the efforts of various social subjects in this direction. However, nowadays, representatives of these groups are not always characterized by harmony of their existence and are at the level of sustainable development. Numerous of problem social groups and risk groups (in particular, with different types of addiction, deviant, aggressive, destructive behavior and others) as well as crisis phenomena characteristic of children, youth, a family, a community, in particular in Ukraine, cause considerable relevance of implementation of purposeful activities with a view to move the representatives of various social groups up to the level of sustainable development. In this regard we consider sustainable development of social groups as steady harmonious progress of social community on the basis of humanism, positive social interaction and solidarity, their output to the level of self-organization, when they are able to self care and mutual assistance, self-rehabilitation and self improvement, as well as to social creativity, consolidating efforts towards improving personal and social life [[2], p. 84].

A significant contribution to solving these problems can make social pedagogues and social workers as specialists in the field of social education who work with representatives of various social groups – both positive and ‘risk groups’ by promoting the prevention of social deviations, as well as helping to those who are in difficult circumstances. They are social pedagogues and workers (who interact in their professional activities with children and adults, disabled and healthy, indocile and gifted, as well as with an individual, family, community by participating in the implementation of state social and educational policy) according to their professional mission and level of  competence can and should be important subjects of  different social  groups’ promotion to sustainable development [2,3].

Thus, we believe that social pedagogues, social workers as professionals who understand the specifics of work with different social groups can and should contribute to sustainable progressive development of children, youth, adults, families and representatives of ‘risk groups’ (in particular, people with deviant, addictive, aggressive behavior; families in difficult circumstances; children deprived of parental care, with special needs, etc.), with which they interact in professional activities.

Note that our analysis of the concept of ‘sustainability’ [1], as well as considering the peculiarities of social groups as a phenomenon [4], suggests that sustainability of a social group is a mutually reinforcing progressive development of the individual (as a key element of social community at any level) and the actual group as the integrity (the increase in its internal consolidation, indifferent attitude to life of other groups, the ability to promote their development and improve society as a whole).

In this regard, social and pedagogical activities which stimulate social groups towards sustainable development should be carried out in three main directions. First, it should contribute to the sustainable progressive development of the individual as a subject of his own life, responsible creator of own life, capable of a conscious determination of the main directions of its development, control and correction of its results, warning of crisis conditions, effective creative response to the challenges faced by people throughout life. Second, such activities should contribute to the development of the individual as a responsible social entity that realizes his belonging to the social solidarity of communities of different levels – family, community, nation, civilization, and consciously acting for their positive development, increasing the level of integrity and consolidation. The third important direction of social and pedagogical activity is motivation of representatives of various social groups to social creativity, joint activities, uniting the efforts within the group and different social groups to ensure sustainable progressive development of society.

We believe that mainly in this context should be carried out various types of social and pedagogical activities such as social-educational, informational, promotional, preventive, correctional, rehabilitative and others.

Thus, currently relevant is the change of emphasis, the main strategic directions in professional activity of specialists of social sphere at least in two main directions. Firstly, from finding ways to prevent and resolve the many problems of socialization of representatives of various social groups to their stimulation to sustainable development, the development of subjectivity of the person, its incentives to self-government own the development and implementation of an active positive influence on other people. Secondly, from developing methods of establishing a positive intra- and intergroup interaction, conflict prevention on the development of the spiritual level of sociality of actors, their ability to act to enhance the consolidation of social groups and society as a whole [2].

In this context, an important task of social pedagogue is to coordinate the efforts of various social actors (in particular, the teaching staff of educational, extracurricular institutions, families, representatives of public, voluntary organizations) with the view to provide spiritually full stimulating and creative environment in micro societies (secondary schools and other social spheres) in the course of professional activities, which would contribute to the spiritual-creative, personal-social, subjective development of different social groups’ representatives. Note that in general, the creation of educational and creative environment in the micro society that would encourage positive socialization of the person, its formation as a social subject, capable of harmonious interaction with the surrounding world, self-affirmation through positive actions, is one of the leading functions of social pedagogue and worker [5].

In addition, the creation of a favorable environment is an important condition for the effectiveness of social education, which, being extremely spiritually rich and creative process is of importance in the context of sustainable development. Scientists note that social education plays the role of a consolidating factor for the design of a stable society and advancing economic, environmental, social and other problems [5,6,7]. The global level of aggravation of contradictions in various spheres of society raises the issues of social education and education of the population on the level of civilization as it relates to the present state of civilization and the future stage of its development. Now the development of the individual as a responsible social entity, a representative of the family, community, nation, civilization, the ability to predict, to foresee the consequences of their actions, and anticipate and creatively solve problems, take responsibility for results of own activity and individual contribution to the process of social change, able to work together to address important public tasks, increase the level of integrity and consolidation of society, sustainable progressive development of society is a task of vital importance, the survival of humanity. All these make the activities of social education, the primary function of which is the creation of individual “cultural” experience of the civilized interaction with the environment, one of the determining factors, the effectiveness of which determines the vector of development of modern civilization.

In this regard, the acquisition of future social pedagogues and workers’ skills to create an environment of interaction which stimulates individual to sustainable development, contributing to its forming as a subject and responsible creator of private and public life is a task of undoubted significance.

2. Objectives

Thus, the article is aimed to substantiate the essence, components of spiritually full stimulating and creative environment, define the conditions for its effective functioning, as well as ways to show the elements of experience of creating such an environment by students – future social pedagogues of G. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University in the process of practice and volunteering in various social spheres.

3. Methods

In accordance with the purpose of the process the following research methods are used: analysis and synthesis of international public documents, scientific methodological literature to assess the main directions of social and pedagogical activity for sustainable development of social groups as well as to define the essence of spiritually full stimulating and creative environment, methodological foundations and ways of its creation; analysis and synthesis, designing and predicting for determining main components and indicators of the providing of desired environment as well as the conditions for its effective functioning; analysis and synthesis of experience of students practice and volunteering; observations and expert assessment method to identify the results of the work.

4. Research Context and Methodology

We should admit that our analysis of essence of concepts ‘learning environment’, ‘educational environment’, ‘socio-educational environment’ [8,9,10,11,12,13,14] shows that in general their definition is the understanding of the environment as a product of joint activities, the system of key factors of a set of possibilities that define education, training and human development; the system of influences and conditions for personality formation, as well as opportunities for its development contained in the social and spatial-objective environment. And educational environment is considered as in a broad and so as a narrow sense. In a very broad sense a holistic educational environment is the open hierarchical social system, a set of objective factors of influence of various institutions (family, academic, extracurricular institutions, cultural institutions, centers for families, children and youth, NGOs, specialized institutions), which create conditions of life of the individual, the transfer of the socio-historical experience of humanity and have an impact on forming its physical, mental and socio-adaptive possibilities, a process of creative self-realization [8].

In a narrow sense, the socio-educational environment is considered as the set of conditions of socio-educational influence on the life of the person for the purpose of its development, which have purposeful influence on its consciousness and behavior, contribute to the development of important personal qualities, belief systems, spiritual-value orientations and needs as well as stimulate to self-realization of individuality in the process of interaction, communication and activities [[14], p.107]. Researchers also understand educational space as the system of conditions for the emergence and implementation of constructive social and creative activity of individuals that contributes to their valuator and self-development, provided educational support their independent efforts [13]. This is due to the integration efforts of the various actors of social and pedagogical activities, educational capacity of the society to enhance individual and social development of individuals and social groups in the process of organizing a conscious intellectual, emotional and evaluative, volitional interaction of its subjects, encouraging creativity activities to implement positive changes to existence.

Considering the educational environment as a totality of material and spiritual factors of the educational process, interpersonal relationships, which set his subjects in the process of interaction, majority of researchers allocates general structural components of educational environment of educational institution. They include: 1) internal and external spatial-semantic and aesthetic environment of the educational institution, symbolic space (symbols, traditions, holidays, etc.) that create the background against which unfolds the relations of all participants of educational process; 2) information space, content and methodical ensuring of educational process; 3) substantive and organizational and educational component of the environment (government, facultative, studios, clubs, associations, creative groups); 4) communicative environment (a leading style of communication and interaction); 5) organizational and management conditions (features of the management culture, the existence of initiative groups, self-government and so on) [9,11,12].

The researchers mentioned that educational environment is a multidimensional integrative space consists of various micro-environments: intellectual, psychological, methodological, socio-educational, cultural-aesthetic, physical, health, information, the design of which is in accordance with the development needs of its subjects and consistent with the trends of development of modern civilization [14].

We believe that in the context of stimulating social groups for sustainable development important is the ability of social workers to the creation of a spiritually full stimulating and creative environment during professional activities. The importance of strengthening spiritual values, creative and stimulating [15] environment vectors since the ssustainability of the development of social communities (social group, society, civilization in general), which means their steady upward trend, improving on the basis of internal integrity, the ability to counteract the factors that impede development, to prevent the crisis conditions, the ability to achieve sustainable positive (progressive) results possible under the condition of conscious life- and cultural creation of each individual as a key element of social community at any level on the basis of awareness of basis laws of effective life and the responsibility for its own destiny and the destiny of society [2]. Thus, to achieve the level of sustainable development at any level (individuals, social groups and society) is possible provided a high level of spirituality of everyone, formation of his subjectivity, the ability for the responsible creation of private and public life, ability to creatively respond to life and public calls as well as to join efforts for sustainable progressive development of a society [6,7,16]. Although the constant development is possible under condition of controllability of a personal life, this ability is formed if its active cooperation with appropriate social environment that promotes the development of subjectivity of the person, its formation as the subject of life, of the social subject and of the subject of culture.

In this regard, the creation of an environment which would facilitate the spiritual-creative, personal-social and subjective development of various social groups’ representatives is the task of undoubted relevance. In such environment the external stimulating factors activate internal mechanisms of self-development and self-organization that ensures the development of the “outside”, but their moving up to the level of self-government, encourages to create responsible their own living space.

Methodological foundations for creation of such an environment is system-synergetic, civilization-culturological, personal-social, activity-based, resource and competence-creative approaches, which integrated application provides integrity and productivity of social pedagogical activity to encourage social groups to sustainable development [2,3]. Accordingly, the necessary environment is created on the principles of partnership; mutual enrichment and cultural education of all his subjects; strategic planning life perspectives and working together to find positive ways of their implementation. Also important are the principles of freedom of choice of types, forms, activities, ways of self-realization taking into consideration its own individuality, as well as the priority of self-management that ensures not the imposition of socio-educational influence, but stimulates individual to make his own informed choice of positive life strategies based on the awareness of responsibility for results of own activity and individual contribution to the process of social transformation.

5. Discussion and results

At the same time, we want to emphasize that social pedagogues and workers will be able to create spiritually full stimulating and creative environment during professional activities to encourage representatives of various social groups (particularly children, youth, adults, families) to sustainable development only if they acquire appropriate skills during training at the University. This requires creating the appropriate environment in the process of professional training of future social pedagogues and workers, in particular, strengthening of spiritual values, creative and developmental vectors of the educational environment in higher education that is an essential condition for the formation of motivational-value, creative-activity and personal components of future expert’s readiness to the activity for sustainable development of social groups.

In this spiritually full stimulating and creative environment that is created in the process of preparing future specialists, we understand as the set of conditions (educational, socio-psychological, substantive, methodological, organizational and managerial) that contribute to spiritual and creative, professional and subjective development of future professionals, providing them active in obtaining professional knowledge, the acquisition of a sustainable system of spiritually-valuable orientations and practical skills to create a spiritually full stimulating and creative atmosphere in professional activities to promote social groups to sustainable development.

This is due to the strengthening of spiritual values, creative and educational focus of all activities in the process of professional training of future specialists, namely: academic, educational, practical, volunteer, research and self-education. All these provide students with the experience of realizing various forms of social and pedagogical activities in the context of stimulating social groups towards sustainable development. Students develop and implement socio-educational, motivational, educational, preventive, collective creative activities in the process of volunteering, practical activities, create social advertising, social-pedagogical projects and programs to create such an environment in micro society.

In turn, prospective social pedagogues and workers should also realize that necessary type of an environment in micro society is created through all kinds of social and pedagogical activities (socio-educational, informational, promotional, preventive, correctional and rehabilitative), in which it is implemented. Such an environment is a set of conditions – socio-educational, psychological, informative, organizational, managerial, which enhance spiritual, creative, personal-social and subjective development of various social groups’ representatives as well as stimulate the mechanisms of their self-development and self-organization. Interaction of individuals with such environment stimulate them to actions, conscious choice of strategy non-destructive behavior in the world, active participation in value-oriented socially significant and creative activity, encourage responsibly to create their own living space.

Note also that the acquisition of the ability of future professionals to create a spiritually full stimulating and creative environment in different social spheres in the process of professional activity becomes possible under condition of formation of a high level of motivation, spiritual and creative development of the social teacher, the awareness of the importance of such activities both for the individual and for society, the availability of theoretical knowledge and practical skills (predictive, design, organizational, managerial, reflective), as well as creative approach to professional activities that are necessary to implement the content of social education in the context of sustainable development. At the same time, all named characteristics are formed during the process of interaction with an appropriate environment during professional training in higher school.

The major structural components of spiritually full stimulating and creative environment are the socio-psychological, spiritual and value, creative and activity, development and subject, resource, which are invariant to create an environment both during training and during the process of professional activity.

So, the socio-psychological component of the environment reflects the establishment of subject-subject dialogic interaction of all participants of educational and educational process, creating an emotionally intense atmosphere of academic cooperation, joint creativity, and spiritual community, mutual enrichment, openness to new ideas, thoughts, experience, interest in the results of their own activities and the activities of others, striving to find the most appropriate ways of solving important social challenges. All this contributes to the awareness of the importance of working together to achieve important goals, creates space for the development of the spiritual and creative potential of the subjects, the disclosure of their abilities and capabilities, implementation of their own identity, provides a choice of types and ways of activities per their interests, needs and capabilities of the actors. In this environment the interaction of all subjects of pedagogical process has the results in their spiritual, moral, intellectual and creative enrichment, promotes the development of personal, spiritual and creative potential, self-realization, creates a readiness for personal self-improvement and encourages the co-creation with the development of effective socio-educational impact on different social actors, of social creativity to implement positive change in being.

Spiritual and value component characterizes the spiritual saturation of the process of professional training of future specialists in the future – social and pedagogical activities to stimulate social groups to sustainable development. The creation of the educational environment on the spiritual and values basis contributes to the organization of active interaction of students with elements of the spiritual culture as a system of values. Moreover, important is not only attracting spiritually rich didactic material in educational process (in particular, aphorisms, parables, fairy tales, stories, life examples, recognized works of literature and cinema, acquaintance with the biographies of famous people who achieved success and suffered life crisis, the understanding of which contributes to the understanding of basic laws of effective life). Its also important to stimulate students to selection of such means with a target to their use in the process of interaction with representatives of various social groups in the process of practice and volunteering and to create own teaching portfolio for further work in this direction.

Note that the strengthening of the spiritual and value component of the environment is one of the leading incentives of the individual, group sustainable development, because it promotes the decision of some important tasks. First, this work contributes to the understanding of the subjects of the basic laws and regularities of the effective functioning and sustainable development of man and society and on this basis – the formation of a stable system of values of sustainable development (e.g., life, health, happiness, work, creativity, activity, improvements, reasonable way of life, harmony, wisdom, solidarity, mutual aid, consolidation, moral integrity, humanity, responsibility, will, etc.) and the corresponding belief system. Second, this interaction promotes awareness of the necessity to harmonize on all levels-the personal and the social, mind, and spirit, material and spiritual, sensory, cognitive spheres of personality; thinking, feeling, will, between them; the relationship with oneself, other people, nature, culture, the world as a whole based on the understanding that disharmony are not viable, only the harmonious interaction of man with himself and the surrounding world is the condition for its long productive life and sustainable progressive development of society. Third, the creation of the educational environment on the spiritual and values basis contributes to the awareness of future professionals of their own mission and responsibility as a professional who provides social education and education of the population as the immediate and remote results of its own activities and on the basis of this understanding of the importance of spiritual saturation in all types of social pedagogical activities in the context of creating social groups towards sustainable development. It also promotes awareness of the representatives of various social groups the value of each person in the conscious creation of culture and civilization, social responsibility for results of own activity and individual contribution to the process of social change that encourages as activities with private development and public interest, volunteer activities, specific actions and deeds from the assertion of positive values in life.

Creative and activity component of the environment reflects its focus on the promotion of future specialists for professional work in the development and implementation of motivational, socio-educational, creative activities that would promote the development of the individual as a responsible Creator of own and public life, formation of creative approach to life, ability to creatively meet the challenges stimulated by activities from your own self-development, of social creativity with the aim of improving social life.

Note that, in general, the creative component is one of the leading in the aspect of providing of efficiency of social and pedagogical activity for sustainable development of social groups, as any work – from motivational, informational, to direct involvement in joint activities in the indicated direction – require a high level of creativity of the expert. Future social pedagogues and workers must not only understand by themselves the nature and regularities of a sustainable development of personality, social group, society, but to be able to share these ideas with others, to exercise such influence on the minds, feelings and will of the person, which is not rejection, dissatisfaction or indifference, and attracts attention, encourages makes you think and do something.

Moreover, social pedagogues and workers must be able not only to develop effective means of effective influence on the beliefs, but also actions and deeds of the personality, contributing to its formation as a social subject, while taking a creative approach to working with different social groups, but also to create and implement long-term projects and programs of integration of the educational forces of society with the aim of enhancing internal resources of the individual, social groups and encourage them to self-organization, creative solutions of life problems, social creativity, consolidating efforts of various social actors – children, youth, adults, older people, families, society for sustainable progressive development of society.

The formation of appropriate skills of students is possible under conditions of search-and-creative classroom and extracurricular activities, saturation of the educational space of improvisation, collective and individual creativity. Its important to encourage future specialists to creative research activities to build effective means of creating a sustainable system of values, harmonization of personal and social development of representatives of various social groups, their ascent to the spiritual level of the social formation as responsible subjects of their own life and social actors of the implementation of social education as a priority of socio-pedagogical activities which are interactive subject-activity nature, reflect interaction, dialogue and inclusion in activities to promote positive values;

Development and subject component of the environment characterizes its focus on the formation of future professionals as subjects of professional activities to promote social groups towards sustainable development, capable of self-government and professional-creative improvement. Accordingly, it directs their activity to creation of means for the development of the subjectivity of different social groups’ representatives – their formation as subjects of life, social subjects and subjects of culture, capable of reflexive self-regulation, self-organization and self-development. Strengthening development and subject component of the environment is due to the saturation of its contents, methods, forms, types of activities that contribute to the development of sustainable personal and social positions of the representatives of different social groups as well as forming their subjective qualities, responsibility, freedom, social activity, creativity, stimulate self-improvement to achieve important life aims and to work together, combining efforts to solve important social problems. This implies the development and further use of future professionals in methods of development of subjectivity of a person (in particular, the author’s educational methods of I. Pintosevich, M. Norbekov, M. Murakhovska and others, technology of neurolinguistics programming), the involvement of future social pedagogues for the development and implementation of specific means for developing social subjectivity of the individual (in particular, social advertising, trainings, creative activities) that contribute to the ascent of the individual to the spiritual level of sociality, in promoting the value of family, community, nation, civilization, stimulate activities to strengthen the integrity and consolidation.

In turn, the resource component reflects filling the environment with information, pedagogical, socio-pedagogical, human, social resources, involving in its creation all possible subjects – teaching staff of a higher educational institution, student self-government, representatives of public, voluntary organizations as well as students of all courses with the subsequent formation of their ability to involve all possible actors of social and educational activities, including representatives of various social groups in the creation of appropriate environment in the micro society. In such an environment, an atmosphere of spiritual creative enrichment, focus on joint activities for the implementation of positive changes to existence.

We would like to emphasize that involvement of students and further representatives of various social groups to the creation necessary environment is the leading idea in the context of sustainable development. This ensures not simply the creation of favorable external conditions for the development of individual, but makes his an active subject of his own life and development. So, students, due to joining the creation of educational environment in the learning process, while also gain clear guidelines on creation of appropriate environment in the process of professional activity as well as skills to establish a spiritually full stimulating and creative atmosphere during the socio-educational, voluntary activities, in the process of practical activity.

The same applies to the creation of development educational environment during professional activities. Social pedagogues should be able to attract the social resources of society, all those who by their example can influence other people, to establish cooperation with different social institutions such as family, social services, non-school institutions, cultural, educational, social, volunteer organizations, involve student self-government for the creation of a spiritually full educational and creative environment in secondary school. It is no doubt that active participants in its creation should be representatives of different social groups. Such activity ensures their gradual progression toward a level of self-management of their life and development, and at the same time, stimulates to exercise a positive influence on other people by their own behavior, actions and activities.

We believe that it is creating such an environment that ensures understanding of deep relationship of the spiritual and creative essence of development, the realization that only saturate the spiritual and creative content of all types of activities with obligatory access to a specific socially important activity ensures the effectiveness of all types of social and pedagogical work in the context of encouraging social groups towards sustainable progressive development.

Thus, all mentioned above let us to confirm main conditions for the establishing and efficient functioning of the spiritually full stimulating and creative environment. The first one is involving in its creation (both in educational process and during the professional activities) all its members, including students, representatives of various social groups. Organization of spiritual and creative interaction between all its subjects contributes to their mutual enrichment as well as encourages their improvement. The second condition of effective functioning of such environment is understanding and mutual accepting the aims of its creation by all its participants. That creates conditions for consolidating efforts for their achievement. The third essential condition is possibility of variable realization of the model of spiritually full stimulating and creative environment at the level of content, forms, methods of activity depending on specific social group, providing a wide choice of various socially important activities (such as volunteering, community work, participation in NGOs, social creativity, which create the opportunity for self-confirming through positive actions) tailored to the needs and interests various social groups representatives. The fourth one is effective management by the functioning of such an environment, which provides activation of mechanisms of self-development and self-organization of its subjects, their gradual moving up to the level of self-management by their own activity and development, forming the ability to create responsibly their own living space.

We would like to note that integrated indicator of creating spiritually full stimulating and creative environment is providing opportunities to enhance spiritual and creative, personal and social, subjective development of its members. In this regard the important indicators of its creation in the training process are: a sustainable professional orientation of future specialists, their positive attitude to future professional activity, aspiration to improve its results; co-creation of all subjects of pedagogical process; emotional satisfaction of belonging to a student group, faculty, university as well as with the results of joint activities; active participation in social and educational activities in various spheres. In this environment future specialists have the opportunities for creative mastering professional knowledge and methods of social and pedagogical activities. They gain the skills to organize socio-educational activities regarding the obligatory presence of spiritually-axiological, activity and creative, development and subjective components, as well as the experience of creative activity and emotional-valuable attitude.

Thus, creating such an environment ensures the effectiveness of mastering the content of higher socio-pedagogical education and, in turn, should contribute to the assimilation of the content of social education in the context of sustainable development. In its turn, the indicators of creation of such an environment in the process of professional activity are: high level of motivation, creativity, initiative and independence of its subjects; their capacity for reflexive self-regulation, self-organization and management; sustainable personal-social position; determining choice of positive strategies of life on the basis of understanding basic laws and regularities of effective life and sustainable development of personality and society; active work for own improvement and participation in active socially-significant creative activity to promote positive values on the ground of realizing personal and social responsibility for results of their own life and individual contribution to the process of social changes. Due to this environment the socially significant activity is considered by person as the opportunity for the realization of his own individuality and important needs of the personality (in particular, in awareness of self-worth, involvement in the improvement the world, creation of good deeds as well).

As it has been already noted, the creation of such an environment requires a comprehensive professional social work and comes in various kinds of social and educational activities.

At the same time, we would like to demonstrate how to create such an atmosphere during organization of specific socio-educational and entertaining event. Thus, in order to encourage families to sustainable development second-year students – future social pedagogues of G. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University decided to organize the play “In the far-away kingdom” for children and their parents in the Association of mothers of large families “AMMA”. The main characters of the play were: the family – Nick, his mother and father as well as well-known fairy-tale characters - Baba Yaga, Kashchei Immortal, Cat Scientist, Wise Owl, Mary Poppins and Doctor Aibolit. The students wanted to create a fantastic story that has deep socio-educational and spiritual content and encourages children not only to understand the value of family, mom and dad for everyone, but also stimulates to act immediately to improve relationships in their own family.

Preparing this play, future social pedagogues developed a storyline that would allow demonstrating transformation of the main character from loser, the boy with some negative characteristics in optimist who appreciates their parents, teachers and all the people around and acts to strengthen the happiness of his family and make positive influence on others. With this aim the students filled the performance with convincing content, selected interesting creative tasks for interactive communication with children and their parents (including puzzles, quizzes, competitions (“Guess the melody”, remember the proverb, poem, cartoon, tale about the family (parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters), made costumes and scenery as well as prizes for children and their parents.

During the event, students sought to create unforgettable atmosphere that would in unobtrusive manner, through empathy to the main hero (who after an unsuccessful day at school made unintentional mistake – told his parents frivolous words “How tired I am, I’d rather live alone and no one would be able to tell me anything!”), contributed to the understanding of values of family, parents, positive interaction, care and love, encourages children to think about the role parents play in their lives. According to the plot, after these words, the boy’s parents have been stolen magically by Baba Yaga in order to show the boy their true value. The boy, after spending a few days at home alone and having failed to gain cope, as well as feeling great guilt and regret, make a decision to find and return his dear mom and dad. Main characters Kashchei, Mary Poppins, Cat Scientist, Wise Owl and Dr. Aibolit as well as the children help him to overcome all the trials in his long search and collect all the parts of magic key that opens the door to his parents. At the end of the event, students gave children and parents balloons with good wishes, self-made angels that will be talisman of family happiness and prosperity, as well as booklets they created to promote the value of family as one of the main places that can give happiness to parents and children.

This interaction contributes to the spiritual, creative, subjective development of all its participants, makes clear that man himself is the architect of his own happiness, the creator of his life, and encourages realizing responsibility both for our lives and our impact on other people. Such an atmosphere promotes awareness the fact that our life and happiness as well as the happiness of our family depends on us, our actions to achieve and save it, which stimulate doing good for their relatives and strangers.

We would also like to note that this activity provides not only a memorable impact on children and their parents, but also on students. Working on the performance, they are deeply aware of the value of their own parents, necessity of purposeful activity for promotion family values in public consciousness, importance of their profession and mission in the society in the context of providing sustainable progressive development of different social groups’ representatives.

We would like to note that the author’s ten-year experience in the context of prospective social pedagogues’ training to sustainable development of social groups at the Faculty of Psychology and Sociology at G. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University has proved effectiveness the system of work in this direction described by us in our previous publications [3,17,18]. The results of such training emerged in active volunteering and practical activity of prospective social pedagogues with a view to encourage the representatives of different social groups towards sustainable development during their study in higher school.

So, on a voluntary basis future social pedagogues constantly interact with children, youth and families in kindergartens, schools, colleges as well as with the representatives of ‘risk groups’ in the centers of social and psychological rehabilitation for children and youth, orphanages of family type, centers of social services for family, children and youth, Kharkiv NGO “Association of mothers of large families “AMMA”, foundations “Future and hope”, “Blago”, “DEPOL - Ukraine” and other organizations, where they spent active social and educational, preventive work, organize collective creative activity aspiring to create there spiritually full stimulating and creative environment which contributed to the spiritual-creative, personal-social and subjective development of various social subjects.

For instance, they organized creative activities on the themes: “The value and uniqueness of human life”, “They could and you can”, “Past, present and future. We choose life”, “The consequences of a negative attitude to the world”, “Our future depends on us”, and “Responsibility begins with me ”,“ Good and evil I choose good because ...”, “My mission”, “Change the world for the better”, “Give a smile to people!”, “Learn goodness of your heart”, “Doing good is easy”, “The unity is our strength”, “Our joint achievements”, “Our choice is our life”, “Together we are the power”, “We achieved this with the help of our work”, “Our mark in the history”, the Days of Good Deeds and other events that were aimed at the development of children and youth as responsible creators of their own and public life. All this provided both forming the system of values, development of important personal qualities, creative approach to life and promoted them show themselves through positive actions, work together for progressive development of the society.

What is more, future social pedagogues do not only work hard in this direction, but also involve other people in such activities (in particular, the representatives of youth public organizations). So, within the social partnership students organize meetings pupils with famous people, Olympic athletes, etc. Such interaction convinces children and youth that a man himself is the architect of his own happiness, but its achievement will certainly require physical and spiritual efforts, great desire and hard work. All this encourages them to work hard on developing their own personality, teaches to overcome difficulties, find ways to achieve goals and solve difficult situations in every sphere of life as well as consider difficulties as the beginning of the path that leads to success.

Students are constantly in creative searching for the development and implementation of specific measures of spiritual and creative development of various social groups representatives, author’s programs and projects to stimulate them to sustainable development. They also create social advertising (posters, booklets, videos) aimed at increasing the value of family, community, nation, healthy life, spirituality, social responsibility (both for the results of their own lives and for the individual contribution to the process of social change), consolidation and joint activities for improving public life.

We would like to stress that prospective social pedagogues are also characterized by searching and implementation of innovative forms and methods of social and pedagogical activities in this area. One of these forms became the Studio Theatre of socio-pedagogical clowning. Such activity stimulates students to professional, artistic, social creativity for creating performances-miniatures which allow within one play to demonstrate the transformation of the main character from the loser into the targeted confident optimist, promote asserting the ideals of virtue, friendship, mutual harmony, humanism and encourage children to show themselves through positive actions. It should be noted that volunteering experience of students - future social pedagogues of G. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University is widely represented in the author’s previous publications [17,18].

The expert assessments of the teachers, school principals, managers of social services, centers of social and psychological rehabilitation, public organizations (with which students actively interact in the process of volunteering, social pedagogical practice by organizing social and educational, joint creative activities as well as social significant activity with a view to promote positive values) have confirmed that this activity significantly promotes progressive development of different social groups’ representatives. They work actively both for their own self-development and participate in socially significant activities for improving social life as well as aware social responsibility both for the results of their own life and for individual contribution to the process of social change.

6. Conclusions

Thus, it has been substantiated in the study that the training of prospective social pedagogues and social workers (as specialists who participate in the implementation of state social and educational policy) to purposeful activity with a view to stimulate sustainable development of various social is essential for implementing the strategy of the civilization’s sustainable development. It has been shown that social and pedagogical activity in the context of sustainable development should contribute to the development of the individual (as a key element of the social community of any level) as the subject of life, capable of preventing and solving life problems as well as responsible social subject, representative of family, community, nation, civilization, who is ready to consolidate efforts for sustainable progressive development of society. It has been proved that an important condition for the effectiveness of social and pedagogical activity to stimulate social groups to sustainable development is the creation of a spiritually full stimulating and creative environment in various social spheres, which would contribute to the spiritual-creative, personal-social and subjective development of various social groups’ representatives, stimulate them to self-organization and self-management, encourage to create their own living space.

It has been also shown in the study that future social pedagogues and workers should gain the skills to create spiritually full stimulating and creative environment with a view to promote sustainable development of social groups during their professional training at the university. There have been revealed the essence and components of spiritually full stimulating and creative environment (namely, socio-psychological, spiritual-value, creative-activity, developing-subjective, resource), which are invariant for creation of such environment, both in the process of professional training of future social pedagogues and workers and during their professional work in various social spheres. Methodological foundations, ways and indicators of the creation of spiritually full stimulating and creative environment as well as the conditions for its effective functioning are determined. There also have been shown the elements of the experience of establishing such atmosphere by students future social pedagogues in the process of practice and volunteering in various social spheres. It has been proved that such activities have positive holistic impact on the representatives of various social groups stimulating them to their own self-improvement as well as to individual and joint activity for improving social life.

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