Organizing activities of student associations in higher education institutions of Russia and China

Introduction. Student associations of higher education institutions contribute to successful socialization and early professionalization. The relevance of the study lies in the fact that designing educational and upbringing programs for future bachelors and masters of social work at the university, great importance is to be attached to professionally focused student associations. The study aims to develop and test the authors' practice-oriented methodology for training future specialists in social work in the context of student associations of higher education institutions using the example of Russia and China. Materials and methods. To determine the readiness of students for professional activities in the context of student associations, the authors conducted a survey based on the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education Kostroma State University; it lasted from September to December 2023 and involved 1-4 year students (100 people) specializing in social work. Research methods and techniques were: content analysis of documents, frequency analysis, observation, survey, questionnaires and experience generalization. Results. The authors’ methodology for organizing student associations activities was developed; psychological and pedagogical conditions necessary for the training of future bachelors of social work were experimentally tested and clarified. The authors conducted a comparative analysis of how student associations activities in universities in Russia and China are organized. The abovementioned authors' methodology helps students form meanings and values: professional experience (23.25%); communication with friends (19.77%); social support and assistance to people in difficult life situations (15.11%); participation and organization of work forms related to professional activity (12.79%); obtaining new knowledge (9.30%), emotions (4.65%); teamwork (6.98%); visiting professionally focused institutions (3.49%). Conclusion. The ‘Social Work’ educational program includes practices of the following student associations: Abilympics, PROVICH, Studaktiv, Student Scientific Community in the Social Work Training Program ‘#SR’, and Chinese Student Association of Kostroma State University. Organizing activities of student associations is held in accordance with the following pedagogical conditions: assistance of the head of the student association in searching for variability in professional self-determination; psychological and pedagogical conditions; organizational and pedagogical conditions (external): internal environment of student association’s activities (pedagogical potential: managerial, educational, existential); the level of comfort students enjoy when working in the student association program; external environment of the student association (social partners, employers, social protection institutions, etc.); as well as internal psychological and pedagogical conditions (subjective conditions that contribute to the formation of personal psychological mechanisms of professional development).