THE UNIVERSITY LECTURER'S INNOVATION CULTURE IN DIGITAL AGE

The world is witnessing dramatic changes in the digital age, marking the advancement and rise of digital technologies that enable more efficient processing, transmission, storage and review of information. As digital technology is increasingly affecting all aspects of social life, innovation is considered the key to making competitiveness and sustainble development of individuals, organizations and the whole society. Innovation is the process of creating new values by applying new solutions to existing problems. And innovation culture is an enviroment that nurtures, promotes and realizes innovation. This shows that the formation of an individual’s innovation culture is essential to be able to build an innovation culture of the organization and even of society. Higher education is also not out of this trend. Therefore, it is necessary to study the innovation culture in the field of higher education, first, the university lecturer’s innovation culture. The article aims to clarify some issues related to innovation culture. On that basis, the content of the concept of university lecturer’s innovation culture will be analyzed, simultaneously, the impacts of the digital age on higher education in general and university lecturer in particular will be mentioned to highlight the role of university lecturer’s innovation culture in the new context of society.

THE ROLE OF YOUTH IN THE FORMATION OF THE HUMAN CAPITAL OF THE CITY

The article presents the author's view of youth as a socio-demographic group that performs very important functions in society. Thus, the retention of young people in the urban community ensures the social continuity of the territorial settlement, as well as adaptability, readiness for change. The author substantiates his position, drawing on the works of P. Bourdieu and G. Becker, V.V. Radaev. The author presents the characteristics of youth as resources of not only a social group, but also the human capital of the entire urban settlement.

VOLGSTU GRADUATE ASSOCIATION: DEBUT IN A PANDEMIC BACKGROUND

Alumni associations are a relatively new phenomenon for Russia, typical, as a rule, for large metropolitan universities with a long history, rich traditions and extensive international relations. In recent years, alumni associations have begun to appear in regional universities. The authors analyze the situation with the development of alumni associations in the flagship universities of the country and in the universities of Volgograd (the chronology and forms of activity are considered). The article summarizes the results of Volgograd State Technical University Alumni Association's first year. Plans, goals and tasks for the further development of the VolgSTU Alumni Association have been developed. The authors show that the dynamic formation of alumni associations can be promising for regional universities as well, serving as platforms for the interaction of regional elites, centres of strategic decisions for regional development and providing communication between generations of alumni.

ADAPTATION OF FOREIGN CULTURAL STUDENTS TO THE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

The article is devoted to the problem of adaptation of foreign students studying at a medical university. The growth of integration processes in the educational system requires an understanding of the peculiarities of the adaptation process that accompanies young people who have arrived in Russia for higher education. The speed of adaptation to new conditions depends on many factors, and the proximity of cultures or awareness of its features, as well as knowledge of the language of the host country, is of no small importance. To study the peculiarities of adaptation of foreign students in Russia who arrived for medical education, we interviewed two groups of students, a total of 144 people, who arrived from near and far abroad. As a result of comparing the survey results, we found that a significant cultural distance and lack of knowledge of the Russian language delay the process of adaptation of a group of students from far abroad. Based on the results obtained, we have proposed ways to mitigate the adaptation process of foreign students.

EXPERIENCE OF APPLICATION OF THE MODIFIED BOGARDUS SCALE IN THE STUDY OF INTERETHNIC TOLERANCE

The article is devoted to the analysis of the influence on the results of a sociological study of the use of various forms of questions: open and closed on the example of the study of interethnic tolerance of high school students. The study was conducted using the traditional social distance scale developed by Emory Bogardus and its modified form as an open-ended question. The authors come to the conclusion that there are no significant quantitative (the value of the social distance scale) and qualitative (the composition of nationalities, about which the opinions of the respondents and the vector of attitudes towards them are updated) differences in the data collected using open and closed questions. At the same time, it is noted that the specifics of the respondents' answers to open-ended questions became a more positive (in accordance with both qualitative and quantitative criteria) attitude towards European ethnic groups, at the same time, a large social distance versus closed-ended questions. Another distinguishing feature of the answers to the open-ended question was the radicalism of views and less social distance to representatives of other peoples in general.

FORMATION OF CREATIVE THINKING OF STUDENTS ON THE BASIS OF SOCIAL AND PEDAGOGICAL DESIGN

The article is devoted to the problem of researching the creative abilities of junior schoolchildren, the specificity of the formation of which has long been central to the problems of pedagogical science, and today does not lose its relevance. This problem with the emergence of education as a specific form of human interaction, the purpose of which is to transfer the experience of previous generations. Thinking, as one of the mental processes, manifests itself in different forms. Creative thinking is defined as the ability to find solutions and analyze a problem in non-standard circumstances. Creative thinking of junior schoolchildren is an intense thought process that promotes the activation of the cognitive activity of junior schoolchildren, the manifestation of independence, the development of the ability to come to the necessary conclusions by oneself in the process of active creative search. Speaking about the current state of the national primary school, it should be noted that the pivotal place in it is still occupied by the cognitive activity of students at the level of reproductive perception and reproduction of educational material, and not creative activity based on the productive transformation of the learned knowledge and skills. The article proves the thesis that the implementation of socio-pedagogical design, as a means of forming the creative thinking of younger schoolchildren, should be based on the integration of design, research and play activities carried out in a general education school under the guidance of a teacher.

PROFESSIONAL SOCIALIZATION OF STUDENTS IN THE STUDY OF HUMANITIES AT A TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

This article substantiates the importance of professional socialization of students of a technical university. It is the student age, due to its age-related mental and personal characteristics, that all types of socialization occur intensively. Consequently, students are considered as the most favorable period for professional socialization. In addition, the article analyzes the scientific sources of literature in terms of the definition of the concept of "professional socialization". A huge role in the training of qualified personnel is played by higher education, which lays the basic foundation for the personal and professional development of the younger generation, in whose hands is the future of society and the country as a whole. It should be noted that thanks to the study of humanities at a technical university, it is possible to implement such methods of working with students that will ensure successful professional socialization of junior students at the training stage, form personal qualities and increase the level of professional training. Using the example of specific humanities disciplines, such as "Communication in professional activity", "Business communication" and "Psychology of professional activity", the article presents work with junior students, which forms the social formation of a student's personality and is part of the process of professional socialization.

IMAGE OF THE CITY: STALINGRAD IN MODERN VOLGOGRAD (BASED ON APPLIED SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH)

The article based on the analysis of applied research materials gives an idea of the image of the city of Volgograd in the representations of the indigenous Stalingrad people. The empirical base of the study was the materials of interviews conducted in the spring and autumn of 2021 in Volgograd. It was concluded that the image of modern Volgograd is outwardly and internally different from Stalingrad, from Volgograd of the Soviet period, as belonging to different eras, while the memory of Stalingrad, about the Battle of Stalingrad, of course, is present and forms the image of the city.

FEATURES OF INCLUSION IN PRESCHOOL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

Modern scientific discourse is full of many interesting concerns. One of them is implementation of inclusive education, including in preschool educational institutions. Analysis of current researches shows that opinion of educational process subjects about inclusive education is unclear and depends on their awareness, susceptibility to stereotypical ideas about people with disabilities as well as on personal experience. In this regard, there is a need for formation of positive attitudes and inclusive culture in society as a whole. Sociological analysis focuses on realizing the problems in inclusive educational space organizing, which should include a continuum of services and educational environment which is the least restrictive and the most inclusive. All these factors significantly hinder effective system of inclusive education development. To change the situation, there is a need to adopt federal target programs and projects aimed at developing special educational programs, organizing specialized training for teachers of educational institutions, and re-equipping them. Besides, work with children and their parents is highly important to eliminate various stereotypes about children with disabilities.