Developing University Youth Policy and Educational Activities Through an Event-Based Approach

Pasholikov Mikhail Sergeevich Senior Educator; Department of State, Municipal and Social Administration; Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia 191186, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Chernyakhovsky str., 2 mikle.pasholikov@gmail.com Other publications by this author

The ecosystem approach is actively spreading in all spheres of society. This approach has also affected the field of education. An ecosystem is defined as a "biological community of interacting organisms" or "a complex network or interconnected system." The university ecosystem "is a flexible and adaptive system based on a complex of socio-economic relations formed between elements of the university structure and environmental actors from various fields of activity and having a mutually beneficial character" ^[13]. Educational, entrepreneurial, digital, educational, innovative, and other university ecosystems are included today. Ecosystem thinking makes it possible to create an effective learning environment with constant interaction, real-life practice, and the involvement of culture and knowledge of the surrounding space. The ecosystem approach is becoming increasingly relevant today, as it allows us to consider the educational process through a system of interrelations between various elements (students, teachers, university administration, employers, parents, and society as a whole). It is possible to highlight the studies of A.G. Izotova ^[16], S.V. Musiychuk ^[19], V. V. Akberdina ^[1], I. E. Vildanov ^[8], A.V. Utkin ^[29], P.O. Luksha, K. Spencer, D. Kubista ^[13], and others emphasize the importance of integrating all stakeholders for the creation of an effective and sustainable training system for specialists. From an educational point of view, this approach changes how a person learns, thinks, and acts. The modern educational model requires new methods of organization, which will be based on the integration of knowledge and the involvement of students.

The event-based approach occupies an important place in the system of new forms and methods of organizing the educational process. It is possible to single out the author's developments describing the experience and practice of the event approach by Ya.A. Baskakova ^[4], M.I. Bolotova ^[7], N.V. Volkova ^[9], L.V. Goryunova ^[10], D.V. Grigoriev ^[11], O.V. Correction ^[23], and others. Event technology is reflected in the context of the implementation of the Strategy for the Development of Education in the Russian Federation for the period up to 2025: "attracting children to participate in socially significant cognitive, creative, cultural, local history, sports, and charity projects, in the volunteer movement" ^[27]. In the concept of training teachers for the education system for the period up to 2030, one of the tasks for the professional orientation of schoolchildren to teaching activities is the implementation of projects aimed at acquiring students' initial pedagogical experience in the form of participation in social projects, leadership, and volunteer activities, honest communication with children within the framework of specially organized pedagogical practice ^[17]. Event-based work formats are reflected in the course of daily interaction between students and teachers.

According to the professional standard, the teacher must know how to organize excursions, hikes, and expeditions. In the methodological recommendations for the training of personnel in pedagogical bachelor's degree programs based on unified approaches to their structure and content ("The core of higher pedagogical education"), It is indicated that graduates should demonstrate "ways of organizing and evaluating various types of extracurricular activities of a child (educational, gaming, labor, sports, artistic, etc.), methods and forms of organizing collective creative activities, excursions, hikes, expeditions, and other events.

The professional orientation of the educational activities of student-teachers occupies a key place in the training of future specialists in the field of education. It is implemented throughout the entire period of the student's stay at the university and is aimed at developing the necessary competencies and personal qualities that allow the graduate to be successful and in demand in the labor market. The works of many researchers are devoted to the problems of professional orientation, among which the works of A.G. Bermus ^[6], A. A. Derkach ^[12], and E. F. Zeer ^[14] stand out.

The importance of professional orientation lies in the following aspects:

• The formation of professional self-awareness: Student teachers must realize the importance of their future profession and understand its social role and opportunities for personal development.
• Developing communication skills: Effective pedagogical activity is impossible without competent communication with colleagues, students, and parents.
• Mastering the methods of educational activities: Practice-oriented training allows students to familiarize themselves with relevant methods for working with various groups of children and gain experience organizing events, excursions, conferences, and round tables.
• Strengthening motivation to choose a profession: a clear understanding of the goals and objectives of future professional activity increases interest in the learning process.
• Leadership development: During the educational process, students are given the opportunity to organize or coordinate various event projects, which contributes to the development of self-confidence, responsibility for results, and leadership skills.
• Understanding ethical norms of behavior: Future teachers study the ethics of pedagogical activity not only theoretically. They also have the opportunity to model difficult situations and practice correct behavior at the practice stage.

Professional orientation plays a key role in forming a future specialist teacher and significantly impacts the quality of students' leisure activities. Leisure time spent considering professional interests and goals can become an effective tool for developing skills needed in teaching practice. It is important to emphasize that professionally oriented leisure creates conditions for acquiring and deepening knowledge and skills in an informal setting. By engaging in various leisure activities, such as theatrical productions, musical groups, or literary clubs, pedagogical students gain the opportunity to develop communication skills, creativity, and leadership qualities.

This contributes to the comprehensive development of the future teacher's personality. In addition, organizing leisure activities with a professional orientation helps students understand their future place in the teaching system. They begin to better understand the specifics of working with students of different age groups, hone the methodological apparatus, and experiment with innovative forms of teaching. The role of project activities within the framework of professionally oriented leisure should also be noted. Developing and implementing educational projects is one of the most effective forms of activating student teachers' scientific and creative potential. During such projects, they not only apply their knowledge in practice but also learn to work in a team, distribute tasks, and take responsibility for the final result ^[28].

Thus, the event approach is becoming an increasingly popular tool for organizing work with young people. It allows educators to combine educational and non-educational processes within the framework of interesting and significant student events.

Research Methodology

This study aims to determine the totality of organizational and pedagogical conditions for implementing an event-based approach that contributes to the professional orientation of the university ecosystem of educational activities and youth policy.

The object of this study was the ecosystem of the university's youth policy as a new model of the educational environment. The subject of the study was the theoretical basis and methodology of the event approach.

The methodological basis for studying the research problem was the works devoted to various aspects of educating and training teachers, scientific papers dealing with applying the category "ecosystem" in the field of education, and the author's developments describing the experience and practice of implementing an event-based approach. The methodological part of the research involved a theoretical analysis of sources, systematization and generalization of research materials, empirical data, practical experience, and organization of mass surveys to form a multilateral vision of the problems of training future teachers and studying the best educational practices.

The empirical basis of the study was the results of processing the answers to the questionnaires of students and teachers of the A.I. Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University.

The study was organized and conducted based on the A. I. Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University in May 2024. The following groups of respondents participated in the study:

· Students of the 1^st–4th courses studying in the field of training 44.03.01 Pedagogical education: 172 people.;

· Teachers-curators of academic groups in the field of training 44.03.01 Pedagogical education: 32 people.;

· Heads and employees of partner organizations of the University in St. Petersburg: 12 people.

The Results of the Study and Their Discussion

According to the development program for 2024–2030 adopted and implemented at the A.I. Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University, "The priority of youth policy is to create conditions for the development of a socially active, professional, ethically mature personality capable of independent self-determination based on the spiritual and moral values of the peoples of the Russian Federation, historical and national cultural traditions, educated patriotic youth with independent thinking, possessing a creative worldview, professional knowledge, demonstrating high culture, including the culture of interethnic communication, responsibility and the ability to make independent decisions aimed at improving the welfare of the country, the people and their family" ^[24].

Improving the process of implementing educational activities and youth policy requires the creation of specific organizational and pedagogical conditions.

The first organizational and pedagogical condition is creating a management structure to organize educational activities and implement youth policy. The management structure should include specialized units responsible for organizing and coordinating educational work and youth policy (Fig.1)

Figure 1. The management structure of the organization of educational activities and the implementation of youth policy

At the level of interaction with the teacher, the student should be offered an individual trajectory of active involvement in the university environment.

A favorable atmosphere should be created within the study group, and personalized and group work should be organized to determine students' personal preferences. As part of the cathedral work, meetings with students are held to familiarize students with the structural unit's main capabilities and areas of work. At the faculty or institute level, centralized work is carried out to organize students' participation in various activities, considering their hobbies, talents, and preferences. At the university level, within the framework of specially created departments, work is being carried out to determine the overall strategy for implementing educational work and youth policy.

The second organizational and pedagogical condition is the implementation of social partnerships. The combined agenda of the ecosystem of opportunities for youth policy and educational activities in educational institutions of higher education is formed at the junction of interaction between the main actors in implementing state youth policy and educational activities— ecosystem partners ^[20]. The establishment and development of partnerships are dictated by the desire to create favorable conditions for the professional growth of students and the formation of necessary skills. Various events (conferences, round tables, debates, contests, master classes) can be a tool for building partnerships initiated by the university itself.

Figure 2 shows the results of a survey of representatives of partner organizations of the Pedagogical University regarding the main advantages of holding various kinds of events at the university.

Figure 2. Advantages of organizing events for the university

The third organizational and pedagogical condition is the availability of appropriate personnel to implement youth policy. The primary responsibilities in this matter are assigned to the deputy heads of educational departments for educational work and curators of academic groups.

The goals of the curator of the academic group include "promoting the education of socially responsible specialists; forming a team of students based on the principles of self-government, as well as countering the influence of negative phenomena in the youth environment of students" ^[25]. In fact, the curator is a mentor for students and must have relevant knowledge and experience. A survey was conducted among students and teachers to determine the most significant characteristics. Among the skills and qualities that are especially appreciated, the following were named:

· empathy: empathy, knowledge, and understanding of how students feel helps to draw accurate conclusions about ways to provide a supportive setting and achievable goals (64%);

· active listening: the ability to ask questions, be completely attentive to the student, identify non-verbal forms of communication (58%);

· organizational skills: attention to detail, ability to plan, set deadlines, and comply with them (57%);

· leadership: the ability to be a role model (80%);

· constructive feedback: the ability to assess progress, give advice or evaluate ideas, and build trusting relationships (86%);

· conflict management: the ability to build a favorable climate, maintain healthy relationships, and respond promptly to problematic situations (61%);

· problem solving: using critical thinking to analyze information (79%);

· professional ethics: having your own value system and the ability to form value orientations (78%);

· Communication is a fundamental skill for all aspects of mentoring, eliminating any barriers (92%).

Mentoring skills are important because they help students successfully set goals and contribute to their professional growth. Based on the data obtained, it is critically important for curators of academic groups to develop the skills of the 21st century. These skills can be divided into three categories.

The first category is universal skills, habits that can be used throughout life to complete any task or project.

Most educators are aware of these skills because they are universal for building any career:

· Critical thinking is one of the most important qualities that inspires you to solve problems and discover new things;

· creative thinking allows you to consider problems from different angles and look for a variety of ways to solve them;

· Teamwork implies cooperation, the ability to work together, seek compromises, and get the best results;

· Communication is the ability to effectively convey ideas;

The second category is modern literacy, related to the development of new technologies that enable people to act in a certain way in different situations:

· digital literacy: the ability to access, manage, understand, integrate, communicate, evaluate, and create information using digital technologies;

· media literacy: the ability to analyze, critically comprehend, and create a variety of messages in different types of media;

· technological literacy: the ability to use modern technologies;

· emotional literacy: the ability to recognize, understand, manage, and effectively use your own emotions and those of others

The third category is life skills, which help to manage life situations and cope with challenges:

· flexibility: the ability to adapt to changing circumstances;

· leadership: the ability to have a positive impact on others to achieve goals;

· initiative: the ability to independently evaluate and initiate actions;

· productivity: the ability to complete work on tasks within the appropriate time frame.

Changes in legislation and the subsequent transformations in approaches to the organization of educational activities and youth policy pose a whole range of tasks for teachers, the solution of which requires the use of new skills. Participation in a variety of specialized events can help curators develop appropriate skills (Table.1) ^[21,22]

Table 1: event formats

Thus, the event approach is becoming an increasingly popular tool for organizing work with young people today, allowing you to combine education and educational processes within the framework of interesting and significant student events. The creation of an appropriate management structure for educational activities and youth policy, the development of human resources, and the implementation of social partnership make it possible to ensure the effective functioning of the relevant ecosystem of the university in the interest of solving the tasks of developing the professionalism of future teachers.

As recommendations based on the results of the study, a regular organization of meetings can be proposed, at which representatives of various levels of the educational management structure of the university will be able to discuss current problems and propose solutions. This will help strengthen connections within the ecosystem and stimulate collective creativity. The introduction of regular monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of the organization of events will allow for a targeted response to all stakeholders' requests. It is also advisable to consider the possibility of creating a digital platform that will bring together students, teachers, administration, and external partners.

The results obtained during the study can be used to update the content of work education programs, prepare and conduct extracurricular educational activities and events, develop additional professional programs for professional retraining, and advance the training of specialists in youth policy.

The issues of a deeper study of the influence of the event approach on the development of students' personalities, the study of psychological and sociological aspects of their participation in events organized by the university, and the formation of values, worldview, and citizenship are seen as areas for further study of the problem considered in the study. Also of interest are the possibilities of optimizing the event management processes (planning, organization, and control), creating effective feedback mechanisms monitoring the success of events, and assessing the impact of the event approach on the university's interaction with external partners.

Conclusion

The rapidly changing demands of modern society on the professional competencies and qualities of teachers pose the task of higher education institutions to create practical training and education programs for specialists. In this context, the event approach is an innovative methodological concept based on experience, reflection, and socio-cultural analysis. One of the key characteristics of the event-based approach is its focus on students acquiring specific experiences that mimic real professional situations. A distinctive feature in this case is the emphasis on the action and independent activity of the trainees. This allows you to develop not only knowledge and skills but also to form professional competencies such as communication literacy, teamwork, critical thinking, and a creative approach to problem-solving. The event-based approach contributes to the development of the professionalism of future teachers and the formation of their readiness for difficult situations they may encounter in their professional activities. This approach is becoming more and more relevant and in demand in the organization of educational activities and the implementation of the university's youth policy.