Aspects of fostering social educators’ communicative competence: students’ opinions (using an interactive discussion club as an example)

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main factors in fostering social educators’ communicative competence by using an interactive discussion club in the teaching process as an example. To participate in the study, 198 students majoring in Social Work were chosen. The students’ ages ranged from 18 to 42 years old in order to collect as many different opinions from the participants as possible based on their age group and to ensure that the sample is as consistent as possible. The authors used a survey interview with participants based on a questionnaire they created. The study was conducted in the context of a social work degree communication unit in which online discussions were frequently used. The survey found that educators with high communicative awareness also tend to have the following qualities: the ability to assume and play different social roles (15%); the ability to adapt to the collectives of society and situations within them (15%); the ability to master verbal and non-verbal means of communication (15%); the ability to organise and manage the interpersonal space during communication with people (20%); the understanding of value orientations and needs (15%), and the knowledge of public relations methodology (20%). Future research on this topic may aid in comprehending the relationship between students and social educators, Internet technology, and online education. A more in-depth investigation and testing of some improvements to find new variables influencing interactions between teachers and students are planned for the future.