PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS’ READINESS TO PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN’S SOCIALIZING IN THE FIELD OF “SOCIAL STUDIES” (THEORETICAL ASPECT)

The theoretical aspects of the prospective teachers' readiness to young learners' socializing in the field of "Social Studies" are studied in the article. The role of the phenomenon of future specialists' sociocultural competence in forming primary school children's sociocultural experience is determined. Prospective teachers' readiness for mastering sociocultural competence and its reasonable implementation within the subject "I am in the world" is presented as a pedagogical component of their professional readiness. The aim of the article is to determine the role and to get aware of the features of primary school teachers' socio-cultural competence as a condition of their readiness to form primary school children's social and cultural experience. The essence of the concepts of “professional competence”, “sociocultural competence”, “primary school teachers' sociocultural competence”, “the teacher's readiness for primary school children's socializing”. Emphasis is made on the ambiguity of understanding the concepts of “sociocultural competency” and “sociocultural competence”. It is established that all components of sociocultural competence are interconnected through the concepts of cultural and social contexts; definitions of these terms are presented. The authors consider the primary school teachers' sociocultural competence as a person's integral quality that is characterized by the set of professionally oriented knowledge, metasubject skills, ways of activity, experience, and values that determine teachers' ability to personal and professional self-regulation; successful meeting the individual and social needs; fulfillment of important social tasks which promote primary schoolchildren's personal self-development under specific cultural and historical conditions. The idea of necessity of purposeful developing sociocultural competence in the context of forming a holistic socially mature personality is proved. The prospective teachers' readiness to young learners' socializing in the field of “Social Studies” is conditioned by organizing optimal educational environment aimed at forming future teachers' sociocultural competence and focusing educational activities on forming primary school children's social and cultural experience.