Object: The study object: the process of the formation of gender competence of the foster parents of the family-type children’s homes. The purpose contributes to the definition, scientific study and experimental verification of the effectiveness of socio-pedagogical conditions for the formation of gender competence of the foster parents of the family-type children’s homes in the process of social support.
Methodological approaches: system, personal, active, gender, competence. Methods: analysis, synthesis, classification of comparison, deduction, induction, generalization and systematization, empirical – inquests (questionnaire, testing, interviewing), method of self-assessment, conversations, expert assessments, pedagogical observation and socio-pedagogical diagnostics, pedagogical experiment (consultative, formative and control stages), methods of mathematical statistics (Pearson's chi-square test).
The results of the theoretical study of the formation of gender competence of the foster parents of the family-type children’s homes and general scientific methodological approaches have become the basis for the authorial formulation of the definition of “gender competence of foster parents of the family-type children’s homes” – the integrative personal characteristics of parents as educators, which are based on: their motivational value-based approach in education, the introduction of the idea of gender equality; the personal qualities that are necessary for the implementation of the educational process in the family-type children’s homes according to the principles of gender equality; the availability of knowledge about the content and means of gender approach to education; the skills and abilities of effective use of gender knowledge in the educational process in the conditions of the family-type children’s homes; the ability to self-esteem, self-reflection and self-actualization of one’s own gender roles and educational interactions, the desire for development and self-education on gender theory and practice. The theoretical analysis of scientific literature and modern legislation in the field of social policy allows to characterize the social support of the foster parents of the family-type children’s homes as a part of social support of the family-type children’s homes, which involves the activities of a specialist (or a group of social workers) of the centre of social services for family, children and youth or the united territorial communities to provide social support to the foster parents by organizing and conducting a set of socio-pedagogical, socio-economic, psychological, informational, legal measures, aimed at helping to create optimal conditions for the functioning of the family-type children’s homes.
The scientific novelty of the study involves:
- for the first time ever, the socio-pedagogical conditions of the formation of gender competence of the foster parents of the family-type children’s homes in the process of social support are determined, theoretically substantiated and experimentally-verified (the actualization of motivation of the foster parents of the family-type children’s homes to acquire basic gender knowledge in the process of social support; the enriching of the content of social support of the foster parents of the family-type children’s homes by a gender component with a focus on gaining positive experience in solving educational problems of the gender context; the use of modern interactive technologies for the formation of gender competence of the foster parents of the family-type children’s homes in the process of social support); the meanings of the concepts “gender competence of the foster parents of the family-type children’s homes,” “social support of the foster parents of the family-type children’s homes” are determined;
- the conceptual and categorical framework is specified, in particular theoretical provisions concerning the meaning of the concept of “gender competence of the foster parents of the family-type children’s homes”, the structure of gender competence of the foster parents of the family-type children’s homes (motivational and value-based, personal, cognitive, pragmatist and reflexive components), the criteria, the indicators and the levels of its formation; the meaning of the concept of “social support of the foster parents of the family-type children’s homes”.
There is a further development of socio-pedagogical tools for the diagnostics of the levels of gender competence of the foster parents of the family-type children’s homes; the content and the technological support of the process of social support of the foster parents of the family-type children’s homes in the context of the formation of gender competence.
