Karkach A. Formation of Digital Competencies in Participants of the University of the Third Age at the Territorial Center for Social Services.

The object of the research is the digital competences of the elderly as a prerequisite for overcoming digital inequality and a component of digital resocialization. The purpose of the study is to theoretically substantiate and experimentally investigate the specifics of the formation of digital competences of the elderly in the conditions of the university of the third age of the territorial social service center. To achieve the goal, the fulfillment of research tasks was used a set of methods within the interpretative paradigm of research in social work: – theoretical: systematic analysis of the data of the source base to determine the state of development of the problem, interpretation of the obtained results; – formative influence: implementation of the developed digital competence formation program; – empirical: included observation of the program implementation process, content analysis of educational materials, questionnaire survey (university students of the third age; social workers involved in the development of digital competences of the elderly). The choice of methods was determined by the specificity of "research in action", which involves gradual modernization of the program based on feedback from participants in the intervention implementation process. Descriptive methods were used to process quantitative data statistics and mathematical analysis. Processing was carried out on a personal computer using MS Excel for Windows application packages. Theoretical and practical significance of research results. In the study, for the first time in domestic social work, the phenomenon of digital competences of the elderly is thoroughly described, taking into account the structure of these competences, the levels of their formation and the consumption of digital services by the elderly; the development of digital literacy and the readiness of social workers to teach elderly listeners digital competences were discussed; developed and tested a model of the digital competence formation program for universities of the third age on the basis of the territorial center of social services. The scientific novelty of the obtained results lies in the fact that for the first time an experimental program was developed and tested, aimed at the formation of digital competences of the elderly in the conditions of the university of the third age of the territorial center of social services, which takes into account the specifics of modern geronto-educational technologies, cooperation between social workers-geragogues and those who acquires digital competences and capabilities of the Moodle digital platform. The results of the study prove that digital technologies are becoming an important tool for older people, supporting activity, social connections and access to information and services, indicating readiness to adapt and develop competencies in the digital space. The obtained results can be used: in research activities: for further scientific development of the problem of forming digital competences of the elderly and social workers; in the educational process of institutions of higher education and universities of the third age.