SOCIO-EMOTIONAL LEARNING AS AN ESSENTIAL MECHANISM OF DEVELOPING SOFT SKILLS IN STUDENTS: MODERN CHALLENGES AND UKRAINIAN EXPERIENCE

The paper presents the findings of a study conducted to authenticate the need and feasibility of introducing socio-emotional learning (SEL) and its revisited and enhanced version – Social, Emotional and Ethical Learning (SEE Learning) – into the Ukrainian education system as an effective method for developing soft (social and emotional) skills in students in times of new challenges for child education and whilst implementing a competency-based approach in education, as well as highlighting the experience of promoting such an approach by the civic sector of Ukraine.The paper considers the emergence of the «soft skills» concept in the mainstream of embodying the ideas of human well-being and happy life as the ultimate goal of education against the backdrop of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR); next, it justifies the importance of SEL and SEE Learning as methods of soft skills development in students. In the context of the New Ukrainian School reform, these practices have been established to serve as a tool for developing soft skills, with educators as the key figures for its successful implementation.The article analyzes the level of educators' awareness and their readiness to implement SEL based on the sociological study «Socio-Emotional Learning in Ukraine: Today Life and Prospects», which was conducted in 2021 with 3,657 respondents (including 3,237 teachers and 420 heads of educational institutions) with Public Organization «EdCamp Ukraine» and the paper author among the research team. The survey established a great demand for developing socio-emotional skills and relevant training among teachers.The paper further reveals the importance of discussing SEL topics as a basis for the systemic restructuring of the entire educational process, including teacher training and professional development in terms of implementing the concept of the New Ukrainian School. It summarizes various programs that implement socio-emotional learning on the local level in Ukraine and demonstrates the prospects and added value of the SEE learning program in Ukraine.Finally, the article analyzes the experience of implementing the SEE Learning program on a national scope by EdCamp Ukraine and outlines the prospects for actualizing SEE Learning in Ukraine during the full-scale russian military aggression of and the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine