Development of research capacity of a future social pedagogue in the face of digital technologies

The aim of this article is to theoretically and practically justify the development of a future social pedagogue’s research capacity in the context of digital technologies. Practical implementation of a model for building social pedagogues’ research capacity within the framework of an online educational course can provide effective training of pedagogues in a digitalized educational environment and ensure a high level of pedagogical excellence. Approbation of the model was carried out on bachelor students majoring in Social Pedagogy and Self-Knowledge and taking an online Scientific Research Organization and Planning course in the Pavlodar Pedagogical University (Kazakhstan). The course was held from September to December 2020 on the Moodle learning platform, one of the most popular for the purposes of e-learning. The communication part of the course was supported by the social networking features of Facebook. In total, the educational experiment encompassed 52 students. Their thorough examination enabled the conclusion that research capacity brings proficient results in creative, innovative, communication, leadership, pedagogical, and digital activities, and thus remains an important component of pedagogical excellence. Thus, it can be stated that the integration of digital tools and platforms, along with the creation of multimedia learning content and the introduction of research methods and structured research practice into the students’ education, allows for an effective research learning practice. The results of the students’ end-of-course survey identified factors that had a significant influence on the effectiveness of research activities in online learning, namely the quality of the digital platform, structured research practice, active learning opportunities, pedagogical excellence, effective communication, and personalization.