FORMATION OF SOFT SKILLS IN PRESCHOOL AND PRIMARY SCHOOL AGE - AN IMPORTANT FACTOR FOR SUCCESS IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD
Authors: Dimitrova Krasimira 
Published: August 2019

In today's globalizing world, more and more people claim that academic knowledge is not sufficient for the success of the individual in life. Definitions of so-called hard and soft skills have been formulated.The article discusses the main accents related to the so-called soft skills and the opportunities for development of children from pre-school and primary school age.The term "soft skills" (soft skills) is used in pedagogical theory and practice and the term context competencies. They are part of the key competences for human success at every stage of his development. Soft skills include: communication, tolerance, reassurance, mutual assistance, empathy, teamwork, leadership, negotiation, decision-making, creativity, etc. Important factors for their formation from the earliest age are the family and educational institutions, which are an essential part of the child's life.Soft skills are defined as a combination of social skills, communicative skills, character, attitude, career features, emotional intelligence, etc. They can help people to orientate in the environment, to work well with others, to achieve their goals. They are complementary to other skills such as technical, professional, academic, called "hard skills".Pedagogical literature and practice seek appropriate technologies to describe the ways in which soft skills complement the so-called "hard skills" that are technological requirements for a particular activity the student is trained to perform. Soft skills are largely leading in shaping the personality of the individual. Of particular importance for the future realization of the growing generation is that besides the academic and technical skills, key social skills are also formed.The role of soft skills is increasingly appreciated by the increasing need for individual competitiveness and the globalization of the modern world. Having a number of social qualities always has the advantage of having the same academic knowledge or technical skills.The environment in which the modern generation is growing and developing is dynamic. Children are surrounded by a huge amount of information that reaches them through different channels and regardless of their desires. Their life skills are essential when the movies they watch have unrealistic ideas and the messages and challenges of social networks and peers are attractive and accessible. Children need to be prepared to deal with the "traps" of life, to have critical thinking, to master their emotions and their relationships with others, to be able to express their ideas and defend their position with arguments.In support of the lessons learned of the need to develop “soft” skills from an early age, it is imperative that UNICEF suggests that schools introduce a module of ten important skills that children can form. These include life skills such as self-awareness, decision-making, problem solving, creative thinking, critical thinking, empathy, dealing with emotions and stress; as well as soft skills such as communicative and interpersonal skills.Unfortunately, the trend that is observed is that schools primarily focus on academic knowledge. This is due to the fact that an important factor achieved success in different types of assessments. The lack of a social educational element leads to a number of problems in adolescents - aggression, associalization, lack of communication skills, etc.