DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS' SOCIAL COMPETENCES: A STUDY OF UNIVERSITY ENTREES' EXPECTATIONS TOWARDS A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

The present-day social trends, phenomena and experiences, i.e. technological expansion, widely assessable educational systems or the inevitability of lifelong learning imply that education remains a necessity and its role in the future is likely to increase even further. Despite various complaints about the deepening degree devaluation or lifetime employment coming under pressure due to changing markets, there seems to be no perceived shortfall in students' aspirations for acquiring degrees worldwide. Also, in Poland higher educational institutions appear to do well conversely to a drastic decline in the numbers of the young people's generation. As recent estimations indicate, many young Poles have started their higher education or intend to enter universities, and their numbers are the highest in the OECD countries. Also, the Central Statistical Office in Poland (GUS) reports confirm that the percentage of those with higher education degrees has reached its new peak in the present decade. The dissemination of higher education is undoubtedly a positive phenomenon as it is directly linked to improving one's social position. As various analyses show, education is still associated with better well-being, including life expectancy, better standards of living or professional prospects. Also, young peoples' plans and choices may testify to the attractiveness of entering colleges and universities. The view is shared by all socio-demographic groups in Poland as the desire to develop their competencies seem to be evenly spaced in the Polish society. Likewise, groups from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds inhibiting small towns or rural areas share the global aspirations concerning education and the numbers of the present, and prospective students remain high. The following article attempts to analyse the expectations of one such group entering the first and second cycle courses in PSW in Biala Podlaska, Poland, concerning possibilities of transition into the labour market or acquiring practical skills. It analyses the economic income in their households as well as other socioeconomic aspects such as the number of persons in the family, including those employed. The study sample involved 574 first-year entrees, out of all 975 enrolled students as of October 2017. Its findings are based on questionnaire no. 33, which is part of The PSW Internal System for Ensuring the Quality of Education assessment tools. To do the computation, programme Statistica 10 was applied, whereas to determine statistically significant relationships between the variables we used the Chi-square test. The study attempts to determine how different social competencies acquired while studying impact on students' personal development. Further, it assesses whether the diversification of the university's educational offer meets the expectations of the first-year students. As a result of the conducted analyses, it has been found that there is a statistical dependence between the indicated variables, especially regarding the ERASMUS+ programme. The key competence affecting students' development turned out to be the ability to use the knowledge acquired in practicum, i.e. practical training.