Theory and Practice of Socialisation of a Foreign Student as an Individual Using the Video Component of Media Education (The Case of Higher Education Institutions in the US and Germany)

Abstract

The article considers the issue of the socialisation of foreign students and the use of the video component of media education during this process. The article argues that socialisation in a new social and cultural environment is essential in order to effectively build interpersonal academic and social relationships. To this end, the purpose of the study is to analyse the practical use of the video component of media education in higher education institutions of the US and Germany in the process of the socialisation of foreign students as a necessary condition for social and academic activities. To achieve this purpose, a number of research methods were applied, including analysis (categorising the process of socialisation into aspects), synthesis (for a holistic view of the systemic nature of socialisation), axiomatic (identifying provisions that do not require a proof), deduction (contributed to the development of sequences for the process of using the video component of media education), induction (aimed at the transformation of the designated sequences into systematic socialisation). The article considers the role of socialisation for a foreign student as an individual, which includes the formation and development of skills required for academic and social interpersonal interactions, including secondary socialisation skills, which allows transforming the combination of primary and secondary socialisation skills into practical activity in a new society. The practice of using the video component of media education at universities of the US and Germany is studied. The article has found that the presentation of video content should be accompanied by the subsequent discussion that provides clarification of social and cultural and interpersonal aspects. The video content is focused on three directions: general (the purpose of which is a superficial discussion and creation of a positive intra-group environment), professional (includes discussions on any issues visualised in the video content) and informational (allowing for the primary involvement of a foreign student in the academic and, less often, social issues of a host country). The results obtained through analysing the higher education institutions selected for the study suggest that there are similar approaches regarding the practice of using the video component of media education in the socialisation of foreign students, which is expressed in the focus of the presented content on social and cultural and interpersonal situations as well as and the development of linguistic skills. However, the informational direction of the video component in educational institutions of Germany (among the studied universities) should be noted.