Generation Z: social and psychological characteristics and their consideration in the management of the educational process and labour activity

Abstract

The youth, which the authors of the generation theory called "Generation Z", today studies at universities and actively enters the labor market. Representatives of this generation are significantly different from the previous ones due to the combination of a number of factors influencing their life and development. Rapid technical innovations, in the vortex of which these young people found themselves from the very birth, global crises and upheavals, Russian invasion, rapid changes in the educational process and labor communication determined the formation of a radically different personality type of those representing Generation Z. This youth is already changing the ordinary social paradigms, forming new requests, demanding new rules of the game in education and work. Ignoring its features and positions reduces the effectiveness of the educational process and labor activity, and lowers the motivation of young people. Misunderstanding of its worldview, values ​​and aspirations leads to conflict between generations in the process of study and work. Therefore, there is an obvious need to identify the main factors influencing the consciousness of this cohort of young people, clarify its social and psychological characteristics and take them into account in the organization and management of the educational process and labour activities.

Specialists in various fields relatively recently began to actively research the features of the representatives of Generation Z. For several years, international sociological agencies have conducted a number of studies to identify the features of the worldview and values, expectations and motivation, features of the segmentation of the new generation of youth. Ukrainian scientists analyzed a number of features of the representatives of Generation Z in Ukraine, revealed the main consequences of the impact of the war on our youth. Now an important task is systematization of the results of these studies and the development of recommendations for taking the main characteristics of modern youth in the organization of education and work into account and the management of these processes.

The article examines the main factors influencing the formation of modern youth, its vision of effective education and work. The main characteristics of the representatives of Generation Z, who are currently pursuing higher education, have been identified. Recommendations for changes in the process of education and work while taking the characteristics of representatives of Generation Z into account, are formulated .