The Establishment of the System of Foreign Students’ Social and Pedagogical Support in the United States of America (1911-1920)

Abstract

The study analyses the historical basis of the system of social and pedagogical support of foreign students in the United States. The relevance of the study lies in the importance of modernisation and the regular improvement of adaptive preparatory programmes in the linguistic, psychological, and sociocultural areas. However, this requires the use of the experience of countries with the biggest practice of working with foreign students, namely the United States. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to analyse the organisational structure of the system of social and pedagogical support of foreign students in higher education institutions in the United States at the initial historical stage. The methods of analysis, synthesis, and generalisation were used during the research. Also, for a more effective study of social and pedagogical and infrastructural development of the adaptive training system of foreign students, a method of chronological coordinates was developed. The stage from which it is necessary to begin the study of the history of the system of foreign student support is highlighted, namely the period of 1911-1920, marked as organisational and constitutive. It is revealed that the stage is characterised by the emergence of the primary foundations of the counselling centre for the support of foreign students; the creation of the first structured national associations of foreign students and the adoption of fundamental legislative initiatives that provided the development of the support system. It is substantiated that the process of structuring the support system in the United States should be considered after 1919 (defined by the author as a period of diachronic- synchronous unity) when the Institute of International Education was established. The practical significance of the study lies in the first systematisation of historical material and its presentation as an organisational and constitutive stage. The presented results of the research can be practically applied in the process of preparation of lecture material on the history of social work in the USA and the world; in the framework of public and non-profit organisations