Social and Pedagogical Department (founded in 1960) is one of the biggest departments at Berdyansk State Pedagogical University in terms of the quantity of students and variety of specialties. It has been training specialists for more than 45 years.About 1,500 students study at daytime and correspondence departments. Education for 55% of students at the daytime department is free of charge.The conception of the department activity is harmonious combination of the national higher school traditions with the new technologies of international education. The main aim of the department activity is a student's formation as a critical thinking subject of the pedagogical process, a highly qualified specialist for native and foreign labour market.

The Main Directions of the Department activity are integration to the united European educational space; organization of the educational and upbringing process on the basis of Bologna Convention ideas; carrying out of fundamental and applied researches on urgent pedagogical and physiological problems; revival of national Ukrainian language, culture and traditions, the development of students' national selfconsciocesness; cooperation with departments and chairs of Universities in Ukraine and abroad.

The educational process is provided by three specialized chairs: the chair of Social Pedagogics, the Speech Therapeutics Chair, the Chair of Preschool Education. 65% of members of these chairs have scientific degrees.

The main aim of chairs is training of a new generation of teachers who have a high level of professional competence, spiritual culture, pedagogical creative activity and human values.

The chairs of the department are methodic centers. Their main task is providing a qualified assistance to the local educational establishments in solving urgent pedagogical problems. The main principle of providing of the educational process at the department is orientation to up-to-date demands.

We offer the best achievements of higher school to our students: European norms and standards, interactive methods and forms of teaching, up-to-date educational technologies and literature.

Our department has a lot of traditions: students initiation, fist year students' debut, celebration of "St. Valentine's Day", contest "Anthem to My Profession", "Pedagogical Proficiency Contest", participations in volunteer movement, exhibitions of students' art works etc.

Days of Students Science are interesting and creative. Our students do interesting research work in scientific societies. The results of their achievements are represented in scientific articles of our University and All-Ukrainian subject olimpiads.