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Section 5. Pedagogy
Fedorenko Svitlana Viktorivna, National Technical University of Ukraine ".Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”, Associate Professor, E-mail: [email protected]
Liberal Arts Education in the instructional setting of higher school
Abstract: Liberal Arts as an element of moral and cultural development of students are highlighted in the article. The conceptual-theoretical model of Liberal Arts Education in higher school is considered.
Keywords: humanism, Liberal Arts Education, higher school.
Nowadays the most effective direction of humanization of education is the capacity of Liberal Arts in higher school. Implementation of this direction provides correlation between culture and civilization as well as didactic software for all students, which is characterized by increased cognitive interest, focus, stability and dynamics of motivation, intellectual and personal activity in all spheres of life.
A. Whitehead, famous philosopher and educator, defined the task of higher education as “the creation of the future” in and through culture. He argues that culture is an activity of thought, and receptiveness to beauty and humane feeling. Liberal Arts Education provides a broad education focusing on critical and creative thinking, developing the personality for productive professional activity, citizenship in the community and life in all its manifestations [2].
In its turn, Liberal Arts Education is founded on the ideas of humanism, which, according to R. Brockett “provides a way of looking at the instructional design process that emphasizes the strengths the learner brings to the instructional setting. It is an optimistic perspective that celebrates the potential of learners to successfully engage in the instructional process” [1, 245].
The “Liberal Arts” is a traditional collective name in the US higher school curriculum embracing natural sciences, sociocultural courses, and humanities taught by all the students in the course of the 2-year study irrespective of their professional choice. Liberal Arts are of great intellectual importance, and an element of culture and enlightenment for moral and cultural (self)development of students. It is really useful training that yields a comprehension of general principles with a thorough grounding of the world perception.
Contents of Liberal Arts Education have been aimed at meeting intrinsic human needs, that is, the needs of their existence, personal existence: freedom and free choice of their views on the world, actions, behavior, attitudes, selfreliance and self-determination, creativity and more. To find yourself, individuals need to choose and build their own world of values, enter the world of knowledge, master creative ways of solving different problems, open the world of their own “I” and learn to manage it.
As it is observed above, up-to-day Liberal Arts relate not only to the humanities, but also to natural cycle. In accordance with this principle, it is necessary to ensure that the students feel small part of a diverse and at the same
time coherent world, as if a party occurring sociocultural processes in the world.
Russian scholar T. Yelkanova dwells on the conceptual-theoretical model of Liberal Arts Education in higher school. She argues that the model such main components as [3]:
• Ethical axiological component for identifying and full use of the potential of ethical and humanistic educational environment and stimulating the activity of subjects of educational process of assigning humanistic values to accumulate valuable experience of self-promoting harmonious integration of the individual in the context of sociocultural environment. It contributes to the self-actualization of students, shapes the ability to perform socially approvable patterns of behavior in dynamic, vitally important situations. Ethical axiological component is aimed at internalization of the values to discharge potential of urgent personal values rational intellectual and practical activity of reproductive and productive character.
• Component of historical amplification is aimed at inculcating a sense of responsibility towards the traditions, historical memory and the present, the future of civilization; at the unity of tradition and innovation as the most important conditions for the conservation of human civilization. In general, it involves consideration of problems, objects, phenomena and processes in their origin, formation and development, understanding the specifics of the relevant historical situations, the general laws of history and uniqueness of the circumstances. The component in question contributes to a better understanding of the internal dynamics of contemporary sociocultural processes and phenomena; helps determine the level of their development predicting possible directions of their historical evolution and selection of options on the basis of the aims and values of the specific historical period.
• Philosophical and methodological component for comprehensive analysis of the philosophical content of the various theoretical positions, ways of harmonization of conceptual structures with physical reality. Modern civilization is characterized by a new type of socio-cultural education, the main aim of which is to master methods of world cognition, so the purpose of training is not only getting the result itself, but primarily total mastery of the activity, its means. It causes the need to form methodological culture, including methods of cognitive, professional, communicative and axiological activities.
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Liberal Arts Education in the instructional setting of higher school
• Component of gnostic interaction deals with the different ways in relation to the ontological knowledge of the world, forming a coherent structure of categorical apparatus of thinking of the future specialist, allowing to comprehend theoretically the system “man — the world” at different levels of its operation. To some extent it provides the formation ofintegral system ofpersonal values and meanings, contributing to the development of adaptive personality traits in terms of dynamic sociocultural transformation.
• Component of integrative application of knowledge which identifies and investigates the sociocultural correlations between phenomena and processes forming the different areas of knowledge and culture. It contributes to the formation and development of systematic thinking skills on the basis of knowledge from different areas in the activities related to all spheres of human life to see and solve common problems encountered on the intersection of different areas.
• Sensitive-reflective component implies that any knowledge must be acquired by a student as the knowledge obtained in the battle of ideas, passions, hopes, beliefs, desires and ideals. It promotes further development of emotionalmotivational sphere of students, their systems of values based on the relationship that exists between knowledge and experience. This component triggers the formation of axiological and aesthetic regulators of all students’ activities.
• Component of ecological activation is based on ecointegrative approach to the study of universal interconnection and aimed at the formation of eco-axiological approach to future professional and civic activities on the concept of co-evolution of nature and society. It involves systematic and interrelated disclosure of global, regional and local environmental aspects in educational curricular and extracurricular activities of students. This component contributes to more efficient formation of ecological consciousness of students and the development of their fundamental value orientations of ecological character, principles and norms of relationship to natural resources as national domain.
• Anthropological prognostic component takes into account the humanistic paradigm in education which suggests that human knowledge in the learning process not only the laws of nature and society, but also knowledge from the anthropological, human position, knowledge of the their human nature, its essence and its current status, its psychology and laws of their personality development, cognitive relations between the goals and means of human communication in a variety of its forms.
• Component of information analysis is based on the peculiarities of personal creative development in the constant, dynamic informational torrent providing for the skills
of processing and evaluating data of different types, the ability to analyze and interpret different perspectives. It provides students with the general system-oriented methods to dynamically alter the flow of information, algorithms of search and analytic-synthetic processing, extraction and evaluation of information, converting the information found into their personal knowledge system.
• Component of creative development is manifested in the creation of conditions for creative self-expression in a variety of activities, academic as well as extracurricular ones. It aims at personal development of will-be professionals who will not wait for the directions and instructions and enter into an independent social life and professional activities with the established creative constructive and spiritual personal potential.
• Student-centered component is based on the principles of humanism and provides creating the conditions for a more complete manifestation of students’ abilities in different forms of activities organized in accordance with their values orientations and interests. It is aimed at their creative self-expression and self-realization as well as development of their capabilities of adapting to the rapidly changing conditions of modern society.
• Component of cultural infusion reflects the humanistic ideas within any national culture and aimed at formation of the individual ready for active creative activity in contemporary multicultural environment, preserving their socio-cultural identity, seeking to understand other cultures, respecting other cultural and ethnic communities. It is based on the principles of cultural identity and integration into the world community.
• Component of psychological adaption for mastering methods of psychological self as an active management of psychological states and reactions, methods of cultivating personal regulation mechanisms in accordance with the situation, which can ensure the effectiveness of psychological and social adaptation as well.
In conclusion, it should be observed that the organization of educational process in higher school with the emphasis on Liberal Arts Education in the course of the first two years of study contributes to students’ personal development, which involves the formation of the mechanisms of self-education through the fulfilment of their basic needs in: a psychologically comfortable interpersonal relationships and social status; in realization of their creative potential; in personal cognitive strategies. Liberal Arts Education is focused on the individual as a unique integrated creative personality that seeks to realize their potential and is open to a new perception of experience, able to maintain an informed and responsible choice in a variety of socio-cultural situations.
References:
1. Brockett R. G. Humanism as an instructional paradigm, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications, - 1997.
2. Whitehead A. H. The Aims of Education and Other Essays, - New York, - 1929.
3. Yelkanova T. M. Basis for humanities education: structure and contents, - European Social Science Journal, - Volume 3 (41), - 2014.
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