Научная статья на тему 'Lifelong education of teachers of the humanities – the way to professional competence and quality of modern education'

Lifelong education of teachers of the humanities – the way to professional competence and quality of modern education Текст научной статьи по специальности «Науки об образовании»

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Текст научной работы на тему «Lifelong education of teachers of the humanities – the way to professional competence and quality of modern education»

LIFELONG EDUCATION OF TEACHERS OF THE HUMANITIES -THE WAY TO PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE AND QUALITY OF MODERN EDUCATION

N. V. Otrokh

The notion of “continuing education” appeared in the early 1980s to meet the requirements of the labor market. At that time a person was considered to be an “economic creature”, and education was viewed as investments into human capital. Thus, the value of education was decreasing, because it was concentrated on human resources as capital, and on economic qualities as the most needed investments. The notion of “education during one’s lifetime” appeared in the 1970s, and initially it had humanistic traditions. All people were considered to be people capable of receiving education, developing their potential capabilities at any age. From this point of view, this is an integrating concept, which tells about the age-related continuity of education. In the western countries two notions are used to express the meaning of education during one’s lifetime, i.e. “continuing education” and “lifelong education”, and in recent time the latter notion has become more preferred. The notion “lifelong education” has become traditional for teachers. This is explained by the fact that under the current conditions, modernization of education increases the level of requirements for professional preparation of the pedagogical staff.

According to the description by V. Oleinik, upgrading pedagogical qualifications is a process and the result of education of pedagogical staff, the main purpose of which is to satisfy the needs of society for highly-qualified staff with a high level of professionalism and culture capable of performing their tasks with a creative approach and in a responsible manner [3]. The system of upgrade of qualifications, as a type of the educational systems, is understood by V. Oleinik as a system of social type, which is a part of postgraduate studies, the main purpose of which is to create the best conditions for fulfillment of the order of the society with regard to the level and quality (professionalism, culture, capabilities) of preparation of highly-qualified staff.

In Ukraine, courses for upgrading qualifications exist at the leading higher educational institutions of the country, however, nowadays they don’t fully meet the needs and requests of today’s pedagogical staff. Among the defects we can mention the following: (a) a mismatch between the topics of the suggested courses and the professional requirements and interests of a teacher; (b) insufficient focus at solving practical tasks; (c) large intervals between lessons during the period between the courses; (d) study of materials that the students already know; (c) lack of understanding of the need for individual work and self-improvement. That is why the following tasks shall become priority number one for the system of postgraduate studies of teachers in our country: (a) creating optimal conditions for fulfillment of one of the basic principles of postgraduate studies - continuity of education during the whole period of pedagogical activities, one’s whole life; (b) development of motivation of the pedagogical staff towards an independent choice

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of the forms and content of upgrading their qualifications during the whole period in between the appraisals; (c) the diversity of conditions for taking into account the individual needs of the pedagogical staff in accordance with their professional preferences and level of professional preparation by means of implementation of a system of special courses; (d) renewal of curriculums of postgraduate courses in the field of “Higher school pedagogy” in the humanities of the Institute of Retraining and Upgrading Qualifications at the National Pedagogical university named after

M.P. Dragomanov [2]. The courses of upgrading qualifications are organized as fixed-site courses or as distance courses. After finishing the course, teachers undergo the initial professional testing, and a scientific and practical conference takes place where the teachers defend their final creative works.

At the modern stage of the higher school development, management competences are among the most important professional competences of a teacher. That is why such sections as “Regulatory and legal framework for activity of higher institutions”, “Basics of document management”, “Management in the activity of teachers”, etc. were included in the program of courses for upgrading qualifications in the field of “Higher school pedagogy” in the humanities. The program of the advanced training courses includes such topics as the specific character of work of teachers with gifted young people. Curriculums of the courses include such a topic as “Innovative pedagogical techniques of the higher school”. As it pertains to the pedagogical processes, this innovation means introduction of new things into purposes, content, methods and forms of training and education, into organization of mutual activities of teachers and students. Taking into account the variety of the innovative techniques of education( dialogue, computers, problem-solving, modules, etc.), teachers choose one of the proposed areas for preparation of a creative work.

Thus, the success of development of the professional competence of a teacher is considerably determined by the innovative character of his/her pedagogical activities, the level of involvement of a teacher in the process of creation, study and use of pedagogical innovations, the ability to find one’s place in the modern educational environment, knowledge of the methodology of scientific research, and a basic level of management skills and abilities.

References

1. Маслов В. И. Теория и методика организации непрерывного повышения квалификации руководителей школ: учеб. пособие. - К.: МНО УССР, 1990. - 259 с.

2. Навчально-методичний комплекс курав пщвищення квал1фкаци науково-педагопчних пра^вниив i3 напряму «Педагопка вищоТ школи» (гуманитарного профтю) / укладачк Н. М. Дем’яненко, Г. О. Нестеренко, I. М. Кравченко, В. О. Смкал; вщп. ред. Г.О. Нестеренко. - К.: Вид-во НПУ iменi М.П.Драгоманова, 2012. - 64 с.

3. Олшник В.В. Дистанцшне навчання в пюлядипломнш педагопчнш освт: оргажзацшно-педагопчний аспект: Навч. поабник. - К.: Ц1ППО, 2001. - 148 с.

Translated from Russian by Znanije Central Translations Bureau.

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