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14MODERN EDUCATION AND ITS QUALITY: DEVELOPMENT
TRENDS
Djavakova Karine
Head of the Department of "State and Legal Disciplines and Human Rights" of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Doctor of Philosophy, Professor
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7698862
Abstract. The article reveals the essence of general trends in the development of higher education in world practice, analyzes foreign experience in the use of digital technologies in education, emphasizes the importance of the balance of fundamental and applied sciences, education and science, theory and practice, their equivalent partnership, contributing to the successful development of science, education and technology.
The article considers the rapid changes in the country's educational system aimed at the comprehensive development of the sphere, improving the quality of education and training qualified personnel in Uzbekistan.
Keywords: education, science, enlightenment, higher education, high-quality and comprehensive education, distance learning, training of qualified personnel.
In modern conditions, when Uzbekistan has set itself the goal of joining a number of developed countries, achieving this goal in the process of reforming society is possible only by relying on science, education and innovation. At the same time, it is clear that in order to solve the task, such personnel of a new formation are needed who would have a strategic vision, deep knowledge and high qualifications. That is why one of the priority tasks in Uzbekistan today is the upbringing of a harmoniously developed young generation and ensuring its high-quality, comprehensive education. That is why the country is reforming all levels of education - from preschool to higher education. It's no secret that the great thinkers of the East also said: "The greatest wealth is intelligence and science, the greatest inheritance is good upbringing, the greatest poverty is lack of knowledge."
If we turn to world practice, we will see that the general trends in the development of higher education today are - fundamentalization, pragmatization, computerization, individualization, humanization, standardization. At the same time, individual educational programs, external studies, distance learning are actually becoming a modern educational reality, where the production, storage, transmission and consumption of information take place with the help of computer and Internet technologies.
It is important to emphasize that the foreign experience of using digital technologies in education, the widespread use of distance learning is very rich and appeared back in the 70s of the twentieth century. Already at this time, open universities with distance learning appeared in Europe, for example, in Spain - Universidad de Education a Distancia, an Open business school in the UK, etc. Distance learning technologies were very actively distributed in Japan, Canada and the USA. For example, in 1996, the open University offered 300 courses in 18 US states.
According to UNESCO, Australia can be considered the most advanced country for the introduction of distance learning and digital technologies, Chile and China have the best experience of a centralized distance learning system [1]. Back in 1993, Canada offered School Net, a single educational network for 16,500 schools with access to all libraries in the country, as
well as the Internet. The ability to access valuable information resources of such centralized distance learning systems was immediately appreciated. They turned out to be especially important for regions remote from the centers of learning. The addition of distance learning technologies to both full-time and part-time education turned out to be effective, there was an opportunity for people "over 30" to receive education on the job. Distance learning has covered not only universities, but also schools and colleges, allowing you to fill in the gaps in education and listen to those subjects that were previously missed.
It is important to note that at this stage there is a change in the capabilities and role of the teacher, who began to turn from a translator of knowledge into an accompanying learning process. Digital technologies have made these changes even more significant, significantly transformed the role of the teacher and his competence. After the two thousandth, there is an expansion of the educational environment. So, in 2001, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology placed its educational materials in free, free ("open and mass") access.
In 2012, the professorship of Stanford University, a private research university in the United States, one of the most authoritative and ranked in the United States and in the world, publishes its lectures and launches the Coursera online platform. The initiative was taken up by the leading universities of the world. Currently, Coursera, the most popular platform, cooperates with 149 universities. Two American providers Udacity and edX and the European MOOC Initiative, the Association of Distance Universities in Europe , compete with this platform [2] .
At the same time, extensive foreign experience in the use of information technologies in training allows us to note not only the advantages, but also the emerging problems. Among them is a decrease in the quality of education due to insufficient preparedness of the teaching staff and educational institutions, subject specifics should be taken into account, which takes time to adapt to the new educational environment. The need for a solid regulatory framework for digital education and uniform quality standards has increased. Responsibility for the quality of education in the new conditions is shifted from the teacher to the student, who gets the opportunity to independently build their own training program, choose platforms and educational courses, etc. According to foreign researchers [3], commercial platforms, such as Udemy, cannot guarantee the quality of materials, because anyone can create their resources. And UNESCO analysts point out the danger of technologization of education, Internet addiction, individualism, violation of personal information security, information saturation of the educational process. Deep assimilation of knowledge is often replaced by the collection and accumulation of information, certificates, a cursory review of materials in search of answers to test tasks.
At the same time, taking into account all new trends in education, it is impossible not to take into account the factor of displacement of the social interaction of the teacher and the student, which is important.
It is important to understand that the main distinctive trend in the development of modern society is the process of globalization and everything connected with it in one way or another. For example, the development of information technology, automation of production and accelerated scientific and technological progress. Consequently, this process is also reflected in the culture of modern society, which is characterized by increasing computerization, the creation of global and local networks, the formation of an information environment that plays an increasingly significant role in professional activities and in the daily life of a modern person.
Proceeding from the above, a natural question arises - what should we pay attention to in order to successfully and effectively solve priority tasks of providing high-quality and comprehensive education?
Undoubtedly, science and education are of paramount importance for increasing the intellectual and spiritual potential not only of young people, but also of our entire society. Where science does not develop, there is regression, backwardness of society in all spheres. And today, all the transformations in various spheres of society prove that mastering modern knowledge, being enlightened and having a high culture becomes a vital need for each of us. It is not for nothing that it is considered in the 21st century that the fifth branch of power is Knowledge.
At the same time, today, given that the modern era insists on practically useful knowledge that could be used technologically, it is important to maintain a balance between the functions of education and science. Only when the balance of theory and practice is observed, when the balance of education and upbringing is taken into account, the ratio of fundamental and applied sciences, science and industry, etc., - the system of education and science will bring real benefits to citizens, the economy, and society as a whole. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid extremes. At the same time, it is the right balance, equal attention to fundamental and applied sciences, to education and science, to theory and practice, and their equal partnership that can ensure the successful development of sciences, education, and technology.
Based on this, it is important to understand the main thing - to ensure not the parallel existence of the above factors, but their interaction, the connection between theory and practice, science and industry.
Today, rapid changes are taking place in the education system in Uzbekistan, while significant efforts and funds are being directed to the comprehensive development of the sphere, the training of qualified personnel. And this is not accidental. Only a systematic, integrated approach to education at all stages of its development will help to achieve the set goals - to raise the level of development of the state, which is largely determined by the quality and effectiveness of the education system in the country, and thereby provide the foundation for the Third Renaissance.
There is a clear understanding in society and the country that the field of education today trains personnel, educates people for life in the future. Therefore, this problem cannot be solved in just three or five years, it takes decades. At all educational stages, starting with preschool education, highly qualified personnel are needed who will be able to promote the development of children's abilities and their high-quality training in preschool institutions. After all, this will contribute to the successful mastery of complex school programs that will prepare competent applicants for universities in the country. And then - the education and upbringing of highly qualified specialists in universities. At all these stages, the main thing is to identify and develop the talents of our youth.
This suggests that reforms in education are the most effective with a systematic and integrated approach that ensure the harmonious development of various stages of education. In this regard, it is important to form an integral education system that ensures close cooperation between preschool, general secondary, secondary specialized, professional, higher educational and scientific institutions.
In recent years, qualitative changes have been taking place in our country in the systems of preschool, school and higher education, as well as in the activities of research institutions. Within
the framework of the "Strategy of Actions on five priority areas of development of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2017-2021" [4] adopted at the beginning of a new stage of reforms in Uzbekistan in February 2017, one of the priorities is to "continue the course of further improvement of the system of continuing education, increasing the availability of quality educational services, training highly qualified personnel in accordance with the modern needs of the labor market".. The issues of improving the competitiveness of the country's education in the national and international labor markets have also been included in the Concept of Integrated socio-economic development of the Republic of Uzbekistan until 2030.
Over the years of reforms, serious foundations have been laid in all educational sectors of Uzbekistan to bring them to a qualitatively new level that meets modern international requirements. If we pay attention to the development of higher education, then on April 20, 2017, a Presidential decree approved a program for the comprehensive development of the higher education system [5] for the period 2017-2021, including measures for cardinal improvement and qualitative improvement of the level of higher education. Undoubtedly, there have been many changes - the order of admission to universities has been changed, exams began to take place from August 1 to August 15, and their results began to be published the next day. Testing for admission to universities in creative areas has been canceled. Since September 2017, the academic load on the teaching staff has decreased in favor of conducting research work. The correspondence form of education has been restored. Salaries of university teachers have doubled. It is important to note that the independence of universities has increased. Starting from the 2018/2019 academic year, leading higher educational institutions independently develop curricula and programs in the relevant areas and specialties of education, taking into account the demand of personnel consumers. Universities are allowed to carry out additional admission of students at increased contract rates.
As part of the reform of the education sector, teacher training curricula have been revised and brought into line with international standards, the national student assessment system has been modernized in cooperation with international systems such as PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS. In cooperation with the international rating agencies QS, THE developed indicators for assessing the quality of education to determine the national ranking of universities in the country. For the international recognition of educational documents, work has begun on their compliance with the requirements of the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED/ISCED 2011). In 2020, Uzbekistan joined the European Association for Quality Assurance of Higher Education (ENQA) as an observer [6].
On October 8, 2019, the Presidential Decree "On approval of the Concept of development of the higher education system of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the [7] was issued, which provides for a phased transition to the introduction of advanced standards of higher education, the gradual transfer of the educational process to a credit-modular system, which should be implemented in 16% of higher educational institutions in 2023, in 57% in 2025 and 85% in 2030. However, the transition to this system has already begun. Tashkent University of Information Technologies named after Muhammad al-Khorazmiy (TUIT) is gradually making the transition to the credit system of education from the 2018/2019 academic year. The National and Law Universities, the University of Oriental Studies and the Tashkent Medical Academy are working in the same direction. It should be noted that in recent years in our country the number of higher education institutions has increased almost 2.5 times, reaching 186, and admission quotas have
increased 3.5 times, which is important in the development of the higher education system. At the same time, in order to create a healthy competitive environment in the field, 42 non-state higher educational institutions were created, the number of branches of foreign universities increased to 31.
Taking into account the merciless competition between states that has unfolded on the world stage, in the conditions of an acute struggle in all spheres of public life, it becomes obvious for the progress and prosperity of the state, the demand for science, knowledge and intellectual potential. In this regard, according to the Development Strategy of the New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026,[8] the next specific goals were set to solve a number of problems in the field of education. Among them - bringing the level of coverage of higher education to 50 percent and improving the quality of education. Provision of academic and financial independence to state higher educational institutions, including the establishment of the practice of independently setting their wages, determining the number of employees, the cost of training on a fee-and-contract basis and the form of education. Specific definition of the relevant rights and powers of state higher educational institutions; - targeted training of 10 potential higher educational institutions for inclusion in the international QS and TNE ratings until 2026. - Construction of student dormitories for 100 thousand places; - bringing the number of non-state higher educational institutions to at least 50 by 2026. Bringing the number of non-governmental higher educational organizations to 50 by creating at least one organization in the regions of the republic until 2026.- a 2-fold increase in the scale of sending freely and creatively thinking youth to prestigious foreign universities through the El-Yurt Umidi Foundation, while directing 50 percent of young people to technical, exact sciences and IT.
It should be noted that a completely new network of specialized schools has already been created in the country. Hundreds of specialized facilities and IT parks are being built to teach young people modern professions. Large-scale work is being carried out to modernize the higher education system based on the real requirements of the economy and the social sphere. Every year, modern forms and technologies of education are introduced, new areas of training of specialists are opened in universities.
All this suggests that in our country considerable efforts and funds are directed to the comprehensive development of education, training of qualified personnel. Qualitative changes are taking place in the systems of preschool, school and higher education, as well as in the activities of research institutions. All this is being done to solve an important issue - improving the quality of the educational process, which is being discussed today by both the teaching staff and politicians. After all, it presupposes the quality of educational programs, the quality of the potential of the teaching staff involved in the educational process, the quality of the potential of students, the quality of the means of the educational process and the quality of educational technologies, the quality of management of educational systems and processes. These aspects indicate that if every day a person raises the bar, achieves new heights, improves himself, looks for answers to questions of interest, then this will provide him with a comfortable, bright, eventful life.
Thus, taking into account the current trends of the educational process, we must not forget that education is primarily a sphere of culture, that it is a person, his development, his harmony with the surrounding world that is the main goal and value of education, which also fulfills the mission of social protection, social formation of the younger generation, capable of active, creative activity in a free society New Uzbekistan.
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2. Kasyanova L. How the EU will build a digital educational space / L. Kasyanova [Electronic resource]. - Access mode: http://cnews.ru/link / a3598
3. Zolotukhin S.A. Advantages and disadvantages of mass open online courses / S.A. Zolotukhin // Discussion. - 2015. - No4 (56). - p. 99.
4. Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On the Strategy of actions for the further development of the Republic of Uzbekistan"// (Collection of Legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2017, No. 6, Article 70, No. 20, Article 354, No. 23, Article 448, No. 29, Article 683, Article 685, No. 34, Article 874, No. 37, Article 982; National Database of Legislation, 16.10.2017, No. 06/17/5204/0114, 31.07.2018, No. 06/18/5483/1594;
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5. Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On approval of the Concept of development of the higher education system of the Republic of Uzbekistan until 2030" // (National Database of legislation, 09.10.2019, No. 06/19/5847/3887; 30.04.2020, No. 06/20/5987/0521; 18.03.2022, No. 06/22/89/0227)
6. Quality education is an important factor in the dynamic development of New Uzbekistan 04.06.2021 Education // Dune.
7. On April 20, 2017, the Presidential Decree approved the Program of integrated development of the higher education system for the period 2017-2021 // (Collection of Legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2017, No. 18, Article 313, No. 19, Article 335, No. 24, Article 490, No. 37, Article 982; National Database of Legislation, 06/29/2020 G., No. 06/20/5370/0975,
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8. The Development Strategy of the New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026 was approved On 31.01.2022, the President signed Decree No. UP-60 of 28.01.2022 "On the Development Strategy of the New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026". The document was published in the National Database of Legislation and entered into force on 29.01.2022.
