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PROSPECTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED EDUCATION IN THE CONTEXT OF CONTINUITY OF EDUCATIONAL PATHS
P. I. Blus
Е. А. Troitskaya
The specific features of development of lifelong education in today's conditions are being studied. Based on the example of Regional Institute of Lifelong Education of Perm Classical University, the need for vertical integration of the advanced education with municipalities is justified.
Key words: change of lifelong education paradigm, role of additional education.
In recent years, the concept of continuity has spread widely, which is based on the active role of the student in the educational process, and the possibility of its movement in both vertical and horizontal directions. To some extent, this situation reminds us of a picture of the moving staircases of Hogwarts Castle from the famous series of books about Harry Potter, to the movement of which the student must be prepared in advance to build a travel path himself/herself, and get to the desired point. The slogan of “education for the rest of one’s life” in modern conditions is replaced by a new one - “lifelong learning”. In a transforming society, institutions of continuing education are directly dependent on the situation on the labor market, as well as actions through which people respond to changing circumstances.
Continuous education is characterized by several features. Firstly, it covers the entire life of a person, but does not teach a person all the time. Rather, it gives him the opportunity to be educated in a certain period of his life, when he feels that it is necessary. Therefore, special attention in this concept is paid to further adult education (advanced training, professional retraining, leisure education, etc.). Secondly, it is not rigidly tied to a particular place of study. Development of computer technology, wide access to the Internet, and distance learning technology make it possible to receive education wherever you are, regardless of your place of residence, according to the individual schedule, with an access to specialized software and the ability to make contact with a teacher. Thirdly, it is based on the self-education of a person, and associated with the transition from the paradigm of classical teaching, in which a student acts as a “subject of training impact” to the paradigm, assuming an equal relationship between participants in the educational process. The student becomes the real subject of the educational process, chooses objectives, the means to achieve them, and the content of education. However, this approach imposes responsibility on the student, and requires their intensive self-study, self-control and self-discipline.
Thus, lifelong education is a philosophical and pedagogical concept, based on the fact that education is seen as a process covering all human life. Against this background, in terms of educational practice, we expect a continuing targeted study by a person of social and cultural experience, with the use of all parts of the educational system (pre-school organizations, schools, organization of vocational
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training and higher education, centers of additional education, diverse non-state, structures, including religious structures). In today’s interpretation, the principle of continuous education means the agreed improvement of vertical and horizontal structures of educational institutions, accompanying a person at different stages of his life - from pre-school institutions to different stages of post-graduate education. This principle means adding additional stairs and stair flights to the existing educational staircases, which are designed for all periods of adult life, including the pre-retirement and retirement period.
Against the background of the marked current trends in lifelong education, it is important to highlight the positive practices that allow one to visualize the experience of activity of specific educational structures in a changing educational environment, and efforts to build a regional model of continuous education.
One such steadily developing structure is the Regional Institute for Lifelong Education, which has been functioning since 2004 as a separate structural unit of Perm State National Research University (RILE PSNRU). The main objective of the Institute is the establishment and improvement of a modern system of continuous education in the course of the implementation of the scientific, scientific-methodological, educational and cultural potential of PSNRU, and for the development of the economy, education, science and culture in the Perm region.
The main objectives of the Institute are: (a) meeting the needs of the individual in intellectual, cultural and moral development by means of continuous education; (b) conduction of professional training and retraining of managers, specialists, the unemployed and people who are going to be unemployed, their preparation for the fulfillment of new labor functions; (c) giving new knowledge to experts, best practices and the formation of the relevant competencies; (d) testing of new areas and forms of educational activities, the promotion of modern teaching technologies and their implementation; (e) public education, improvement of peoples’ educational and cultural level. The activities of the Institute include four main areas, which provide the possibility of obtaining additional education for different categories of people, from primary school age to old age.
(1) First of all, it concerns the pre-university preparation of high school pupils, who on the one hand need to prepare for the uniform state exams, and on the other hand, enrich their ideas about university life through participation in the work of schools of young researchers, or in the multidisciplinary competition “Young Talents”. In the 2014-2015 school year, a career-oriented project “Your First Credit” was launched in Perm: pupils of 11th grade were able to pass their first test in one of the disciplines of the first academic university year, while still at school (provided they were going to enter that specific faculty).
(2) Additional education for children and adults, including students, allows young people to gain additional qualifications beyond the federal state educational standards and be more competitive in the labor market. Traditionally, foreign language courses are the most popular ones, as well as passing international exams, such as IELTS and TOEFL, and attending seminars and training of a psychological nature.
(3) Additional professional education is provided by practically-oriented departments of the Institute. The growth of interest in professional retraining programs is partially due to the adoption of professional standards, in accordance
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with which certain categories of workers, who if they have no specialized education, need to undergo professional retraining, partially with a reduction in the standard number of hours, and consequently, the cost of training.
(4) Further training allows university teachers of Perm to improve their educational process and to implement modern educational technologies in the work with students.
Creation of the system of continuous education of residents throughout their lives is impossible without building long-term mutually beneficial relations between the university and the municipalities of the region. This is due to several reasons: (a) a change in technology and the resulting rapid obsolescence of knowledge requires constant further training. It cannot be done without addressing the problem of the approximation of the additional professional training services and their customers through the arrival of teachers at the municipalities, the formation of regional training centers, and the development of forms of distant learning; (b) reform of local government (with the creation of a two-tier model) has complicated the task of staffing the authorities of urban and rural settlements, municipal areas and urban districts; (c) specialization of modern school requires the establishment of strong links between specialized schools and higher educational institutions. This is important both in terms of development of main and elective courses, career guidance work, preparation for subject Olympiads, and in terms of teacher training for work in specialized classes.
Mechanisms of effective partnerships of universities, state and municipal authorities, and employers in the Perm Territory are based on the system of university districts. A university district is created at the initiative of Perm University in the framework of the Cooperation Agreement between a specific association of heads of municipalities and the university. The strategy of development of Perm University gave the status of higher educational institution. Apart from educational and research roles, the “third role” is the function of integration into the local community. The University will strengthen its role of bearer of intellectual, educational, cultural expertise. The purpose of the district is to create the conditions for the cooperation of the University with the municipalities of the Perm Territory regarding issues of strategic development of the territories, including improvement of their staffing potential.
To achieve this, the following tasks were set: (a) increasing the participation of the university as the initiator and co-author of strategies of development of the municipalities; (b) increasing the professional level of the target groups of municipalities; (c) mobilization of resources of the university as a center of public communications and public events; (d) inclusion of the university into the local media sphere as an active participant and authoritative subject of the information activities.
To date, there are university districts with centers in Perm, Gubakha, Kungur, Solikamsk and the villages of Barda, Karagai, and Suksun. Usually, a district covers a group of neighboring municipalities and urban districts with a population of about 300,000 people. The district center coordinates the development and implementation of educational programs considering the specific features of the educational needs of the population. Districts became elements of territorial organization of additional education.
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Horizontal differentiation and vertical stratification of additional education at the Regional Institute of Lifelong Education have made it possible to significantly intensify the educational activities. Therefore, the policy of strengthening horizontal and vertical links of additional education on the one hand, with different levels of education, and on the other hand, with other spheres of public life, has become the key to the formation of a strong framework of lifelong education in the region.
Translated from Russian by Znanije Central Translastions Bureas
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