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THE PERSONALITY-ACTIVITY APPROACH
AS A PREREQUISITE FOR IMPROVING THE QUALITY
OF LIFELONG PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
O.V. Plakhotnik
Modernization of the higher education system in Ukraine is characterized by a combination of traditions established in the national higher education system and new ideas associated with Ukraine's accession to the European and global educational space. Active transition to the market economy encourages higher education teachers to intensify their scientific search, training, and educational work with students, in order to prevent a decline in the prestige of education and professionalism, and to resist negative attitudes among young people. Today, there is an urgent need to raise the social and cultural status of higher education institutions and thereby expand the limits of their humanitarian and democratic influence on modern society. They are designed not only to provide scientific knowledge, but also to shape the socially acceptable norms of life for citizens (mutual support, national consciousness, responsibility, inter-ethnic respect, etc.), and also to contribute to the spiritual maturity of the youth. The development of a personality capable of self-reliant problem solving, self-determination, and creative self-development, is one of the paramount goals of modern education.
A humanitarian paradigm is aimed at promoting the creative experience of an individual, values and meaning structures of life focused on the independent setting and solving of complex, non-ordinary problems and revealing their inner world. Higher education institutions play the leading role in this process, as with their huge scientific potential they are a powerful and mobile system, able to overcome the challenges facing society in a highly professional manner.
A change in values in the Ukrainian society led to new research in pedagogy, with the active introduction of ideas of person-centered, value-centered, culturological and other approaches to solving the problems and tasks of the individual development of students. The modern system of education in this country is determined by the development of innovative processes that are scientifically sound and appropriate to the goals, objectives and conditions of the economic, national, political, scientific, technological and cultural development of society. Lifelong education is carried out as a socio-historical and personal process. Personality-related processes in lifelong education are an integral characteristic of the educational process as a holistic socio-historical process. It is the first time that this characteristic has become a target for the education system focused on the entire cycle of the working life of an individual. In Ukraine, higher education institutions focus their activities on the implementation of the National Doctrine of Education Development, which is the key national document which gives a priority role to education in government policy, defining its strategy and main areas of development. One of the expected outcomes of the implementation of the doctrine is the quality of education, which should be achieved by individualization of the educational process on the basis of diversity of types and forms of educational programs taking into account interests and abilities of an individual. However, the conflict between the need for providing conditions for
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person-centered education, and the student's individual development in the sociocultural environment, is still quite sharp.
Strategic objectives of the education reform laid down in the National Doctrine of Education Development in Ukraine, include education and the development of creative capabilities and social activities of an individual, and building a system of humanitarian values, with nature and man being the key values.
Transition to the new person-centered paradigm in higher education, prepared through the development of pedagogical thought in and outside Ukraine, involves the self-actualization of students in difficult conditions of today's society. Theoretical analysis shows that scholars interpret the person-centered approach from different perspectives. One of these perspectives is when the person-centered approach is regarded as the key principle of psychological and pedagogical science. This involves the creation of an educational environment, while taking into account the individual peculiarities of the development and selfdevelopment of a personality. An important aspect of this approach is that a learner is regarded as an active subject of activity, and hence, there is a subject-subject relationship. Many scholars consider this approach as the key one in training of future teachers, too. For instance, in his article The Invariants of Person-Centered Approach (2001), I. Bekh writes that the improvement, formation and development of a young person are closely associated with the person-centered approach which may help to substantially humanize the educational process, fill it with high moral and spiritual experiences, establish the relationship of fairness and respect, and reveal the potentialities of a child to the greatest extent possible. We cannot help but to agree with the author that the new model of upbringing requires the development of a relevant psychologically verified and socially effective correction, which can lay a sound scientific foundation for the creation of highly effective educational methods and techniques. In the last few decades, scholarly works often mention the concept of a "personality-activity approach" to learning and building a personality. The implementation of this approach involves modeling a structure of teaching in the course of professional training, so as to ensure the priority of a personality over the entire educational activity. Correspondingly, educational activity in the course of training does not build the personality of a teacher, but contributes to the development of their abilities and focus of their professional experience. The personality-activity approach requires that interpersonal interactions are managed in a reflective manner, that is, the goal of interaction between a teacher and a student is to develop a need for and ability of self-management, self-regulation, self-organization and self-control of the learning activities of a learner, student, post-graduate in teaching, etc.
In connection with this, it should be underlined that one of the important functions of a personality is to be continuously searching, justifying and revising the meaning of life. The personality-activity approach involves organizing a subject-based and practice-oriented activity in the relevant social context. The implementation of this approach involves modeling a structure of learning, practical teaching, projective teaching and research activities of students aimed at the development of the personality as "the author of activity". Therefore, the
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personality-activity approach in higher education can be attributed to the entire visible realm of lifelong education.
The analysis of the paradigm of modern education provides a basis for determining both common and distinctive characteristics of the personality-activity approach. The key aspects of the personality-activity approach include creating conditions for the development and self-development of a personality, implementing the teacher's responsibility for outcomes of the educational process, and building activities appropriate to the level of personal development through dialogue and cooperation.
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