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THE FORMATION OF A PROFESSIONALLY COMPETENT PERSON IN THE CONTEXT OF LIFELONG EDUCATION
T. M. Churekova
The most important socio-pedagogical principles of the development of the modern Russian education system, which is regarded as a continuous process that promotes personal growth, provides conditions for self-development and creative self-realization, are its humanitarization, and humanization. Even today, some concepts of previous years are still relevant: the concept of P.F. Kapterev who saw the purpose of education and training in improvement of a growing personality; the concept of P.P. Blonsky, according to whose views, the general line of influence of pedagogical interaction on self-development of its members consisted of the development of their activity and initiative , in assistance to them, in the manifestation of creative elements, in contact with the outside world; the concept of A.N. Ostrogorsky, who claimed that the main task of training and education was to lead young people onto the path of self-education, and to awaken their thoughts.
The end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century were marked by a new focus in the development of the problem of multi-level lifelong education. Firstly, the Federal Law “On Higher and Postgraduate Professional Education” in 1996 lays a legislative basis for the introduction of the multistage system of education in the Russian Federation (long before signing the Bologna Declaration), setting the stages, backed by the qualification (degree) of “Bachelor,” “Certified Specialist”, “Master”. The federal law of 2007 “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation (the part of implementation of levels of higher education),” clarifies the mechanism of realization of the system. Secondly, the idea that education accompanies a person through his entire adult life, and everyone should be able to perfect any of its forms, is one of the goals of the Bologna process. Thirdly, the problem becomes multi-disciplinary, multi-valued and is seen in several aspects: (a) the pedagogical aspect (development of integral and continuous educational content, searching for and testing efficient technologies), (b) the managerial aspect (development and implementation of models of the functioning and development of the system of Popular Education); (c) the legal aspect (regulatory support of not only the lifelong education system, but all of its subjects), (d) the socio-psychological aspect (the possibility of lifelong education for various social groups with regards to the needs of production and personality, as well as their abilities).
The development of the system of lifelong education in the modern society -on the one hand, the need to create conditions for the formation of flexible learning paths, providing a reaction of the system of education to the rapidly changing needs of the individual, society, and economy; and on the other hand - the formation of a competent professional. In this connection, the competence approach is one of the fundamental in the world of educational practice. The competence-based approach focuses on the result of education, in that the result is not considered as the amount of assimilated information, but the ability to operate in a variety of problematic situations. In the implementation of the
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competence-based approach, it is important to come to an understanding that the basis of professionalism and the high mobility of students are made up of fundamental scientific knowledge, combined with practice oriented education. Despite the fact that the third-generation standards are outlined in all areas of training of the necessary competences, the question of determining their priority remains problematic; from the total for all graduates of higher education to the special ones, related to the type of educational program and future professional activities undertaken.
Different approaches to the identification of key competencies made it possible to determine the total: the willingness to notice problems and seek ways to solve them, the ability to analyze new situations and apply existing knowledge to this analysis, and the ability to make decisions based on sound judgment. Consequently, professional competence, defined as the qualitative characteristics of the individual’s degree of mastering their own profession, consists of cognitive, social, communicative, informational, research, social and personal competences and presupposes: (a) awareness of their motivations for this work - needs and interests, aspirations and value orientations, motives, activities, perceptions of their social roles; (b) an assessment of their personal characteristics and qualities as a future professional; (c) regulation of their professional development on this basis.
Cognitive competence is determined by the fundamental knowledge, degree of differentiation of self-consciousness, characteristics of development of cognitive processes, all of which predetermine the solution to professional problems. Knowledge is a tool for the formation of cognitive competence. It requires deep comprehension, and the essential foundations and relationships between various processes of the surrounding world. Features of individual cognitive processes (adequate perception of a specific professional space and interpretation of variety of information, consistency, flexibility of thinking, etc.) contribute to: (a) the creation of professionally-relevant information on the state of object of the activity; (b) competent labor processes and technical documentation analysis; (c) rational decision-making in critical situations; (d) prediction and design of professional activities, reflecting the subjective focus on the transformation of the world.
Social and communicative competence manifests itself in tolerance, the success of the individual while entering the professional community, and recognition of values of certain corporate cultures and their psychological compatibility as the ability to adapt to different characters, social and professional environment. This competence reflects the capabilities of the individual in the realization of cooperation, teamwork, and the ability to set vertical and horizontal contacts, resolve conflicts, show readiness for mutual interaction, mutual responsibility, and mutual control in dealing with significant professional goals, etc.
Information competence is determined by the level of development of information-technology culture, considered as a certain level of knowledge of information technology, characterized by informational, technological and culturological components. The information component is a system of knowledge, corresponding to the current level of development of information technologies and providing the implementation of informational activities aimed at meeting educational and professional needs. The technological component is knowledge of information technologies, which allows us to carry out information activities,
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creatively combining and updating existing technologies in accordance with the requirements of the time. Culturological components include an understanding and awareness of one’s own informational needs, and the motivation for the implementation of information activities.
Research competence is manifested in the fact that an expert, constantly tackling a set of professional tasks, acts as a researcher, building his activities based on the research findings. In today's world, research is not seen as a highly specialized activity, but as an essential characteristic of the individual, which is housed in notions of professionalism in every sphere of activity in the lifestyle of modern man. Research activities, as a system formation, are the unity and integration of value bases, personal meanings and ways of organizing professional work.
Social and personal competence is manifested in self-management, social identity and authenticity, and personal responsibility. Self-management determines individual characteristics such as the ability to control themselves and others, and critically analyze one’s own professional practice and the work of others, as well as the ability and willingness to initiate, build, maintain and manage all types and forms of internal and external activity. Social identity lies in the individual's knowledge of his membership in a particular social group, along with value-semantic and emotional manifestations of this. Authenticity is correspondence to yourself, your idea, and your point of professional and personal self-determination. At the same time a person not only identifies himself with the surrounding social and professional culture, but also considers himself as equally significant and valuable within it.
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